Status: Alive and Kicking!

The Ripple Effect

The Immortal Battle of Right and Wrong

I didn't know much about that backwards pack, but I did know that they did not follow traditional family values. Women were war prizes, and no one was given the chance to turn an interested male down. The children did not even grow up in homes: they grew up in a facility, learning how to be perfect assassins.

Most of them never even saw their mothers after their first birthday, and fathers only came around to brag about their offspring.

"Zeya, you said your mother protected you?" She nodded meekly. "But didn't you grow up with a bunch of other kids?"

"I stayed home with my little brothers," she murmured into my chest, snuggling closer.

This just didn't make any sense! Unless...

"My Papa is the Alpha," she whispered, fear obvious in her voice.

I felt bile rise in my throat. If my trust in Fate had not already been broken, it would have been shattered by now! This little girl... She was the Alpha's first child, and she was a girl that he didn't even want—but she was still to be Alpha. Her small physical imperfection wouldn't even have been such a deal breaker if her father hadn't already been looking for a reason to get rid of her without having to answer to his council and mate.

"You're much better off out here," I promised her quietly, closing my eyes for a moment to try to calm Iah.

I want blood, Luca!

"You don't want to be the leader of those monsters anyway."

"Salek is going to be Alpha now," she grumbled as her cheeks puffed out in adorable defiance. "He is such a rotten, little brat."

"You talk like you are some ninety-year-old maid."

She pushed herself from me, easily getting back onto her feet. Then she looked down at me—down on me—and rolled her eyes like it was so trivial. With such a nonchalant voice, she said, "You think of me as some slow, helpless little kid. But I already said that I survived on my own for two years, so don't think you're doing me some favour by sticking around, Mr. Luca."

I still was not quite so sure what to make of that statement. Two years…

"I survived eight years with a pack of beasts who hated me. Being out here is easy."

Though the Shadow Pack was revolting, they definitely taught their pups how to survive. Her harsh upbringing was the only reason she was still alive. But her harsh upbringing was also going to make things even trickier. She might start to think that she could do just fine on her own, and I couldn’t let her go back to that life of solitude. So I had to play my cards carefully.

"You know, I think outdid myself: Zeya definitely fits you," I teased, swatting lazily at her until I caught her hand. "You know, there’s a reason I decided to bring you with me... It’s because I need a body guard.”

She glanced down at her hand and the hand that all but consumed it, and then her suspicious gaze swooped over to me.

"Why?"

"I'm a rogue, Zeya. Packs don't like those. So what do you say? Will you help me out?"

She ripped her hand from mine, and my heart sank. I had thought that would work...

But then she straightened her back, standing perfectly poised, and threw her right hand to her forehead in an adorably fierce salute.

"I will protect you, Mr. Luca!"

I smiled and let out a sigh of relief. But this girl was going to be quite a handful.

"Mr. Luca, I think we should get moving," Zeya suggested, grabbing my hand and tugging with all of her might. "It's not safe here!" Her eyes cut to the left. "We’re still in my old pack’s hunting radius.”

I nodded quickly, springing onto my feet.

"So where are we going?" she asked, blinking up at me with those wide eyes.

I smiled.

"Somewhere that needs a princess, so you can stop being such a warrior."

She rolled her eyes at me, but I saw the way she glanced coyly out of the corner of her eye with a small smile on her face.

She was the daughter her father never wanted, but this little girl...

Maybe she was just what Iah and I needed. She was certainly distracting him from being consumed by bitter anger. And if we were going to survive, I needed to be able to let go.

Besides, the sad truth was...we were both unwanted.

Iah howled at the thought, but the spark of red anger that crossed my vision was much more subdued. I wondered if Misa was as angry at Zeya’s father as Iah was seething at Sophie. The little girl certainly didn’t seem to bear much physical ill-will toward her father—mostly she seemed to hate her little brother, Salek, rather than the man who actually threw her out.

It didn’t make sense to me. But hopefully I was a distraction for her just as she was a distraction for me.

We wandered the forest for the next few days, aimlessly crossing territory upon territory in an attempt to put more distance between us and Zeya’s old pack. Whenever the little girl’s spirits started to fall, I’d try to find something to serve as a break. She really enjoyed finding a small lake. Despite her slight limp, she was an incredibly strong swimmer. And when water was lacking, a simple game of hide and seek lifted her mood immensely. She especially loved tag; surprisingly, I had to actually push myself to outrun her!

If I did not know that she had been born to be the world’s next best assassin, I would have expected her to be just an average girl.

But I had to remind myself that she was taken off of that path. Zeya was going to bring love and life into the world, not death and despair. Her father was the cruelest man alive, but she was sweet and pure. I just prayed that I had saved her before they corrupted her.

I glanced over to the girl in question. She was sitting quietly on a flat rock, her palms open. A moth had landed in her hands. I smiled. What kind of girl holds a moth?

But then a creepy grin overtook her lips, and she smacked her hands together. The lifeless bug fell to the dirt.

Just as soon as she had killed the moth, she looked up to me. The creepy grin faded to a sweet smile, and she shoved herself from the rock and scurried up to me.

“Are we leaving now, Mr. Luca?” she asked softly, clasping her grimy hands behind her back.

I forced a smile and nodded. It was just a bug. It’s not like she had killed an infant or something—it was just a bug.

But that exceedingly satisfied grin...

It disturbed me.
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The life of an engineering student is certainly keeping me busy...but I'm determined to have some time to sit down this weekend, if only for an hour to type and submit another chapter! I'm very much looking forward to developing Zeya's character a bit more, because character progression is something with which I have struggled in the past.

But that's enough waffling. Thanks for reading, commenting, and subscribing!
--Mira