4 - A Disgrace To The Pack

I clutched the sides of my dress as I inched closer to him with dreading steps. Nobody scared me in the entire world. Except Rhett. The way his eyes were filled with anger right now…. I wondered if it was hatred instead. There was a very thin line between both anyway. 

Rhett stood with his hands on his waist, his muscular form towering over my small one. I lifted up my eyes and brought it until his chest, unable to lift them more up to look into his eyes.

“I- I was- it-” I stammered, trying to find words to explain.

Rhett’s hands dropped from waist to his sides. Clenched fists, breathing heavy. 

“Training. 4 AM.” He growled out the words, turned around, and stormed back inside the house.

I waited until I could not hear his footsteps anymore. Once there was not even a peep, I let out the breath that I was holding from so long, and slumped in relief. 

I tapped on my phone screen that showed it was One am already. Damn it!

Climbing up the stairs, I quietly ran inside the dark house and found my bedroom easily. I had a lot of practice. Entering the room in the dark I locked it behind me. Took off the dress, bra and slumped on the bed in my underwear. Finally, peace!

I was just going to just close my eyes for a moment before going to the bathroom to wash off the makeup and change clothes. But my head was pounding. The exhaustion was overwhelming. I used to party till four and be up by five again without even a hangover, but slowly that all was slipping away. It was like I was ageing every day, rapidly.

My eyes snapped open. Right, I should set an alarm! I fiddled around in the bed to find my phone, tapped on the screen and with the light shining in my eyes like sharp edged swords, I tried to find the option. But then my eyes fell on the time it was showing- Three forty five. 

What? WHATTT???

I shot up in the bed, my eyes trying to glare at the screen to make sure the number was still showing the same. It did not change. Panicked, I scrambled out of the bed while throwing the phone back on the bed. As soon as I was on my feet, my head started spinning and a strong sense of nausea overtook my senses.

Slapping my hand on my mouth, I rushed toward the bathroom, blindingly banging my palm on the buttons outside to turn the lights on. Rushing to the sink, I threw up everything that I had eaten until my stomach hurt. My head was throbbing, I could feel a vein jumping on the side of my forehead.

I was running out of time, so I quickly washed my mouth, and jumped in the shower.

By the time I ran out of the house in my running shoes, black slacks and sports bra with wet hair tied in a mess of a bun (there was no way I was going to call it a ‘messy bun’. That would be an insult to the entire hairstyle world!), the clock had already struck past four.

Rhett was standing in the middle of the ground in his track suit. His eyes again glaring at me.

“Sorry.” I mumbled for being late.

His jaw clenched tight, but he kept quiet. That was even more scary.

“Start running.” he ordered, “ten laps of the entire ground.”

I nodded my head, and followed his command. Keeping the pace steady, I started the run. At first the cold air was soothing when it hit my face and body. It woke me up completely, though the nausea and the headache still remained.

Rhett had started training me since I was fourteen. Every day, Five AM to Seven AM. The day I misbehaved, it started at four AM and my exercises were increased. After giving me the orders, he would usually head over to the other side of the ground and train all the warriors, but today the ground was empty. Perhaps the Warriors had a day off.

I was fine until five laps. By the sixth one I started loosing my breath as my body started to ache. The doctor had told me that the cancer will suck away all the energy I have left bit by bit, but I had not expected it to start this soon.

I still completed eight rounds of the large ground that was spread out for several acres. Rhett had already completed over fifteen rounds. My ninth one started, but suddenly I felt my knees getting weak.

No. No no no… I tried hard, really REALLY hard not to fall down. But I did.

My legs shook terribly and the pounding in my head had increased so much that I could barely see the light from the sun rising in the far end. It was just darkness clouding my vision.

I tried to get up, my hand slipped, making me fall down harder. I was breathing heavily like someone had let my throat go after clutching it for a lifetime. Drenched in sweat. Rhett was not even out of breath.

“Are you serious?! You can not run even ten full circles of this entire ground?” Rhett’s growl echoed through the empty ground.

I looked up at his face. The one that used to be filled with a calm seriousness six years ago was now filled with an ugly scowl.

Rhett was angry. As I tried to gather my strength again, he gritted out, “If you can’t run even ten circles of this ground, you are just a disgrace to this entire pack, Light! When are you going to learn that there are other things in this world aside from creating trouble and drama?!”

He bent down, grabbed my arm, and snatched me off the ground in one swift move. I was standing on my legs again, but they were shaking. He turned me around, and gave a push to my back, “Run!”

