Ch. 61..70

Chapter 0061 Anything they say now to try and make me feel better is strictly to ease their own conscience. I didn't trust them to take care of me in a real moment of need when they didn't take care of me in day to day things.

I know my place, have always known it, and now they are blurring those lines making it hard to keep my distance and keep myself from getting hurt. I can handle the physical pain from my bullies and training, I knowhow to heal from that, but the emotional pain that has been going on my whole life, I don't know how to deal with that, so I kept my distance. I want to continue to keep my distance, but my wolf is right, we need our pack, or a pack "Is that why you ran? You run away everytime the focus is on you." Oliver asks, leaning forward, elbows on his la-lees.

Sam is keeping a running commentary for Sierra. I can tell she is upset that I won't shift back to talk to them. My wolf is at least intimidating enough to keep them away. I don't want anyone trying to come close or embrace me.

They don't get to be sorry for all the things they ignored in the past, because they feel bad now. My friend doesn't deserve this treatment and I would talk to her directly if I could, but I am holding out. I still have no reason to show them any kind of emotion and I can stay stoic in my wolf's form. She can choose to forgive me later or just keep the distance and let me go like everyone else.

"Can we jump back really quick to the part where she shifted at thirteen? That's incredible Skylar! Your wolf must be really special for you to shift so young. I still haven't shifted yet."

Sierra looks at me. understand why the guys shifted early and at the same time too. You are all really close and have a tight knit group and to top it off you are all high ranking wolves taking on your positions and training to be the next leaders. It makes sense that your wolves would come out and help you along with that.

But, Skylar wasn't in line to be the next beta or in a position for her wolf to be needed like that. So why did she come early, why was it necessary, what happened?" She looks back at me, I'm pretty sure she set me up with that question.

This is an answer that I want to give her, but it comes with a nightmare I don't want the guys to know. Something I have been avoiding telling her since the day we met. She knows it, too. She actually showed up when I received some of the scars on my back. I closed my eyes inside my wolf's head. I didn't want to see their expressions through her very clear vision at that revelation. "She showed up because you were being attacked didn't she?" Cameron whispered, the first to catch on. He's leaning forward, elbows on his knees. He looks up slowly waiting for my answer. It's what I always thought, but my wolf and I never discussed it. She nods her head in agreement. "WHAT?!" My brother jumps up and shouts. "It was so bad your wolf had to show up early?! Damnit Skylar, wily didn't you say anything to anyone?" He's shaking so bad and his eyes keep changing from gray to black, showing his wolf is fighting to come out. He's running his fingers in his hair and pulling at it so hard it's standing up in certain places. My wolf lets out a warning growl, nothing offensive, just a warning to his wolf to get him in check Oliver jumps up and places a hand on his shoulder to try and help calm him down. "Dude, she doesn't need this right now. She's got her reasons for not going to anyone and you getting all angry and huffy is not going to get you the answers that you want. Mateo is breathing hard and struggling with his temper. I can feel the anger, worry and torment all rolling off of him in waves. We need to help or he's going to rage and tear this place apart and the rest of your friends are going to get hurt trying to stop him. His wolf is having a hard time controlling both of their emotions.

My wolf is pleading for me to go to him. His wolf needs her, needs the comfort of his little sister. I'm still angry, but I get what she is saying. His anger is because of my situation and only I can calm him.

Chapter 0062 Fine, go to him. I take a deep breath and sigh. Once again their needs are greater than mine. We stand up slowly and walk over to him, rubbing up against his leg. I can feel his whole body shaking in anger. We just continue to circle him and nuzzle his legs.

We corne around to the front of him and look up into his eyes. He takes a few deep breaths and looks down at us, tears in his eyes. He's trying to hold in the sadness and anger he feels and slowly raises his hand to run it through our fur just behind my ear.

My wolf purrs at the contact and she closes her eyes, letting the contact calm us both. I feel his weight shift and we open our eyes to see he has knelt in front of us, both hands on the sides of my wolf's face, looking us directly in the eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Sky. I know I can't take anything back or even begin to make it up to you, but Pm going to try. I thought if I just did what dad asked and kept my distance, it would take his focus off of you. I guess that idea backfired. I never knew how bad it was, because I put blinders on and just hoped everything was okay since you never complained about anything. You never got sick or asked for anything. That wasn't because everything was fine though, was it?"

