Chapter 18

                                    

                                          
                  
                          
The wind stings against my burning cheeks, my feet thud against the dirt and the branches of the trees try to catch me. Hot tears stream down my cheeks, fighting a path that slowly slithers until it falls to the earth. My eyes narrow, ignoring the shots of pain that run through my back as ever step brings a shuddering pain through me. 
                          
My heart beats hard against my chest, begging to run back home, its broken pieces trying to piece together. 
                          
My foot snags on a root, the sudden action forcing me forward until my face connects with the soil, my arms shooting to try and catch me. I miss. 
                          
Pain erupts through me once again, bringing more tears to eyes. I roll onto my back, hating the piecing feeling from the splinters. 
                          
Would my body heal with them still intact?


                          
I shiver at the thought as I sit up, wiping my hands on my bare legs. I whimper at the bruises that stain them, wondering how they could blossom so quickly. I bring them to my chest, tears streaming down my cheeks like a waterfall. 
                          
"You are now removed from Crimson Night Pack"
                          
It can't be true, it is my home, where my family are, where my friends are. He can't be done with me, not now, not ever. I wanted to lead them, not be set apart from them. 
                          
There has to be a way to apologize, some way to make them see it was just a stupid act. 
                          
It was 'a stupid act' against my own Dad, against an Alpha of my pack. It was an act that was fueled by anger and hatred. 
                          
I get up, limping as I take a few steps forward. 
                          
Why should I give a damn anyway? He was wrong to call me all those things, and he was wrong to even fight back. I am strong enough to be the Alpha, and I am strong enough to show him that I don't need him. 
                          
He may believe I am selfish, or some kind of spoilt brat, but I know I am not. 
                          
I begin to jog. 
                          
He may think that my heart is weak, that I am weak. I will show him I am not! 
                          
Because that man wouldn't know the difference between strong and weak even if it hit him! 
                          
I begin to sprint, the wind brushing through my hair, wrapping around my body as the branches reach out to catch me, their points tearing small amounts of my skin. But I couldn't care less, for I was strong enough not to feel the pain. 
                          
He will soon see that! 
                          
I will start a job, work on strength training, I will grow as a person and I will live...
                          
Actually, where will I go?
                          
THUD
                          
I shriek as the floor begins to disappear from beneath me the world begins spinning upside down and a familiar face blurs for a moment. And without a breath, I crash against a tree, a painful reminder of the splinters in my back.
                          
I close my eyes, doing my best to bite back a painful grunt. A strange sensation overwhelms my torso, the feeling of liquid dripping from the side, I look down, my eyes widening as I see blood wrapped around a thick, long stick. It takes me a moment to realize that that branch, and blood were a part of me. 
                          
I hear a loud cuss before the earth shift next to me. 
                          
"Holy crap, are you okay?" Sam's voice cuts in, worry laced within his words. I nod, my hands fumbling on the stick, my blood sticking to me hand. I start to panic, hoping to god it hadn't hit anything important. I move my legs, seeing if I could get up.