Awakening

Chapter 3

Rose looked at Victor who was standing before her, a scowl on his face. His blue eyes flashed with anger and his disapproving look sent a shiver down her spine.

"Do not dare look at me like I am the villain here, Victor! How could you? I followed you. I trusted you and you betrayed me. You betrayed all of us." As she said this she motioned to the people surrounding them.

They all stood on an snow covered cliff above the frozen ocean. Saltis. The only place where they were safe at the moment. Although the sun was shining, the air was cold. As it always was in Saltis. The land of Cold. The pack was divided into two parts. Not at all evenly though. Rose had a mere 8 lycans standing behind her, while behind Victor there stood 21.

She could feel the tears welling up in her eyes as she looked to the man she once loved more than anything in the world. How can you love someone so much and hate them at the same time?

Victor looked down and held her eyes. He never was one to back away from a fight.

"I did this for us! We deserved more than a life of cowering and hiding in the dark..."

"No Victor," she cut him off. "You did this for you. It has always been about you." she screamed.

Her eyes widened. She had never screamed at Victor before. She knew this was bad. She contemplated just keeping quiet, but her emotions were running high and she couldn't keep the words in.

"This was not my original plan either, but you just had to interfere. If you had just known your place, none of this would be necessary!" he sneered.

She felt the pain of his words cutting deep. "And how many innocent people would have died if I 'knew my place'?" she pleaded with him. "How many humans were you willing to sacrifice for your own glory?"

"As many as it took. We are the superior species Rose. Stronger, faster. It is the law of nature. The strong will prevail, whilst the weak die out. It is an honorable sacrifice."

"An honorable sacrifice?" she couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Who gave you the right to decide who gets to live and who gets to die? The humans have just as much right to live as we do! You are not some god Victor. You have no right to make such decisions!"

At this he growled and grabbed her shoulders. Some pack members whispered, shocked at what was happening. Victor was their alpha. They had the utmost respect for him and would never dare speak out against his decisions. But still, Rose was their Luna and a pretty good one at that. She was soft hearted and kind and gentle. She had always put their needs before her own, had always looked out for them.

"You ungrateful urchin! I gave you everything you could ever want. Life, power. And you dare throw it back in my face! I will not let some little run-away ruin everything I have worked so hard for!" he growled, baring his teeth. He was breathing hard, the veins in his neck nearly popping.

She swallowed hard. She had never seen him this angry. She wanted more than anything in the world to break free and to take off. To keep running and never look back. She knew what strength he possessed, and now she knew what ruthlessness too. She was terrified. The urge to lay down in front of him and bear her belly was overwhelming.

She turned her head towards those who sided with her. Those who had put their trust in her. Those who betrayed their alpha for her. She caught every pair of their eyes. In some she could see doubt, in others sadness, but in most she could see absolute terror.

As she looked at their terrified faces, something in her snapped. It was like a tiny spark had been set off and had caught fire inside her heart. She knew she had no way of stopping him, it was illogical. He was so much older and more experienced, and therefore stronger than her. But she knew if she didn't stop him now, he would continue with Plan B and so many humans and lycans would die. These lycans, who sided with her even if it meant going against all their natural instincts, would die. She couldn't let that happen. Not only for her sake, but for the 8 pack members standing behind her, for every human life that Victor would wipe out.