Hiraeth

Chapter 32: Her Power

My father drags me farther into the woods. I notice that there are no wolves in sight. They are all gone, fighting with the army that Kaius must have come with.

I wait for the best moment. My father may be strong and skilled in fighting but he is old. The moment I feel him stumble, I knee him in the gut and take off into the woods around us.

I hear him calling my name and chasing after me. As I run, the pain from the heat hits me hard. I quickly start panting and my vision begins to blur. The forest dips and I find myself surrounded by large rocks and small cliffs.

"Hiraeth!"

In my haze, I find that I can hardly run. So I try my best to scramble up the side of a large rock and wedge myself between two rocks.

His footsteps stumble into the cluster of large rocks and eventually stops.

"I know you are in pain. You are hiding somewhere. Come out now!"

I stay silent.

"I said now, Hiraeth!"

I don't move a muscle.

"Fine. We will have to do this the hard way."

He goes silent and I hold my breath. The pain comes in waves over me and I hold my hand over my mouth to keep from making a noise in the pain.

"I had hoped your sister would have been as smart as you."

I peer over the rock but keep myself as flat to it as possible. His back is to my hiding spot as he looks around him.

"Your mother wouldn't let me train you two. She didn't want me to turn you children into an asset. That's why I needed to be rid of her."

I freeze as I listen.

"I hired Mr. Jester to sleep with her so I could expose her and ruin her. Once we divorced, I could take the entire business and do what I want with you and Prairie. She just had to be smart, that woman. You get your sharp mind from her for sure. She saw right through my plan."

I lean forward and rest my sweaty forehead against the rock. The pain of the heat hits me in sharp, hot waves.

"Mr. Jester did not take the rejection too kindly so he broke in that night to teach her a lesson. I don't think he planned to kill her but it still worked out for me. I just wish I could have gotten what I wanted with Prairie too and not just you."

I feel sick. Bile rises in my throat and not just because of the heat. Every time my father dares to utter my sister's name, I feel a sickening desire to smash his skull in.

"I'm proud of you, Hiraeth. You were always successful in everything you did and you seduced Mr. Hale so well. You are the Queen, my dear daughter. You will get the Hannum name in so many history books and give us so much power."

The heat claws at my throat and I moan as I try to hold in the pain.

"Seeing you this weak now makes me think of how pathetic your mother and sister was. In the end, you are as weak and useless as Prairie and your mother. A fucking whore."

I pant as I hold in the pain.

"Weak like your friend Bryan and his mother. Fenris told me how easy it was to rip his throat open. Pathetic excuse for a man."

The scream rips from my throat and the heat turns into anger. A raging, blood thirsty anger.

My eyes see red and my hand feels the rock as I slide down it. My father's back is still to me as I pull the gun from the hulster on his hip.

He spins around and gasps when I point the gun at his face.

"Hah! You wouldn't dare."

"Why not?"

"I have power over you. Fenris will make you suffer."

I can't help it. I smile at him. "Nice try, dad."

The gun goes off as he falls to the ground. I aimed for his leg and he clutches it, screaming in pain.

"I thought I was better than Mr. Jester. Killing him without much pain."

My father pathetically claws away from me.

"But I guess I'd rather see you suffer before I put that bullet between those eyes."

The heat is wild and untamable. It controls my every move as red continues to fill my vision.

I angle the gun and shoot his hip. He yells in pain.

"Stop it!"

"Do you think my mother said that to Mr. Jester? Before he ripped her throat out?"

I shoot him in the shoulder.

"Let me set things straight with you." I kneel on his injured leg and he reaches for the gun. I smash his hand with the side of the hand gun. "You will never control me again."

I put the final bullet between his eyes.

Rage still burns in me as I walk away from his body. I check the gun but find that there are no more bullets in the chamber.

"Shit."

The woods around me come to life as wolves pour in around me. They bare their teeth and snarl at me.

Their eyes look bloodthirsty, lustful, and mad.

These must be rogues working for Fenris. They are wild and lost their humanity a long time ago.

I feel power roll off of me as the fire rages in my gut. The pain is still there, trying to cripple me. But the anger and hormones are stronger, making me more driven than I ever have been.

I let out a sad, human excuse for a growl. They keep closing in. I try again but they just growl more.

Then I feel my chest rumble. The growl was not external but internal, making the air around us shift.

Every rogue stops in their place but continues to growl. I take a deep breath, closing my eyes and imagine the command.

When I open my eyes, the wolf closest to me growls and snarls. Its eyes stay on me, full of hate as its head bends down and it lifts its paw. At an odd, unnatural angle, it starts to gnaw on its paw, ripping flesh from bone.

I look around me and see all of the wolves biting at themselves as the power continues to flow off of me.

It isn't as effective as Kaius's command but it will do.

I don't waste a moment as I begin to run from the wolves as they continue to growl and maim themselves.

As I climb out of the pit of rocks, I am met with a familiar figure.

"Ryder."

"Did you do that?" His eyes are wide.

"Yes."

I notice several wolves walk up to us from behind him. They do not bare their teeth but lower their heads in submission.

"Why doesn't the Alpha command work on Fenris?"

"Fenris cannot be controlled in that way because he has Alpha King in his blood."

"Can Fenris do that to other wolves?"

"Yes. I actually think that is how he is controlling his army."

"What?" I am shocked.

"We distracted a few of his wolves and they seem to have come to their senses. Kaius can control an army too but he doesn't like to do it unless necessary."

Fenris is using his power to get everything he wants.

"I know how we can stop Fenris."