Betrayed by My Pack – Wolfless Hybrids Escape

Cara's POV

"You did great, baby!" I told her as she leaned forward to come to my arms.

"I didn't even use my magic, Mom," Lexie proudly told me. I was very proud of her, but I was upset too.

"It wasn't that I didn't think you could do it, Lexie. Rules are in place for a reason. This course is tough. We are proud of you, but please do not try to do this course on your own," I told her. I know my daughter. Now that she has done it, she will want to run it over and over again. She is very independent and pretty stubborn. She is too young to recognize the danger it can pose to her.

"Great job, Lex! I knew she would excel in the course, but I was surprised she didn't use her magic. It would have been much easier to run the course with it, as she is only three," my mother said as she patted Lexie on her back.

"Mom, she is too young to run this course. She should wait like her brothers and sisters did. I knew she was strong, but the rules are in place for a reason," I told her as I walked back up the hill with Lexie in my arms.

"She did just fine on it, Cara. The course age should be changed to reflect those who can traverse it instead of an across-the-board age. You know as well as I do that all our children were ready to do it at her age. Lex is strong. She did it with no issues. She didn't even use her magic and still made it on the day she turned three. You should realize that it was hard on her to do this, especially keeping you out of the loop," my mother replied with a sigh.

"So you taught her to teleport? She is not yet old enough to understand the dangers of doing that. What if she gets hurt? What if she teleports to an area that she shouldn't be in? Even after a decade, not everyone in Black Adder is comfortable with witches in the pack. I just wanted to keep her safe while she is learning to protect herself," I replied, but even I heard the pain in my voice.

"I overstepped. I am sorry, Cara, but you know that I would never do anything to put my grandchildren's lives in danger," my mother replied with a sob.

I stopped walking and turned around. I could see tears shining in her eyes. I knew that she loved them just as much as I did. She wouldn't intentionally put any of them at risk. I know how hard it is to say no to Lexie. She has talked me into doing things that I wanted to wait on before, so I know that it would have been near impossible for my mother to have said no to her.

"It was my fault. I couldn't say no to her. It was what she said she wanted for her birthday," Alexei said as he stepped up and rubbed my back. I knew just how tightly Lexie wrapped her father around her little finger. I felt my shoulders sag as I let my frustration go.

"I know exactly how hard it is to deny her, Alexei, but I was doing it for her own safety. I was wrong, as she did a great job. I am fine with her running it, but she has to have an adult with her every time. I don't want her running off on her own to do it. I will speak to Jaxon and Brenna first to make sure that they are OK with it too," I told them, it was as much of an acknowledgment that I was fine with it, as they would get.

I would still worry, but Lexie was only going to get stronger. It would be wrong of me to hold her back despite her age. Katya and Damian were both congratulating her a few feet away. I could tell that they were impressed with her abilities. I had to admit, I was too. She listened to her father's instructions, and she didn't hesitate. She is strong enough to do the course, but I was trying to be fair here. Her older siblings and our children had to wait until they turned four to run it.

I was trying to make sure that I was being fair to my children, all five of them. I know the pain of being ignored, unappreciated, and unwanted. I never want them to think that I am playing favorites. I know that feeling all too well, and it hurts. It stays with you. It isn't your siblings fault, they weren't the one who were actually hurting you. But despite that, the feeling that you are not enough lingers on. My mother loves me, of that I am sure. I also know that she treats all four of her children with respect and love, never valuing one more than another. But my childhood memories were still there, just under the surface. Reminding me that I will never be worthy. That I was never enough to be loved properly. Those feelings stay with you. Even the love Alexei showers on me doesn't stop the whispers in my ear that I was never good enough. I was flawed, and because of that, I will never be good enough. I won't allow my children to feel the same way I did growing up. I won't let what happened to me affect them the same way.

I was also concerned because some of the pack members here were already jealous of Lexie because she was a hybrid. Just like they were jealous of Anton and Cheryl's twins, who were also hybrids, they were wolves and vampires. Their strength was off the charts as they got it on both sides of their heritage. The twins were now fifteen and a half and could already speak to their wolves. Dr. Gurin believes that they will phase on their sixteenth birthday. It was early, but they consistently achieved their milestones early.

