~Izzy~

Jodi and I watched over Lyn in shifts for the next couple of days along with Senex. We weren't sure what exactly happened to him or what he had to do to get back. Whatever it was, it must have really tired him out. This was going on the third day since he was found unconscious outside. He would shiver every now and then, as if he were cold, but his skin was burning hot to the touch—almost too hot. Senex checked all his vitals regularly, and he was fine medically, but for some reason, he just wouldn't wake up. Senex had to change his clothes constantly, as Roselyn was literally sweating through them. Some part of me felt as if Senex wasn't telling us everything, but he was a cunning old man, often giving us just enough information to sate our curiosity.

After making sure Lyn had fresh blankets and clothes stockpiled so that we wouldn't have to keep going back and forth through the facility, I braided his hair into a ponytail after washing it. It had gotten so long over the years, and I could only imagine how hot it was making him feel as it hung down his back. Once I was done making sure he was comfortable, while Senex stepped out to tend to some of the other tasks he was responsible for, I sat in the chair next to his bed, trying to get comfortable. I kept trying to stop myself from nodding off just in case something happened, but sleep was winning this battle.

——

7 Years Ago

"Izzy!! IZZY!!!" my father screamed.

"I'm coming!!" I said, rushing outside to see Jodi already standing in front of him at attention, with her eyes to the ground.

I shuffled next to my big sister and glued my eyes to my feet nervously.

"You two useless brats should've been out here an hour ago!!" he said angrily as he finished loading the truck.

"Sorry, Father," Jodi and I said in unison.

"SoRrY fAtHeR," he said in a mocking tone. "Get in the damn truck." He said coldly before I heard the door slam.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" I whispered, elbowing her.

"I tried!" she whispered back.

"Shut up back there!!" he said, banging on the window of the pickup truck.

Our father was a very hot-tempered man, but it had gotten intolerable in recent years. He was almost always cruel and had been for as long as I could remember. His ego and pride were constantly at war with each other, as if he had something to prove. He was one of the Alphas that worked with the Prime, and he was the leader of Daylight City, our hometown. That didn't help with his attitude at all; the authority seemed to go to his head. Each capital city had one specific Alpha in charge, assisted by one of the many Betas assigned to them by the Prime himself to ensure loyalty.

I remember being proud of my father when I was a kid, but that changed somewhere down the line. He treated us coldly because we still hadn't presented, and even worse when our mother disappeared. It was rumored around the city that she found her true mate and went rogue to be with him. As I got older, I stopped believing that rumor because it didn't make sense. There was no way she'd leave us behind, and Jodi agreed.

Our mother was the polar opposite of our father; she was a very sweet and caring woman. Even though they were the product of an arranged marriage, the honor of her pack meant everything to her, and against all odds, she seemed to really love our father. She'd never betray her mate in such a shameful manner. Like most Omegas, she was loyal to a fault, and even if she did find her true mate, she wouldn't just disappear. Most days, I felt like we weren't being told the truth about what really happened, but people's stories never changed on the topic, no matter how often we asked. Eventually, it came to a point where we would get beaten by Father for even mentioning her name.

Once we got into the city, I marveled at all of the wolves using magic, just like I had a thousand times before. Magic, like everything else, was specific to Alphas and Betas. Omegas could only gain magical abilities through being marked by an Alpha, and even then, abilities were still ranked by color. Red, gold, and white represented the power level of your magic. Honestly, the hierarchy of magic, on top of the prejudice regarding your specific rank within the Sol pack, could be daunting. I believe that's what made it so hard to live here for so many wolves. If you weren't the best of the best, you were pretty much a nobody and treated as such.

