Elisa let out a scream of horror at the sight of Mia at the top of the stairs. Her eyes went wide, and for a moment her body seemed to freeze, as if she couldn't believe the sight before her. But the horror was soon swallowed up by an irrational fury, accompanied by an almost insane urgency. Without saying a word, she abruptly pulled away from Liam and ran up the steps.When she reached her daughter, she grabbed her by the arm with a strength she didn't usually use, pulling her down, ignoring any protest or hesitation. Mia stumbled over her own feet, surprised and frightened. She had seen Elisa in outbursts before - usually before they moved cities, when something went wrong - but there was something different that night. A deeper desperation, an almost animalistic energy that Mia couldn't name. It was fear. But a fear that didn't seem to be hers, but her mother's.“Let's go! Now!” growled Elisa between her teeth, pulling Mia down the stairs as if hell itself was behind them.Mia trie
Mia's small room seemed to shrink with every step she took. The narrow walls, the low ceiling and the few pieces of furniture seemed to compress the air, making it dense and difficult to breathe. Anger and sadness mixed in her chest like a gale. She couldn't stop thinking about her grandparents, the last time she saw them - smiling, waving out of the car window, as if everything was perfectly normal.“Dead,” she thought, trying to make sense of the word. “My grandparents are dead.”But something was wrong. Very wrong.She wanted to ask her mother what exactly had happened, how, when, why. And the more she thought about it, the stranger it all seemed to her. The rush, the slap, her mother's almost crazed urgency, the outburst. It was as if the world had suddenly collapsed - and she hadn't even had time to say goodbye to anyone.The truth was that Mia didn't want to leave. Not like that. Not without understanding. And, above all, she didn't want to continue living in the shadow of her m
Elisa freaked out.There was no other word for it. Mia barely had time to complete her disbelieving laugh when her mother exploded. She suddenly stood up from her chair, her eyes wide and full of fury, her face red, her hands shaking as if they could barely contain what wanted to come out of her.“It's true!” she shouted, with an intensity that made Mia shut up on the spot. “Everything I've told you is true, Mia, and you're going with me whether you like it or not!”Mia recoiled instinctively. She had never seen Elisa so out of control, not even during the worst changes, not even in the worst moments of paranoia. There was something else there - something desperate, wild, almost irrational.“If when you get there you see that I was lying,” Elisa continued, her voice trembling with emotion, ”if it's all just my imagination as you think, I'll bring you back myself. I promise. I swear.”Mia blinked, swallowing. That had hit her hard. If there was one thing she had learned from a very you
Elisa had been driving non-stop all night, her red eyes fixed on the dark, deserted road that seemed to stretch endlessly before them. Mia, in the back seat, watched her mother's tense silhouette, her hands gripping the steering wheel as if she were squeezing it in anger. The tension inside the car was suffocating. The radio was off, so the only sound was that of the engine, apart from the wind that beat against the windows.As the sky began to lighten with the sunrise, Elisa finally turned the car towards a roadside motel with a worn façade and an erratically flashing sign.“We'll rest here for a few hours. Don't talk to anyone. And give me your cell phone.”“Oh, Mom, not again...”“Give it to me. Now.”Mia huffed, but handed over the device. Elisa held the phone, blocking the screen with nervous fingers. The look on Mia's face was pure frustration.“You're not going to talk to anyone about where we're going. Do you understand?”“Not even Amy? Not even Liam?”Elisa hesitated. For a s
When Elisa made the sharp turn, the car skidded slightly on the dirt road, raising a small cloud of dust that dispersed into the warm morning air. Mia, who was leaning against the window glass, straightened up abruptly in her seat, her heart racing in her chest. But before she could protest at the sudden maneuver, her eyes widened.In front of them, as if it had emerged from the very heart of the forest, a charmingly strange little town appeared. It was as if someone had watched all the old movies about the American countryside and decided to build a perfect setting based on them. The houses were small, painted in pastel colors, and practically identical to each other, varying only in the smallest details - a longer porch, a door with an arched window, a taller white picket fence.The streets were perfectly paved, flanked by trees whose branches swayed gently in the wind, as if discreetly greeting the newcomers. The lawns of each house looked carefully trimmed, a vibrant green that co
The stop in front of the store had left a thick tension in the air, like electricity about to explode into sparks. Mia was still trying to understand what the boys had said about Owen being an “ex-alpha”, but there was no time to process it. The store door swung open violently, and a woman emerged like a contained storm. Her face was closed, her eyes hard and her gait determined.The children who were still there stopped playing at the same moment. The woman didn't even have to say anything. One look - firm, authoritative, almost animalistic - and the boys lowered their heads and ran into the store. It was as if they had communicated without making a sound. The scene made Mia uncomfortable. As if everyone there was playing a game whose rules she didn't know.The woman walked to the car with firm steps and a steady gaze. When her eyes met Elisa's, a smile appeared on her lips, but it was a thin, fragile mask. Soon, the smile began to fade, as if something was eating her up inside. The
