Betrayed by My Pack – Wolfless Hybrids Escape
Chapter 37 –

Cara's POV

I did it. I stopped it. I don't know exactly how I did it. The arrow hurtled towards us, and I knew I was the only one who could stop it. It shattered against the shield I put up and was now lying at our feet in a hundred pieces. My mother had thrown it hard. She meant business, but I managed to protect us both.

I think my mother was happier than I was about it. She was cheering and running for us, just like Luna was. Robert was standing up and staring in shock at the now-ruined arrow. I had never seen anything like that before, so I am sure they hadn't either. I was just glad that I managed to protect us. "What did you feel?" my mother asked me.

"I felt like my sister was going to be hurt if I didn't protect us," I told her truthfully.

"Do you remember where you pulled it from?" she asked.

"Yes, it was a core reaction. I just did it instead of thinking about it. It came to me once you threw it. I knew that one of us would be in the hospital if I didn't put a barrier up," I replied.

"Excellent job. We will increase the danger now, as you only put up a shield. This time, you need to provide a complete shield. I will be stepping up the threat all the way around you. Brenna, you can go with your sister again, but this time go further away. If Cara manages to put up a dome, some of the items I will throw at her may bounce off of it. I don't want any of you getting hurt as I test how well Cara has learned to block an attack," my mother told them.

After the ice arrow, I am sure they are worried about what else I could be up against. They went to the far ends of the dome and watched as my mother rose up about ten feet into the air. I was also surprised, as I didn't anticipate having to shield against a moving target. My surprise only increased as she used an arsenal against me. I had to put up a bigger shield up around me, as putting one up in front wouldn't work this time.

She moved all around, throwing fireballs, tree limbs, large stones, and more ice arrows. You never knew what was coming next as she continued to attack me. She started using wind to try to knock me down in the midst of it. I finally got angry and put up a complete dome all the way around me. This was my first training, but she wasn't holding anything back. I was shielded from her onslaught as she continued to attack. Throwing everything she had at me to see if she could get through the dome. Once she realized that I was protected from everything she had thrown at me. She grinned and then turned and headed toward Brenna and Luna.

I saw the fear they had the second my mother looked at them. I was worried, too. I didn't want my sisters to be hurt either. My first thought was protecting them. The next thing I knew, I stood before them both, putting up a dome around all three of us. My mother threw everything she could, but nothing got past my defenses. My mother was thrilled by my response to her attack, if her expression was anything to go by. I was just glad that I had managed to protect my sisters.

My sisters and Robert were all amazed to see what I had done in such a short amount of time. I still didn't know how I managed to move across the room. I just did it. I thought about it and was suddenly standing there in front of them. My knee-jerk response to protecting my sisters was getting to them as fast as possible. I only had to put up the shield for us. It was much quicker than my first attempts at it. Mom was right. It was beneficial to have my sisters here while I trained. I felt the need to protect them. They were always my priority. I was just glad that I could finally be able to protect them as they had protected me.

"You did very well, Cara. Very well indeed," my mother told me with pride in her voice.

"Did I?" I asked, still unsure of what I had done to receive her praise.

"Yes, I only learned to teleport in my third training. You let your instincts take over and did it within your first hour of training. I knew having your sisters here would help you push forward to learn quickly. I am very proud of you. I always knew you were meant for great things," my mother told me.

"Don't be too quick to be proud. I still honestly don't know exactly how I did it. I just knew I needed to get to them to protect them," I replied.

"Like I said, your instincts took over. This is wonderful, my darling. You have no idea how powerful you truly are. I am glad we are inside this pack, as your training will attract less attention. We need a little time to hone your powers. Your instincts are spot-on. Now we still have another hour to train. I don't want to wear you out the first day, but is there something you want to learn?" my mother asked.

"I want to learn how to read minds," I automatically stated. I knew that was one thing that I knew I wanted to learn. I didn't want to get pulled in by my emotions like my mother had. Especially if my partner is not motivated by love. I learned the hard way from my own father that some love is fickle. Despite me loving him more than anyone else, he never actually loved me back. I don't want to learn that hard lesson again. I want to know others' intentions toward me. I have been gullible for far too long. From now on, I will protect my heart.

My father stopped loving me when he learned I was a witch. The fact that he held onto the letter from my mother showed me exactly who he was. He was angry that my mother had been right. I was a witch. He decided to hurt both of us by keeping the letter from me. He knew it was spelled. The envelope had shown signs of tampering before I opened it. He would rather me be picked on and abused for the rest of my life than allow me to live with my mother. Everything I thought I knew about him was a lie. He never really loved me, not like I wanted him to. Not like I had thought he had. His love was contingent on what he wanted me to be. When I wasn't, he no longer cared about me anymore.

It brought the pain back in full force. Brenna and Luna never understood how hurtful it had been for Dad to turn his back on me. They were what he always wanted me to be: a strong she-wolf. That would prove to everyone what a strong Beta he was to the pack if I had been. My failure to be what he wanted was his greatest shame. I am honestly surprised that he didn't just try to make me disappear. I am sure that was only because my sisters would have called him on it. They would have never let him rest if he had gotten rid of me. He was basically forced to keep me. Which was why he allowed anyone and everyone to bully me with no penalty or punishment for it.

"Cara, reading minds is one of the hardest things that we can do. Especially if you don't want them to know that you are doing it. I didn't know how to do it when your father found me. So I understand why you want to learn. I will teach you how, but that is a tool you will learn later on in your training. Right now, you need to learn how to protect yourself. That means defense and offense are what you need to learn. I can feel your disappointment, Cara. I didn't say that I wouldn't teach you. I want you to focus on protecting yourself. Paxton will be coming back for you. I want you to be ready and able to protect yourself from him successfully," my mother told me.

"I understand. You are right. I can see the logic in that. OK then, I would like to learn how to throw a fireball or form an ice arrow then," I replied. I have plenty of time before I need to learn to read minds. Plus, it might be something I can learn at home when it is just us two. My mother is right. Paxton will never give up. He thinks that he can force me to bend to his will. It would be best for me to learn to protect myself. I am determined to learn as best as I can from my mother. She is doing me a great favor here, as she had to learn much of this on her own. "OK, guys, you can take your seats again. We are moving on to another lesson. I also want to work with you on teleporting again. It is a valuable skill to have, but we can start that tomorrow. If Paxton successfully takes you or one of your sisters, you will need that skill to get back to safety," my mother replied.

I fought back the urge to hug her. She is so worried about my safety. She loves me so much. I wanted to make her proud, so I listened intently to her instructions. I love her too, but I will wait until later to tell her. I need to think about what I want to create. I was worried about the fire burning me, but my small fireballs formed about two inches above my hand. I felt the heat, but it didn't burn me at all. The ice arrow, though, was another matter. Mine were still small compared to what my mother had thrown at me. Not even a foot long, but they did have a point, and they could still do damage.

My mother explained to me how to use my power to send them flying. She taught me to conserve my energy as I was doing this, as in a battle, I could not allow myself to become exhausted. Using a small portion of my energy, I threw about fifty projectiles at the target she created for me. She was happy with my progress. I knew she could tell that I wanted to learn more, but I have to admit, I was tired. When she took the dome down, I was surprised to see that it was getting dark outside. It had not been dark inside the dome she had made.

"You learned a lot today, Cara. We have been at this for almost four hours. It was a long first day, but I am proud of your progress. We will come out again tomorrow and do it again," she told me. I was not quite as proud as her, but I felt I had learned a lot. I want to learn as much as I can, as quickly as I can. My mother was right. It would be just a matter of time before Paxton came back.