Even though my head hurt terribly, and my body trembled, I forced it to move. I did not want to disappoint Rhett anymore. I hated that look on his face.

I ran, completing the ten rounds on the ground. The sun had come up already. The nausea was tickling my throat. I was going to throw up again. The darkness had already started to cover my vision, I could barely feel any air in my lungs.

The moment I came to a stop after the last lap, I had to force myself not to fall down. 

Rhett looked at the watch on his arm and then at my face. His lips were thinned in a displeased line. The way I had lost all strength just from ten laps must be extremely disappointing. Other girls of our pack completed twenty rounds of run effortlessly and then they did the exercise on the equipments too.

Rhett shook his head, and dropped it to the ground. His fingers rubbed his eyes as he took slow, deep breaths to calm his frustration.

He looked up again and then said to me in a deathly quiet voice, “You are my sister, Light. The sister of the GAMMA of this pack who trains all the soldiers of our pack.”

I could not speak. I was about to throw up.

When I did not give him a glance, he took it as disrespect, thinking I was ignoring him on purpose.

He stepped closer to me, his voice dropping a notch and turning dimmer, “It is high time that you stop dragging our dead parents’ names through the mud and learn to make yourself better! You already can’t summon your wolf. The least you can fucking do is stop causing troubles in the pack for other members and make your weak body strong enough to be able to run if some day our pack is under a fucking attack!”

I became stiff. His words were bringing back memories that I never wanted to be reminded of. 

I clenched my teeth, forcing myself to remain still, my heart pounded in my chest as the feeling of dread crawled up in my spine. 

Rhett turned around and stormed out of the pack ground. I listened to his footsteps, waiting till he was inside the pack house. The moment he was gone, I fell down on the ground, clutching my head. The pain had become unbearable like someone was banging my head against the wall repeatedly. And then I threw up on the ground. Just water, dry heaving.

I shifted away from the vomit and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. The gross smell was in my mouth. I hated it.

I tried to move and go back to my house, but my legs were not moving at all. Slowly the darkness covered my vision again, this time with even more blackness. 

Using my hands, I dragged my body to the corner of the pack house, against the wall between the bushes so I could be hidden, and then I fell into unconsciousness. 

When I came awake again, the sun was shining right on my face. I was covered in sweat. My head was not throbbing anymore, and no nausea. 

I turned around, falling on my back and taking deep breaths. It was a close call today. I did not want Rhett to find out about my illness. I was not sure if he hated me for what happened to our parents, or if he was just angry because I fought with Mariana, and then kissed Edge and created a scandal, but I did not want to increase trouble for him more. My sickness will be nothing but another nuisance to his list. I wanted to keep it to myself for as long as possible, preferably until the day I drop dead.

I unzipped the pockets of my track pant and pulled out two tablets that I had grabbed before leaving my room. The doctor had given it so I could feel a little bit better, less pain, and less throwing up. Earlier I had no strength to swallow these, but now that I felt better, I shoved them in my mouth and swallowed them directly without water. 

When I had enough strength to get up without falling back on my arse, I went back to my house. It was a five minutes walk from the pack house. I and Rhett lived there alone after our parents died. Just one story house with three bedrooms, an open kitchen, and a hall, all painted white. 

There was a parking space outside the house. When my mom was alive, she used to tend to the plants so we always had a small garden. But after she died, I tried to take care of it but all the plants just died one after another. It was like the attack that snatched my parents had also snatched the soul of our family. 

Rhett used to be the quiet, sincere boy who loved his parents, and went to parties with his friends but always stayed responsible and good. There was never a time when I saw him angry. At least I did not remember any.

I don’t remember the last time we laughed together. The house was just quiet. Like the demons of the past still haunting it to this day.

I walked inside my room, took a shower, and got dressed in a jeans and crop top. Grabbing my phone, I dialed Dylan and Anna,

“Let’s go to Wilderings Inn?”

There was no way I was wasting the rest of my life only attending college lectures.

Anna jumped at the very name, “Seriously? That prime resort we have been talking about since last month?”

“Awesome!” Dylan said excitedly, “I had already asked dad to arrange for us since he knows the owner. We are going to see celebrities there! I hope the top actress Jenny is there! I heard it’s her favorite place.”

“I just want to lay in the swimming pool and lose my brains in the water.” I breathed, the sensation of having water all over me and my head floating in the water did not sound anything less than heaven right now.

“Cool! Meet in fifteen minutes. Upper East Street.” Anna announced.