Chapter five - Abaddon

Gene started acting weird during training, so when he said he had to be somewhere straight after then ran off before I could ask him anything about it, I followed him. From enough of a distance that he wouldn't realise if he was checking, but he's being sloppy anyway, rushing towards the old quarry and I suddenly wonder if he's meeting someone here. Maybe this mystery mate he's hiding from me.

Unfamiliar emotions course through me when I see him talking to Seraphina, the strongest one is the one telling me to run in there and slash his throat, which I've never had towards him, he's my best friend, closer to me than my half brother and she's nothing to me, we've barely spoken before. 

Sure I've always thought she was beautiful, but she was always too good for me, too kind, too pure, right up until she found those girls and then she became a pain in my ass. Trying to hide her disruptive behaviour from my father so she wouldn't get kicked out has been a huge hassle. He wouldn't understand that she was dealing with something, he'd just see her as a problem that needed dealing with, but she doesn't see that either.

I knew she and Gene were friendly, but I'm not comfortable with them being mates and I wish Ubel, my wolf, wasn't being suppressed so he could help me through this. I need to be supportive, I need to accept this.

When her friend Ana steps forward, I almost fall to the floor with the relief that rushes through me.

They're not secretly mates, so what are they doing here?

Gene gets into fighting stance and I immediately go on alert, scanning the area for rogues, but instead, Sera throws herself towards him. After the first collision I realise how stupid I've been in not figuring out what was going on sooner. Gene, the fucking idiot, is risking everything to help the girls train and l, as much as I hate to admit it, she's actually alright.

He's holding back, clearly, but she's giving him a run for his money and she doesn't even look like she's struggling.

Part of me wants to see what she's got.

'We'll talk about what the fuck you're doing later, but right now, I want you to go harder on her, prove to me she's worth whatever punishment my father will dish out when he finds out we knew what was going on.' I send to him and see him look around for barely a second before Sera catches his jaw with her foot, sending him reeling backwards.

He jumps back to his feet, his fist aiming for her cheek, which she dodges but his foot takes out her legs, sending her sprawling onto her back.

They spar for a while, then switch and Ana stands against Gene. They're better than some of the new guys we have and, with some proper training, they'd easio be good enough to join the patrols. Not that my dad would ever allow that of course. Not after what happened to my mum and my grandmother.

'I'm heading back home, come find me when you're done here.' I tell Gene, unsure exactly what I'm going to do about this. Really I should be stopping it and hauling all three of them in front of my father, but I get why they're doing it, so I can pretend not to know, at least for now.

I hear a noise behind me and turn, coming face to face with bright green eyes filled with concern and despite reassuring her that I'm fine, she orders me back to her house and even more absurdly, I obey.

She cleans my wounds with her secret stash of medical equipment and she's somehow figured out there's wolfsbane in my system without me having to say anything. Instead of questioning me or reprimanding me about it, she just accepts that there's a reason and bandages my injured arm and uses creams to help me heal.

For the first time in my life I realise how ridiculous it is that she has to hide so much from everyone. The things that make her happy and that she's good at.

She's amazing, truly and I want her more than any other girl I've ever met. The look in her eye tells me she feels the same and I don't care if I'm injured, I'm going to have her right now.

“Please.” Her husky voice turns me on even more and I can't believe I haven't had her before. “Please don’t tell on me.”

“What?” I stop in my tracks and stare at her.

“My parents don’t know I’ve got this stuff, they think I’ve given up on wanting to study medicine and they grounded me all week for training, if they found out I still was…” She sounds so upset and I can tell she doesn't want to disappoint her parents.

“Gene says you want to leave the pack.” The words feel like they choke coming out and I desperately want her to deny them but she nods.

“I want to leave to study, that’s all, well… I’d like to be a doctor too, so I guess I might not be welcomed back.” Her voice tails off by the end of the sentence and I realise I was right before to keep my distance from her. Not because she's disruptive or any of the other reasons I thought before, but because she won't be staying here past graduation, she wants more than what this pack can offer her and that has me all twisted up inside.