My wolf just shakes her head. His tears are silently falling now. "I don't need details, if you don't want to share, but I need to know the worst Sky. Why do you have scars that never healed properly? Why does it seem like you are a different person at school than on the training field or when you're just with us?"

His intentions are true and real. Let them in a little. I understand why you don't want to give them names. You are right, they do not get to have revenge for what has been done to you.

That is for you only. But, let them understand the result of their neglect so they can begin to change their ways. They cannot grow without being taught. You are a teacher, teach them. My wolf advises. I grumble in her head. This is exactly what I didn't want to do. I don't want to talk about the things in my nightmares. Just the thought hurts. They need something to work with. You can make it as simple or as detailed as you want. Maybe some graphic descriptions will be good for them. Did she just make a joke out of my torture? Fine. I said to her, then to the guys, I need some clothes, this will be easier to explain in human form. Sierra deserves to hear this from me directly.

Before I finished, large t-shirts were dangling in front of me. My wolf had to blink a couple times at the fast movement. She grabbed one gently in her teeth. She took a big inhale, Dakota, the scent instantly calming me. We walked behind a tree and shifted, then I pulled on the oversized shirt.

I know these guys are significantly bigger than me, but jeez, the shirt sleeves reached past my elbows and the hem almost touched my knees. I had to try really hard to not think about the fact that Dakota was now shirtless, again, and the guys were all quick to literally give me the shirts off their backs.

I walked out and sat on the log across from my friends. I just stared into the fire. I wasn't going to be able to look at them while I told this story. I don't want to throw blarne their way, this isn't about making them feel bad, but they also need to know they are a part of the problem. I took a deep breath, closing my eyes and steeling myself to relive this story out loud for the first time.

Chapter 0063

I took another deep breath in and let it out slowly, stalling as long as I could before beginning. “It really started a few years ago, nothing major, just getting pushed around for stepping in to stop other, younger, kids from getting pushed around. Bullies don’t like to be told what to do, so, naturally, more and more bullying happened.

As a beta, the damage to me wasn’t that bad at first and I found out I healed pretty quickly from the physical stuff. Unfortunately so did my bully. That’s when my homework would go missing and I started having trouble with my grades. It wasn’t from a lack of doing the work. It was literally being stolen or destroyed. Another thing my bully found out was the power they received from being known to beat up someone with beta blood, and with dad’s very open dislike of me, it was like an open invitation to try and harm me in some way.” I paused to take a breath. I’ve never put into words what being bullied was like. “The few times I was called into the principal’s office and dad was called in, he never listened to my side of the story and added to whatever beating I had taken before, also greenlighting my torture.”

Oliver opened his mouth and made a sound, I’m sure to ask the obvious question. I held my hand up to stop him. I was never going to get through this if they interrupted me.

“I did go to adults. Dad and the principal obviously didn’t believe me. Dad told me if I was too weak to handle my problems, then I was no daughter of his and not to make excuses for missing or poor work. I went to the principal about the physical stuff with other kids, and he told me something similar. We have had kids leave suddenly due to this bully after going to the proper adults to handle it or to try and help me by backing up my story. Teachers have also been removed from the school for trying to help me. I have since learned that school board members and elders are biased and only care for their own interests and not the interests of the students in the school. So I don’t want to hear anything about telling someone, there is no one to tell anymore. Anyone with power doesn’t care and I will not risk someone’s livelihood because I got smacked around a few times.” I can feel myself getting fired up at the injustice I always feel at the lack of caring from the adults in my world.

“You could have come to us, we would have helped you.” Cameron says, pointing to all of the guys.

“Would you really?” I cocked an eyebrow looking at each one of them. They all nod emphatically. “When? In the middle of your invite only circle of friends? While you were entertaining the entire senior class’ population of girls learning the finer points of being men? At all the sporting events with those same people? Hanging out at the diner and wherever else you went? While you were all gone for the summer at training. None of you have ever been this accessible.” I gestured wildly to them. I close my eyes and take another deep breath, I’m getting worked up and they are not the enemy. They made plenty of mistakes, but that’s not what is the focus.

