SWNOVELS Chapter 2 –
Cara's POV
I felt weak as we ran towards the train station. I could feel blood trickling down my leg. I knew that was what was draining me so badly. This is the third, and hopefully last, change of transportation for the next several hours. We had just gotten off a bus that we had been on for the last few hours. I know that I am holding my sisters back, but they both refuse to leave me behind. I will never forgive myself if I am the reason that we are caught. I picked up the pace and ran as fast as possible towards the terminal. I have to push through the pain. If we are caught, our futures would be unimaginable; it would not be a life we would want to live.
My sister, Brenna, said that we would fight to the death if they found us. That will again make me the weakest link. Brenna ran ahead into the terminal to buy our tickets. Luna and I entered the building a few minutes later. Brenna waited until we could see the terminal in the distance before running ahead to grab the tickets. The train was leaving in less than ten minutes, and we had no time to spare.Luna had an arm around me, and I hoped that the black jeans that I was wearing would keep anyone from noticing that I was bleeding. I need to get to where I can sit down, and I will stop the bleeding. I wish I had time to go into the nice bathroom in the main terminal, but Brenna is motioning for us to come follow her as soon as we enter. She is right; we have no time to lose here. I knew they would be on our trail with the best trackers. The Alpha, Paxton James, would never allow me to leave.
He has an unnatural attraction for me, and he is not going to let me go. I was never his, to begin with, but he has come on way stronger since our parents were killed a month ago. His Luna, Lisa Phillips, is also a huge problem for me. She has hated me for the last 5 years. It was probably longer than that, but she hid it. Just like everyone else in the pack did. I didn't belong there, but my father was one of the strongest fighters there. He meant business, and the former Alpha, Hugo, didn't want to fight him over it. Dad had Alpha genes in his background. Alpha Hugo wouldn't take the chance of my father challenging him and taking over the pack.
Dad never wanted to run the pack, all he wanted was to protect the pack, and his family. That was it. He didn't want to do the paperwork or have to endure long meetings. He liked to train people, and he loved us. He was always happiest at home with his family. Dad had fallen in love with my mother. He had met her in the woods during a run and couldn't keep himself from coming back, over and over again. My mother, Saoirse (pronounced Sur-sha), never wanted to fall in love. She was content living in the woods, alone. She had a peaceful life but eventually fell in love with my father.
The problem with that? Witches don't always have mates, like wolves do. They don't look into each other's eyes and fall in love in the blink of an eye. They were not always bonded like that. When I was two, my father left the pack for a special training three hours away. "If you're not on Jobb. right now, this content has been scraped! For fresh updates, exclusive insights, and the real story, come visit us directly at Jobb.o. We appreciate your loyaltyWhen he returned, he had Ellen with him. He had already marked her, which was a slap in my mother's face. He probably figured that he might get weaker when confronted with how my mother would take the news, so he did it before he left the other pack. He wanted to show respect to both Ellen and her father.
Ellen was the daughter of the Alpha who was putting on the training. She was the third of four children. It was easy for her to leave with her mate. She had no real ranking there, anyway. My mother had wanted to take me with her. She told Dad that she could tell I was a witch and already had powers inside me. She warned him that she couldn't sense a wolf in me.
My father thought she was lying and told her if she tried to take me, she and I would be hunted down. He reminded him that one or both of us could be killed if that ended up happening. I would be far safer with him than I could be with her. Plus, how could she teach me about being a wolf? He refused to listen to what she had to say and kicked her out. My mother cried as she packed the few belongings she had. She left and never returned. I had learned everything I knew about my mother from the Omega that cooked for our family. She became my nanny, as my father and stepmother didn't waste any time having my sisters.
Ellen was never cruel to me. She just favored her daughters over me. She was less likely to comfort me. She was always a little cold to me. I was a constant reminder that my father had fallen in love with another woman. A reminder that he didn't need the mate bond to want to be with my mother. His love for my mother was a slap in the face to Ellen. It still hurt even though I knew why she was standoffish to me. I was not to blame for what happened before I was even born. I hadn't caused any of this, but I felt the brunt of the blame for it. Dad and Ellen never said it out loud, but I felt their frustration towards me. Especially after I didn't phase at eighteen.
