The Clear Choice

{ Chapter 37 }

Six Years Ago

Clary's POV

My bare feet raced across the stone streets under them, my dark hair whipping out behind me. Various white wolves growled at me as I shot in between them, pumping my arms and legs as fast as I could.

I tried to contain my smile as I stayed in the lead, ahead of my brother in the race between just us two. We ran through the our large stone village in the mountains, concrete and marble homes bulit into the slate grey stone. The sky was clouded and morning had just begun. I had woke up as soon as the mountain caught the first sliver of sunlight.

My fifteen year old brother Zak had woken up as well, a mischievous grin on his face as he challenged me to a race before I could even push myself out of bed.

So here I was, in a white night gown and bare feet; racing on the streets my pack had made. They were plagued with ghostly fog and everything was grey. Wind whipped around my body and I couldn't wait for the day I would be able to shift, only four more years.

Out of the corner of my eye Zak came into view, his short hair messy from sleep and dark grey eyes focused on our race. I tried to increase my speed, running on the balls of my feet and pumping my arms steadily.

Despite my efforts, he got in front of me and smiled over his shoulder. I frowned to myself and willed myself to go faster, not wanting to lose. I never wanted to lose when it came to competition.

I felt my feet get cut up on the sharp rocks beneath me but didn't care. The road we were on had a wall of grey mountain on one side and the drop off of the cliff on the other. I looked to my right and saw nothing but expansive whtie fog for miles below; the tops on pine trees peaking out in the white, rising sunlight.

My eyes watered from the freezing wind but I blinked away the salty tears. I looked away from the forest in the distance and down at my small feet, concentrating on my speed.

Before I knew it, my tiny, twelve year old body collided with another; making the two of us fall forward. I landed atop my brother, splayed out on his back while he groaned beneath me in pain.

I slowly lifted my head to see why he had stopped and a pair of black boots came into view. A familiar scent filled my nose and my skin chilled. I slowly looked up, my eyes peaking out from under their lashes at my father.

He stood above us, dressed in all black with his hands intertwined behind his back. His face was pale and stern, just like always; black eyes piercing right through you. I quickly scrambled off Zak and stood up, dusting up my ripped nightgown. Zak stumbled into a standing position next to me. We both kept our heads low out of respect, treating the man in front of us as more of a Alpha than a father.

We were stood on a path meant for cars and trucks, a bend that went around the mountain just ahead of us; my father blocking it.

"We're sorry." Zak said, his voice not as shaky as mine would've been if I had spoken. The wind blew around the three of us and brought an unfamiliar scent with it. It smelled like copper, like blood; but not the kind of blood that ran through my veins.

"Go home, this isn't a place to play." My father said, his voice like ice. It was so low and unwelcoming it made it impossible to be comfortable around him. The way he said 'play' was as if it were a swear word.

"We just wanted to run on the roads-" I began.

"Did you not hear what I said, Clarssia?" He looked to me and I shyed away, breaking eye contact and looking down. I knew he'd be mad at my cowardliness but I didn't care.