I whispered, “You’re all mated and…” He replied, “And our mates were relieved when you stood up for Seirra. They must be punished.” I jolted as if he’d smacked me, “Punished… for being human? For being the blood in their veins? Do you… do you hear yourself? Why would you punish yourself that way…you seem arrogant and conceited?” He replied, “We have ways it doesn’t hurt us.”
I replied, “I belong to someone else… and I’m not having sex with married, mated men. I’m not going to be party to ruining a bond… fated or chosen… you…. what are you doing to your wolves? How could you? HOW?!” I had to know. They were ranked wolves.
Gamma Booker grabbed me around the neck, “You don’t get to ask questions here.” He carried me to the punishing fields. I gripped the boulder I was slung over as he whipped me. Eventually Beta Jean said, “You’ll kill her if you don’t stop.” Did I care? Not really. He kicked me into the hole.
I woke up and saw my parents laughing at a picnic. I screamed, “MOM! DAD!” I ran to them, but I went right through them. I cried, “No.” Then I watched myself run up to them. It was last year. Tristan howled happily and led our pack on a run. I sobbed watching it all.
Jason spun me around in a circle then threw me on his shoulders. He boasted, “My sister is the national dancechampion! WHOOHOOOO!” He’d had that same pride earlier when I had his six. I gasped and woke up feeling pain in the dark. Right. I was in the hole.
I was never going to see the happiness in Red Run like I’d dreamed of. Even when I went back, everything would be different. I knew everything had changed. I was changed. Actually… I was changing and I could feel it. Each crack in me was growing and my loss of faith in Alpha’s… wasn’t good.
By the time they came to get me and pull me up from the hole I’d resolved to make sure no one was stolen from their homes again. I would make sure word went around to the packs. I would be the voice and fighter for them. Sierra ran to me the second I was closer to the pack.
Beta Jean sighed, “Sierra…” She cut him off, “Don’t you ever speak to me again. Come on to Hendrick’s house, Mel.” Uncle Ajax argued, “She’s coming to our house.” Sierra winced. I said, “I’m not.” I walked off leaving them behind me.
Sierra whispered, “That’s not how things are done here.” I replied, “I’m kind of past caring. Really… really… so far beyond caring. Everything here is messed up and wrong.” Celia groaned, “Really pup?” I shrugged, “I guess you didn’t see what I did.”
She replied, “Everyone saw it. Even the people who hide away when people come in the night to take someone. You had the entire pack watching you and hope rippled through the pack afterwards. Which, was not cared for by some.” Yeah, I’m sure. I’m also sure I didn’t care.
She treated what was left of my wounds. She hummed, “Thank whatever or whoever you believe in that you heal faster than any pup I’ve ever treated.” I asked, “Don’t you mean Selene?” She snorted, “Down here in the forgotten packs, we don’t worship her. She turned her back on us, so we’ve turned our backs on her.” I could see the logic on that and was honestly with her on it.
Sierra hugged me tightly and sobbed. I told her, “We will start working on self-defense… I… I didn’t realize you didn’t know any moves and…” She cried, “He was going to mark me, and I couldn’t stop him. I knew what my future was in those terrifying moments, and you stopped it all. I’ll follow you into Hell itself if necessary.”
That was kind of like a pack getting a new Alpha. Umm… weird… but… nice. Dax hugged me next. He whispered, “I couldn’t get to her.” Addison replied, “They drugged us and you still got outside.” I admitted, “That is impressive.”
Caine asked, “And why doesn’t silver or wolfsbane affect you?” I replied, “It affects every Werewolf. I’m going to guess the ones that were shot at me… had operators with some sort of moral… compass? Which seems weird… but it’s the answer. Because like anyone with Werewolf blood gets hurt from wolfsbane or silver.” They all nodded, and we spent some time together.
Weeks went by. Trevor and his friends tormented me. They screamed at me and threw sticks. I took my GED and the beating that followed when my results of passing came to Aunt Stephanie’s house. I did all the chores and took all their abuse but noticed the shift in the pack.
When things started to go wrong, they looked at me. I was pretty sure it was driving Alpha Edward insane… Well… more insane…than he currently was because he clearly had already lost it.
I was cleaning outside the office when I overheard Edward say there was a shipment of Demons was coming in. I’d been slowly saving people from him and his dirty deeds. This one wasbigger than him though because based on what he said this was the Ring.
I listened and got the details. The Demons were being held in a warehouse. The Ring was holding them there until they were transferred for experimentation. These people were just sick. How could they do this? It was unfathomable to me.
No matter how much I saw, I could not make it make sense. I honestly didn’t understand how they could sleep at night. I researched the place and came up with a plan. I went to meet with Hendrick, Mason, Dax and Addison.
Caine couldn’t make it tonight since he was on patrol duty. I walked into the diner and explained everything. Mason asked worriedly, “Are you sure you want to do this, Mel?” I replied, “We have to.”
Dax sighed, “You’re only fourteen.”
I said, “Age is just a number. I know right from wrong. No one deserves to be experimented on until they die… it’s sick.” Mason commented, “No one is arguing that point with you.” I told them, “I’ve studied the warehouse. Mason, Hendrick and Addison can create a diversion. Dax, you can fill Caine in when you join him for your patrol. Edward is making him pull double duty. So, make sure you take him some coffee...”
Dax grumbled, “Damn patrol schedule.” Mason warned, “He suspects you two are doing something, that’s why he’s doing it.” I grinned saying, “And now he won’t because this will happen while they are on patrol. Sierra is cooking and Edward thinks Addison and I are here with you two.” Hendrick nodded.
Dax got up and grabbed two thermoses of coffee and left to go see Caine. We waited twenty minutes until we put our plan into action. We geared up and put on our masks with our voice modulators. I had assigned myself to go in and be the rescue team because if something happened to me… no one would care.
Mason, Hendrick and Addison could all get away. I’d already lost most of my family. Beta Jason hated me, and he made that very clear every chance he got. Maybe if I died saving people, he’d be proud of me again like he’d been when I had his six.
I shook those thoughts. I was going to do good things. I had a whole plan. I was going to make the world my dance floor, just like my family had said to. In truth, my hacking skills needed improvement. I could take some courses. I was running on less and less sleep as time went by.
If I took courses, I could meet some people in that community and learn. So far, I’d kept the Resistance to all local inside Tennessee missions. Getting around was hard since, even though I could run really fast, getting to a bordering state was complicated.
I had thwarted another attempt to kill Xander already. It wasn’t my best plan, but there was no way I was letting them get to him. I’d overheard Edward talking about their assassination attempt. I couldn’t do nothing. I had to protect my mate. I left the Resistance circle and knew the Hackura came and saw it. I’d left a camera that they found. So, my plans had room for improvement.
I cleared my mind as I approached the warehouse. I needed to get in and out. There was a busted window I was going to go through. I jumped to the ledge and shimmied my way through it. I had a few pieces of glass stuck to me, but I welcomed the pain like I always did these days.
Pain reminded me of all I’d lost and how it was taken from me. How I was blamed. I deserved the blame, but Slade would get his one day. I jumped down and texted Mason.
