5

“No, really, mom? What future…. the one where we’re suffocated with over-protection and our option in life is to find a mate that befits children of the Alpha and go on to reproduce forever more….. that’s it for us, in this little bubble of safety... As a femme, I’m not even next in line for Alpha; our baby uncle is. Even though I’m the firstborn and the most powerful, he’s the one with a penis…. He’s not even full-blood but noooo…. Lunas carry the lineage, so of course, Rema had a boy, and you didn’t, so the fates reverted it to her second born. Limited by rules and boundaries where even my own powers have been tied down, so I cannot use them to their full extent….. We’re prisoners who have to obey, and this isn’t a life….. What if I wanted more?.... What if I wanted to see the world, become something great…not be bound by a mate and pups and a domestic life of hell? What if I wanted to be the Alpha?!”

“Stop it. Stop overreacting and making out that this is some horrible existence. You don’t know how lucky we are to live with privilege and safety. There are packs out there who barely scrape by in the human world and have to live as animals to be able to eat.” I jump to my parents' defense, knowing that everything they do for us is born of love and protection, and that we have a nice life. We want for nothing. Even if our world is small and we are held close, it's because we are the daughters of the Alpha. We have to be protected. She has no idea how much we have.

They fought to give us this, and she’s throwing it all back in their faces.

“Eve…. You know why…. we bound your power because you couldn’t control them. For the safety of everyone, but mostly yourself. They’re stronger than you are, and you hurt so many children and animals when you didn’t mean to. We had no choice.” My mom steps toward her to try to pull her to face her, but Eve stamps away and kicks the chair by the window out of the way. Her temper flares, revealing the constant dark anger she holds inside.

Simon side-eyes me with a grimace, and Maisie curls up smaller, hating being here to witness this. Acting like a coy kitten caught in the sights of a big, bad dog. Toya lifts her chin and stares at me with a wide-eyed nod toward my sister to translate, ‘Why is she always such a bitch?’ and I shake my head and shrug.

I don’t know either.

Toya is my best friend, and I can tell just by looking what she’s thinking.

“I was a baby…I had no idea what I was doing, but what about now? I’m better at controlling it. I’ve learned so much…. so when is that Witch coming back to unbind me?” She spits venom, rage growing even though she's the one who should be submissively groveling for what she did today, what we all did today. She’s the only one who seems to have forgotten why we are lined up in here awaiting execution.

We’re all grounded indefinitely and have to face the wrath of Meadow, as well as Dad and Maisie's and Simon’s parents. Rema too. We’re all being marched back to the valley and cutting our vacation short. Tomorrow, we will get chewed out by everyone who is waiting their turn to tell us off.

“She’s not. Your binding lasts until your 21st birthday, when we believe you will have reached sufficient maturity to manage it effectively. From the age of 18, they will come to you a little at a time until you can fully harness them at 21. That is how she bound you. That’s what we deemed best, and that's why you need to continue taking your lessons with the Shaman and your grandfather on how to harness what you have. Just as Eden takes lessons with your father, Rema, and the shaman to harness what she has. God knows you don’t let me help you with our shared gifts.”

“Twenty-one!!!! God damn, Twenty-one…. That’s forever away… how can you do that to me?” Eve screams at my mom, a burst of anger and frustration, because she has almost another decade to wait on something she seems to think she needs so badly. She is never satisfied with how strong she already is or with abilities that surpass those of our parents and even Rema. She has no idea how dangerous she could be. Or is? She isn't emotionally stable enough to have that much power.

“For your safety as well as that of others… Don’t raise your voice at me, young lady.” My mother's cool and patient manner stiffens, and a hint of red in her eyes warns us all that, as loving and gentle as she is, she's a force to be reckoned with. My mom may use her powers sparingly, but she's always been a badass when needed. My dad is fiery and sometimes shouty, but my mom is the really scary one, with her gentle, stubborn nature. I know she can whoop my dad’s ass if she wants to, so we would have no chance.

“Why do you want them so bad anyway? We’re twelve years old and have so much to learn…what do you need them for? We go to school, see our friends, and live in a pretty stable place.” I've never understood her craving to have them. How can she miss something she’s never had full use of? She has no idea what having them all will be like; she just thinks she does.

