Chapter 2

~14 Years Ago Cont.~

“RUN!” Keith's voice rings out over the angry men's loud voices, a desperate command that cuts through the chaos.

My stomach drops, and a distressed whimper slips past my lips, despite my attempt to swallow it down. I look at Jason, and he is frozen, staring at the bedroom door. He is pale, probably just as pale as I am. But even though I'm terrified, my heart pounding like a drum against my ribs, I have to push past it because I promised Keith I'd get his brother out of here, so I spring into action with a surge of adrenaline.

I fight every instinct that screams to curl up under Keith's sheets and hide, to make myself small and invisible, and I force myself out of bed. I grab Jason's wrist, pull him to his feet, and shove the window up with trembling hands. I carefully lower him out of it, his small body dangling before he finds his footing on the ground below. I jump out after him, the impact jarring my teeth. I grip his hand tightly and run toward the woods.

The woods are right there. The tree line is only 40 feet away at most, a dark silhouette against the pre-dawn sky, but we never make it. They are faster and block our path. Jason is ripped from my grasp, his small finger slipping from mine, and I am tossed to the ground and left behind, the impact knocking the wind from my lungs.

Jason screams as he is thrown over a large man's shoulders. His little fist bangs against the man's back as he is carried away. When Jason looks up, his tearful, frightened eyes meet mine, and I've never felt so helpless. He's so small and young. He's only six years old, and they're treating him like a criminal, his pajama-covered body no match for their muscles.

I push off the ground and run after them, growling as fiercely as I can, though the sound is more like a wounded animal than a threat. Jason reaches for me, his small arm outstretched, and I reach for him, our fingers almost touching, but before I can reach him, pain radiates through my face when I'm backhanded by a much larger man, and I fall to the ground again, my head spinning.

Warm, thick blood pours from my throbbing nose, the metallic taste filling my mouth as I hold it with shaking hands. I look through tear-filled eyes as they round the back corner of the house and disappear.

I scramble to my feet, my legs unsteady, and run after them. By the time I reach the front, they are already down the road, heading toward the packhouse. I run after them, my bare feet slapping against the pavement, and as I get closer, I can hear Keith yelling for Jason and threatening the men, promising to kill them if they hurt his brother.

The men ignore Jason's cries and Keith's threats. They ignore me as I follow behind them, a small, bloody figure in the darkness, and keep going until they reach the packhouse's front yard.

The sun is barely up, and the bonfire to the right of the house is burning brightly, casting an eerie orange glow on the scene unfolding before me.

The scene is all too familiar, and I freeze as awful memories come rushing back. Memories of another time, another fire, another life I try not to think about. I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to force those memories out of my head, but they dance behind my eyelids.

My eyes snap open when I hear the Alpha begin speaking, his voice booming across the clearing.

The more he speaks, the further my heart sinks. I'm watching an angry mob damn a 6-year-old for what his father did.

“Keith Moore, you are pardoned of any crimes Robert did because he was not your true father.”

“My name is Gallo! Keith Gallo! Robert was the only father I've known!” Keith yells, his voice strong but cracking around the edges with emotions, but Alpha Gregory ignores him. He doesn't spare him a glance; he keeps his gaze out at the crowd as he continues to speak.

“Jason Gallo, Robert was your father. He was an evil man. So evil that he mutinied against this pack and me.

See, when someone turns against their Alpha, they turn against their entire pack, and that's what your father did.

I know you're young, but your father's blood taints you. It's in your blood. It's in your genes. You will grow up to be just as evil as your father, and I cannot have someone like that here. I cannot risk my pack just because you're young.

Jason Gallo, I deem you a threat to the well-being of this pack. If you were older, I would sentence you to death, but since you're young, I will show you leniency.

I may be firm, but I'm not a monster. I'm trying to protect what's left of the pack your father destroyed. And quite frankly, child, I'm having a hard time looking at your face because your father is responsible for the death of my beloved Luna and my two young pups.

Jason Gallo, son of Robert Gallo, I hereby revoke your rights to this pack. I banish you from this pack indefinitely. You are now a rogue. If you set one foot in my pack, I will not be so lenient with you, child. I will have you killed right where you stand. You have ten minutes to get out of my pack!” Alpha Gregory says firmly, and just like that, the small 6-year-old boy is tossed to the ground, crying.

Jason sobs as he looks around at the people surrounding him. The very people who used to be his friends and pack members. His little face is red and blotchy; tears soak his face, snot runs from his nose, and spit connects his lips as he sobs.

I try to go to him, but the large men won't let me pass.