“What about any of our interactions before Sierra showed up would suggest to me that you give two sh*ts about me? When you were told opnenly and, many times, in m y presence, that I was worthless and an unnecessary blight on the pack? Dad was never shy about his feelings for me and he never cared if I was in listening distance.” I looked at my brother, who’s face went pale. “Or when you were all spouting your ‘survival of the fittest’ mantra throughout the school. Telling everyone that they should handle their own issues and you were all only going to deal with ‘really major problems’ whatever that means.” I air quoted, trying not to sound hateful but failing. The guys started shifting uncomfortably and Sierra was shooting daggers at them.

“You gave everyone free reign to openly put down people deemed less, not build them up. You praised people for beating others in training without a second thought to the person who tried their best and put in effort. There can only be one winner, sure, but that doesn’t mean the person who lost is less than the person that won, especially in training. Training is to get everyone better, to give pointers and tips to each person in a spar. You all promoted stepping on others to get ahead, and that all comes back to me.” I’m now clenching and unclenching my fists as the words are just tumbling out. I’m saying all the things I have sworn never to say, reveal feelings I thought I would never tell them.

Chapter 0064

“Beat the beta girl to prove you are better, her family supports the abuse. Beat her worse than the last person who beat her and you win the popular vote. Throw her into lockers, make her bleed at least once a week. Steal her clothes and things from the locker room, throw them in the shower and pee on them. Chain and whip her in the locker room for asking too many questions in class and making you look stupid for not knowing the answers. Blindfold and chain her up in an old storage shed and whip her to the point of throwing up and almost being unconscious, but don’t let her pass out, she should feel the pain all because she did better than you at something or gained positive attention over you. Then to make it more memorable, rub silver powder into the wounds making her flesh burn and scar and then drag her to the forest to bleed out and die a slow painful death unless she is worthy enough to survive.” My tears are flowing now, but I manage to look up at them all. Sierra has her hands over her mouth, tears shimmering in her eyes. They all look shocked and at a loss for words.

I’m angry again, but they asked for this, they wanted to know and as much as I was trying to keep this hidden, I can’t seem to stop the word vomit. I can feel my confidence rising as I say each word, like a weight is being lifted from my shoulders. I maintain eye contact with them now.

“The spot you found me tonight, do you want to know why it is my favorite spot, why it smells so much like me?” None of them move, even the forest seems to be holding it's breath waiting for me to speak. I feel a rush of morbid satisfaction at letting them in on my torture.

“It’s where I survived, where I made the decision to live. I was left, bleeding out from the lashes I received for having the audacity to get in the way of someone else. The silver was added, because the previous whipping I received, I healed too quickly from, the scarring wasn’t gruesome enough. I go to that spot to remind myself that I am still here, I came out of that, without you or anyone else. My wolf stepped up when I had no one else. She forced me to shift and caused me a little more pain in order to help me heal and live. I was there for two days. No one came looking for me, and I was only a mile or so from the packhouse backyard. So forgive me when I call bullsh*t on the

thought of any of you helping me. You didn’t notice when I was right there in front of you and you didn’t notice when I wasn’t.” Mouths dropped. With all the things about these guys that are great and I am coming to care for, this is their fatal flaw. They have been sheltered from the actual bad things that happen in a pack. They have never had to deal with real problems, they think they will just magically have people fear and respect them. They believe that they are untouchable, but at what cost?

“You all have been a part of the problem and don’t think for a second you are going to come into school threatening people on my behalf. Even being friends with you and being seen in public regularly with you, the bullying hasn’t stopped, just gotten more creative. I do not need protectors, I have survived everything on my own, just fine. So don’t even think about it, I am not weak and you will not treat me like I am or make people believe I am. I know how strong I am, I know that every hit I take is one that no one else has to receive. With all your training and status, none of you have ever actually had to fight for your pack members. Had Sierra not joined us this year and for some reason I still don't understand, chose to talk to me, none of you would be sitting here now, none of you would have looked twice in my direction. I was forced into your circle, she is the only reason any of you are paying attention to me now, listening to my story. But the problem is, have you even thought about any of the other kids going through what I am? You have pack members who are torturing other pack members without cause or consequence. So before you think about trying to save me or protect me, why don’t you help someone else who actually needs it.”

