CHAPTER NINE

All I want is to be able to see what's going on outside. But I don't think it'll be that easy. The guards don't look like they’re willing to let me out of here. But I can at least try.

“Excuse me,” I say, as politely as possible. “I'd like to leave my room. I have something I'd like to tell Gavin.”

“I'm truly sorry,” a bulky, blonde guard says, fixing his blue eyes upon me with a stern gaze. “We’re supposed to keep you here. Especially right now.

“I hope you understand that you're not a prisoner. You haven't done anything wrong. But we're just trying to keep you safe. It's essential that we keep you safe.”

I'm so tired of everyone not telling me things. I'm so tired of people trying to keep me safe. I don't understand why. It's so frustrating. I don’t want any part of this.

“Can you at least tell me what this is about?” I ask. “I know something's going on outside. I deserve to know what it is.”

The two men look at each other with the uneasy gaze. At least uneasy means that maybe they will let me out. Or maybe they'll least tell me what's going on. It's not the certainty that means that I won't ever get to know. It's the kind of look that means they're at least considering it.

“The thing is, we don't exactly know what’s going on,” the younger looking man says. His brown hair and green eyes remind me of the forest. “I'm not sure why it would have to be kept from you, so maybe once we know it's happening we can tell you. But we don't...”

Just then, a woman comes running up to us, interrupting the guard. She looks frazzled, her blonde hair flying everywhere. Hey brown eyes are wide, alert with concern.

“Anna,” the young man says, “what's wrong?”

“Another alpha has attacked,” Anna explains. “He has brought a whole team with him. We're trying to hold them off at the borders of the town. But it's not easy. There are so many of them and they're very skilled. We need everyone out there that we can get.”

“What about the girl though?” the oldest guard asks, while glancing at me.

I hope this will be my chance to leave this room. I'm sure that the alpha attacking us is the alpha of my old pack, and it fills me with guilt. I don't want anyone else to die because of me.

I hope that if I can just get out there, I can fight them myself. I know I can’t take on all of them by myself. But since I'm the one who created the mess, I should be able to help fix it. It's not fair if I don't.

“I'll stay with the girl,” Anna says. “You guys need to go. You’re stronger than us. They need you. So, go!”

Anna and I watch as the men run to go fight the battle. I feel hopeless and helpless. I was really hoping I could have a chance to leave and help. But I'm stuck behind again.

Once the men leave, Anna turns to me.

“If you are willing to fight, I'm not going to stop you,” Anna says. “My pack members are going to die out there. We need all the help we can get.”

“Of course, I'm willing to help,” I say. “Let's go to where the fighting is. I'll do my best, right up until my last breath.”

*

Once we're outside again, I realize the fighting is even worse than I could have imagined. Wolves from my old pack are attacking those from the new pack, ripping through each other without mercy. This is a fight to the death.

And for a moment, I'm not sure which side I should be on. It seems like I belong here. It has seemed like that since I first got here. So, this is the side I want to fight for.

Yet it's difficult because my old pack are the people I know, the people I've always known. They are the people I love. I don't want to fight them. I certainly don't want to kill them.

Then, a wolf comes after me. And I have to decide whose side I'm on. Do I fight my old pack? Do I fight this new pack? Do I sit it out?

I get into a tumble with a wolf from my own pack. I guess my decision is made. This new pack seems right. This new pack seems like the place I belong. And I can't deny that. I can't even try to fight that.

This wolf and I last out at each other, scraping down each other’s skin with claws, going after each other with our sharp teeth.

“Leave her be!” my old alpha bellows. “Don't let her kill you but leave her be. We need her back in one piece.”

The wolf I'm fighting looks at me like he doesn't want to listen to the alpha. He wants to keep fighting. He doesn't want to give up. He’s too angry not to kill me.

Still, after that hesitation, he backs off. He runs to go attack someone else.

It's the strangest thing I've ever encountered. None of the wolves here seem to want to fight me. They're more than content in fighting each other. But they don't want to fight me. And I don't understand why.

That's why I notice something that makes me grateful that they're not fighting me. It's my dad. Or at least the person I consider to be my dad. He runs to me.

“Are you okay sweetheart?” he asks me.

“I'm alright,” I tell him. “But I'm still confused. I have so many questions for you.”

“And I'll answer all those questions for you,” he assures me. “First, I need you to come with me though. Once we find a safe place to talk, we can have a long discussion about all of your questions. I’ll answer everything and tell you all about what’s going on.”

I'm tempted to go with him. He is my father after all. And I want to be safe.

But I can't quite forget what Gavin said. He said these weren't even my parents. What if my dad is trying to trick me?

I look my father in the eyes. He's never lied to me before. I hope he won't lie to me now.

“Are you my father?” I asked. “Are you my biological father.”

I wait on the answer that has the potential to change my whole world forever.