All I can Do

All I can Do
\[Pandora’s POV\]
A gasp escapes me as I feel myself beginning to fall, and as I brace myself for what is about to come next, a hand reaches out and wraps around my own. Feeling a wave of relief rush through me, I look up and find my father staring with a murderous gaze.
“What the hell did you think you were doing?” He demands, beginning to pull me up. “Didn’t I tell you to go to the panic room?”
“You did,” I confirm as I’m pulled onto solid ground. “But there was something that I had to tell you immediately.”
As I speak, Lucian and Healer Gibson come rushing up, their faces covered in sweat and shock while they stare at me.
“Alpha,” Healer Gibson gasps. “I’m sorry, this is…”
“Quiet,” my father growls, turning his full attention to me while Healer Gibson cowers. “My daughter was just about to tell me something.”
“Right,” I agree, relief rushing through me that my father is at least willing to listen. “The hundreds of mercenaries may be a glamor.”
“A glamor,” he repeats, frowning. “What do you mean?”
“They have a mage working with them, remember?”
Growing quiet, I wait while my father considers what I’m saying, and when a few of his warriors come to join us, he turns his gaze to them.
“What’s the word?”
“A-alpha,” one of the warriors rasps, his expression screaming he wasn’t necessarily sure about my father’s reaction. “The mercenaries… They’re…”
“They’re what?” My father growls, his aura beginning to trickle from him. “Spit it out.”
“They seem to disappear when we attempt to attack.”
There’s the proof. I think. My fear beginning to grow. The mage is using his magic to make it look like there are many members of the enemy when there are really none at all.
“Father,” I hiss, drawing his attention back to me. “We need to lock down the packhouse.”
I was certain of it now. This was probably the way Lux’s true warriors managed to get one up on us. They had that mage helping them, and because of that, they had the perfect distraction.
“You heard her,” my father says, not wasting a single moment. “Go and lock down the packhouse. Once that’s done, call a retreat for all who are already fighting or heading to fight.”
“Yes, Alpha.”
Finished speaking, the warriors turn on their heels and rush away while my father turns his attention back to me. Slowly, he takes me in, and once he is finished, he turns his gaze to Lucian.
“You take her to the panic room.” He says, causing frustration to rush through me. “If she so much as gets a scratch, I will make you pay for it."
“Father!”
“You heard me!” He snarls, his eyes flashing and his gaze narrowing. “It is clear that the enemy is more prepared and well equipped. I will be damned if my daughter is left out in the open where she can be hurt or worse.”
But I won’t. I find myself wanting to say, but I know that I can’t. Not when I am stuck in my eight-year-old body. I couldn’t do anything, and yet, I still wanted to stay out in the open and fight.
“Understood.” Lucian says quietly before moving to my side. “You heard him.”
“But…”
“There isn’t time for arguments.” My father says. “We are in the middle of a full-blown invasion, and every minute is precious. Now, get going.”
I don’t get to say anything more before I feel his command pressing against my skin, spurring me to stand and then turn to Lucian, who is waiting. When I reach him, I find myself allowing Lucian to grab my hand and then lead me away, and when I look over my shoulder at my father once more, I see him turning and heading in the direction of the danger.
The walk to the panic room is a quiet one that is only broken when we meet the other children of the packhouse. They’re crying and look like they expect their world to come crumbling down around them. When they see me, they rush forward, their hands reaching out to grab me, but they’re stopped by Lucian.
“Don’t overwhelm her.” He hisses as Victor rushes forward to help him. “Get into the panic room now.”
His voice is filled with authority as he speaks, and I can’t help but feel appreciation for him being here with me while I’m once again experiencing my world crumbling, but even that appreciation doesn’t stop the fear that is slowly bubbling up inside of me.
“You heard him.” Victor says, working with him despite his disdain of him. “Get in there now so that the adults don’t have to worry about any of us while they’re fighting.”
“Fighting?” Someone exclaims, causing the others to work themselves into a frenzy.
“Did you hear him?”
“He said that there’s fighting!”
“We’re under attack.”
Again and again their exclamations fill the air, causing the already chaotic scene in front of me to grow even more chaotic until I can feel a thick tension in the air, and no matter how hard Lucian and Victor try to calm it, nothing happens.
“Look what you did,” I growl, shoving my way through the two boys. “You’ve only made matters worse.”
It’s time to stop hiding and be a leader. I tell myself, stepping up so that I can take in everyone who is panicking. If they stay out here like this, then things could go from bad to worse.
“LISTEN!” I roar, drawing all gazes to me. “STANDING OUT HERE AND PANICKING ISN’T GOING TO GET US ANYWHERE! RIGHT NOW, THE THING THAT WE NEED TO DO IS GET TO SAFETY SO THAT OUR PARENTS CAN FOCUS SOLELY ON DEALING WITH THE DANGER THAT IS AT HAND!”
I felt like a hypocrite saying all of this, but it was the only thing I could do in the moment. This here, dealing with these children who would eventually be beneath me if we all managed to survive, was all that I could do, and for now, I would step up and do it.
"NOW," I continue when no one argues. "GET INTO A LINE AND PROCEED INTO THE PANIC ROOM! ONCE YOU'RE INSIDE, YOU ARE TO STAY THERE UNTIL THE ADULTS COME AND GET US!"
"But what if they don't?" A small voice asks, causing murmurs to erupt again. "What if something happens to them and we are left alone?"
"Then it will be up to us to protect our home since we will be the only ones left to do it."