Chapter 156

Chapter 0156

10 Years Ago

When we ran three years ago, my father had been right. Our Alpha sent the pack warriors to find us. The first three years had been really hard. We had to skirt around other pack territories, we had multiple run ins with rogues and we had to hunt and kill our own food or steal what we couldn’t afford.

Dad would take odd jobs here and there to make money when he could, but we could never stay in one place for too long before he’d get a hint that the pack had found us, and we’d have to take off again.

When Dad is’nt working, he is training me on how to be a warrior. Since Alessia is a Guardian, he felt that the sooner I learn how to fight, the better for me. And he was right. My mother isn’t a warrior, so for a while, it was solely on my father to keep us safe. After several months of training, I began to help my father when we’d be attacked by rogues. In the last year, I’ve become a very adept killer. I can take on two rogues at a time by myself. Ok, so my dad can take on four at a time, but I’m still only 13. Alessia and I will only get stronger.

Mom has decided that my other studies should not falter just because we don’t have access to a standard school. So she’s been teaching me herself. And I have to admit, I love that the world is, quite literally, my educational oyster. Mom has used our landscape to teach me science, chemistry, and even math. Other times, we use our time to gather water or wood for a fire as an opportunity to discuss our history, as well as the history of other supernaturals and humans as well.

Maybe it’s the wolf in me, but I love living in the wild. If it wasn’t for the constant threat of being captured by our pack or supernatural hunters, or the risk of me being taken by an alpha who’s pack stumbles across us, it would be amazing.

All of this changed when Dad got wind that our old pack warriors had found us. again. They’d been pushing us progressively south and east. That first night, we had made it into northern Illinois. Since then, we’ve been through Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. Most recently, we had crossed the Kentucky border and were living in the Red River Gorge area. We had to be careful as there were several packs in this part of the state, but we’d found a place that wasn’t owned by any local pack.

When Dad heard that our pack was close, we packed our meager belongings and ran again. Only this time, one of dad’s previous warriors and friends caught up to us. Dad mind linked mom and I to hide in a cave and he shifted before going out to confront his previous friend.

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+15 BONOS

While my mother could not hear, with my Guardian hearing, I listened to their conversation. I had no intention of letting my father get killed, so while my mother tried to convince me to move farther into the cave, I refused, ready to help if needed.

I heard the sound of bones cracking. “Richard You’re a hard man to find.” An unfamiliar voice said.

I heard more cracking bones, then my father’s voice. “Jude. Fancy seeing you here.”

“Let’s not play games Richard. We’ve been searching for you and your family for three years. Why did you run? Why did you renounce the pack?”

“My reasons are my own. You need to leave Jude. I have no interest in killing you, but I will if I have to.”

The man named Jude sighs. “Has it really come to this? Your family deserves more than this life. Just tell me why. Help me understand. Everything was fine and then you just left. Alpha and the rest of the pack want you home.”

“I’m never coming back. We’re never coming back. That’s all you need to know. Now move on before you make me do something I don’t want to do. It doesn’t matter how close we used to be, my family comes first.”

I shifted and Alessia moved quietly through the underbrush so we could see what was happening.