“I won’t tell anyone.” I tell her, my head growing fuzzy with the effort of trying to control my emotions on top of already hiding the immense pain in my body. “Gene can train with you twice a week, make sure you know what you’re doing, but no one else can know. If you get caught, I’ll lose my best friend as well as you.” In my confusion I've almost admitted I don't want her to go, she's making me weak and my father will know. He always knows. I need to get out of here, quickly. “Thank you again for your help. Goodbye Sera.”

I run home as fast as my body will allow me to, hearing my father screwing one of his women, I run straight up to bed and lie down, squeezing my eyes shut and ignoring Gene's persistent attempts to contact me, before finally telling him I'll see him tomorrow.

By midnight I've finally healed enough to fall asleep.

~*~

When I wake up, I relish in the strength I feel and the reassuring movement of Ubel stirring inside my mind.

I wish I could let him out for a run, it feels like it's been so long since he got to be out, but the tournament starts at ten and it's already eight, so I need to get the pill down me sooner rather than later if I want the initial side effects to disappear before the first match up.

Promising Ubel a run as soon as the pill wears off, I head downstairs where my breakfast is already laid out. Violet bustling around in the kitchen, smiles warmly at me and wishes me luck, dropping her head and excusing herself when my father enters the room.

He places the pill beside my plate without a word, when there's a knock at the door and Violet ushers a nervous looking Seraphina into the room.

Her eyes find mine and Ubel perks up, forcing my muscles to tense and look bigger and more impressive, preening when her eyes dilate fractionally. As pleased as he is with her appreciation of our body, he's even more distressed when she notices the pill beside my plate, her perfect brows drawing together as soon as I cover the pill with my hand and she looks up at me for answers I don't want her to give.

"Miss Oakwood, what can we do for you this early in the morning?" My father drawls out, his eyes raking all over her body and Ubel's fur bristles, his body tensed and ready to turn on my father at the first wrong move.

'Calm down, what's wrong with you?'

I ask him, but he's focused on my father and Seraphina, refusing to respond to me.

"Alpha Eligor, Sir, I was hoping you'd give me your permission to continue my studies after graduation. Please." She shifts nervously from foot to foot. "I want to study medicine, I've wanted to for many years. I understand I'll have to leave the packlands and live away, but I've saved a little money from babysitting over the years, it should be enough and I truly believe I can be an asset to the pack with this sort of degree."

"You've held this desire for some time, have you not?" My father says and now my focus is on him just as much as Ubel's is. Sera nods just a little and my father stands, laying his hand on her shoulder. "I will leave the decision up to your father, dear, if he is happy for you to study, then I have no argument."

"Really?" Seraphina squeals and for a moment I think she's going to hug him, but thankfully she doesn't, she just smiles from ear to ear. "Thank you Alpha, thank you so much."

"It's not settled yet, you still have to convince your dad." My dad actually chuckles, his hand moving from her shoulder down her back and lingering there.

"No." The bellowing voice has them both turning to stare at me in shock and I realise Ubel has taken over briefly, hating that he's touching her, hating that he's giving her permission to leave.

"Abaddon, do you have something to add?" My father's voice is as smooth as silk, but his eyes flare with anger at my insolence and I know I'll be punished later.

"No, Alpha." I lower my head, forcing Ubel back as far as I can. "My apologies."

"Go on now Miss Oakwood, I know how much you enjoy the tournament's, go and find some good seats." He pats her behind and Ubel rages inside of me almost out of control. I slip the pill into my mouth, washing it down with my apple juice and looking up when I feel eyes on me, ready to apologise again to my father, but it's Seraphina and her gaze is filled with confusion.

'Why?' She asks, my father closing the door behind her.

I'm not sure what I would tell her anyway, but my father strides towards me, backhanding me across the face with enough force to send me falling to the floor, my ears ringing.

