Crystal's POV

I kept my head down, fingers numb as they dug into the cold, damp surface of the soil. The weeds had grown thick around the base of the packhouse, making my task harder than it needed to be at a usual time, but I didn't mind at all.

Better to focus on this than the chilling cold or worse, the biting words I knew were coming to me, but I still had to do what I have to do to have a good day in this pack house.

They always did bad things to me and I was used to it, and at all times I try not to react to them just for my own safety.

The soft crunch of boots on gravel reached my ears at almost same time few steps were made towards me. My heart sank with fear at once with the fort coming footsteps. I didn't need to look up to know who it was actually since the smell reached my nose, and I immediately knew it was Hannah and her crew.

They always found me anywhere I go to within the pack. No matter how hard I tried to stay out of their way, they made it their mission to remind me where I stood within the pack; they always find a way to remind me about my past. They always keep me at the bottom. And always say I shall be beneath them.

"You missed a spot, Crystal," Hannah's sharp voice cut through the morning air that was chill, dripping with that familiar hate that she had towards me for no reason.

I stiffened but kept pulling at the weeds trying not to let their words get to me.

"Don't react. Don't give them a reason to think you are a fool" my wolf said within myself while I gave a quick glance at her and her crew.

"I'm almost done with this," I muttered, with my words barely above a whisper.

Maybe if I stayed quiet, they'd get bored and leave me to continue with my job.

But they never let me continue with what I was doing before they walked in.

"What's that? I didn't quite hear you," she sneered, her voice closer now while fear gripped me, with me not trying to show weakness. I felt the shadow of her presence haunting me already .

"Are you that pathetic you can't even speak up for yourself when you are in trouble?"

I bit the inside of my cheek, hard enough to taste blood, but didn't respond to their words at all. It was better this way to me. 

If I stayed silent, maybe it wouldn't escalate into something else and cause me to be finally banished.

"Answer me when I'm talking to you!" Hannah's boot kicked the pile of weeds I had already gathered since early that morning, scattering them across the ground.

Behind her, I could hear the laughter from her friends that were just like her, Sarah and Liv, the ones who always followed her around like a sheep, bleating on her every command she gave.

The knot of frustration twisted tighter in my stomach with me not trying to reveal my anger to her.

"How many times had this happened?" I asked my inner self with a stern look.

"How many times had I just sit there and take it, never once fighting back?" Something within me asked. Too many.

But what choice did I have to attack this pack, I was a total nobody and less people want to live their life with me.

Worse than all of that, I was just an outcast. The pack reminded me about that every single day of my life and this made my heart broke down.

"You think you're something special, don't you, Crystal?" Hannah's voice turned low, mocking while I just inhale and exhale, trying to control my anger which was ready to be let out. 

"Always pretending like you're better than us just because you're quiet and calm. But I see through it. You're Just nothing. A weak little mutt with no place here and no place anywhere, aren't you quite ashamed of yourself. Outcast!."

Her words stung, more than I cared to admit this time.

I wanted to stand up for myself this time, to shove her back and tell her she didn't know anything about me, so she can't tell me who I am not. 

But what would that solve in this case? I had no power here to defend myself. No allies. And she knew it all, everyone in this pack knew it all.

"I'm not pretending anything," I whispered, staring at the dirt on me after weeding. 

My hands were trembling now, more from anger than cold and this expression was a strange one for me.

"Don't fight. Don't let them get to you" a voice said within myself, with that I gave a sigh trying to follow the instructions.

"Oh, so now you've finally got something to say right?" She stepped closer to me, her shadow falling over me like a huge threat and I could feel the heat of her anger pressing down like a weight while mine was already dying deep within.

"I should put you in your place once and for all, so all this can end."

Before I could brace for her word, I saw her hand coming out of the corner of my eye.

She was going to shove me this time with her visible anger.

Then something strange happened to me.

A warmth breeze spread through my chest, sudden and sharp, like a flare of energy and strength which I couldn't explain how. 

My senses sharpened at same time.

Every sound, every movement, it all became too clear for me. 

I could hear Hannah's heartbeat slamming in her chest, faster than it should've been in any normal ground.

My vision seemed to focus in ways it hadn't before, catching every blade of grass beneath Hannah's feet.

I felt stronger than I have always been. 

Dangerously strong and was already up to kill and destroy.

Without thinking, my head snapped up, my eyes locking onto hers at the same time. 

For the first time in my life and also since I have been in the pack. I looked directly at her, not with fear or resignation, but with something else that she was totally scared of.

Something that sent a spark of panic flashing in her own very eyes.

Hannah, always so sure of herself, actually took a step back this time with visible fear. Her smug expression faltered, replaced with uncertainty and surprise with what I displayed to everyone. 

The others went silent at once, their laughter dying in their throats and surprise filling them up.

I didn't understand what was happening at first but the energy buzzing beneath my skin was unfamiliar to me, it was frightening, but also… exhilarating.

I felt like I could do anything I wanted by this time. 

Like I was seconds away from unleashing something powerful that would make everyone in the entire pack be scared of me.

"What the hell…?" Hannah whispered, her voice barely audible now, since fear already gripped her soul. 

She blinked at once, regaining her composure, and the moment passed as quickly as it had come.

"Whatever," she spat at me, turning on her heel still giving her surprise filled look. 

"Come on, girls." she said as she turned around to walk away

Just like that, they left me standing. I was alone again, the silence pressing in on all sides with me also confused on what I just did.

I stayed there, kneeling in the dirt, trying to catch my breath and also trying to gain understanding on what I just did.

"What was that?"