1. Claude Phoebe(ManxMan)

•Chapter 4✓

"What?"

"There was no other way."

"Yes there is!" I yelled, my hands curled into fists. "Nobody needed to die, uncle Theo, why would you let this happen!"

"Claude-"

"No!" My eyes burned from anger and pain as I felt the registering of pack death settle in my chest. "You saw it coming! You saw it all and you didn't say a thing!"

"It was inevitable."

"You're a caster! What is the point of magic if you can't save lives!" I yelled in his face full of fury and hurt and he inhaled sharply while I growled in anger my body shaking. "I will never forgive you for this."

"There is nothing to forgive." I paused, my body feeling heavy as he spoke, he wrapped his arms around himself then and faced away from me. "Magic doesn't exist to save so much as it exists to maintain balance." He stared at me then. "The sooner you learn that, the better."

I shook my wolf head then as I ran and ran. The memory from my 13th year echoing, so similar to today, so full of anger and pain for the unnecessary death of my pack members, my family.

I tired myself out, collapsing in a random space and closing my eyes, my body shifted slowly until my human form was the one collapsed on grass and I calmed my rapidly beating heart. I rolled then, naked, and stared at the blue sky, it was probably midday.

With eyes closed I listened to the sounds around me, begging them to rid me of the pain in my chest, the hollow feel of the inevitable, I scoffed then as his words ran through my head.

"Hey." I felt something fall onto my groin, I raised my head to see a pair of clean shorts and then Ace standing over me shirtless. "You okay?" He sat beside me and I sighed closing my eyes again and rolling so he stared at my back.

"Go away."

"I don't think I can."

"Pretty easy, just stand and walk in any direction." He chuckled and I felt a poke in my back.

"Thanks, but I'll pass."

I remained silent then, pursing my lips. We stayed in silence for a while before I opened my eyes then.

"They don't have to die."

"But they will." I rolled and sat up facing him, leaning back on my hands.

"But we can stop it."

"How many?" I blinked at him confused. "How many would you save? How many honourable deaths would you put on pause?"

"What?"

"Claude," he sighed softly. "People live and they die, some get to chose and some don't. Our warriors know what they are walking into, they are ready to die brave and true if they need to."

"But they don't. It's basically a massacre."

"No, they are fighting for you, for that small pack, for the future of its generation and even ours."

"How can you believe that? How can you not see how unnecessary it is?"

"Why is it unnecessary? Because we have a caster on our side? Because he could wave his hand and poof, everything is summer shine and rainbows?" He snorted and rolled his eyes while I glared. "How many times does he need to do that before it's enough? Before the bad completely stops? Before we learn to protect ourselves?" He pursued his lips, his face open, honest and warm. His eyes reached out for me. "Balance was never meant to be fair."