Lost II - The Royal Hybrid

Cassie’s POV My body was shaking, begging for a much-needed break that I knew wouldn’t come. It never did. Summoning my powers was everything he cared about and the one thing I couldn’t do. “I can’t,” I cried out. “I tried!” “You didn’t try hard enough!” my dad sneered, the glimpse of anger appearing in his eyes. The last time that happened, I was forced to face the wrath of his wolf in a room that was way too small to shift in, but that didn’t stop him. “I did! I tried for hours like I do every day, please just give me a break!” I pleaded as I looked down on my bleeding and trembling hands. “What good are you when you can’t even summon your own powers? If this was a battle you would have been dead within a second,” he snapped as he sent another blow my way. My head snapped to the side, the blood spurting out of my mouth as I collided with the wall behind me. The ringing in my ears intensified, shutting out the muffling sounds of my dads shouting in the distance. “I don’t even have my wolf yet,” I couched out blinking furiously, trying to regain my balance just before he pulled me to the middle of the room. “You will soon enough and for your sake, I hope you will regain your powers too,” he said with a cold voice. “That’s enough for today.” And with that, he left the room and me in it. I raised my head and looked up from under my bangs, trying to blow them aside while taking a few steps away from the door he had just left through. I let myself lean against the wall as soon as it came in contact with my back, giving myself a chance to breathe. I didn’t have my wolf yet but that didn’t stop me from healing which wasn’t normal, and which was also the reason why my dad tried to train me the way he did. Some would say it was brutal, others said it was necessary. I was born with special gifts as my mom would call them, but in my mind, they were more like a curse. I had been bullied most of my life by the other pack members for being different, a freak as they so nicely called me, some even feared me as they saw me as unstable, which was why I was trained differently than others and alone. If your powers unleash it's best no one is around. That was all he had said the first time he dragged me to this remote room. Neither my mom nor my dad knew why but I had powers that no one else possessed. I had shown signs of them when I was younger but at some point, it was as if everything shut down and ever since then, dad had tried to force them back out. This could stop warriors from dying, it could end wars and hide those being hunted. The excuse he had used after beating me to a pulp the very first day of training. It’s a necessity, Cassie. I don’t think my mom particularly agreed with his ways, but she did nothing to stop him. The only thing she did was to assure me that it was for my own good and that as soon as they came back, everything would get better. But I knew she was lying, and I had a feeling that it wasn’t the only thing she was lying about. I picked myself up from the floor and slumped out of the door. The cold breeze hit my face leaving a cold touch on the two wet streaks down my cheeks. I hadn’t noticed I had started crying. I never did. But every time it was over, the second he would be out that door, the silent waterwork started. I walked across the field noticing the pups playing further ahead on the grass area in front of the packhouse and as always when I got closer to them, their moms would hurry out and drag them away from the path I was walking. “I heard she unleashed something evil this time,” one whispered. “I heard that she won’t be getting a wolf, but a monstrosity,” another said. “She will end up hurting us all,” a third exclaimed while shaking her head. The endless spiral of rumors and gossip that somehow renewed for every day that passed by. Yesterday some even said I didn’t have a wolf, nor would I ever get one. That I was a witch the Alpha and Luna had found abandoned one day and simply chose to take pity on and sometimes, it felt as if that was true, that I wasn’t the daughter of the Alpha and Luna but just some packrat they had let into their house. I kept my head held high as I passed them and walked into the packhouse. Again, people created a path for me to walk, trying desperately not to come too close to me as I made my way up to my room. “Here comes the freak,” Chad, the beta’s son chuckled when I passed him and his friends on the stairs. As soon as I was inside my bedroom, I closed the door and leaned against it trying to slow my breathing. I ignored the nagging wish of throwing myself in my bed and staying there all day and headed straight for the shower instead. To my surprise Kathleen was waiting for me in my bathroom, sitting on the counter dangling her legs back and forth. “You look like s**t,” she said. “He is way too rough on you, you know,” she sighed. “Hello to you too,” I huffed. “What are you doing here?” “I wanted to check up on you,” she shrugged. “You were there longer than usual. You even missed the pack barbeque.” “You say that as if I am usually there,” I said rolling my eyes. “When have you last seen me at any social event held by the pack?” “Touché,” she said as she hopped down. “However, there will be a party tonight, a bonfire, and I came here to tell you that you are invited.” “Me? Did they invite me out of all people? Since when,” I asked skeptically. “You are the alpha’s daughter, like it or not, people have to include you and you have to show up,” she pointed out. “And as the beta’s daughter, and your best friend, it is my duty to make sure you are there.” “You are my only friend you know,” I chuckled. “Not even your brother wants me there.” “Best friend sounds way better though and just ignore Chad, I know I do,” she winked. “I’ll go see if I can find you a decent outfit while you take care of… that,” she frowned gesturing to my bruised-up body. I looked down at myself and I had to hand it to her, I looked like someone who had been dragged backward through a gutter during a storm. I jumped in the shower and turned up the heat so much that I was sure it would leave my otherwise pale skin red, but to me, it didn’t matter. My sore and busted muscles were thanking me for it as the tension eased under the hot stream of water. “You need to hurry a bit if you want to make it on time Cas,” she yelled from the other side of the door. “Need I remind you that I don’t want to go?” I shouted before leaning my head back, feeling the hot water run down my face appreciating the sudden silence. “Enough with this attitude!” she huffed, pulling the shower curtain to the side. “Jesus Christ!” I exclaimed, nearly stumbling into the wall. “I’m naked here!” “Nothing I haven’t seen before and honestly with a body like that there’s no need for you to be so shy,” she scoffed with an eye roll. “I found you an outfit,” she said changing the subject as I wrapped the towel around me and stepped out. “There is no way I am wearing that,” I stated as I took in the sight of the dress. It was a golden dress with straps so thin, that they looked like they could break at any the smallest movement. “Listen, the golden color goes great with your hair and a little sparkle never hurt anyone right?” she said trying to sound optimistic. “I don’t even want to go, let alone stand out,” I frowned. “Please?” she begged. “For me? I will be wearing one matching you, just in navy blue,” she shrugged. “You won’t stand out alone I promise.” I looked at her big pleading eyes and her small pout and sighed. “You will be the death of me you know that right?” “Nah, I am pretty sure that I will be your salvation,” she grinned. “Now put it on.”