Chapter 0065

I got up and started walking away towards the pathway up to the packhouse yard. My eyes and head hurt from crying so much tonight. I need to sleep and then get back to my life, the way it was before the guys barged in and decided they all of a sudden needed to be a part of it.

“Sky wait.” Mateo calls, jogging after me.

“I’m done for tonight, please just let me go.” I say weakly continuing my way up the path, but slowing down. My wolf is still holding me back for some reason and I am too worn out to be stubborn against her.

“I’m not going to stop you, and I know it probably means nothing, but I am sorry. I had no idea and I know that’s on me, but for what it’s worth, I love you.” He wraps his big arms around me from behind and kisses the top of my head and he breathes in deep then sighs before letting me go.

I take a few more steps forward when I smell Oliver right before he wraps his arms around me, same as Mateo, but he kisses the side of my head before taking a deep breath of my scent. I can feel his whole body relax before he lets go of me. Sam repeats the hug, kissing the other side of my head, also taking a deep breath of my scent and noticeably relaxing. Sam releases me and I continue up the path. I’m too drained to wonder what is going on with all of them taking in my scent.

My tears are flowing again. I can feel their sincerity, their agony at being a reason for some of my torture. No one else approaches me so I continue walking, trying to steady my breathing. Even though I told them I don’t want apologies, it stings that the twins didn’t follow suit with the other three and I don’t expect anything from Sierra. She noticed within minutes that something was wrong with me when these guys have known me my whole life.

I made it to the packhouse backyard and feel like I have been walking for hours. The full out run and shifting like that took its toll, something I made note to work on. I can’t have an energy drain just from shifting in a fight. Just as I start to turn towards my backyard, hands grab each of my upper

arms to stop me. Kota and Cam’s scent hits me at the same time and the warmth from their hands makes goosebumps rise up all over my body.

“Sky.” They whisper in unison. I don’t say anything, but I let them stop my movement. I’m still crying, but I can’t open my mouth to speak. I’ve said all I need to tonight.

“Tell us what to do Smalls.” Dakota says.

“We need to fix this, start making things right.” Cam follows up.

I breathe in shakily a few times. Anger and sadness both consume me. They need to figure this out on their own. I don’t know what I need from them. “It’s too late for me, I don’t have much school left, then hopefully I can find my mate or go to Elite Warrior training and get away from the bullsh*t.” I just stare ahead of me, not really seeing anything. “Just don’t let it happen to anyone else. See people, notice your pack members. Show them you are here for them, don’t just say pretty words. Show them you are leaders, nobody actually cares about what you say, if your actions don’t match.”

“You want to leave.” Kota asks like he’s been punched in the gut and out of breath.

After all that I said, he picked up on me not wanting to be in a place I’m not wanted. What the hell?

“If you were me, would you want to stay?” I can only whisper. They have no response for me. With that I stepped out of their reach, continued walking home and went straight to bed. I can’t handle any more emotions today.

I stayed in my room all day Sunday. Even Sierra gave me my space, but she made sure I knew she was giving me space today and only today via text, which did make me smile. How does she know me so well already? She knows what I need without having to ask, and she sees through my BS and calls me on it too. I’m sure she figured I was going to try and skip school tomorrow. There is just too much drama that I don’t need and I have no idea what the guys are going to do with the

information I gave them. I don’t want to see that look in their eyes like I’m fragile. And after the mall display, Kaley will have something planned for me too.