Mia stared out of the car window, her hands sweating and her stomach churning. An insistent little voice whispered in her mind, almost inaudible, but persistent: What if it's all true? That place lost on the map, that hostile woman who seemed to sniff out secrets, the way everyone silently obeyed - it all seemed like something out of a nightmare, or worse, a fantastic tale that had decided to take on a life of its own.Startled, she turned around and pulled her backpack from the back seat. She unzipped it with trembling hands and rummaged around inside until she found a small silver tube. It was the pepper spray her grandfather had given her before a school trip. At the time, Mia had thought it was overkill, but now... now she swore she would empty the entire contents into the eyes of the first person who came too close to her neck. None of it made sense, and the less sense it made, the more dangerous it seemed.Elisa drove in silence along the little road surrounded by tall pine tree
Owen was standing on the threshold of the back door, his eyes fixed on Elisa. There was a storm of emotion in that gaze, an intensity that couldn't be disguised even by the firm expression he tried to maintain. Mia realized it immediately. It wasn't just anger or surprise. It was something much deeper and more complicated.She saw pain.She saw anger.She saw longing.And, above all, she saw love.“Wow... he still loves Mom,” thought Mia, surprised by the clarity of that realization.She turned her face slowly to look at Elisa and realized, with a squeezed heart, that her mother was completely caught in Owen's gaze. As if the years had evaporated and she was once again a passionate, vulnerable young woman. That expression on Elisa's face was of someone who still carried a deep, hidden love, perhaps denied for too long.Mia snorted internally.“So much for my hopes of him kicking us back home,” she thought bitterly. She knew she was being sarcastic, but she couldn't be any different in
Owen was standing on the threshold of the back door, his eyes fixed on Elisa. There was a storm of emotion in that gaze, an intensity that couldn't be disguised even by the firm expression he tried to maintain. Mia realized it immediately. It wasn't just anger or surprise. It was something much deeper and more complicated.She saw pain.She saw anger.She saw longing.And, above all, she saw love.“Wow... he still loves Mom,” thought Mia, surprised by the clarity of that realization.She turned her face slowly to look at Elisa and realized, with a squeezed heart, that her mother was completely caught in Owen's gaze. As if the years had evaporated and she was once again a passionate, vulnerable young woman. That expression on Elisa's face was of someone who still carried a deep, hidden love, perhaps denied for too long.Mia snorted internally.“So much for my hopes of him kicking us back home,” she thought bitterly. She knew she was being sarcastic, but she couldn't be any different in
Mia stared out of the car window, her hands sweating and her stomach churning. An insistent little voice whispered in her mind, almost inaudible, but persistent: What if it's all true? That place lost on the map, that hostile woman who seemed to sniff out secrets, the way everyone silently obeyed - it all seemed like something out of a nightmare, or worse, a fantastic tale that had decided to take on a life of its own.Startled, she turned around and pulled her backpack from the back seat. She unzipped it with trembling hands and rummaged around inside until she found a small silver tube. It was the pepper spray her grandfather had given her before a school trip. At the time, Mia had thought it was overkill, but now... now she swore she would empty the entire contents into the eyes of the first person who came too close to her neck. None of it made sense, and the less sense it made, the more dangerous it seemed.Elisa drove in silence along the little road surrounded by tall pine tree
The stop in front of the store had left a thick tension in the air, like electricity about to explode into sparks. Mia was still trying to understand what the boys had said about Owen being an “ex-alpha”, but there was no time to process it. The store door swung open violently, and a woman emerged like a contained storm. Her face was closed, her eyes hard and her gait determined.The children who were still there stopped playing at the same moment. The woman didn't even have to say anything. One look - firm, authoritative, almost animalistic - and the boys lowered their heads and ran into the store. It was as if they had communicated without making a sound. The scene made Mia uncomfortable. As if everyone there was playing a game whose rules she didn't know.The woman walked to the car with firm steps and a steady gaze. When her eyes met Elisa's, a smile appeared on her lips, but it was a thin, fragile mask. Soon, the smile began to fade, as if something was eating her up inside. The
