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Chapter Four
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Six years later...
"Hey look, it's the evil twin!" Ivy heard some boys chuckle to themselves. They nudged Theo and pointed at her, waiting for him to say something witty. Ivy didn't let the anger or hurt show when she heard them, but it really did bother her that they thought she was evil. Just because she was weird and liked to spend time alone didn't make her evil. She just thought the animals and plants were better company that immature boys and love struck girls.
"She's not evil...yet," Theo drawled, giving a good imitation of a lazy sixteen-year-old boy. "She's just a stupid girl." The guys had laughed at that, giving him good-natured slaps, trying to suck up to the next Alpha.
Fighting back tears of frustration, Ivy held her head high and walked by them without a word. She had almost made it out of earshot when one of the guys called out to her. "Hey Hivey!" he sneered, making fun of the fact that she turned red when she was embarrassed or angry. "When you grow into a woman, let me know!" She refused to look at him, she knew it was Dylan, one of the neighboring pride boys.
The other guys laughed, adding to the insults. "Yah, when you get breasts, call me. I'll want to make sure they're actually there." He yelped and gave a quick apology to Theo.
"She's still my sister you idiot," Theo growled. "Get out of here before I hurt you."
"Yes, sir," he whimpered, leaving the circle of guys, glaring at Ivy on the way. She gave Theo an emotionless and turned to walk away. She headed into the forest to get some blessed peace and quiet, something she could hardly find anymore.
Her mother thought it would be a good idea to have her socialize with girls her age, which meant doing girly things like painting her nails, playing with her hair, and talking about boys; all things that she didn't want to do. Ever. Even her best friend, Alexia, had become boy crazy. Ivy had no idea who the guy was, but Alexia was 'in love'. Ivy snorted, more like obsessed. She pitied the guy, whoever it was.
Ivy kept wandering through the forest, angry with her brother and his stupid friends. She hated that she felt like she didn't belong. She knew her parents loved her, but she still had this strange feeling of alienation. Daddy always told her she was special and that he would love her no matter what. Ivy wasn't so sure though. If she was evil, like all the stupid boys said, Daddy would never love her.
"Ugh, I hate this!" she screamed, raking her claws across a tree trunk. She felt a sting of remorse when she saw the green flesh of the tree beneath the bark. "I'm sorry," she whispered to the tree, running her hand along the gash. It started to weave itself back together and closed up, looking good as new when she finished.
A dark light, as odd as that sounded, caught her eye just beyond the tree. It was a deep blue color, pulsating softly, urging her to walk towards it. Looking around cautiously, Ivy crept forward, curious as to where the light was coming from. It was oddly beautiful, in a twisted, dark way. When she was close enough to touch it, she stopped and looked at it from all sides. It was simply an orb of light bobbing up and down in the middle of the forest. She ran her hands all around it, careful to not touch it just yet and stepped back with a frown. She had no idea what to do with it. The light didn't seem to be dangerous; in fact, the orb oddly comforted her.
"Touch it," a husky voice whispered through the silence.
Ivy spun on her heel, looking for the source of the voice. "Hello? Anyone there?" she said timidly. It didn't sound like there was anyone around for miles, nor could she smell anyone.