Chapter 0066

-Cameron POV-

“If you were me would you stay?” Sky asked before walking away. She hasn’t looked at any of us since she finished her story and I can guarantee she will go back to avoiding us at school Monday. It felt like my heart was ripped out of my chest. I looked at my twin and I knew he felt the same. She’s not wrong though. I wouldn’t want to be in a place where almost every interaction was with someone who told me or showed me I wasn’t wanted. And to find out she was literally being tortured, right under our noses. Even to an extent by her own father. My wolf could tell she wasn’t lying or even exaggerating. Alpha wolves can sense deceit. He was also pissed at hearing the ways we haven’t been taking care of our pack from her point of view.

“What do we do? She can’t leave, we can’t let her leave.” Kota asks me, sounding almost panicked.

“Let’s get the rest of the guys, I think we need to talk to dad and all of those guys. Somebody has to know something. With everything she said, it can’t have all gone unnoticed, right?” I turn and head back to the edge of the forest where they were all waiting.

“What did she say?” Mateo asks. He looks so broken right now. I’m sure we all do. I can’t imagine the guilt he is feeling for not, at least, protecting her from their dad.

“She wants us to make the pack better for everyone else. She said it’s too late for her, just to make sure nothing like this happens to anyone else. She wants to graduate, find her mate and leave.” Dakota barely got the last part out. It hurts to even think of her leaving.

“She can’t leave!” Sam bursts out. “She makes us all better, she keeps us calm, sane, all of us. I know you guys feel it too. We are all drawn to her. She’s like our center of gravity.”

“I agree, what I want to know is why all of a sudden there is this powerful draw to her, and for all five of us.” Oliver scratches his head. “I don’t think it’s a mate thing, because it affects Mateo and we are

all too young for a mate bond to show anyway, but something is going on. Like she said we have been around her her whole life and never needed her around like we do now.”

“We need to talk to dad and the guys, maybe even mom.” I look at Kota. “Mom spends extra time with her.”

“You’ll want to start with Luna and Delta Kyle. They don’t know much but they both have helped her heal from some of the worst beatings.” We all snap our heads to Sierra. I didn’t even think to ask her. Sky has let her in more than the rest of us. “I believe things at the school are being covered up too. Sky told me that she stopped going to teachers, because they can’t do anything without being punished or fired. And the administration seems to find a way to put the blame on her or there isn’t any evidence to back her claims. She’s been sent to the office plenty for being involved in disagreements and somehow she has been targeted as the bad kid, the spare beta looking for attention, so they stopped taking her seriously and just punish her if she’s a part of an issue, without even taking a look into the incident. It would probably be a good idea to hack into the school computers and see if we can get security footage. There has to be some way to find out who is doing this and be able to prove it. Maybe talk to some of the kids she trains, they love her and she has always said most of the abuse she takes is in place of someone else. I think she is protecting those kids. I think that’s why she works so hard to train them, so when she leaves they can defend themselves. Because you're right, she wants to leave. She's going to graduate early and get out of here as fast as possible.”

Chapter 0067

Cam

“We have to quit talking about her leaving.” Kota rubs his chest just over his heart. He looks like he is going to be sick.

Sierra completely ignores him and goes on. “Whoever is doing this has a ton of control or hold over people in power, at least at the school. There’s no way Sky getting jumped daily is not on record somewhere and going completely unnoticed. It’s just easy to hide since it seems to be only her and she never reports anything.”

“So, she hasn’t told you who’s doing this then?” I ask, making a mental note about checking the security footage and understanding that Sierra might be more scary than she lets on. The observant ones are the ones to watch out for, they see things our mundane eyes miss.

“I think that is the one thing she is going to take to her grave. She doesn’t believe sharing the info will help. She thinks it will actually make things worse, make her look weak, embarrassing her dad and brother, and make her bully retaliate. Which, I think, has happened in the past. According to her, this is the best version of the situation. That she actually is in control of whatever is going on. She expects it, is mentally prepared for it, and already knows how to recover and go about her day like nothing is wrong. Something she is obviously really good at since no one, even me, sees her get hurt at school.”

“How can this be better? Why is she worried about embarrassing dad and I? Who gives a sh*t?” Mateo whisper-yells, running his fingers through his hair.

