Knowing it would not be long before my hunger kicked in, I raced into the kitchen to where the basement door is. Throwing it open, I raced down the stairs so fast, I tripped halfway down and rolled down the rest of the way, making me groan in pain. Once at the bottom, I crawled to the back of the basement where different herbs and plants were dried out and stored. Just as I went to reach up and grab the wolfsbane, a gloved hand grabbed it for me. I watched as Beta Michael placed the herbs in a bottle of water before passing it to me. I stared at him, confused and frightened. How did he know what I was?
I grabbed the bottle and chugged it down. It felt like acid burning down my throat, but I knew if I didn’t, Michael would start looking like dinner. Wolfsbane instantly muted my bloodlust. Laying back on the cement floor, I could feel the wolfbane burning every cell in my body.
My stomach turned violently, and I reached for the closest thing to me, a box, and threw up the entire contents of my stomach, which was not much. Sitting up, I leaned back on some shelving before bringing the bottle back to my lips and forcing myself to drink more down. My throat was killing me. I could feel the burn all the way to my stomach, making me want to double over and scream.
“How?” I ask, my voice sounded strangled and breathless.
“We have always known, at least all of the original Pack members. When you joined this Pack, I saw your mother feed you a few times. The Alpha had sworn us to secrecy,” he stated.
I looked at him. His eyebrow had a cut on it, but it was almost completely healed beside his clothes being a bit of a mess. You wouldn’t think he just got into a fight with a werewolf, let alone an Alpha.
“I don’t care that you’re a Hybrid, you’re still one of us. Everyone else thinks the same, but Ari, you need to get out of here,” he stated.
“Tell me something I don’t already know, but I can’t. He won’t let me take Lily, and he would find her straight away, being that the dick is technically her father!” I replied dryly.
His eyes darted up to the door nervously before falling back on me. “Get her to reject the Pack when she steps over the border. You do the same, then leave the city. Ari, we can’t go against him, but we are all sick of his shit and watching him abuse you,” he whispered. I could see the sadness in his eyes; he truly did care for Lily and me.
I nodded, not really knowing what to say.
“But her wolf isn’t awake yet. How can she reject the Pack when she hasn’t awoken yet?” I asked.
“You don’t need a wolf to reject the Pack, Ari. You should know this seeing as you haven’t got one either. You can also reject the Pack at any time. It’s wolf genes, not the wolf itself!”
Nodding my head, I lifted up my shirt. There are 5 deep gashes across my ribs. The blood running down my stomach and thighs was pooling on the floor. Beta Michael grabbed a cloth and put pressure on it until it stopped bleeding before placing a waterproof dressing over it. It was going to take a good few days before it healed. I can’t heal like a wolf but still faster than a human even without blood.
“Thanks,” I croaked out.
“I would give you my blood, but the Alpha will notice straight away when your scent changes, and then we will both be dead and no one to look after Lily.”
“You don’t have to explain, I understand.” Gripping the shelf, I pulled myself up before leaning back, regaining feeling in my legs. Michael passed me a jar. It had syringes filled with a gold liquid and two water bottles of wolfsbane.
“Just in case you need more, show Lily the syringes in case she ever needs to use them on you. They are concentrated levels of wolfsbane. I know wolfsbane can’t kill you, but they,” he said, pointing at the syringes of gold liquid “will even put you on your arse for a while, okay? And tell Lily not to drink from the bottles,” he said.
I looked at him questionably. “It’s fine. I noticed every time you got injured, my wolfsbane supply went down or completely went missing. I figured out it was you. Also, I could smell it on you.”
He pushed me towards the stairs, and I climbed up them. Every step hurts. Even breathing hurts. I could feel my wound stretching with every movement I made. Once to the top step, Michael’s mate Elizabeth was standing in the kitchen. She hugged me carefully before speaking.
“There is hot stew in your room. The Alpha is passed out drunk, so eat then have a shower,,” she said before placing a box of painkillers in my hand. She walked me to my room and watched me and Lily eat the stew. It was delicious. I didn’t realise how hungry I was until I walked in and smelt it, my stomach instantly started growling. I polished off the whole bowl and even soaked up all the juices with a piece of bread. Elizabeth handed me a glass of water and pushed the pills into my hand again. I quickly swallowed two of the little pills before getting up and placing the jar and bottles of water in the duffle bag after explaining to Lily what they were.
“Remember Lily, you can’t drink these. They will kill you and only use these on me if you have to,” I said, making sure I spoke clearly so she understood what I was telling her.
Elizabeth took the bowls and bread plates out before bringing in towels. Getting up, I pulled Lily up with me, and we walked down the hall towards the bathroom, which was in the middle of the house.