Elegantly Rogue

C H A P T E R 5

Blair

I kept my eyes closed as I allowed myself to bask in the morning sun while my mother braided my hair. I never allowed myself to take moments like these for granted, knowing that training would start as soon as my father came back from his jog. 

I felt myself tense as the unmistakable sound of a scissor clipping cut through the air. My body seemed to become lighter and I flinched away from my mother, pushing myself upright in the process. My eyes didn't have enough time to comprehend what I was seeing. My mother was there, the scissors in her hand glistening as the sun shone upon it. Gravity seemed to pull my eyes downward, causing them to focus on my hair that laid discarded on the floor. 

I clenched my fists, the temptation to hit my mother boiling up within me. But then I reminded myself that this was the woman who protected me when I needed protecting. This was the woman who fed me when I needed feeding. This was the woman who wouldn't have done anything without reason. 

So I reached up and grabbed a hold of the two braids and pulled them over my shoulder—stopping short when they didn't even reach that far. It was easy to guess what the feeling in my chest was—betrayal. 

     "Mummy? Why did you... Why did you cut my hair?" 

The words were lodged in my throat, causing me to force them out. They seemed to echo through the air, receiving no reply. My mother continued to sit, looking at me with a face that showed no emotion. The loud crunching of leaves cut through the air, causing me to turn around. 

It came as no surprise when I saw my father jogging towards us. He seemed to be taking in the scene before him, showing no surprise. He stopped a short distance away, the grey in his hair highlighted in the light of the sun. He started speaking, his voice covering the distance with ease. 

     "I told your mother to cut your hair."

The feeling of disbelief that had wrapped itself around my heart seemed to intensify by a thousandfold. 

     "I don't know if you remember what happened during your previous training session, but I'll refresh your memory. You would have won that battle if I hadn't grabbed your hair." 

     "You grabbed my neck!" 

The protest left my lips before I had a chance to stop it and I didn't miss the way my father narrowed his eyes at me, a clear warning that I should watch my mouth. 

     "I pulled your hair backwards so that I could get a hold of your neck. But I'm not going to go through the logistics of it when you seem to have lost your temper." 

     "But daddy, I just want to know why—"

     "Blair. I've already told you why. Your hair was a liability. Anyone with enough common sense would have seen the same opportunity that I had." 

I shook my head, cursing the burning in the back of my eyelids. I didn't even understand why I was so hurt by what had happened. 

I watched as my father wiped his hands on his pants, something he did whenever he deemed something as useless or done. He put his hands behind his back and then started speaking. 

     "Rule number one."

His voice had adjusted itself to the familiar monotone rhythm that he adopted whenever we were training. I glared at the ground, walking away from my mother. I knew that she was bound to get hurt if we trained too close to her.

     "Don't ever take your eyes off of your opponent."

He nodded as I finished my answer, matching the steps that I was taking to ensure my mothers safety. We had a silent agreement that no matter how rough things got, she had to stay safe.

     "Always remember what?"

     "Always remember to observe your opponent for any telltales of what his next move might be."

My voice was confident. Unfaltering. Exactly the way he had trained me to have it. He moved his body into a fighting stance. But something was off... I could tell by the way the corners of his mouth were tugging upwards. 

I heard it before I saw it. 

The distinct sound of popping filled the air and I felt myself recoil as my fathers body started shifting. I turned to my mother, horrified by what was happening. Her expression mirrored mine and I could tell that she was just as scared as I was.

My fathers intentions were pretty clear. He wanted me to fight him off while he was shifted. The odds of me being victorious in this battle was next to none. A 15 year old, unshifted child didn't stand a chance.

My distraction seemed to serve its purpose of being the perfect opportunity for an attack—an opportunity that my father wasn't about to miss.

I barely saw it coming. The two seconds that I had to brace myself were nowhere near enough, the impact of his body against mine sending me flying through the air. I let out an involuntary groan as pain seared through my body when my back finally made contact with whatever was meant to stop me. 

I started gasping for air, my lungs struggling to cope with the sudden loss of the air that they had. My throat was burning, the air feeling like salt on a wound.

~•°•~

My arms felt like deadweight when I forced myself upright, gasping for air in the same movement. My chest felt tight, as if my lungs had somehow decreased in size. My heart was hammering against the confines of my chest, matching the rhythm of a monotone beeping that filled the silence around me. 