Red magic was common for most wolves of the Sol. They could do simple things like conjure flames. This level of magic was typically associated with Betas since it was the weakest and most common among us. Gold magic, however, was more complex. Wolves that could use this type of magic also had amazing telekinetic abilities. Alphas, like our father, could have red or gold magic based on their lineage and power. Finally, white magic was a completely different beast altogether. It's believed only Primes, like Lord Ember, could use white magic because it represents the brightest, most dominant color of the sun. Not much is known about every ability white magic possesses, and I've never seen it in person, but one of the rumors is that it can allow its user to teleport under sunlight. Typically, whatever ability an Alpha has is passed on to their Omega once they're marked by their Alpha, and sometimes to their children at birth. But as I said earlier, my father was a cruel man. He never truly marked our mother because he didn't want her to gain abilities through their bond. In fact, that was a common practice in the Sol pack, especially among the Alphas. They didn't want Omegas, especially the women, to harness any form of power, and oftentimes they went through extreme lengths to prevent them from having it. According to our father, our mother wasn't worthy of his mark, especially since she hadn't given birth to a child able to carry on his legacy: the coveted Alpha.

I was jolted out of my thoughts by the abrupt stop of the truck, followed by my father shouting at us, "Come on, you two know the routine!!"

Jodi and I hopped out of the bed of the truck and immediately started carrying the fifty-pound bags of wolfsbane into the red brick building. My father managed the largest wolfsbane plant in the southwest. The production of wolfsbane was tracked by the Prime of the Sol pack. It was used to subdue rogue Alphas and Betas, but the warehouses were often under attack by rogues. Wolfsbane nullified the magical abilities of Sol wolves, but the effects of it weren't exclusive to rogues. It was a double-edged sword, so to speak, which is why pack leaders were in charge of its production. Thankfully, rogues never attacked branches of the main city because the most powerful wolves lived in our area, like my father and the Prime's Beta.

"Once you two are done, head inside to help the others," he said sternly, walking back to the building.

"Are we not going to eat first?" Jodi asked, causing him to stop and turn around.

"Weren't you late this morning?" he asked calmly.

"Yes, but we—"

"Would've eaten at home if you were up on time. Just like I did," he said, cutting her off.

"You get up before the sun even rises! We didn't go to sleep until late because of training yesterday, and you forced us to sleep without eating then too!" she exclaimed.

"Maybe if you weren't so pathetic like your mother then—"

"DON'T TALK ABOUT HER!!" Jodi shouted, cutting Father off.

"Jodi, don't. Let's just finish, and we can eat after," I said, pulling her arm back, trying to calm her down. Mom was always a trigger for Jodi, and for me, but I was way more timid than she was. I often blamed her courage on being the firstborn twin.

"No! We're going to eat now," she said, brushing me off and taking a step closer to our father, who looked unimpressed. "Move the rest of this yourself, you piece of—"

Before she could finish her sentence, she was thrown down with a flash of red, gripping her arm in pain. I rushed in front of her, holding my hands up as a barrier before shouting, "Good morning, Mr. Pete!" I said, smiling, making my father stop in his tracks.

"Izzy! Good morning, my boy! Where's Jodi?" he waved with a smile as he began to walk over.

"She's taking some supplies into the building." My dad said, smiling and walking over to the elderly man, putting an arm around his shoulder. "Don't start with your spoiling, old man."

"You don't spoil them enough. I don't understand why you don't have the workers moving those products; they can be dangerous. There are plenty of wolves here able to move them without touching them," the elderly man nagged.

"It helps them build character," my father said, dragging him into the building.

I scoffed at his lie. Mr. Pete was my father's mentor and one of the Betas to the Prime. He was a very nice old man—like, really old—and always treated us like his own grandchildren. Some of the other wolves said he was only nice now because he was so senile and that he used to be a terror when he was younger, even worse than Father. I turned back to Jodi, who was holding her arm in pain. The burn was just as bad as all the others we'd gotten as punishment. The blistering and bleeding seemed worse than usual. Father must've really tried to take off her arm this time. He often took his anger out on us in this way because he was only a red magic user, and it made him feel inferior to others, regardless of being an Alpha.

"What were you thinking, Jodi?" I said, ripping my shirt to wrap her arm.

