Everything Anew

Chapter Forty-Five

Chapter Forty-Five

Nathan

I felt like I was in the middle of a storm. Everything around me was too loud, I couldn't get up, and I realized then I was injured. The aching of my bones, the scent of my blood all began to overwhelm me, but I couldn't focus on that right now. Not when Griffin stood before me.

It felt like I was living the same nightmare I had years ago, when my father had to rescue me from the Rebel's, when he found me with blood on my hands, a face full of tears, and my throat so raw from screaming that I couldn't tell him to kill me. I wanted more than anything in that moment to die, to stop myself from hurting someone else I loved.

This time though, the person I loved wasn't dead. No, I could still sense her, but she was far away now, and they finally stopped moving. I should have been relieved, but if they decided to stop, it meant they had other plans for her.

"Dad." I coughed out, tasting blood on my tongue. "Find her. Lila, they're going to..." I trailed off when he walked over to me instead. "No, go to her!" I snapped, but my voice was weak, exhausted.

Instead I saw Kaili glance in my direction and turn towards the forest. An ounce of relief flitted through me, but I was still on edge, as if my wolf wasn't sure whose side I was on. I didn't trust my father, I didn't want him near me, I growled when he was only a few feet away and I swear I could see the sadness in his grey eyes.

"Murderer." I spat, ignoring the hypocrisy behind my words. "I don't want you here."

Griffin ignored me and stepped closer, knowing all too well I was too weak to fight him. The other wolves nearby were hesitating, but I knew they'd strike again any minute. My father circled around me then, growling at the wolves, showing his size as alpha and teeth that gleamed in the light.

He was protecting me. The idiot was protecting me! I wanted to snap at him. I didn't need him to face my battles for me; I didn't want him trying to save me in an attempt to make up for killing my mother. No matter what he does, I'll never forgive him for it, and when I see a few familiar faces in the Rebel pack facing me, I feel anger at the idea of Griffin killing them too.

My thoughts stopped then, reminding me they were attacking Lila and I only minutes before. I furrowed my brow, confused for a moment, lost as to where I was and why the hell I was defending them, but I couldn't wrap my head around it fast enough because seconds later, the rogues finally moved.

Two ran towards Griffin, but the alpha was twice their age and twice as large. He had no trouble killing one, and knocking the other out, but he still received a few bites in the process. Another three moved forward, but snarls and barks behind me caused everyone to turn around.

There were more wolves, mostly white with black bands on their foreleg, but behind them stood wolves I didn't know. They were smaller than the Frosted Fangs, but their size made up for it in numbers. Swirls of tribal markings coated their fur, a mixture of browns and blacks that made it difficult to track them behind the trees.

I spotted at least a dozen, and the howls in the distance told me that there were more. It seemed my father managed to find others to help him, and I couldn't pretend I was surprised. It was easy to like him, at least it was when you didn't know the secrets he was hiding.

With my father's pack and their new ally, the Rebels were now outnumbered where we stood. Instead of backing away, they continued to growl and act brave, as if the idea of fighting a dozen wolves when they only had half of that, didn't scare them, but I could feel it. They weren't my pack, but I was becoming a part of it, and I could sense it deep within me that they were on edge, afraid to take the first step forward.