ECHO

One week later

"-she almost fucking died!"

"But she didn't!"

"How much longer does she have to hide? Enough is enough!"

Loud voices yelled at each other mere few feet away making me question their werewolf skills of awareness since I was right with them in the living room of a house we recently rented.

"Um, you guys? I am right here," I gave them an awkward wave to remind them that I wasn't invisible.

Molly, Gemma and Arlo looked at me as if I had grown a second head and were a talking lunatic.

The three of them have been more than a family to me these last five years. They've always had my back and kept each other safe. I wish I could say the same for me because all I've ever done was cause them more trouble.

A pang of guilt consumes my heart as I stare at them. It was time for me to step up and keep them safe. I could no longer be part of the problem.

They might be rogues, like me, but they were my pack. They stuck by me when nobody would.

"Listen, I think you guys should stay here. It's been a week since the incident and we've traveled up north. It's highly unlikely that they would track us here since they still think I hate the weather here and won't survive it. You'll be safe here," I said all in one breath not giving them a chance to interrupt.

And again, they just stared at me for a moment and began shouting at each other ignoring every single word that I just said.

I wish I could smack each of them upside down right about now, but I was still recovering from the incident last week.

"Hello, Princess."

He leaned down and whispered in my ear while his hot, stinky breath made me nauseous.

I wanted to move, but I couldn't because he had a tight hold on my arms. I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping this would all be over soon.

He was a bully and I knew it in my heart that he would make me suffer. My family, the pack, they didn't care about me – never had. This time, it won't be any different.

"Oh, sweetheart, won't you say hello to me?" he asked sweetly.

"Fuck off, Colvin!" I spat.

I feared for myself and what he would do to me, but I wasn't going down without a fight – no matter how feeble the attempt it might seem.

"Well, I missed you too."

He chuckled and held me at an arm's length, but with the grip still tight. It was bound to leave marks on my skin.

"My my, you've grown, Echo. You were cute back then, but now, you are a minx," he whistled and licked his lips.

Whatever he did or said, was revolting and I wanted to smack him so hard – maybe I would as soon as he'd loosen his grip on my upper arms.

"Go back to your pack and leave me alone!"

I yelled in his face, but he did not take that kindly and dragged me towards a black SUV that was parked mere five feet away.

Knowing what he was about to do, I thrashed against him with all that I had. This was my only window to get away. Once I was in the car, my fate would be sealed and I would be on my way to hell.

"Settle down, bitch!"

He slapped me with the back of his hand and fuck, it hurt. But I had no time to process the pain; instead, I took the opportunity and kneed him where the sun don't shine.

When he fell to the ground on his knees, I grabbed him by the back of his head and kneed him in the face this time. A loud crunch gave me the satisfaction that I needed.

A broken nose and damage to his manhood was a decent achievement tonight.

"You will pay for this, Echo! The entire Infernal Pack will hunt you down and then you'll be mine. Don't forg-,"

I spat on the ground and said every word clearly so he would understand, "I. Will. Never. Be. Yours."

And with one final look at his hunched figure, I ran but his dirty tricks caught me by surprise. A loud bang echoed in the darkness of night and the bullet pierced the left side of my body. But I didn't let that faze me because I was done being weak.

You might think that I would've recovered sooner with my healing abilities, but the thing was, I abandoned my werewolf side when I left my back. All I thought about the kind was that they were selfish and hungry for power excluding the present company.

It's said that if you don't tap into your werewolf side, your wolf eventually fades away and you grow weaker – weaker than a human. I think that was happening to me right now.

But I could never shift. My life was made miserable by wolves, I was shunned by them, hated by them and taken advantage of, including my own family.

Noticing my dark mood, the three of them finally stopped arguing.

Gemma and Molly sat on either side of me on the couch while Arlo took seat on the small coffee table ahead.

"We are sorry," said Molly, concern etched on her beautiful face.

"I know you think that you should leave, but you don't have to. We could talk to the Alpha of this town and I am sure we could stay here," Arlo mentioned as he looked from Molly to me to Gemma.

Both of them nodded in agreement.

I gulped because I knew what the right thing was and it was killing me on the inside. Not being with them was going to hurt, but putting them in harm's way hurt way more.

"You know I can't, Arlo," I whispered.

"Because of me you guys have had to uproot your life and are on a constant move. You know my pack will taint your reputation as well. You might be termed as rogues, but half the packs that know about your existence know that you aren't dangerous. But that's it. Only few who know will trust you, but what about others? Why should you people have to sacrifice your lives because of me?"

"Because you are family," Gemma said as a tear slide down her left cheek.

"Oh, Gem..."

I instantly wrapped my arms around her and soon Molly wrapped hers around us followed by Arlo.

We stayed like that for a while. It felt nice liked warmth and happiness.

But the chaos inside my head couldn't be calmed for I knew that last week's incident was just the beginning.

-

A/N:

Hi, again!

I hope you liked the first chapter! What do you think is going to happen next?

Would you also like to see how the characters look? Let me know in the comments! xx

Love,
Grace Clarke xo