My eyes darted from place to place, trying to take in my surroundings. My eyes dropped to my arms, focusing on the foreign objects protruding from them. I recognized the shiny metal objects as needles. They were attached to tubes that had brightly colored liquids flowing through them, causing me to frown.

Those needles had no business being anywhere near my body, let alone stuck into it. I started removing them, being careful so that I wouldn't hurt myself. I lost count of how many needles I pulled out, the colored liquids now staining the white sheets that were wrapped around me. 

I was startled out of my mindless actions when the beeping turned into a loud, insistent beep and I wanted nothing more than to break the thing that was causing it. 

I noticed movement through my peripheral vision, causing me to jump as I looked up as a loud bang reverberated through the room. My eyes focused on the people who were staring at me with wide eyes, their mouths gaping at the sight of me. 

They seemed to jump towards me, causing me to growl as I shrunk backwards in an attempt to get away from them—completely forgetting the fact that there was nowhere for me to go. My body started reacting to the signals that my brain was sending it—causing my claws to force their way out. 

It took me a moment to realize. The dull ache in my fingertips and then the shearing burn on the side of my head, forcing me to relax. Too much of anything was always just that—too much. 

But I knew that forcing myself to be calm wasn't an option. If I wanted to get away from these people, I needed to give them a reason to want to get away from me. So, I forced myself off of the bed, rolling slightly because of the height that the bed was. 

I growled while taking a step towards the door, praying that this wouldn't be more difficult than it had to be. They seemed to hesitate, freezing in their place, causing me to growl. The sound seemed to bounce off of the walls, causing them to flinch away from the sound. 

I saw my opportunity and I took it. My heart skipped a beat when the male grabbed a hold of my arm, yanking me backwards. My fight or flight instinct kicked in and my knee lifted on its own accord, leading to him loosen his grip enough for me to yank my arm out of his hold. 

I pushed my body forward, ready to run away from wherever I was. My heart started to beat even faster than it already was when I realized that there was just another room. There were only two ways to go—up or down—with doors situated in various places. 

My vision was clouded by dark blotches, the light here brighter than the room I had been in. I turned, prepared to start running blindly when my eyes focused on the Alpha who was looking at me with wide eyes while pushing himself out of a chair. His movements seemed rushed—hasty. I turned around, running in the opposite direction without so much as hesitating. 

I ignored all the stares that seemed to go through me, dodging the people who found themselves in my way. My body had gone numb—the thunderous beating of my heart in my ears being the only thing I could still feel. 

I had no memory of ever being around so many people... It was a rather frightening experience. 

I growled—something that usually spurred me into action, reminding me that I had something to do within that moment. I forced my legs to move faster, shortening my steps slightly so that I wouldn't tire myself out before I was safe. 

I wasn't unaware of the loud thuds behind me—proof that the Alpha was still after me. It was no surprise that there was now more than one set of footsteps. 

I took a deep breath, closing my eyes for a nanosecond as I jumped over the balustrade, knowing that the stairs were bound to slow me down. All I felt was air whooshing around me, my hair drifting away from my face as I bent my legs so that I wouldn't break them. 

I rolled slightly as I landed, using the momentum from the fall to push myself up, only to start running again. I felt winded from the ordeal, my lungs voicing their protest in the form of an irritable burn. 

My eyes settled on a door that had trees reaching up behind it. A sense of relief wrapped itself around my heart and I felt a new wave of energy wrap around me. My legs were already burning from the physical exertion that I was putting them through, but their state of numbness seemed to block out the pain. 

You were trained to do this.

I reminded myself as I wormed my way through the throng of people that stood between me and my freedom. I sighed in relief as I burst through the door, feeling the heat from the sun on my bare arms. I paused for a second to catch my breath and send a silent prayer to the goddess before pushing myself to start running again. 

I had prayed that I would go in the right direction—and that fate would favor me. 

Matthew

     'She's heading in the direction of the Eastern Border. Someone better intercept her before she gets there!'

My words echoed through the pack link that I had opened as I ran behind her, trying to catch up. I started shifting, praying that it would help me close the distance between us. The human was weaker than the wolf. 

I had just found her and she expected me to let her get away? 

That wasn't going to happen. 

Ever.