Chapter 2: Whispered Conversations

Skylar’s POV

“Get up, now.” My father said, his voice dripping with anger. I stood up quietly, knowing better than to make a sound or look him in the eye.

“Take laps round the race tracks until I tell you to stop or do otherwise. We will talk about a more befitting punishment for you, later.

Get out of my sight.” He says through gritted teeth, sounding pissed and disgusted. I make my way to the tracks to start the laps quickly, the last thing I want is to piss him off further.

At least he didn’t go into beast mode, I for one know that he has done worse. In fact, everyone knows he is horrible not just to me but other members of the pack, he just has a way of giving me a more special treatment.

Knowing that this will take a long while, I start with a steady jog, increasing and reducing my pace at intervals.

Each time I complete a lap round the race track, I can hear snippets of people‘s conversations, which worsens my shame. From the not so discreet staring, to the sneering, even the side glances from those training in other sections, I can only wish for a hole where I can crawl into until this horrible day passes.

That's the thing about Crescent pack, everybody has something to say, even the ones who are not so perfect.

By the fifteenth lap I can feel a slight pain in different parts of my body, I continue moving regardless. I usually start feeling the pain while on the tenth lap but I guess practice makes perfect.

I am more than ready to celebrate this small win with my victory dance but I will save that for later. After increasing my pace a little, the sound of a conversation drifts to me.

“Each time I see that witch I just feel so angry. She makes me feel sick. Even her stupid sister. When the time is right they will both be treated like all the witches before them, even their mother.” A female voice says.

“Someone might hear you. You need to stop—” A timid female voice starts but the previous girl interrupts her and says, “Oh please! Everybody knows it, from the alpha himself, to the elders, every single core member of this pack knows it.

They are just too scared of the Alpha to say it out loud because they were threatened to not say anything about it ever again because there will be dire consequences.” She says sounding smug.

“Isn’t that enough reason for you to not say it again?” The timid girl says again.

“On the contrary, besides no one cares. Look around you, everyone is busy with one thing or the other who cares what two girls are saying?” The first girl says.

“I care and the last thing I want is trouble because of your uncontrolled tongue. I keep wondering how you know all these wierd stuffs or even worse why you make them up? You have to stop!” The timid girl says in a frustrated voice.

“I can swear it and I don’t make them up. My mom usually tells me old folklore and mysteries about the pack. You know she is a midwife and a healer and my family has birthed the packs healers for generations. If not for my sister I am supposed to be next in line. Anyway back to the topic at hand…” She continued, thereafter making a statement that made me trip on my own two feet.

“…my mom told me that the late Luna was a witch.” A responding gasp followed by a high pitched, “How can you say that?! You’re impossible.” I brace myself with my hands to avoid falling on my face.

I quickly stand up to continue my laps while checking to make sure my brief mishap was not noticed by my father, luckily he was not looking and he was preoccupied with those boxing. After dusting myself amidst my running I try to listen to the girls but I can’t hear them anymore.

I keep listening to several conversations, hoping to pick up those voices again but I can’t hear them anymore.

I can’t remember the number of the last lap before I fell. With a resignated sigh, I continued my indefinite race. Due to the fall, the pain in my entire body becomes more intense.

I settle on a jog waiting for when I will be told to stop. When I felt like I was about to pass out, my father suddenly tells me to stop.

Not minding the filthy ground I collapse to the ground panting heavily. When I’m finally able to catch my breath, I look around and notice no one is watching me anymore and most of the people in the training arena has left, even my dad.

I guess he’s feeling nicer today because he always follows through with his threats of further punishment. Getting up from the ground is a chore on its own, I decide to stay down a little longer.

A shadow hovers above me shielding my eyes from the sun. “Thank you so much, I really needed that, uhmm Scarlet?” I squint my eyes trying to see the person’s face better. “— Lily!” I shriek in surprise and excitement.

“In the flesh!” She chuckles in response with a mock bow— oh yeah it’s Lily alright. Ignoring the extreme protests of my sore joints and my unbearable stench, I hug her as quickly as I can.

“Wow, calm down! Somebody’s missed me.” She says hugging me back.

“I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.” I start apologizing.

“What?! Why will you even say that? Are you okay?” She says with a confused look on her face.

“Well I just finished running several laps on the tracks and I’m dirty, sweaty—” I said in a rush but she interrupted me.