What will she do with them? We have nothing in this life that warrants needing such power.

Look at me…I have nothing compared to her.

Just a healing ability and occasional visions. I never wolved, and I have never felt my wolf growing restless to be let out; it's like she doesn’t exist inside of me at all. I have no inkling that I even have any wolf inside me; maybe my sister got it all, and I got just Witch. Nothing but a witch.

I have no telekinesis, like my mom, or the ability to siphon power from others. I have no amazing, magical gift, and being a healer is pretty redundant in a race that can self-heal. Other than kids having the odd boo-boo until they, too, turn, I have no purpose here.

“You wouldn’t understand…you have no idea what it is like to have a part of you held down and kept from you. The constant yearning to be let loose. You’re weak with zero ability.” She spits my way, always aiming her anger at me and her nastiness. Since birth, I have been my sister's punching bag, and sometimes, I genuinely believe she doesn’t like me. She acts as if she might even hate me at times.

I'm so used to it now, it means nothing more than a slight heaviness on my soul, sliding down to nestle among the three million other tiny cuts she has given me with her words. I think I grow more numb every year.

I used to wonder if all siblings were this way or just us, and I shrug at her, letting her words slide over me like water off a duck's back. I know that reaction is what she wants, and I stopped giving it to her long ago.

Maybe that’s why she has gotten so much fiercer toward me since we grew up.

“Don’t you dare.” My mom grabs her wrist and tugs her back harshly, dampening my sister's spirit with a real show of anger from the normally calm parent. It zaps the air with a sting, making all of us shuffle to stand taller and straighter. Luna, in a bad mood, can make everyone feel it.

“Your sister has way more gifts than you give her credit for, and many years to enjoy childhood before she should worry about turning. Don’t you dare tear her down and insult her. You didn’t do anything to turn early or inherit more than her, so don’t act like you achieved something she hasn’t. You got it by sheer chance…. a roll of the dice in the gene pool. Having your powers bound is no hardship…. trust me, I know. I went eighteen years without mine, and it did me no harm, really. Now, what you should be thinking about is how to grovel to your dad and make up for tonight before he confines you to your room until you turn twenty-one. You have no idea how angry he is; we are. How foolish this was, and how, once again, you dragged your sister and her friends into your ill-conceived plans. Grow up, Eve…this right here is exactly why we bound you until twenty-one. This spoiled brat behavior does not fly with me, young lady, and I don’t want to see another ounce more of it. Do you understand?”

My mom’s mad. Big mad.

Her eyes flashing red, tone biting, and her grip on my sister screams, ‘Try and get loose and see what I do to you.’ No nonsense mode, and we all hang our heads low, knowing that pissing off the Luna is worse than outright fighting with my dad.

“Mom…she didn’t drag me. I agreed. I wanted to go too, and she shouldn’t take all the blame for this. I’m responsible for convincing Toya, Simon, and Maisie. They came for me, because of me, not Eve.”

I won't let my sister take the blame for my wrongs. I wanted to go, and I followed not because she goaded me but because a part of me craves a little excitement sometimes. I was curious, and I stupidly thought it would be a harmless little trip.

My mom turns and fixes me with a stealthy stare. Pinning me with a look that’s somewhere between shock and sadness.

“In that case, I'm disappointed in both of you. Maybe more so in you. Eden, you’re normally the more sensible and obedient one, and you completely disregarded our rules and Rema’s trust. You’re both coming back to the valley, and you’re both grounded at the house until further notice. Your dad will want to speak to you again in the morning.”

Having my mom look at me that way hurts my heart, like she just shunted a blade deep into my chest, and even though it's easier to let Eve take the fall, it's not who I am. I knew what I was doing. The anger shouldn’t all be aimed at her, even though it would be easy to let her take the brunt of it.

“You three…go. Your parents are waiting for you in the main hallway to take you back. I can sense them. You’re not my children to discipline, but as your Luna, I'm really angry with you. I trust their punishments will suffice. Even if Eve and Eden instigated this, you don’t have to follow. Go.” My mom’s tired, beyond mad at the point of simmering, and unable to really verbalize her rage. It’s almost midnight, and it’s been one of the longest days of my life. My bed is screaming for me, and I’m itchy with the dirt and grime covering my hair, body, and clothes. It smells like burnt hair and feels like greasy ash.