"Save it, Izzy. I'm tired of him lying about Mom. I'm tired of doing this!" She motioned to the truck full of flowers. "It's stupid!"

"I know, but provoking him was also stupid." I said, looking at her arm to assess the damage.

"I think it was pretty ballsy," an unfamiliar voice said from behind us.

We both looked up to see a guy with shoulder-length hair and gold eyes with specks of green leaning against the truck with folded arms. He looked like an Omega, but I'd never seen one as confident as him. I put myself in front of Jodi to shield her from the stranger, watching his every move.

"Who are you?" I asked, glaring at him, making him smirk.

"I'm looking for Isabelle," he said, ignoring my hostility. "You two know where she is?"

My eyes went wide at the mention of my mother's name. When I looked back at Jodi, she had the same reaction. We both looked back at him in shock before regaining our composure. I got angry and lunged at him, grabbing the collar of his jacket. "What do you know about our mom?! Huh?! Tell me!!" I said, shaking him.

I barely blinked before I was thrown onto my ass with a loud thud. "Don't ever put your hands on me, you little shit," he said in a threatening tone.

Before I could shuffle back to my feet, Jodi put her arm in front of my chest to hold me back. "Our mom went rogue. She abandoned us when she found her true mate," she said, glaring at him, and I glared at her. I couldn't believe she said that, but I knew she didn't mean it.

"Don't bullshit me! Do I look like an idiot? You two must take after that dumbass Joel if you think I'll believe that," he said, as if offended by having to even speak our father's name. "Clearly, I'm wasting my time," he said, turning to leave.

"Wait!" I exclaimed, making him look over his shoulder at us. "That's what we were told happened by our dad. We haven't seen Mom in years. She just...disappeared."

He looked at us for a while before crouching down and resting his arms on his knees. A breeze had come through, blowing his hair in the wind, making him look even prettier than he already was. He seemed to be deciding if he wanted to believe us or not. "Does Joel do that kind of thing often to you?" he asked, nodding to the burn on Jodi's arms, which she hid once she realized what he meant.

Our silence must've been all the confirmation he needed. He stood back up before throwing a bottle full of burn ointment at her, which she fumbled to catch. "Don't believe your old man. Isabelle wouldn't leave you two pests so willingly," he said, walking away. "Trust me, I would know."

"You're looking for our mom?" Jodi said, stopping him again.

"Isn't that obvious?" he said, still walking away.

"Let us come with you!" Jodi shouted after him, causing him to finally stop walking.

He turned around with an amused smirk as he folded his arms and leaned against the truck. "What are you two pups gonna do as rogues?" he chuckled.

"You're a rogue?" I said in disbelief.

"Who the hell are you calling a pup?! How old are you?!" Jodi spat, letting her temper flare.

"Eighteen. Old enough to know two pups when I see them," he said in a condescending tone.

"And we're sixteen! We want to find our mom. Until now, we've been told she ran off, but you seem to think differently. If there's a chance we can find her, we want to come with you!" Jodi said, determined.

He was quiet for a moment before he spoke again. "Okay, but this isn't something you can come back from. You know what they do to rogues if they're caught, right?"

"Can't be any worse than what we go through already. We're dormants anyway. If an Omega can—"

"The fuck did you call me?!" he asked, cutting Jodi off. His expression turned dark, and his tone soured as he stormed toward us.

"I—I didn't mean to offend you. I just thought—well—you're very pretty and—"

"I'm a dormant, not an Omega," he said angrily through clenched teeth, poking Jodi in the chest with every word.

"I'm sorry!" Jodi rushed to say. He folded his arms again, still glaring at her for a moment before speaking again.

"Well, you might be willing, but what about you, four eyes?" he said, nodding to me.

"I'll do it!" I said without hesitating, which seemed to shock him and my sister.

He laughed before running his hand through his hair to move it out of his face with a heavy sigh. "Isabelle is gonna kill me."