Faith was definitely less than pleased at my father's decision to allow me to rejoin normal life in the packhouse, and she made it clear she'd change things when she became alpha. "I'm going to make sure you never get a taste of freedom," she told me that night. "You're a misbegotten freak of nature, and if Mother had had any sense, she'd have aborted you."
I rolled my eyes. "Try and find some new material," I told her, and she gaped, staring at me in shock. "You've been feeding me the same tired lines ever since we could talk," I added. "Just give up. I know how much everyone in this miserable pack despises me, but at least Father has the good sense to hide his feelings a bit better. Now kindly move; I've got school in the morning, and I don't have time for your nonsense."
Faith actually moved, for once, still staring at me in stupefied disbelief, and I smirked to myself as I made my way back up to my attic. It felt good to vent some of my frustrations on my sister, and I vowed to stick it to her again if she should ever get snooty with me. At least she'd think twice before trying to drag me down again.
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Things ... didn't improve markedly upon the lifting of my exile, but at least I was accorded a place at the dinner table, which was better than eating my meals alone. Not that anyone listened to what I had to say, but I didn't care, and the gossip wasn't very interesting in any case. My parents were still trying to find a pack who'd let them expand their lands, and they were running out of options. Almost all the packs allied to the Winter Snows pack had passed on word of the duplicity shown when arranging Faith's now-defunct betrothal to the Browntree pack, and everyone who was anyone was outright refusing to have anything to do with my pack.
It wasn't a pretty sight, and my parents were beyond furious that other packs could be so narrow-minded, according to them. But to me, they'd been disrespectful to Alpha Adam by trying to arrange a betrothal to a pack closely allied to his, and my parents' status as pariahs was well deserved. That wasn't going to stop them from trying, however, and the talk around the dinner table was focused on one subject; finding a husband for Faith and getting more lands as a result. I felt a bit sad for my sister; she was, in essence, now being treated as no better than chattel, just so my parents could expand their hunting territory, and I decided to extend an olive branch to my sister. I didn't like her, but she was still my sister, and I figured we might find a common ground.
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Two months later, my parents finally got some good news, although it came from the one source they were virulently reluctant to accept. Witch covens were less rigid than werewolf packs, and the Moonlight Blue coven had agreed to a match between Faith and James, the son of the coven's leader. Faith wasn't happy to be married to a witch, but my mother sat her down and told her she had no choice. It was either that or be mated to a close cousin, and even I was leery at the thought. Not because of the cousin-to-cousin marriage, but because Lee was such a cold, callous bastard. Faith admitted worry that night as we got ready for bed. "I'm glad to be getting married," she said, "but I don't like that it's a witch. No offence," she added hastily. "I just ... eugh. You're okay, I guess, but I don't want to give birth to little witches."
"At least you're getting out of the house," I told her.
Faith grimaced. "Actually, I'm not," she said. "Mother told Beth that James and I will be making our home here. Beth was about ready to go to war with her; witches are very territorial, and Beth's more so than most. I'll be her first werewolf daughter-in-law, and she's quite excited at the prospect of little witches or werewolves running around the house. God. I feel like a bone caught between two very aggressive dogs."
"So elope," I said. "You and James can set up a place of your own, and then you'll get to raise your little ones however you wish, with neither mothers nor mothers-in-law telling you how to live."
"It's tempting," Faith agreed. "But Father will be furious. He's been promised a dimensional gate to new hunting lands."
"Father doesn't give two shits about you," I reminded her. "So what if he loses out? You deserve a good life, Faith. So go marry your witch and have lots of children."
Faith took a deep breath and nodded. "I guess you're not so much of a misbegotten freak of nature after all," she said, venturing a half-smile that was surprisingly genuine. We weren't as close as I'd hoped, but she no longer treated me with such disdain, and I squeezed her hand.
"You're fairly decent yourself," I said, "for a mutt."
Faith laughed at that. "Witch," she taunted, and I smiled.
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Father was, as Faith had guessed, furious when he found out James and Faith had eloped two days before the Big Day. Beth was just as angry, but instead of trying to find common ground, she turned the blame firmly on my father, who called her some very not-nice names, and as a result, got his dimensional gate revoked.
Mother was just as incensed, and, as usual, turned it on me. I wanted to tell her I had nothing to do with it, but decided now was as good a time as any to live a little. "Yes, I told her to run away," I admitted. "So what? Are you going to send me to that camp like you threatened?"
Mother took a deep breath. "I should," she said angrily. "You had no right to interfere!"
"My sister was sick of you and Beth fighting over her like a piece of prime rib," I said, just as angry as she was. "So I told her to do the right thing for herself and her unborn children. At least she had the good sense to see I was right, for once."
"You're going to pay for this," Mother warned me, her eyes like chips of ice. "One of these days, I will give you all the hell you deserve for thwarting your father once again!"
"Good luck," I said.
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