“Your dad gives a sh*t. That’s who. I’ve seen the way he talks to her and about her, we all have. No one can deny he’s a d*ck to her and we have all just let it happen, including the Alpha and Luna, because she doesn’t complain. She goes to no one, because she trusts no one. Every person here,

except Sierra, has given her a reason not to. Clearly it’s worse than we thought.” Leave it to Oliver to analyze a situation to add another tally on our list of dumbass things.

“She thinks because the bully’s focus is on her or she can put it on herself and keep others from getting harmed, it’s better. She said, because she had beta blood, she can handle the beatings better and heal more quickly than any other lower ranked person. She truly believes she is doing the right thing protecting pack members as a beta should. She believes it’s the only thing she can contribute since she isn’t really wanted here. And unfortunately she’s right, no other kids are ever bullied, solidifying her belief.” Sierra shrugs sadly. Sam goes to wrap her in a hug.

I scrub my hands over my face then look at my watch, 6am. “We have really f*cked up and we aren’t even in charge yet. Let’s get inside, dad should be in his office, we need to fix this, now, and we are going to need all the help we can get.” I turn and the others follow me. I can’t wait for this conversation.

We headed in through the back doors into the kitchen and completely startled the omega that is making breakfast. It’s kind of a known fact that none of us move much before noon on Sundays. We are definitely out of character right now. Marching straight to our dad’s office, Kota and I don’t even bother knocking as we all pile into the large space, filling every available chair and my father and Beta Daniel just stare at us like we all grew three heads.

“Can we help you boys?” My dad asks, looking at us curiously.

“We really have a busy day, so whatever you are up to needs to be quick.” Beta Daniel says in a clipped voice.

“What we have to say is important, and it’s going to take a while.” Kota shoots back at him.

“We don’t have time for your teenage shenanigans today boys…” Beta Daniel starts. I wonder if he has always been this condescending to us. Either way, I really just want to break his nose.

I turn my glare on him. “This meeting also requires Delta Kyle, Gamma Brett and mom. If you want this handled quickly, gather everyone and we can get started.”

“What is this about, boys? Clearly you are worked up and it’s enough to have you out of bed at six on a Sunday morning.” My dad is trying to be sympathetic. He, at least, lets us have an opinion and then helps us work through it or correct it if we are wrong.

Chapter 0068

“We need your input on a situation and it’s a story we don’t plan on telling more than once.” I say as my mother comes into the room.

“What happened? Is everyone okay?” She does a quick scan of the group. “Where’s Skylar? If Sierra is here, why is Sky missing?”

“We need everyone here first.” I say again.

“Now I’m worried, you boys have never been secretive before.” Dad sneaks a look at my mom. They are having their own private conversation.

I just sit, I’m not saying it again. My wolf is getting angrier by the moment. Sky was right, we have never had to really deal with pack situations, even with all the ‘training’ we do. They don’t trust us to handle anything and have never forced us to handle things. They are more concerned with the fact that we are out of bed early, than the fact we have requested a meeting with the whole leadership.

Delta Kyle and Gamma Brett rush in. “What’s going on?” Kyle asks, taking in the same group assessment that my mom did. “Where’s Skylar? Is she okay?” The two people who know she is going through things noticed she was the only one missing from our group. Neither my father or her own cared to notice.

“How long have you been helping Sky with her injuries from her bullies?” I look between the Delta and my mom, not wasting any time.

“Long enough, why do you ask?” Delta Kyle crosses his arms, making him look wider than he already is.

“Did you know about her being whipped?” I keep my eyes trained right on him.

“Yes, I have been giving her the salve to help the scars the silver powder made.” The delta keeps his face composed, but I see the tick in his cheek from clenching his jaw. My mother gasps and covers her mouth. The silver powder was news to her, interesting. Gamma Brett moves closer to her, concern flashing in his eyes briefly.

“Did you know that wasn’t the first time she was whipped?” Olivers asks, catching on to what I was doing.

“What do you mean, ‘wasn’t the first time?’” Gamma Brett tilts his head slightly.

“What silver powder?” My mom asks. I ignore her.

