Lazarus

Chapter 19

I quietly sat out on the back porch, feeling slightly guilty for how I reacted earlier. I could tell something shifted in his mood when he barely even looked at me. Sighing, I rested my head on my hand, watching the warriors get ready for training. I was stunned to see it was a mix of females and males, I remember my father making it clear in our pack that they couldn't mix genders in training.

"Sorry I'm late guys, had to get checked."

I looked over to see Lazarus walking towards them, his upper half still shirtless. I felt my mouth go dry when I saw him begin to stretch, his muscles seemingly more defined now. I didn't turn away when he suddenly looked up, our stares connecting. I raised an eyebrow at him, quietly asking him if he's challenging me right now. He narrowed his eyes for a second before looking away. I smirked, I win.

"Jeeze, what did you fight with?" A girl asked, looking at his chest in shock, dragging our focus to her.

Lazarus shrugged, "Someone decided to step over the border."

"That damn pack again?"

"Yes."

I tensed up when I felt some glance at me, knowing it was my old pack. However, I eventually relaxed, my own hate growing for my home pack. I ignored them as I looked out at the forest's edge, debating on going for a walk along with one of the paths. I'm itching to do something other than sitting in my room, sitting on the porch, or wandering the halls until I grow tired of it. I noticed the glint of silver within the trees, attracting my attention. The warriors had stopped staring at me by now, focusing on Lazarus as he began training them. I narrowed my eyes at it, trying to figure out what it is.

No. No, no, no.

I didn't hesitate to move, sprinting towards them as the silver arrow was released. I know I'm going to regret this decision, but at the moment I could care less. I allowed my wolf's ability to take over as I shifted, ignoring the sharp pain that raced through my collarbone.

Gods, the doctor is going to kill me. And possibly Lazarus.

I jumped up, catching the silver arrow in my mouth before spitting it out. I let out a loud snarl before lunging forward, chasing them through the woods. I could hear someone shouting behind me, but I ignored them. I know this pack doesn't trust me and I know this is my home pack that I'm turning against, but I just don't care anymore. This new pack is now my priority, none of them deserve to be injured because of my parents.

I bared my teeth as I gained on her, I knew exactly who it was by the size of their wolf. Go figure they sent an omega to do their dirty work; instead of this immature crap, they should just outright challenge me. I quickly snatched her by her back leg, yanking her backward from the border. She let out a yelp as I slammed her body into a nearby tree, making sure it hurt.

"Persephone!"

I froze, turning to see my mother glaring at me from their territory. My fur bristled as she jumped down from the rocks, her eyes turning to a sable color. She shook her head at me, her canines lengthening as she continued glaring at me.

"You're pathetic," she spat. "It's a shame, if you had died instead of your twin our pack wouldn't be in this predicament right now."

I froze, my twin?

"Ah yes, you had a twin...you were the runt. The unwanted one and for good reason, you're a traitor." She looked me up and down with a sneer on her face, "I should have killed you when I had the chance. But your father sensed your wolf's strength, he told me to keep you alive. I knew I shouldn't listen to that man."

I stared at her in shock, she never wanted me. She never loved me. I was a mistake, a burden she had wanted to rid herself of but couldn't. She let out a sadistic laugh before grabbing something off of her pants, my eyes instantly going to the item.

A silver whip.

She raised her arm, the whip appearing as a thin silver snake in the air. I didn't move as she brought it down, but it never struck me. Instead, a large, black, and grey wolf stood before me.

"Awe, how sweet, you came to protect her," my mother laughed.

I blinked as the wolf nudged me, his eyes a beautiful blue color. He seemed to check me over, making sure I wasn't hurt at all before touching his nose to my shoulder, giving a slight growl of disapproval.

Lazarus.

"Get out of my way you mutt."

He bared his teeth at her, his fur bristling as he took a step forward, challenging her. My mother narrowed her eyes, "I guess I'll just have to get rid of her later."

She jumped up, shifting into her wolf, ready to fight with Lazarus. However, I knew her style of fighting, I know she'll sneak a weapon into it somehow. I fought free of my shock and shoved Lazarus aside, allowing my mother to land on me. Her teeth immediately sinking into my throat as I toppled to my side. With the speed of light, I had her off of me and my own teeth in her throat, threatening to pierce her juggler. She growled loudly, wiggling to break free from my grasp. Yet, I wouldn't budge, my teeth dangerously close to having her bleed out. Before I could pin her though, someone else was latching onto my thigh, ripping into my flesh. I ignored the searing pain as best I could, focusing on readjusting my grip on my mother's throat.

"She doesn't deserve to be called that," my wolf sounded.

She's right. She isn't my mother, she's my enemy.

The other wolf was suddenly yanked off of me and thrown to the side, allowing me to focus on the wolf in my mouth. She snarled even louder, snapping at my face in an attempt to loosen my grip. I could kill her right now, end her reign but something was holding me back. I know she doesn't love me, she never loved me and it's all beginning to make sense now. Yet, I couldn't bring myself to stop the abuse of someone I considered my mom. Someone I loved, I trusted, and looked up to. Even though her betrayal is one of the worst things to happen to me, I was unable to end it. As if seeing my struggle, Lazarus nudged me, giving me a look of concern. I tightened my grip just a bit, enough to have her immediately silencing as I got closer to ending her. I then threw her as if she were a ragdoll, her body slamming into the large rocks on their territory. Looking the other direction, I noticed he had killed the omega, leaving her limp form lying just beyond the border.

I looked at him for a moment before running; I didn't know where I was heading, all I knew is that I needed to go.