“Stop!!!” She says silencing me in the middle of my ranting. She begins calmly, “First off, I am not offended. Secondly, I’m equally as dirty as you are, I’ve been camping with a lot of substandard showers. Plus, you’re my best friend and I am not complaining. You need to stop letting these dumb peoples words get to you, you’re always self conscious and I know you don’t mean to but…STOP DOUBTING YOURSELF!!!” She finishes with a shout and a dramatic sigh.

I cringe because of her finishing pitch. “I’ll try but it’s not that easy for me, you know?” I say with a tired sigh.

“Come on let’s get out of here.” She says leading us out.

“You need a shower. Hell, we both do. I don’t even know how Nate didn’t gag because of my smell. He smelt so much worse but I’m a lady I’m not supposed to smell this bad.” She says whining.

Our walk to my dad’s house was filled with her complaining about her horrible smell and my friendly reassurance that it doesn’t matter.

By the time we’re done taking hot showers, she wears one of my gowns while we’re having a really late breakfast. “Okay. How was your camping trip?” I ask while eating one of my bacons. We are having a huge breakfast of scrambled eggs, toasts, bacons and fruit juice.

“It was great and extremely refreshing, it was kind of stressful but it was so worth it. We went to different places. Within the past two weeks, we visited three mountains and each of them had water falls. One of the mountain was Blood mountain—” I interrupt her.

“Hold on, isn’t that the mountain of the rival pack? Why would you go there, you could have gotten killed.” I say with wide eyes.

“Alright. For someone so smart you can be so daft sometimes.” She says lightly smacking her forehead with her palms.

“What do you mean?” I ask feeling even more confused.

“The fact that we’re rivals in so many things doesn’t mean we can’t visit each other. We just don’t overstay our welcome.” She says slowly.

“Really? My dad makes it look like we’re mortal enemies for life and we should attack each other the minute we cross paths. Anyway, carry on with your story.” I say before shoving a piece of bacon in my mouth.

“As I was saying, Blood mountain doesn’t have blood on it though…” she says laughing at her own joke. “…it’s in fact as beautiful as our own Crescent mountain and Evergreen mountain. It has a beautiful topography with trees, a waterfall on one side and and even a stream leading to the mountain. Crescent mountain is actually shaped like a Crescent though but it doesn’t have much vegetation like the other two and it has a river running on its side too. Evergreen is truly like it’s name with so much trees. It even has a lot of caves too, although, we did not enter them. We camped in the wild some days and slept in some motels too. They were truly breathtaking views. I would love to go again. If I didn’t love my life as a fashion designer, I would have taken exploration as my new job. I took so many pictures, I’m sure my film will be filled by now and the next time I’m going, you’re coming with me.” She says.

“You know I can’t go with you because my dad won’t let me and it’s not like when we were kids having sleepovers.” I say with a light whining in my voice.

“Nice try with that load of crap. I know for a fact that you’ve never asked and your dad wouldn’t mind as long as he knows were you are. Plus Scarlet can put in a word or two for you.” She says with finality in her voice.

“I don’t want to go out I have everything I need right here.” I say trying to oppose.

“Nice try when I am ready for us to go. I will do everything within my power to make sure that you come with me whether you like it or not. I’m not going to let you die alone with a million cats.” She says making me laugh.

“I’m serious how do you expect to meet your mate and live your life far away from this hell hole, if you don’t put yourself out there?” She says whispering certain part of her sentence because in the Crescent pack, word travels really fast.

“I’ll try okay. It’s not like I don’t want to find my mate, I don’t just want to get hurt.” I say playing with my fingers. The truth is, I am so scared of meeting my mate.

There are so many what ifs in my head. What if he does not like me? What if he thinks of me as ugly? What if he is like my father or worse? What if he rejects me…? That’s what scares me the most.

Rejection from my pack? I can handle that.

Rejection from strangers? Hell, who cares?

Rejection from my own father? Well, that still hurts but I’ve learnt to accept it.

But rejection from my mate? The one person made just for me? That will most likely crush me.

“Look I’m here for you okay, everything will be alright. How do you think I met Nate? It was because I was in a position to meet him. So breathe, chin up and live a little." She says moving to my side to wrap me in an extremely comforting hug.

“I thought you met at a fashion conference?” I ask. Then she whispers against my hair.

“Yes and no. We’ll talk about it, later. We should get ready for the party…” She says wiggling her eyebrows.

Wait...What?!