“She was whipped, to almost unconsciousness, silver powder was added to make the pain worse and the healing slower since she healed too fast the first time and then she was left in the forest behind the packhouse to fend for herself or die. The person or people who tortured her believed no one cared if she lived or died, and the point was hit home when she was out there for two f*cking days and NONE OF US NOTICED SHE WAS MISSING!” Mateo stands as he starts to shout. “She had to rely on herself and her wolf to recover while we were having a party at the packhouse.” He’s pacing now, making an attempt at pulling his hair out. Oliver stands ready to restrain him if needed.

“You need to relax, son. I don’t know what stories your sister has been telling you, but she is being dramatic. She has never gone missing and I would know if she had her wolf.” Beta Daniel says too calmly, trying to take a step towards his son.

“How the f*ck would you know?! You don’t even acknowledge her presence when she is in the room, you made her believe she is worthless and unwanted. That she will never be good enough. She believes it’s her job to take this abuse.” Mateo sounds almost deranged as he spits the words out.

“Well maybe it is. She brings trouble wherever she goes.” The beta shrugs his shoulders and Mateo lunges at him, grabbing him around the neck and slamming him against a wall using the other to punch any part of his father he can reach. We all jump up, but it's Delta Kyle and Gamma Brett who get to them first and I must say I am proud of the fight Mateo is giving them. He is not going to let this go easily. They finally get Mateo off of him and start dragging him to the other side of the room, putting all of us in between.

Chapter 0069

Cam POV

“Don’t you talk about her like that, in fact never speak to her or about her again, you are not worthy to have her as a daughter. In fact I want her out of your house permanently.” Mateo spits, still breathing hard, his wolf is fighting to break free. "She can have my room here at the packhouse or stay with Sierra, anywhere but with you."

“We all need to calm down, clearly there is more going on here and we all want answers.” My dad looks at all of us, lingering a little longer on Beta Daniel. “Kyle you seem to have information the rest of us don’t, please fill us in, then I would like to hear what you kids know.”

Kyle proceeds to tell us he noticed about four years ago that Skylar started coming to additional training with the little pups. He didn’t care much because they were always wild and help is help. It wasn’t until a couple years ago, he noticed bruises and marks on her arms and legs, that were definitely not from training. She wouldn’t say anything about how it was happening for a long time and he finally just started giving her a salve that would help the bruising heal more quickly because she was worried about getting in trouble at home for having bruises when she should be better at fighting as a beta. He looked shamelessly at Beta Daniel and told him the way she described her injuries at least confirmed that the abuse wasn’t happening at home. I hadn’t even thought of that. We all looked at Beta Daniel, silently letting him know what we all thought about his treatment of her. Beta Daniel did not waver in his stoic expression.

Kyle let her come to more and more training, as it seemed to make her happy and she had less injuries the more she trained. He thought she was getting better at defending herself. She was also a natural warrior, one of the quickest to learn and master skills he’s ever seen. Which also made him wonder about the injuries she did show up with. She almost never got hit in training, so what was she doing to get injured? He then introduced her to the Luna and her warrior’s training, hoping being around females would encourage her to confide in someone. He said there was a weekend

last spring when she didn’t show up for training, like normal, but he also knew she didn’t talk to many people so there wasn’t anyone he knew to ask about her well being.

My heart sank and every part of my body froze, he did notice, but brushed her off like the rest of us. When she did return, she was pale and noticeably thinner, but trained just as hard as always and avoided any questions on where she had been. He only found the scars on her back because he was teaching her something new and his hand got caught in the very baggy shirt she was wearing and brushed the wounds. She cried out in pain and blood started seeping into the shirt. She refused to go to the pack hospital and the only way he would agree to help was if she told him what happened. With a lot of prompting she gave every detail of the torture, which he was not willing to repeat in front of my mother, except for descriptions of the people. She said nothing was going to be done about the bullies, it’s not their first time doing this and if they get in trouble, it would only make it worse on her in the end because they would retaliate.

“So, you see Daniel, she was not being dramatic.” Delta Kyle finishes.”What did she tell you guys? Clearly it was enough to light a fire under your asses this morning.”