His desperate eyes frantically look around for someone to help him. Someone to tell him it will be okay, but that help will never come from these people. Help never comes when you're in a situation like this. It never came for me, and I'm not letting it happen to him. I duck under the large man's arms and run for Jason.

I'm halfway to him when one of the largest men I have ever seen steps out and strikes me in the face. I fall back with a loud thud, and for a moment, everything is muffled, and my vision blurs as the world spins around me.

I lift my head as Keith rips himself free from the guard's arms, and he runs to his brother. He pulls Jason from the ground and into his arms. The small boy wraps his arms and legs around him, clinging to him like a lifeline.

Keith stands and slowly turns, allowing his angry glare to sweep across the crowd before landing on the Alpha, his eyes burning with defiance and determination.

“Keith, put that traitorous child down and step away from him. You have a good life and a home here. You will be graduating from training with top honors soon. Your Captain told me you have your heart set on being a captain one day. He says he has no doubt you'll be one within a year. Don't ruin it, son.”

“I am not your son! My father is Robert Gallo, and this is my brother. If you're kicking him out, then you're kicking me out. I go where he goes,” Keith snaps, and my stomach drops further.

Jerry's wife steps out of the crowd to go to them, but the guards quickly apprehend her.

“The next person to step forward and try to help them will be killed on the spot. It wasn't just my mate and two young children who died in that attack. We lost half of our pack! Women! Children! Mothers and Fathers! We lost many loved ones, and I will not tolerate anyone helping these traitors!”

Keith glares at the Alpha for a few moments longer before turning and walking away.

My body moves the moment he starts walking, a desperate instinct urging me forward. I'm going wherever he goes, no matter what. I won't lose him. I love him with all my heart; every beat screams his name. I run toward him, but guards quickly catch me, their rough hands like vices around my arms as they hold me still with their sharp claws against my throat.

Keith turns and screams for them to stop, his voice desperate, but they ignore him. They don't stop on his command; their claws sink in, drawing blood that trickles down my neck, and I think this is it. After everything I've endured, this is how I'll die.

The man's claw doesn't go deep enough to kill me; he stops when the Alpha's voice booms, commanding him to stop. I cough and hold my throat when he lets go.

Keith stares at me, his eyes filled with something I can't quite read. I can see his emotions swirling in his eyes. I can see the war he is fighting, and that battle terrifies me more than any physical pain. I've been beaten, raped, had bones broken, and blood spilled, but nothing scares me as the look in his eyes does. Nothing scares me like the thought of losing him, the possibility that he might choose to leave me behind forever.

“Stay, Keith, and you can be with your lover. Put that traitor's son down, and stay with the boy you love. I'll give you a bigger house. One where you and your lover will be happy. One you can have a family in. One you can fill with children. Just put him down, walk away, and you can have it all. Your dream job, the love of your life, a bigger new home, and a family. But if you walk away, just know that if your lover tries to follow you at any point, he will be killed on the spot, and it will be your fault.”

I lock eyes with Keith and step forward, intending to run to him or give my life trying to, but his hand quickly shoots out toward me, and his words stop me in my tracks and shatter my heart.

It isn't just his words that cut deep; it is the cold, empty look in his eyes that tells me he doesn't want me to follow him.

“Stay! Don't you dare follow me! It was all a lie… I never loved you, Phoenix! I was using you to get into your pants. I never loved you, so don't you dare try to follow me. You'll just be a burden, slowing me down, and another mouth to feed. I don't love you, so don't follow me!”

It feels like someone stole the air from my lungs; I can't breathe. I never knew words could hurt so much. I never knew my heart could break this way, that it could feel so broken.

I try to wrap my head around his words and what I thought we had. I try to understand it all and see where I went wrong, but I can't. Every hug, caress of his hand, touch of his lips, and every "I love you" he spoke felt so real. How could it not be real? How could every moment we shared be a lie?

I can't stop the ugly sound that leaves my mouth as I drop to my knees, a guttural sob that tears from my throat. I shatter right there in front of the pack, my world crumbling to dust as I watch Keith walk away, and out of my life forever.

I can't pull myself away from that spot, not even hours after the place clears out. I lie on the ground, broken and shattered, the cold seeping into my bones. I lie staring down the road where he left, hoping he'll come back for me. Hoping to catch a glimpse of him waving for me to follow him, but it never comes. He never came back. I lie there until I feel numb, and I can't feel anything, not even my wolf, who has been silent since those words left Keith's mouth this morning.

I died that day. At least that's how it feels.

I left everything behind and went back to my cave, where I stayed away from people and chose never to speak again.

Pack life isn't for me. People aren't for me. All they do is hurt you.