Infuriated by my big brother’s persistent rules, I jumped from my bed and slid on my shoes. I needed to be stronger, needed to train I had so many questions, and if no one else would give me the answers, then I’d go look for them myself But first of all, I needed to be strong enough to run away from the pack, it had been five years. The pack had changed since that night, and so had Ethan T had been living at Vicky’s house ever since, but my brothers still stayed in the pack house, even though they didn’t get along well like before. Sometimes I would hear Soren argue with Ethan, saying things like, “You need to tell me the truth,” but Ethan never answered him no matter how hard Soren pushed. I had a feeling that they were referring to Mommy and Dad. It wasn’t like i missed my parents-I didn’t know what parents really meant until I started living in Vicky’s house. i learned that kids didn’t get punished for every tiny thing they did; I learned that, even if kids made mistakes, they didn’t need to be beaten. Families were not just about children being obedient and strictly following everything their parents said to the letter. While I didn’t particularly miss my parents, once in a while, I still got curious and went to ask Ethan where they went. He d just say that it wasn’t my concern. If Soren was there when I asked the question, he would get into a big fight with Ethan. So slowly, I learned to avoid this topic. Things seemed to slowly go back to normal, until one night, we were attacked by rogues… and Soren went missing. I took a deep breath and stepped toward the window, then I opened it and looked down at the ground below. I was fortunate enough to have a drain pipe near my window, and slinging my leg up onto the window ledge, I shimmed my way outside, then down the pipe. My feet hitting the ground brought a smile to my face, and I took off toward the training grounds. At this time of night, they would be empty, but the equipment they used would still be there for me. As I broke through the small stadium entry way, I found the field dimly lit with stage lighting. Shadows still crested the edges of the arena that neared the woods, but with the warriors out doing their rounds, I didn’ t fear the dark Move after move, I maneuvered myself around the training grounds and landed hit after hit on my targets. The obstacles in place were for more advanced training, but after weeks of coming out here to practice, I had learned my way around. “Nice hit.” a voice called out in the distance, followed by my clapping that echoed across the field. Stopping in my tracks, I spun to face the person in question. My heart raced, realizing I had been caught. But when my eyes landed on Talon, I let out a breath in relief. Thank the Goddess it wasn’t my brother! Ever since Ethan had become the Alpha of the pack, Talon took on the role of Beta, and they had been very busy. The last time I’d seen them was almost a month ago. “Welcome back! Wha-what are you doing out here?” | stuttered. “Me?” Talon chuckled.copy right hot novel pub