Katya
Twenty Minutes Earlier
Having escaped the Alpha’s office for detention, I walk to training. As I pass by the gym, a hand darts out and jerks me into the locker room. I stumble back and whirl to fight my attacker, a gasp escaping me.
I frown as I come face to face with my mom. The tension in me fizzles out, replaced by curiosity. "Geez, you scared the crap out of me," I chuckle, wiping the back of my hand across my forehead. “Mom?” I ask when she continues to stare down at me. She glances around making sure the locker room is empty and so do I, while wondering what is going on, when she turns her stern expression back to me.
"Where have you been?" She hisses at me. Huh, she knows I had detention. What’s got into her and why are we hiding in here?
"Detention, where else?" I answer.
"I looked for you, and you weren't in detention with Angie, I know because she got palmed off on me."
"No, I was placed in the Alpha's office."
Her eyes go wide. "What, why?" Worry and anger battle in her.
"Because that was where he told me to go," I reply, crossing my arms over my chest. "All I did was obey my Alpha."
Her eyes narrow at me, and she purses her lips briefly. "Don't use that tone with me, young lady. Now listen, today is wolf training."
I blink at her wondering why she is telling me this, I already know the drill. Just like I did back at the old Pack, well until it no longer worked that is, and my secret slipped out.
I wave a hand. "I get it, tell them I'm sick."
"No, Katya," she replies with a shake of her head. Her eyes dart around the room again as she pulls something from the back pocket of her yoga pants. "I'm afraid we're going to need something more," I haven't seen that thing in years. I try to back away, I remember the pain, the torture it brings.
"Mom," I whisper. "Please, not like this."
She stares at the tip of the needle and then back to me. "You can't skip, this is mandatory. However, if I give you one of these, we can explain why you can't shift," her eyes are a little too bright. "It's perfect."
"No," I shake my head. "You can't be serious. Remember the last time?" I try to reason with her.
She gives me a strained smile. "This is the only way. We can't afford to have them find out until after you've proven your use to the Pack. They're not going to believe you're sick. We're wolves, we hardly ever get sick, Katya," she chides.
"I'm not taking it," I tell her. Before she had used pills, and I hated them with a passion. She used to give them to me in the old Pack. At first, it was to hide the truth from the Alpha. Then, she gave them to me to build up a tolerance. Supposedly to prepare me for when I was older.
Until dad found out and lost it. He had flushed the pills in front of us and promised that if she ever did anything like that again, they were going to have it out and he would not hold back.
"I have to resort to it in this form, I’m not sure how strong the pills are so I’ve crushed them so they are less potent. I will give you just enough. You'll take it, and you won't say a single word to your father, young lady," she threatens me.
"Dad will smell it on me," I argue back. There is no way dad won’t recognize the smell.
"Not in this form he won't, I looked it up, just need to go into the muscle," she pushes the plunger into the vial and I back away from her, she mutters trying to do the math in her head. I shake mine. “Mom, you don't even know how much, you’re not a doctor or nurse,”
“Shut it, Kat, let me think, I’m trying to remember how much,” she snaps and I turn to run from the room when she grips my arm yanking me back, my feet slip on the floor and I crash down on it onto my side. She draws some liquid from the vial, still trying to figure out how much to give me, while she is busy I let my eyes glaze over, trying to warn my father through the mindlink, when she kicks my thigh, drawing my attention back to her.
“One word to your father Kat, I mean it. I have sacrificed everything for you! We are here because of you! Are you trying to split our family up,” she snarls, she withdraws the syringe from the vial and a drop of the liquid wells on the tip of the needle, dropping onto my hand, I hiss at the sting of it. It burns my thumb where it dripped on me and I cry out before scrambling away. "It will work, Katya, nothing to smell." I shake my head, getting to my feet.
"No!" I object.
She glares at me and a menacing growl rumbles from her. I'm not facing my mom anymore, but a Pack warrior.
"I refuse to throw everything down the drain because of your tantrum. Fucking take it, Katya," she hisses. "You will not embarrass me anymore than you already have."
"You embarrass yourself," I snap.
Her palm connects with my face, the slap echoes loudly around the locker room, as my cheek burns.
I bring my hand up and gingerly touch the spot she hits. It stings and I blink back tears.
"You dare speak to me in such a way after everything I have done for you," she snaps, she grabs my arm, and pulls me to her, I struggle against her. She wastes no time in sticking the needle in my shoulder and pushing the plunger down. My arm burns as soon as the liquid is injected, when she suddenly licks the spot, hissing as it burns her tongue as she heals me.
