Wildfire

Chapter 3

Kalen

"Don't you fucking growl at me," I snarl at Sage. His gaze wavers but he still holds my gaze. The outward display of blatant disrespect makes my blood boil. "Know your place!" 

"I know my place, mutt. Do you know yours?"

How dare he...

I shove Sage hard, slamming him against the wall. The noise causes the attention to turn to us. My dad's eyes widen as he sees me pinning Sage to the wall. 

"Kalen stop!" Dad pleads with me. Fa begins to walk towards us to try to pull us away from each other. 

"Stand back," I roar, using my Alpha voice. "I said stand back!"

I turn to Sage, his hands fumbling about in attempts to push me away from him. 

"I've about had enough of your behavior towards me. All you ever do is pick fights with me. Fights that you will never be able to win. I've tried to live in peace with you but apparently, you want a divided house. What the hell did I ever do to you?"

"Kalen let me go! Now!" Sage pleads. I step away from Sage. He tries to move around me to get to the living room but I block his path. 

"No. We are settling this shit now. All my life I've had to sit and watch you act so nice to everyone around you. Everyone but me! I was a child when I started noticing the dirty looks you gave me. Do you know how that made me feel?! It made me feel like I was doing something so awful to make you hate me! And I could never figure out what I possibly could have done to make you sick at the mere sight of me! Goddess, it just makes me want to fucking hurt you! Make you feel the fucking pain I went through all those years!"

"Goddess, this is why I fucking hate you," Sage screams, shoving me backward. I growl in warning, baring my teeth. "You are exactly like him! The anger, the threats, every fucking thing about you! If I had the option, I would have fucking aborted you before you even had the chance to be brought into this world!"

"What?" My anger deflates at his words. Sage's eyes widen and his face pales instantly.

"Dad, what is he talking about," Hunter asks Dad, who is also pale. 

"Hunter, Kalen," Dad says, his voice shaking. "There's something we need to tell you..."

~~~

We all take seats on the large couches in the living room, Sage and Dad in the center. Sage's mates did not look happy with him. 

"When we were seventeen," Sage starts. "We were kidnapped by Caden's older brother after his father attacked our pack. Rayne got pregnant shortly before we were taken. Which was bad because he sustained an injury to his abdomen which made pregnancy fatal. Afton-Caden's brother- was going to assault Rayne. I stopped him before he could rape Rayne. I got pregnant soon after. It is extremely rare for an Alpha to fall pregnant but it isn't impossible. I gave birth to Hunter and Kalen a day before we escaped. Rayne gave birth to Shiloh the day we escaped. 

"Dion- a man who helped us while we were there- carried Rayne home while I took the pups. The pups all carried Rayne's scent since I refused to hold my own pups. I didn't want to keep them. I knew they would have a better home with Rayne and Caden then with me. I didn't think I could love them to the fullest of my ability, knowing where they came from. Who fathered them. Kalen only reminded me more of the man who hurt me. His looks and attitude matched Afton's to a T. I just couldn't stand to be around him more than I had to. And when his anger began to shine through, it made every bad memory come back."

"But I'm nothing like Afton," I interrupt. "You're making me out to be a monster like Afton but I'm not! You've pushed me away from you my whole life, not giving me an actual chance to prove you wrong! You made me this way! You made me like this! Instead of giving me a chance, you wanted to believe that I was exactly like the one man you hate the most! How is that fair to me? How is it fair that you hid this from us for our entire lives and never once thought to tell us? To tell your mates? Your family. Flynn and Izak have two other brothers that have been there for them their entire lives yet they never knew!"

"Kalen," Dad whimpers, his eyes welling up with unshed tears. "I'm so sorry that I kept this from you. We should have told you the truth from the beginning. It's just that Sage didn't want anyone to know that you and Hunter were his pups. And he gave me the one thing that I wanted. A big family with many pups to love. I am so sorry that I took away your right to know. I'm so sorry!"

"Dad I am far from angry at you. I'm mad at Sage for treating me like shit for the entirety of my life! Especially angry now that I know he is my father...All I've ever wanted from you was for you to love me! I fucking craved your attention and love more than anything! And in return, you hated me with every inch of your being! I don't understand why you pushed me away. Because you outwardly displayed your hatred for me it made me want to be angry. It made me want to make you upset and wish you had never met me!"

"Kalen," Sage reaches out to try to grab my arm. I yank my arm from his grip and turn to my parents. "I'm going for a run. Don't fucking follow me, I want to be alone." 

I storm out of the living room, fuming. I can't believe that Sage is my fucking father... That makes the fact that he treats me like shit sting even more. My heart hurts and my eyes burn. But still, I tie my clothes to my ankle and shift into my wolf. 

I smell Shiloh and Harper's approaching forms and hear them shift into their wolves behind me. I ignore them, charging into the woods, dodging tree roots and low hanging branches. The foliage blurs as I increase my speed. 

As I approach the pack borders, I catch onto a scent. One that I had never smelt before. I slow to a stop at the snare traps set up for rogues daring enough to pass the borders. I hear Shiloh and Harper come to a stop beside me, gaping, staring at the snare traps. 

"Oh, Goddess..."