We all relayed what Sky told us. Filling in things we noticed about her as she told her story. By the end Sierra was sitting on Sam’s lap softly crying, Mateo was pacing again, Oliver had his head in his hands, elbows leaning on his knees taking very audible, deep slow breaths. Dakota and I are rigid in our seats looking at our dad. We know he’s thinking the same thing that we are. She isn’t the failure, we were. The current and future Alphas didn’t notice the trauma happening to a ranked member of the pack. Someone who got so good at going unnoticed that we missed every sign for years.

“Oh my poor girl. How did none of us see this?” My mother is openly crying now. My father pulls her into his lap and holds her tight. "We knew it was not good, but this is so much worse, and she believes she deserves it."

Chapter 0070

“We were too busy being caught up in ourselves.” Mateo huffs.

“Training, becoming the next leaders, the idea of being in power is all we focused on.” Oliver adds on, not raising his head.

“She has done more to protect pack members than we ever have.” Dakota whispers.

“She is making the tough choices and defending those who need it regardless of what happens to her.” I finished. “She asked us not to do anything, said if we try to protect her now, it makes her look weak, but we can’t just stand by and let this keep happening. She may not want help, but is there anything we can do to make this end? These bullies have to be stopped. No one should be able to openly harm pack members for no reason.”

“Well, as bad as this situation is, for the first time, you boys are thinking like the leaders you are meant to be. Let's think through this and see what we all come up with. I do have a few things that I can’t avoid today, but let’s get back together tonight. And Mateo, we will discuss your request to have her moved, it has to be her choice though, I will not force her into anything she doesn’t want.” My dad says

“Where is Sky now?” My mom sniffles out.

“Home probably, holed up in her room. She used a ton of energy last night. She’s fast as f*ck and has the endurance to back it up and then she shifted on the fly, mid run. Did any of you know she could shift?” Mateo asks, he’s taken to running his hands so aggressively through his hair it’s standing completely up like a blonde Einstein. He glares at the adults who all look stunned except for my mom. Of course she knew about Sky shifting.

“We’ve been working on a fast shift. Females, especially ranked females and female warriors, tend to be targeted and a slow shift can get you killed. I didn’t know she could do it mid run though. That

girl is something else.” Mom finishes in a whisper and smiles for the first time since she entered dad’s office this morning. Beta Daniel just huffs. He will never see past his rage at losing his mate and it's a shame, both of his kids are amazing.

We all go our separate ways after that. The guys and I try to figure out what we can do to fix the situation. Even my dad said we were ‘finally’ starting to think like leaders. Have we really been that bad?

–Skylar–

I fell asleep quickly wearing Dakota’s shirt. His scent made me feel calm and relaxed. When I finally rolled over and looked at the clock it was after 2pm. I sat up quickly, I have never slept that long before without any nightmares waking me up. I actually felt really good, until I remembered why I had Kota’s shirt on in the first place, then the sadness took over me again. I moved to go get in the shower and started to feel antsy after not training for two days. So, once I was cleaned up, I changed into training gear and headed for the gym. Maybe lifting weights will burn off some of this energy. I took extra precautions leaving my house. I didn't want to run into anyone. It was going to be exhausting avoiding all of them all of the time.

I made it to the gym and only a few people were here this afternoon. I put my headphones, phone and water bottle down on a bench and begin setting up my weights for a warm-up. I can’t help overhearing a couple of the guys talking about elite warrior training.

“Did you hear? There were so many applicants this year they are holding trials in each pack before they will accept anyone.” A tall guy I recognize from advanced training says.

“Yeah, someone told me the Alpha King himself is going to come to some of the trials.” Tall guy’s friend responds. “And they are letting juniors and seniors join the trials. I guess even if they don’t get chosen, they get seen by the recruiters and if you’re good enough, they will remember you the next year.”

I feel my heart flutter. Maybe I won’t have as long as I thought. If I only have to make it through next year at school I can get out of here sooner than I thought. Elite warrior training is year round, and most attend while doing college courses. I just have to be good enough. My head and heart feels lighter, I have a renewed sense of purpose. Something finally just for me. I will have to talk to Luna Ava and her warriors at training this week