Only parents and mates can heal each other, or are supposed to do it anyway. It is a sacred thing, and has come in handy over the years when I have been injured, since I can’t heal myself as a normal werewolf can. My arm feels like wildfire is eating away at my flesh as if she doused the muscle in acid and I clutch my arm.
This isn’t going to work, why can’t she see that, I was with the Alpha all lunch and was fine. He will know and I will get in trouble with her when he finds out.
The poison is enough to make me sway as it rushes into my body. This is so much worse than the pills ever were. I grab onto the door frame and hold an arm over my stomach as cramps make me double over. "Mom!" I plead.
"You get out there. Even like this, you can still kick their asses!" She growls, grabbing my arm and hauling me forward. She shoves me in front of her and I stagger.
"No mom, they will be in wolf form," I choke out, suddenly feeling winded, as the cramping spreads to my muscles. It's even hard to breathe.
"Stop making excuses. You are mine and your father's daughter. More is expected of you than others. You will not let me down, Katya." She grabs my arm and drags me after her onto the field.
Another surge of pain makes me tremble and I shake her off, running for a trash can. I practically hug it as I puke out my guts. I wish it had been pill form, at least I'd be able to expel a little of it like this. But the way she gave it, there was no escaping the torture.
Every inhale makes my lungs burn and my throat is raw. My vision is blurry and sweat trickles down my brow.
Mom blows her whistle and starts calling out names.
My sweat won't stop. It pours off me like I’ve just run a marathon, and the cramps travel through my entire body. My blood feels like it's boiling in my veins.
"Hey, are you okay?" Jasmine asks through the mindlink. I shake my head, not able to mindlink back. My vision doubles and I hear my mother call my name and then Angie's.
As if all of this wasn't bad enough.
“Shit!" My mother gasps, barely audible to my ears.
Great, Angie is going to rip me to pieces, yet after my mother snaps at me, I know I am just going to have to take the beating. I shake Jasmine’s hand off and move toward the square where Angie is waiting.
Everyone goes to their positions, but I can’t even stand upright properly. Swaying as I step into the square, Angie wastes no time lunging at me. I see her just in time, as her fist comes flying toward my face. Leaning back I avoid the blow, but stumble backwards and she goes to attack me while I’m down. I wait until she's almost on me before lifting my foot. I kick her in the face. She staggers back, her nose bleeding. My vision doubles, I can see two of her. With a groan, I roll on my side trying to get to my feet.
Seconds later, I hear the snapping of bones, and black dots start dancing at the front of my vision.
"Get up Katya, what's wrong? You barely had any." My mother mindlinks.
"Yes, but I haven't had any in years, my tolerance is low," I manage to mindlink back, barely.
"Shit, get up!" She shrieks. I am too weak to mindlink back.
I lift my head and see teeth and claws coming toward me. Squeezing my eyes closed, I wait for the extra pain. Instead, I hear a collective gasp as I fall back on my ass. My legs give out from under me. Angie whimpers and I open my eyes, sucking in a choking gasp.
Angie's brown wolf’s head is bowed in submission. Something warm drips on me, I look up to notice an arm above me. Blood is dripping from it. I follow the arm to see who it belongs to, only to find the Alpha standing over me and his Beta standing off to the side. He blocked her attack on me, but in doing so, Angie bit the Alpha’s arm.
"She wasn't even shifted, Angie!" He growls, menacingly.
My body trembles from the rage behind it. Angie whimpers loudly, baring her neck in complete submission.
"What's the meaning of this? Why can I smell wolfsbane?" Alpha Ezra demands, staring down at me, he moves, reaching down to pick me up.
I try to get out of his arms, but he growls at me before pressing his face into my neck and sniffing. I give up trying to escape as I fight the urge to pass out from the pain.
"Why does she have wolfsbane in her system?" He asks again and my eyes flutter shut, my hearing becoming distant.
"Stay awake, Kat," I hear him whisper, before I feel his lips brush my ear.
"Katya, say something?" My mother's voice comes through my head, yet I can’t reply.
My tongue is swelling in my mouth, my throat restricting as I wheeze out trying to answer, and each breath I try to take becomes harder.
My mother’s panicked shriek reaches my ears, as my surroundings fade and I feel as if I am suffocating.
"Shit, get the Pack doctor!" Alpha Ezra yells before I can feel him running, with me cradled tightly in his muscular arms. I black out feeling like I'm being strangled to death as my throat closes.
My mother's voice flits in my head. "I'm so sorry baby, so sorry! Stay with us Katya, hold on, help is coming," she keeps repeating, as I fade away completely, floating into the abyss of unconsciousness.