CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 19
I didn't want to return to the pack.
However, Lucas told me to trust him which is what I did.
I don't know what Valerie and Hunter are planning but a few days later, they arrive, to bring me back to the back and this time by force if need be. As Lucas had predicted, he had been sent on a mission and he wasn't home. But the surprise really came with my entire family showed up to escort me back, my father at the forefront.
I had seen Hunter’s anger at being out maneuvered and Valerie’s dismay but they had had no choice but to let my family escort me.
Whatever, while holding their gaze, I had crouched to the ground and told my wolves to run which they did.
The fury in Hunter’s eyes had been satisfying.
However, I wasn’t welcome back to the pack with open arms, just as I had expected.
It’s been four days since I returned and the hostility is suffocating. Pack mates who had once been so close to me, now give me cold glances or simply pretend I don’t exist.
This is a different kind of hurt even though I expected it. It's made worse when Valerie walks into the room and everyone fawns over her. I often see her watching me in those moments, and I know that she wants to see me break but I refuse to give her the satisfaction.
I also choose to stay within my family's quarters as much as I can.
What's interesting is how the pack elders are trying to approach me. Even now, as I sit in the living area of my family quarters, one of them, the one I hate the most, David, is sitting across from me.
“So, it’s true?” He asks, eagerly. “You have the ability to control the wolves?”
I give him a cool look, “What does it even matter?”
He jumps to his feet, “Don’t you understand what this means for the pack? You can make our defences stronger! Your children might carry your gift and -“
“You seem to be forgetting something, David,” I give him a hard look. “I’m not going to protect a pack that turned its back on me.”
His face stiffens.
David is one of Hunter’s closest advisors and I’m not surprised that Hunter told him about this.
“You’re being irrational, Sarah,” He frowns. “This will get the pack to trust you again. After what you did-“
“I did nothing!” I growl, getting to my feet. “And I will not protect this pack. And if you force me, I will refuse to have any children as well.”
David’s face grows stone cold, “That might not be up to you. The pack has to look out for its best interests. Don't forget. It's the elders who still control a majority of the decisions in here. And if we decide you have to continue your line, it can be done without your consent.”
For a moment, I stare at him in confusion and then the meaning of his words really registers on me and I pick up the lamp next to my head and I threw it in his direction, smashing it in the wall behind his head, “You bastard! You think you're going to make me a pack breeder?! You think Lucas will stand for it? Pack breeders were outlawed centuries ago! I already have a mate!”
David’s voice is low, his face lined with determination, “Your mating can be labelled void since you can no longer shift. And it’s easy to make you disappear. Don't be a foolish child. I'm giving you an option to still live with your mate as long as you provide us with children to train.”
“Get out!” I roar and in my anger, I feel some of Lucas’s echo within me, enough to make the old man’s face turn white with fear at the power in my voice.
He stumbles out and I lock the door behind him, sinking to the ground, my whole body shaking.
A pack breeder?
Tears rush to my eyes.
Why did Lucas send me back here?
Why can’t I just stay with him?
I have not seen him in days.
Pack breeders are no longer allowed in any shifter clan. They were female shifters who were denied mates and used to populate the pack, a very long time ago. It was around the Great War that they came into existence and it was a barbaric practice. Those shifters were denied their basic rights, kept in tiny rooms, not allowed to engage with any of the pack.
My hands shaking, I let out a small whimper, fear a bitter taste in my mouth.
The pack no longer feels like home anymore. It feels like I’m in a battle field, trying to survive.
I barely step out of my quarters, the only time I do so is when I have to eat. But I’m no longer interested in trying to communicate with any of my pack mates. However, not all of them are against me. A few handful are still kind but they cannot talk to me for fear of retribution from the rest of the pack. But without Lucas by my side, I feel vulnerable and fearful. I have no powers, nothing to protect me if someone attacks me. If they drag me away somewhere, I can't fight. I don't even get to see my family that much because all of them are suddenly being forced into different tasks away from me.
Looking at the clock, I realize it's time for my father to return and when there's a knock on the door, without thinking, pull it open, wanting to bury myself in him and tell him what happened.
However, it's Hunter at the door.
Before I can close the door on him, he pushes his way inside, slamming the door shut behind him.
His voice is cold, “It’s about time we talked.”