After that, Dad washed his hands of me. I was still allowed to live at home, but things changed between us that day. He didn't hide the fact that he regretted that he didn't allow my mother to take me away with her. He knew now that she hadn't lied to him, but it was sixteen years too late to make a different choice. My mother was long gone and had never come back. She had never called to check up on me or tried to spend time with me. She left me behind to suffer at the hands of these wolves. My younger sisters are the only saving grace for the last five years.
They never treated me as less than them in any way. In their eyes, we are the same, equal. I love them the same way. They knew I was a hybrid, but Brenna has protected me since I turned sixteen. She was only fourteen then, but she was a strong she-wolf. She didn't hesitate to confront Lisa and her friends while we were in school. Our pack has almost 900 members, so our school is large. The elementary and intermediate school is on one side of the main area. The middle and high school is on the other. My graduating class consisted of only forty people, so blending in was hard for me. The assembly hall was built separately, right behind the school building.
Brenna seemed to have a sixth sense regarding Luna and me. She knew when we needed her and always showed up for us. Even when they started figuring it out and tried to stop her. She surprised them all. She is a ruthless fighter, just like Dad. He was always impressed with how skillful she was as a fighter. She listened well, and as far as I am concerned, she is absolutely fearless. She doesn't mind taking a hit, but she will make sure that you remember the fight. Several people in the pack were surprised that she phased and got her wolf so early. All because of her Alpha genes.
I have been told that I am a carbon copy of my mother. I have wavy blonde hair and cornflower blue eyes. I am also fairly curvy. That was the main reason that Lisa hated me so much. The boys were attracted to me, but none of them would take me as their own. None of them was willing to mark me. I was a disgusting hybrid that never should have existed, at least that is what I have heard. Hateful whispers that were always said behind my back. Their words were disrespectful and ugly. It always happened unless I was with my family. That was the only time I didn't have to suffer over what the others would say about me.
Brenna is standing and waiting for us at the railway car we will ride on. She was speaking to the man standing there with the step stool to make it easier for us to step up onto the train. They were both looking in our direction. I could tell that Brenna was doing her best not to call over and demand that we move faster. We had stopped running after we entered the building. We didn't want to attract any more attention than we were already getting. We were all very attractive, but we didn't look alike at all.
Brenna was 5'10" tall with a long, lithe figure. She looked like an athlete standing there. Her golden blonde hair was darker than my platinum blonde hair. Her was board straight, while mine had waves in it, despite me never curling it the first time. Her hair was more sun-kissed, while mine was just too much. It was like a beacon on top of my head, attracting attention wherever I went. Brenna was beautiful. She looked a lot like her mother. Her hazel eyes were stunning, with several gold flecks inside the brown orb. They were almost hypnotizing. Her hair was up in a high ponytail. It was a sign that she meant business. She would wind it up quickly in case of a fight. She had relief all over her face as she had the man check our tickets before he and Brenna helped me up the two steps of the stool.
Luna was right behind me, wrapping her arm around my waist as we headed to our seats. I was glad they were bench seats so we could lie down and get some rest. I will do that as soon as I get my injury tended to. I don't heal as quickly as my sisters do. Luna looked worried about me as she helped me onto the bench. She is the same height as me, at 5'9", but she is different than Brenna and me.
Luna is sweet and kind, the nicest one of all of us. She had our father's brown hair and gray eyes. She is a pretty good fighter but doesn't like to fight unless she has to. She doesn't like hurting others. I suspect that if it came down to it, she might even be able to give Brenna a run for her money. She is a fierce competitor. The concern shining in her gray eyes almost makes me break down and cry. I think we are safe, but I don't know that for a fact.We need to take turns sleeping so no one can sneak up on us. There is no way we would go back to our old pack. They are going to hunt us down, and we have to be careful until we know we are safe. I am exhausted. I lay my head down on the bench seat to get some much-needed sleep. I hadn't slept well in almost forty hours. I couldn't put it off any longer and quickly passed out.