His Fateful Choice

Irene

I was shocked. Absolutely astonished. First of all, how did she find me? Was she following me? And second of all, how did I not hear her come?

"Missin me? Well, to answer your unvoiced question, a lot of things have changed since you left us. I am now part of the border patrol, which means I am really good at silently sneaking up on vermin that should not be there. Also, you stomp like a pig." she said with a mocking sneer.

"Well, hello to you too. Glad to see you are still as charming as ever." I said, mirroring her mocking tone. Was I trying to flatter her or to rile her up? No idea. I guess I'll just wait and see what the result would be.

"Talk about charming. I mean look at you. Not only do you walk like a pig, you sweat and smell like one too. And judging by the state of your clothes and your muddy boots, you even adapted to the habitat. While everyone thought you had run away and fell off the face of the earth or something, you had just been chilling in the mud."

"I see your insults are still as weak as your punches." Lie. They were brilliant.

She just snickered. "If you think my punches are still weak, come closer and make sure."

Like hell I am. She is wearing a were armor adorned by dragon scales, typically intended for higher ranking wolves. So she probably wasn’t lying. And she looks fresh like a spring while I had just about died on the field.

"No thank you, I prefer a distant kind of relationship." I tried to stall.

"Yes, I've noticed. We’ve all noticed actually. It was quite the spectacle you caused. The whole thing with Gemma and after you ran away. Did you know Josh has issued an order to arrest you at sight?" she sneered and added "Preferably in shackles."

My first thought was kinky. But I quickly realized, it probably wasn't that kind of shackles and it probably wasn’t Josh who wanted me bound by the steel accessories.

"So I guess Gemma took it well?" I asked, feigning nonchalance.

"Oh yes, she went balistic. It was fantastic. She wanted to shred you to pieces. I would have joined her on the crusade but Josh ordered us to stay on our grounds since you were too irrelevant to be worth the hunt. What a shame really. Plus our family isn’t viewed in the best light right now." she sneered at me.

Okay, so time for analysis. Gemma's reaction didn't really surprise me all that much. In fact, I wouldn't expect anything less from her. If my suspicion was correct, she knows I'm Josh's fated mate. Because of this, I pose a direct threat to her perfect life within the pack as its leader and Josh's bimbo. With this knowledge, my actions back then could be seen as a challenge to her position and that by someone who was, at least in theory, seemed worthy of said position.

What Josh did also didn't surprise me. It hurt me a little, yes, but I knew he had long decided to exchange me for a better, polished and all in all, more capable model. He had his dream girl, and I was of no value to him.

What bothered me was Irene and her thirst for my blood. I don't even remember the time when we used to get along. However, I still thought that deep, deep, deeeeep down she saw me as her sister, as a family. But this was hate. From the glint of her eye I truly started to believe she wanted to see Gemma shred me to mulch.

It threw me off and the lack of a response must have given it away, which was apparently what Irene was waiting for. She jumped and in a second was right in front of me, guns blazing. And by guns I mean fists and legs.

It took a moment and a sharp pain in my abdomen for me to realize what was happening. I swiftly returned the favor and punched her in the face. She seemed stunned by my action, as if she wasn't expecting me to pack a punch. But she wasn't the only one who was trained. I was basically a human, yes, but since training like one, I finally learned how to use it to my advantage. I didn't waste time transforming and I was very sure on my two feet, especially from above.

But Irene wasn't holding back. Every punch was aimed with the intention to hurt me at the least. And I was exhausted. I knew I had to get from there as fast as possible, or I would be dragged to where I tried to run from. And apparently in shackles too.

I tried to keep her at arms length but then I was just a second too late. I didn't jump fast enough and she tripped me. Now I was lying on the muddy ground with Irene grinning at me.

"Would you look at this? Finally, my dearest sister, always the preferred one, lying on the ground."

As she said this, I couldn't help but spit out the dirt and chuckle. Was she asleep for the last, say five years? The last I checked, I wasn't even considered a family, let alone a favorite.

The truth of my thoughts got to me and suddenly, they took a much darker turn. What was I fighting for? Sometimes, giving up might save a lot of unnecessary trouble. Why was I so sure that if I trained enough and ate like a hippie, I would actually survive this? And if I survived it, what would I do then? I don't have a family, a home or just a place to belong. Sure I have Bill, but he's moving on with his life and he won't always be there to save me and care for me. I would just burden him in the end. My thoughts have spiraled so fast that I couldn't help voicing them aloud.

"I never knew you hated me so much. And since this might very well be my last chance to say it, I want to apologize for whatever I did to make you so mad at me. I know we haven't really gotten along in these past few years, but you are my sister and, for what it's worth, you were always my favorite one."

Irene seemed to be absolutely shocked by my reaction, however she quickly composed herself and spat "Please, stop with the theatrics. I will bring you in and you will be tried and punished as you deserve. You might suffer a few months in the dungeons at the worst, then you will be free again."

Sure, like I have a few months in the first place, I thought.

"What do you mean?" asked Irene, her eyes carefully searching mine.

Did I say that out loud? Damn.

"Nothing really, just joking." I tried to get out of it.

"Don't play this game with me. I'm not stupid. Talk. Now."

Do I tell her? What if she uses this new information and goes directly to Gemma? But then what damage could sharing this "I-might-drop-dead-at-any-moment-news" really do to me? Gemma quite possibly already knew and she has the most reason to hate me and to want me gone. She hasn't achieved that yet. So, points to me?

"You sure you want to know? It's not really a fun story, unless, of course, you really want me dead. Then you might actually quite enjoy it." I asked her carefully.

She considered me for a moment, probably pondering whether it was some kind of ploy. Whatever she saw in my eyes must have convinced her, because she took a few steps back and sat down on a small boulder. Her eyes still bore into mine, which I took as having her full attention.

"Okay, so you remember me being a cross and not being able to shift, right? Also, that fun little thing about me not having a mate?" I waited for a response. Nothing.Okay then...

"Well, apparently, one of the two facts is not really true."

She sat there stunned. I basically saw the screws in her head turning. Then her eyes took darker shade.

"And since I don't see you sporting a brand new fluffy coat..." she paused.

"Yeah.." I didn't know how to continue.

"Who?" she asked.

"You can guess, but I think you don't really need to." I just said.

It took her about a heartbeat to freeze and look at me as if seeing me for the first time. Suddenly, her face changed in plethora of expressions until finally settling on a murderous one. I started to work on my goodbyes to the world I knew and the few people who might remember me, when she held her hand out for me to grab. After a moment of critical assessment I decided on ‘what the hell’ and took it to help me stand up.

With a terrifyingly low voice she then growled "I'm gonna kill him."