Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

LENA.

We were both seated across from each other. My fingers caught the hem of my hoodie and I began to pull at the free threads that had been let loose when the ends of my hoodie caught against one of the sharp edges of the railings at the bus terminal.

"So, are you going to just stare at me from across there or tell my why your hair is the shade of platinum silver," He spoke up, his manly tone slicing the silence between us.

My system wobbled up. I tried to compose myself, search for the right words, the right way to begin this. It was all confusing, and I have no idea how to start.

"Dad, I am as bewildered as you are right now. Last night, while in my room, I— I don't know how to explain it. One moment, I was crying and the next, I felt a wave of intense despair engulfing my whole body. The temperature in the room suddenly dropped to zero or something. I don't know. My room was frozen and there were spikes of ice forming on every object that had frozen. I don't know, Dad. It just didn't make any sense. I stood up to check out what was going on. I thought it was a dream or maybe a hallucination but it was real, dad. That was when I stared into the mirror and saw that my hair had suddenly turned into this!" As I spoke, my breathing began to get more intense. I felt like I couldn't catch up with my words. I kept rambling as my father watched me in a daze. Obviously following my words to his understanding.

"Didn't you see it, Dad? Last night?"

"What are you talking about?" He retorted, utterly confused.

"You and Jason came into the room or was it some sort of trance I was in?” I buried my head in my hands. I thought I saw them, who could have opened my door then.

This afternoon, I was really excited to learn more about myself but right now, I couldn't contain the bizarreness of all this.

He stood from his chair and came to sit beside me. Placing a comforting hand on my back, he said. "Whatever is happening to you right now means something huge. I don't know why your hair turned white and if you really didn't dye it as a prank—"

I looked up at him as rage from nowhere enveloped my feelings, he could have said a much more better statement. "You think I'd pull a prank at this time? How insensitive do you think I am?! For crying out loud, I went to see the Pack's Witch and she told me I was some unique wolf! Whatever happened to me last night was a rarity. So if you think this is just a prank then go on. I’m done here and sorry for disturbing my story!"

I pushed myself to my feet and turned to him. "I understand that you are grieving Mother. And so am I! I thought I could confide in you but I guess you aren't in the right state of mind to help navigate this,”

A hurt look was etched on his face. Then he asked. "What did she say?" He could have said this the other time, even asked for more information, other than that dicey response.

I closed my eyes and blew out a breath from my lip. "She talked about it being a peculiar phenomenon. That was right after I told her I got gashed by one of the icicles and saw a white liquid oozing out of my skin instead of blood. She talked about the rarity of this new change. She talked about it being a profound alteration in my physicality. She talked about how this path was filled with unknown dangers. A treacherous part. She was willing to guide me through the realms of magic and secrets. She said I was no ordinary being. Said I was a gift for the goddess herself— how the hell am I remembering everything at a time?"

I looked up at my father to see a look of shock in his eyes. It was similar to that of the Witch. Ardor, awe. "You're a White wolf, Lena,"

"You know of it, too?"

He closed his eyes and raised his hand to stop me. "This is too much for me to take in right now. Can we talk about this later? I am more concerned about your mother's funeral right now. I'm sorry, honey. I'm just really disoriented and I can't seem to gather my thoughts,"

I took a step towards him and placed a hand on his arm. "It's fine, Dad. I understand. I didn't want to tell you at first but then, I couldn't hide my hair from you,"

He smiled and pulled me into his arms, engulfing me in his warmth. "I am always here when you want to talk. Though right now, we are grieving the loss of your mother, I will never detach myself from you and Jason. Your mother will hate me for that."

I leaned away from him and nodded. We walked back to the living room and talked about how the funeral was going to hold. Apparently, our father didn't want us inviting so many people and I agreed with him. People had a problem with controlling their mouths and we didn't want to hear anyone speaking about her mysterious death.

Once our conversation was over, I retired to my room. Opened my door and looked around. I hadn't been here all day and it felt different. After all that happened last night, I saw it differently.

I left my phone on my way out. It sat on my desk and when I went to check it out, I realized I had several missed calls from Leah. I picked my phone and dialed her number immediately before jumping into bed.

After a few rings, Leah picked up. She didn't begin with the usual "Hey, bitch!" Went on to ramble instead.

"Lena, you okay? I heard about your mother and I have been calling all morning. I stopped calling when I figured you might be in a bad place and unable to pick up."

I leaned back against my bed and stared up at the stars that glowed in the darkness. A tear slipped down my cheek and I wiped it immediately. I wasn't looking for a pity party right now. Just a friend to listen to me. "She was found at the mall's parking lot, right beside her car and her grocery bags beside her, Leah,"

"My sincerest condolences, Lena. Do you want me to come over? You need me there. I can't imagine how much grief you must be going through right now."

I shook my head like she was seated right before me. I wasn't sure I wanted to face her right now. Not with my hair and whatever was going on in my life right now. I wasn't ready to answer her questions. Not yet at least. "No, Leah. I am okay for real. I don't want you putting yourself through so much stress to come see me."

Before she could give a reply, we heard a ding on our phones. It was a notification from WillowPrivs. A blog created to keep us updated on things happening around us.

"Did you get that too?" I asked.

"Yes, I did. Let's switch to facetime."

We did switch to facetime. She was in her room with a face mask on. We both opened the notification. Leah's eyes widened and she gasped before looking at me. "Henshaw. He's dead. He was found by the lake, Lena!"

"Fucking hell!" I cussed out, rereading the same thing over in the picture.