"You want to fuck her, fuck her, but you don't show me up like that ever. It's pathetic and makes you look weak." He bends down to snarl in my face.

"Why are you letting her leave? You never let the girls study." I pant, trying to breathe through the dizziness and nausea flowing through me, as well as the pain radiating from my jaw. 

"Oh I doubt she'll go." My father laughs like it's obvious. "She'll probably settle down with her mate before then and not want to go and if not, well, she'll find out the hard way that a lone female can't survive without the protection of the pack."

I dry heave against the floor tiles and my father straightens, looking down at me in disgust.

"Get yourself together, I expect a good result today. I should begin handing over the pack to you after your birthday. Show me you deserve it." With that he leaves me alone, breathing through the side effects.

By the time I stroll onto the tournament field the side effects are practically gone and I feel almost normal again. Waving to the early members of the audience as they cheer for me, I'm adamant I'm going to prove myself to my father.

The first few match ups are for the younger kids and their families cheer loudly for them, whether they win or lose but when it's time for the older members, the atmosphere changes, bets are taken and a board is brought out to show who is fighting who.

My first match is against a younger boy called Dylan, who looks terrified to be up against me, and I almost feel bad for him. It should be an easy win, but I don't want to humiliate the boy, so I let him get a few hits in before taking him down.

My second is against Joshua who tries hard, but I manage to catch the back of his knee with my foot, taking him down and pouncing on his back, my arms trapping his throat until he taps out.

I glance over at my father before I think about what a mistake that is, he doesn't like the tap out rule, thinks it breeds unnecessary laziness and weakness if someone knows they can stop the fight whenever they want, rather than fighting against their opponent until one of you is unconscious or incapacitated.

Making a mental note to avoid looking his way until the end of the match, I face my next few opponents without too much issue or any losses, but my penultimate match is against Heston, a new pack member that joined when his father died and his mother requested to return to us and her family, and when I slam him to the floor, his wolf tries to take control, ripping the muscles in my shoulder with his claws.

I hear someone scream stop, looking up and meeting the panicked green eyes of Seraphina, who's standing up, but being held back from entering the arena by her parents.

Lifting my uninjured arm my slam it down into hi face, knocking him out cold and standing up to the deafening cheers of the audience, all of them except Seraphina who's watching me with what looks like pity in her eyes.

How can she pity me? I'm one step away from winning the entire tournament. She should be pleased for me, proud even. Can she not see that even with the Wolfsbane I'm the strongest one here?

I glare at her, but she just smiles sadly at me, sitting back down and picking up a notebook that she must have dropped when she jumped to her feet.

Dragging myself to the bench to await my final match, I look around for Gene to patch my back up, but he's on the field, fighting Levi so I have to make do with Naomi, who's more than happy to bandage me up without questioning why I'm still bleeding.

Gene beats Levi, making him submit with an arm bent behind his back, which means it's him against me in the final fight.

There's a short interlude to give him time to recover from his last match, but then we're stood facing one another, a tense silence surrounding us as everyone waits to see who'll win.

My shoulder is still bleeding, meaning it's deeper than I thought and I feel a little lightheaded with the loss of blood, but I focus on the knowledge that this is the last one before I can sit down in the woods for the rest of the rest of the evening, drinking beer to dull the pain and let myself heal oh so slowly.

Gene makes the first move, faking a dive to the right but we've trained together so often I know he's going left, so I meet him head on, slamming my good shoulder into his throat and leaving him breathless.

He staggers back and I follow, swiping his leg out from under him, he stumbles and falls, managing to roll out from under me as I jump towards him.

His fist connects with my face, but it's only a light hit, not strong enough to knock me out thankfully, however, when I turn back to face me, I know by the look of horror on his face that he's seen my shoulder.

He crouches down, signalling to everyone he's going for a take down, but taking a second too long to do it and I know it's a dive, allowing me time to lift my knee to his chin, knock him out and end the match with a win.

