Born To Suffer

Severed Blood Ties

I stood there for I don't know how long, just holding the phone to my ear. Finally, I hung up and headed for the table the boys have saved. Roy had gotten us two muffins each and two stacks of pancakes that were drowning in syrup. Just the way I like them. He gave me a coffee cup with my food. I ate my food silently while the others talked about stuff I didn't understand at the moment. I was so deep in thought that I hadn't head Grey ask how the call went.

"Kimber, are you alright," Roy asked me, snapping me out of the void that was swallowing me whole.

"Mmm, what was that," I asked.

"How'd the call go," Grey asked. All six eyes now looking at me expectantly. I told them what happened in between bites of pancake. The nervous tension was growing with every word I added.

"And that's what happened and I can't find any loophole in that order that can allow us to go help, Roscoe." I finished.

"Ya I can't either," says Roy.

"The real question now is exactly how Timberwood cottage got invaded and how the Trackers found it in the first place," said Caleb.

"Ya, isn't the cottage only accessible by werewolves? That would mean a werewolf had let the trackers in and the only wolves that know were the location are our Pack brothers." Grey reasoned. That got me thinking, who in the Pack would betray their Alpha and Pack mates. I could think of none, I had grown up with most of them and none of them seemed like the type. We didn't have an Omega so I couldn't see any other logical choices as to how one of us decided they wanted to betray there Pack and Alpha.

"I don't know how they did it but we now don't even have the safe haven of Timberwood now to stay away from the Trackers. I wonder if there actually going to succeed now in capturing all werewolves now, it's becoming impossible" I said. We sat there in silence, deep in thought, finishing our now cold meal. I then breached the subject of what we should do now.

"I was thinking since we can't go to Timberwood we should probably go to my Dads. Just so we have someplace to stay and work on a plan to get the others out of BlueWell." I said slowly, letting that sink in before continuing. "My Dads so far under the radar the Trackers probably won't even think he's a werewolf if he was face to face with them. He's pretty much more human than any werewolf I know, he probably is the only werewolf that can hide that fact without anyone becoming suspicious. So that also makes him the logical choice to go to now."

"It's a better plan than any of us can come up with so I guess that's what we're doing," Roy said, getting up and putting the trash on the table into the closest garbage can. We headed out of the building and back into the forest. Spreading out to change for the long Journey to Chicago. I undressed and put my bundled clothes and boots into the plastic bag Caleb had grabbed for us so we could carry them easier. Getting down on all fours I started to feel the fire coursing through my veins before I even finished getting down. The fire started to gain more heat encasing my body with it. My back started to arc, not even stopping when my spine snapped. Fur was starting to appear on my already retracting arms and legs. My face was starting to lengthen into a mussel and my ears moving to the top of my head. The raging fire now swallowing me whole. When it was over I collapsed onto my belly and laid my head on my paws, resting I listened for the others to see if they were done yet. They seemed to be at the middle stage of there transformations so I waited in my bush and closed my eyes to listen to the sounds of the forest. The wind in the trees and the animals soft thumping of their steps on the earthen ground. Smelling the musky earth beneath me. Drinking in the smell of the prey lurking about and the rain filled dirt. It is the best kind of smell you could possibly come by if you took the time to enjoy it. It's even better than the smell of grandma's cookies in the oven to a werewolf, and that's saying a lot. I heard the boys walking towards my bush so I reluctantly got up and grabbed the bags handles in-between my teeth and met up with them.

Once we were all there I turned to the east, where my instincts were pulling me towards. Since Reed was my father and we shared the same blood, we kind of had a connection where we could always find each other if we followed this invisible pull on our mind. I followed the mental pull, gaining speed until I was racing. The wind through my fur and the adrenaline spreading through my veins. It was exhilarating and I loved it. Werewolves lived for this sort of thing. I could sense the others behind me and that made it all the better. Running through the bushes and dodging trees, I ended up coming to a road. I know this was stupid of me but I raced right through it without looking if there were cars, all the way to the other side. The others paused to look both ways, then returned to racing after me. That slowed them down and they had a hard time catching up. We ran all the way till we got to the "Welcome to Chicago" sign and since I was so caught up in the run, I nearly missed it. Thankfully, Roy barked to bring me back to the present.

I found a bush and started my change. When I finished I took out my clothes and got dressed. The others were waiting for me by the sign. As I walked over to join them, an intense heat formed in my throat, I kept walking until suddenly it was starting to get hard to breathe. I collapsed to my knees, wheezing, desperately trying to get air into my lungs. Spots danced across my vision, the others were now at my side and my head cradled in Roys' arms. I couldn't hear what he was saying over the ringing in my ears. Indescribable pain started to hit my body like bullets. I tried to scream but I couldn't, do to the rope of fire that was strangling me. The light around Roy's figure dimmed until I was engulfed in darkness. The sheer panic now intensifying tenth fold mixed with the torturing pain that had taken over my senses. A voice suddenly filled the black void I was trapped in, a numbness now overtaking the pain.

"Kimber" ...dad? Dad!

"Kimber my darling. I'm sorry, I have failed you." what do you mean? You haven't failed me.

"I wasn't strong enough to keep you safe from the Trackers and now I'm never going to see your face again or hear your laugh" strong? You were the strongest person I knew. It wasn't your fault I was caught, but now I'm free of the Trackers. I'm coming to see you dad!

"I'll never get to hear your laugh or see your face again. I'm sorry I have failed you." what, no. You haven't failed me I'm right here, DAD IM RIGHT HERE! Talk to me you're not alone, I'm here. I'm right here I sobbed.

"I'm sorry my darling. I'm sorry."

"I'm right here! Don't go, DON'T GO!" I screamed as consciousness grabbed hold.

"Kimber?" I looked to see Roy looking at me with the others behind him with concerned faces.

"dad." I whimpered mostly to myself, tears streaming down my face.

I uneasily got up and started to run in the direction of my father's house. I was dimly aware of the others yelling after me, but I didn't slow down even a little bit. Panic fueling me past my physical limits. I raced through the sidewalks of Chicago and went through all of the shortcuts I could remember from my childhood. When the house came into view I slowed only when I got to the door. I turned the knob to find that it had been broken with a great force. Seeing this, I was filled with dread. I rushed in and sniffed around to find a dozen or so unfamiliar scents. The walls were splattered with blood, most of it was the intruders but there were a few areas that had Reeds. I ran up the stairs, following the scent of my father's blood to the strongest point, the bedroom. Opening the door to the room I was greeted by the sight of my father's dead eyes staring straight at me.

Reed was hanging from the ceiling by a noose. Hands tied behind his back, bullet holes riddled throughout his body. A pool of blood beneath him, the stench so strong that it overwhelmed my brain. My father was dead. Not even the strongest werewolf could have survived this.

In shock, I pulled him down from the ceiling and united the noose that was wrapped around my father's throat. I gingerly pulled his hair from his face, blood-soaked my hand. His body was riddled with so many holes that he was berry holding together in my hands. The Trackers were sure thorough in the killing of my father. Werewolves can be extremely hard to kill because they can heal from pretty much any wound, but my father was not coming back. He was completely and utterly dead. I wailed in agony. A horrid sound so full of sorrow filled my ears. I didn't even know that I was capable of making such a broken sound. I couldn't feel anything, I was a black void so empty and lost that I wasn't even sure if I could fill it with a purpose anymore. My only family dead. My father dead. My purpose in life dead. I may as well be dead, then at least I would be reunited with everything that was taken from me.

I laid my head on my father's broken chest at fell asleep, drowning in the nearly lost memories of us.