“I’m sorry, Mom. I really am.”

“At least one of you is….. that has to be something…. I need you both to promise me that you will never do this again. Never break the rules regarding out-of-bounds areas. Never cross the border lines again. They protect you from things you do not understand.” She throws Eve a glare that hints she knows my sister has zero apology in her. Just defiance and attitude. Even when moody and silent, she must understand that this is our last warning. If we did this again, my mom would go nuclear.

“We promise, Mom…. we’re really sorry. It won’t happen again. I won’t let Eve do it, either…... What now?” I ask, knowing this isn’t over. The real punishment will be from my dad in the morning, once he calms down enough to think of what we should do to be forgiven. Last time, we had to wash dishes for an entire week in the pack canteen at every meal and do trash duty for the rooms of the whole pack that lives within the great manor house with us.

“You know the drill. We sleep on it. We will go home in the morning when the sun is up, and then Dad will want you both front and center in his office as soon as we get there.”

Some habits die hard. My parents only travel during daylight, as past experiences have made them wary of leaving the safety of our homes at night. It’s not far to drive home tonight, but darkness is a no-go. Some scars just never heal.

“Great,” Eve mutters, and we both ignore her.

My dad's office is symbolic. When he drags us in there to dish out punishment, it's as our Alpha rather than our Father. He treats us as he would any of the pack who disobeyed and got into trouble this way. Sometimes, it’s a blessing because he's more lenient as Alpha to a wolf, and sometimes it's not. Perhaps our dad would be a little lighter on us at times if he applied a little daddy love to whatever we're in trouble for.

I exhale heavily, deflated and knowing there is no way out of this. Once again, we’re in trouble, and it gives Eve another reason to act like a hard-done-by pissy brat for the next week.

“No friends for the week. You two are housebound. It may be summer vacation, but for you two, it’s a week with the Shaman learning all the reasons we stay within the boundaries.”

We both groan in unison, just under our breath, at the injustice of a week more of school.

“Pfft, they're not my friends anyway.” Eve can't help herself, and I throw her a pointed stare that seems to penetrate something in her attitude and makes her pipe down. She turns away to stare out of the window instead.

“This is done for now. It’s late, and we all need to get some sleep. Go shower, both of you. That muddy coloured ash you are caked in is the charred, vulgar remains of hundreds of dead vampires from a decade ago…. might want not to be breathing it in or wearing it like a second skin. It’s dead ferals.”

“EWWWWWWW.” Both Eve and I squeal in unison, making a dramatic noise of genuine disgust and horror. We start manically patting it off our skin and hair, shuddering now we know what it is, and run for the door in unison in a bid to get it off.

“That’s so gross. Oh my god…get it off me.” I squeal, trying to get out the door, fumbling with the handle in my palm while Eve shoves at me from behind. She, too, is desperate to get it washed off.

That’s so disgusting. We’re wearing dead creatures as face powder. I think I might vomit. No wonder it smelled so funky and had a weird, off-grey color. It’s clinging to my skin and any natural moisture or oils, turning into a warpaint of sorts.

I catch my mom shaking her head after us, in no way stopping us or helping us get out, as we drop smelly dust clouds with every movement.

My stupid ass self climbing that mountain to find my sister and ending up falling beside her. Thankfully, her soft body broke my fall on a ledge not far from the opening where she was trying to climb out. Or else I would have been broken, mangled, AND wearing dead vamp dust. Ewww.

“Maybe think about that the next time you have an urge to jump into a bottomless hole where we massacred hundreds of them. Imagine what’s in that dust…. given they lived on the blood of rodents and whatever dead animals they could find. Can't be good for your skin at all.”

My mom is clearly taking pleasure in our disgust, and this is far more punishment for me than necessary. Finally, I get the handle turned, and we fall out the door in a shoving, tugging huddle to high-tail it down the corridor to our shared bedroom.

“I’m going to vom!” Eve dry retches before clambering to her feet and running off in the direction of the showers.