When Elisa made the sharp turn, the car skidded slightly on the dirt road, raising a small cloud of dust that dispersed into the warm morning air. Mia, who was leaning against the window glass, straightened up abruptly in her seat, her heart racing in her chest. But before she could protest at the sudden maneuver, her eyes widened.In front of them, as if it had emerged from the very heart of the forest, a charmingly strange little town appeared. It was as if someone had watched all the old movies about the American countryside and decided to build a perfect setting based on them. The houses were small, painted in pastel colors, and practically identical to each other, varying only in the smallest details - a longer porch, a door with an arched window, a taller white picket fence.The streets were perfectly paved, flanked by trees whose branches swayed gently in the wind, as if discreetly greeting the newcomers. The lawns of each house looked carefully trimmed, a vibrant green that co
Elisa had been driving non-stop all night, her red eyes fixed on the dark, deserted road that seemed to stretch endlessly before them. Mia, in the back seat, watched her mother's tense silhouette, her hands gripping the steering wheel as if she were squeezing it in anger. The tension inside the car was suffocating. The radio was off, so the only sound was that of the engine, apart from the wind that beat against the windows.As the sky began to lighten with the sunrise, Elisa finally turned the car towards a roadside motel with a worn façade and an erratically flashing sign.“We'll rest here for a few hours. Don't talk to anyone. And give me your cell phone.”“Oh, Mom, not again...”“Give it to me. Now.”Mia huffed, but handed over the device. Elisa held the phone, blocking the screen with nervous fingers. The look on Mia's face was pure frustration.“You're not going to talk to anyone about where we're going. Do you understand?”“Not even Amy? Not even Liam?”Elisa hesitated. For a s
Elisa freaked out.There was no other word for it. Mia barely had time to complete her disbelieving laugh when her mother exploded. She suddenly stood up from her chair, her eyes wide and full of fury, her face red, her hands shaking as if they could barely contain what wanted to come out of her.“It's true!” she shouted, with an intensity that made Mia shut up on the spot. “Everything I've told you is true, Mia, and you're going with me whether you like it or not!”Mia recoiled instinctively. She had never seen Elisa so out of control, not even during the worst changes, not even in the worst moments of paranoia. There was something else there - something desperate, wild, almost irrational.“If when you get there you see that I was lying,” Elisa continued, her voice trembling with emotion, ”if it's all just my imagination as you think, I'll bring you back myself. I promise. I swear.”Mia blinked, swallowing. That had hit her hard. If there was one thing she had learned from a very you
Mia's small room seemed to shrink with every step she took. The narrow walls, the low ceiling and the few pieces of furniture seemed to compress the air, making it dense and difficult to breathe. Anger and sadness mixed in her chest like a gale. She couldn't stop thinking about her grandparents, the last time she saw them - smiling, waving out of the car window, as if everything was perfectly normal.“Dead,” she thought, trying to make sense of the word. “My grandparents are dead.”But something was wrong. Very wrong.She wanted to ask her mother what exactly had happened, how, when, why. And the more she thought about it, the stranger it all seemed to her. The rush, the slap, her mother's almost crazed urgency, the outburst. It was as if the world had suddenly collapsed - and she hadn't even had time to say goodbye to anyone.The truth was that Mia didn't want to leave. Not like that. Not without understanding. And, above all, she didn't want to continue living in the shadow of her m
Elisa let out a scream of horror at the sight of Mia at the top of the stairs. Her eyes went wide, and for a moment her body seemed to freeze, as if she couldn't believe the sight before her. But the horror was soon swallowed up by an irrational fury, accompanied by an almost insane urgency. Without saying a word, she abruptly pulled away from Liam and ran up the steps.When she reached her daughter, she grabbed her by the arm with a strength she didn't usually use, pulling her down, ignoring any protest or hesitation. Mia stumbled over her own feet, surprised and frightened. She had seen Elisa in outbursts before - usually before they moved cities, when something went wrong - but there was something different that night. A deeper desperation, an almost animalistic energy that Mia couldn't name. It was fear. But a fear that didn't seem to be hers, but her mother's.“Let's go! Now!” growled Elisa between her teeth, pulling Mia down the stairs as if hell itself was behind them.Mia trie
The phone vibrated in Liam's hands, lighting up the screen with the name “Mom” flashing insistently. He didn't have to search for contacts or guess: it was her. Liam's heart was racing, and he squeezed to return the call.On the other side of town, Elisa was hurrying out of the hospital. Her steps were unsteady, her face still livid from the devastating news about her parents. When the phone vibrated in her hand, her heart nearly burst out of her mouth. When she saw Mia's name on the screen, she let out a cry of relief, a ripping sound of contained emotion.“Mia! Mia, where are you, for God's sake, Mia!” she said in a choked voice, already reeling as she tried to concentrate.“Hi, ma'am... I'm Liam, Mia's friend,” replied the boy in a string of voices.Elisa didn't let him finish.“Where's my daughter?” he shouted, his anguish turning to fury and despair.“She's at my house,” Liam replied, as calmly as he could, ”but she's very ill and refuses to go to hospital.”Elisa's blood ran col