As the audience jumps to their feet, screaming and clapping their congratulations, my gaze lands in my father. His lips are pulled into a thin line as he claps, his eyes blazing with hidden anger and I know he knows Gene through the match.

I raise my hand, thanking the audience and reach down to pull Gene to his feet once he starts to regain consciousness.

For some reason my gaze travels to Seraphina, who's still sitting, watching me with sadness in her eyes. Somehow that's worse than when she used to look at me in anger and hatred, so I turn away from her, letting Naomi pull my arm around her shoulders as she grins up at me and promises me all sorts of naughty things for after the party this evening.

"Congratulations Abby." Grace, the woman my father's kept around for the longest time and mother to my half brother Zac, hovers near the exit, but my father is nowhere to be seen.

"Thanks." I smile at her and she looks at my shoulder as though she knows why I'm still bleeding and she probably does, she's a good woman, she tries to mother me as much as my father would allow when my mother was killed but there's only so much she can do.

"I hear there's a party tonight, you should go. I'll keep your father company while you're away." She gives me a look I know means my father's pissed at me and it's better if I stay away for as long as possible to let him get his anger under control, then she walks away and Naomi tugs me towards the woods.

The first beer goes down quickly and works wonders on the pain, by my third I'm dancing and by my sixth I'm so far gone I think I see Seraphina talking to Gene at the edge of the party.

I stumble away from Naomi and towards my best friend and sure enough, she's standing there beside him, her eyes looking me over and taking in my condition.

"What the fuck's happening here?" I force a laugh when I reach them, slapping Gene on the back but looking at her. I hate how she's looking at me, full of sympathy and compassion, as though I'm someone to pity when that's far from the case. "You telling him the good news? My father gives you the ok to leave so you finally think you'll join in the fun? Nuh uh baby, this is for the pack and you don't want to be part of this pack, so go on, run away."

"Are you ok? I came to offer to sort your shoulder out, until you're ready to heal." She says quietly, looking around to check no one hears her.

"Why would I ever want or need your help?" I split the words at her, then gesture behind me at the various girls waiting for me to go back and choose them for the night.

Gene sucks in a breath and excuses himself, whispering in my ear for me not to be an idiot, both Seraphina and I watch him walk away and only then I realise we're alone at the edge of the party.

"You're still bleeding." She says, reaching up to touch my shoulder. "You might need stitches."

"Why do you care? You're leaving." I snap, whipping my head around to glare at her. 

"Why do you do it?" She pulls her hand back, looking up at me with so much sadness and pity I think she might cry right here and now. The idea of seeing her cry twists my stomach and makes me want to wrap my arms around her, which is another unfamiliar feeling. One I know my dad would disapprove of.

"What are you doing here? You're always around all of a sudden? I've been hurt before and you've never cared, so why now?" The alcohol is wearing off, the pain in my body seeping through and making me sound vicious.

"I've always cared." She says in barely a whisper. "I just couldn't help you before. Now I can."

She turns, heading back through the woods and I don't know if she's trying to get away from me or to follow her so she can heal me, either way I'm not finished with her, so I chase after her.

"Don't lie to me, Sera." I shout angrily and she spins around, making me almost collide with her. "You've always hated me. I see the way you look at me, the way you judge me for being with girls, for my beliefs about how to run a pack. I see it in you."

"Of course you do. Your beliefs mean I have to leave to be who I am." She shoves at my chest, letting her frustration out on me. "But I never hated you, ever. I just wish things were different. That's all."

I don't understand what happens next, I could blame the alcohol but that would be a poor excuse. Instead of any of the multitude of responses flying around my brain, I find myself shoving her against the tree behind her, my mouth covering hers and swallowing her gasp of surprise.

She relaxes, her mouth moving against mine, her hands coming up around my neck, careful to avoid my injuries and I'm gone, I never want this to end. It's the best experience I've ever had, everything else fades away. The pain in my body, the alcohol in my system, my rage, none of it matters anymore because the sensation of her soft lips, her body pressed against mine is everything.