Holding her breath, a small female turned to look at her mother who had a serene smile planted on her lips. Uncomfortably smiling back, she finally released her breath, swallowing her saliva to calm down her nerves. She knew that she couldn't give up now and she had to face her brother and father. This thought made her stomach tie in knots in an uncomfortable way. Standing off to the side, Cencaira watched as Castor hurried over to their mother, fighting the whimpers that threatened to fall. "You," The female forced herself to meet her dad's cold, dark eyes as he showed nothing but hatred towards her. "You did this." He spat harshly while advancing towards her, "You... monster!" "Kastel..." Her mom began but was stopped when he shifted her a cold gaze, silencing her immediately. "Don't you dare defend her, Azenna!" He hissed angrily, "Don't you dare this up for this — this monster!" He shifted his eyes towards Cencaira, Castor watching it all as he held their mom back. "That monster," Her mother emphasized with disbelief, "Is your daughter and if it wasn't for her, I would be dead right now!" She tried to reason but Cencaira could see that there was no way she was gonna change his mind. "You could've almost died!" He screamed, his face growing hot with fury. "God damn it, you wouldn't have even been tangled into this mess if it wasn't for her!" "You have no idea what she's been through tonight, Kastel! Don't you dare go blaming someone because you know damn well none of us are perfect!" She spat, standing her ground against Cencaira's father.
"Do you even hear yourself right now? Those wolves could've taken you away from us tonight!" He roared, "And she'd probably shed a tear or two and go on about her day while we're all left to suffer because of her actions! I lost my other daughter and I sure as hell am not about to lose my mate, too!" His chest heaved up and down from resentment, "I am not about to stand here and let her walk away thinking that what happened was okay!" "None of this will ever be okay!" Cencaira snapped, "You don't think I know that?" She exasperated, blaming herself. "You don't think I know this is my entire fault?" She screamed, "None of this will ever be okay!" "Don't," Castor spat towards her, shooting daggers in her direction, the loathing he had for her radiating off of him, "You have no say in this," He shook his head, "not after what happened." His chin quivered from the anger he felt inside, "I tried with you... I tried so hard to just bury the incident in the past and move on because you were my sister and I needed you in my life..."
"Cast—"
"Mom almost died tonight because of you!" He screamed, bringing her mom over to her dad as he padded towards her. "How many wolves have to die in order for you to realize what the hell you're doing?" He shook his head once again, his face inches away from hers. "Huh?" Clenching her jaw, she looked away, feeling the frustrations build inside of her. "No," Castor turned so that her face met his, forcing her to look at him. "You are not going to stand there and ignore me! I know deep down inside of you my sister is still there..." He trailed off, keeping his eyes locked onto hers. "Somewhere, the sister who taught me how to hunt and not disturb the elk... you just gotta show her again and bury this monster you've become inside of you." "Get the fuck out of my face," She mumbled, pushing him out of the way. Castor stared at her incredulously, "What have you done with my sister?" "You're staring at her." "No," He shook his head, taking a step back. "I'm staring at a stranger... this," He gestured with his head up and down at her, "is not my sister because my sister wouldn't be standing here looking unaffected. My sister would be feeling something right now; she would be fighting for us!" "Well, what do you want me to say?" She shrugged, looking at him.
"Hm? You want me to drop to the floor and beg for you to forgive me?" She scoffed, "Me and you both know that won't work. Nothing is going to change the way you think about me and that's fine." "What I want is for you to take credit for your actions! I want you to feel remorse; I want you to say something, anything that shows you aren't entirely dead to me." "Don't waste your time, son." Their dad cut in as he pulled Castor back so that he stood behind him. "Your sister has been dead to us ever since she left this pack two years ago." Lifting his head, he sent her a low, devious growl, baring his teeth, setting himself in a attack position before he could strike and send her a bitter snap to her left front leg. "Kastel!" Her mother yelled in shock. Whining at the pain she felt surge through her body, she knew she had just about enough time to make her own move by moving her head, throwing in a bitter bite of her own and before they knew it, they both ended up in a aggressive match, teeth snapping in all directions until Castor came and pulled them apart. "You bastard!" Her dad screamed, "You're worthless! The fucking nerve you have to attack me back! You're the one who ripped this family apart, not me! It's because of you that we suffer every day to try and get our lives back to normal!" He bellowed, small growls flying with every word he spoke. "I didn't ask for this!" Cencaira shoved Castor away, "I didn't know this was going to happen, I thought mother was safe!" She gestured over to her mother, "If I knew, I would've done everything in my power to ensure she was out of harm's way!"
"Nobody associated with you is ever safe!" Her dad barked, "First your sister now your mother, who's going to be next? I already lost two children in my life, I'm not about to lose my entire family." Taking a step towards her so that they were head to head, he looked down upon her as if she was a piece of trash. "You're a monster, a cold-blooded wolf who destroys everything she touches." He hissed venomously. "You are to never come in contact with us, do you understand me?" "You don't have to worry about that because you won't be hearing from me ever again." She bit back, whirling around as she stalked back to the woods. "No!" Her mother shrieked loudly, pushing Cencaira's father away as she ran after her, blocking her way so that she stopped walking. "Don't you dare," She warned, "Don't you dare walk away from me!" She shrieked, "I am not going to let you walk away from this family." "What family?" She chuckled humorlessly, "The one I broke?" Ripping her gaze away, refusing to turn and meet her frantic gaze, she began walking away again. "Please, don't do this to me. I need you," She whimpered, "You're my daughter... I gave birth to you, I fed you, I nurtured you, I did everything in my power to make sure you grew up to have the best life possible. I don't deserve this!" "No." Turning to gaze at her again, she locked eyes with hers. "What you don't deserve is a screw up for a daughter. I've accepted the fact that I will always have a target on my back but I'm sick and tired of you living your life every day because of how I'm acting." Shrugging, she nuzzled her mother before she continued talking. "I want you to forget about me."
"No," She shook her head, refusing to let her walk away from her life. "Please, Cencaira..." "I'm sorry for everything..." She murmured, "I love you." Ripping away from her hold, she walked away, leaving her standing there alone; her quiet whimpers was the last thing she heard before running away from her pack's den, their faces now a simple memory in her twisted mind.