I have seen some ugly looks and heard comments made about the twins. They were ostracized. They were now being taught at home, as there had been several incidents at the high school. Minor bullying, because Raven had rules, but the jealousy towards them would not be ignored. They liked being homeschooled better anyway. They could excel much further than they would have in high school. They had tutors and learned everything they needed to from their home. They were very intelligent, and we all expected great things from them. I knew that they dreamed of joining the team that Alexei heads. Anton had stepped away from it for a while when his children were young. With his oldest children wanting to be a part of it, he would not allow them to go alone. They did go on the last job with them. The team had been two members short for a while now, with Kira going to live with Blake at Black Moon. Anton was the second member they lost, but their group was so effective that requests for assistance decreased last year.

Alexei bent down to kiss me and said, "I will be right back, Love. The next race is about to start."

I knew what he meant, as he was always present to assist our children in case of emergency. There was no real reason to worry, and both Dr. Gurin and Dr. Hill were here for Lexie's party. They would help in case of an emergency. I watched him run back over to stand next to the starting line as the children started to arrive. The seven to nine-year-old group was going to be the biggest group. Natalia was Anton and Cheryl's youngest daughter; she was eight years old. She had been a surprise baby for them, too. Cheryl didn't even realize she was pregnant for the first half of her pregnancy.

Natalia had her mother's light blonde hair but the same golden-yellow eyes as her brothers and sisters. She was smart and fast. She didn't talk any smack before the race like some of the other children. She let her actions do the talking. Damir was next to her, and he was nine years old. He was Tatiana and Dmitry's oldest child. He had dark brown hair like his father and honey-colored eyes. Damir looked just like his father, as did his younger brother, Aleksei, standing beside him.

Alek, as we called him, was seven years old. He had blonde hair (from his mother, Tatiana) and golden eyes. I already knew that Alek was going to do well. He loved to compete against his older brother. Alek looked up to his big brother Damir, but he didn't just stand by and let Damir be the best. He always competed against him, pushing no matter what they did. Running a race, their grades at school, or even household chores, you name it, and Alek always tried to do his best. He didn't allow his standing as second son to get in the way of excelling. Alek was named in honor of Dmitry's long history of being like a brother to Alexei. Alexei had teared up at hearing Dmitry tell him that he wanted to name his son after him, but with a different spelling. Dmitry didn't know if we wanted to name one of our children after Alexei and left us able to do that if we wanted to. Malik was next in line, standing bedside Alek. Malik was eight years old and had dark brown hair and golden eyes. Malik was Ivan and Bonnie's oldest child. Studious and quiet, Malik was his father made over. He was already able to see into the future despite his young age. He had been granted the gift of premonition, which was a great gift. I still appreciate Ivan telling Alexei that we were coming here. Ivan helped to save us that day.

Our eight-year-old son, Vadim, was next to Malik. Vadim was a miniature version of Alexei. He was so proud of his father and looked up to him in everything. He listened well, and everything he did was to make his father proud of him. Vadim was an excellent older brother. He kept the peace and helped us care for his three younger siblings.

Mila was not comfortable taking over the coven from her father. She was sad that she wasn't a hybrid like Lexie. If Mila had been a hybrid, she may have wanted to take over the Coven. Vadim had already told Mila that if she wanted, they could run the coven together when Alexei decided he wanted to step down.

Kennedy, my mother's youngest, was next to Vadim. Kennedy was also eight years old. She had her father, Robert's, dark brown hair and our cornflower blue eyes. Kennedy was also a hybrid, a witch and a wolf combined. She was a force to be reckoned with and has shown her strength before. She looks focused and ready to go. Wendy is next to Kennedy, and she is Brenna and Jaxon's second child. She was the only girl, and both her brothers took protecting her seriously. As the Alpha's child, you would think she would be spoiled, but that was not the case. She was her mother made over. Competitive and strong, she would not just hand the race over to anyone. Not even her best friend, Kennedy.