RUN

‘Run,’

It was the only word that resonated in Ophelia’s mind. Barely 12 she ran through the dark cold woods. Her breath was a mess, the world was loud inside her ears despite the empty woods. All she could hear were the screams she left behind - they didn’t leave her ears. The agonizing yells from her pack were still in the back of her mind.

 How long has she been running? She wasn’t sure. 

The blood dripping from the wound on her arm was falling to the snow-covered dirt. Leaving a trail behind her every step as the air left her longs to fog her vision in the unbearable cold. 

She thought she knew the woods like the back of her hand, however, now she barely saw ahead of her. Ophelia couldn’t think straight anymore, the last bit of her energy was directed to keeping her on her feet and running. It was her survival instinct as a wolf that kept her alive. 

She stumbled to the ground and that’s when she felt the tears streaming down her cheeks, her platinum white hair falling to her face and mixing with the snow underneath her knees. The image of the fire cracking through the middle of the night played itself behind the violet pupils of her eyes. The human screams and the wolf's agonized howls tore at her heart. She could still feel the smoke she inhaled from the fire densely in her chest. 

‘They are all gone…’ a voice whispered in her mind as she forced herself to her feet while leaning on her knees. ‘Run.’ 

She gulped and dashed into the night with no destination in sight. ‘I have to get as far as I can!’ she thought in panic. Her mind played tricks on her, she could feel the world chasing her. The supposedly lifeless tress was shifting in the corner of her half-opened eyes, the tears blurring her vision. With the panic ravishing her mind, she paid little attention to the world. All she could focus on was the fear rushing through her veins.

She was yanked back to reality as she felt herself lose a foot and stepping in the air, she stumbled forward and before she knew it…she was falling down the cliff hidden in the middle of the night.

Falling was the last memory she had before her body hit the water.

~~~~

‘Damn,’ Noah thought in the back of his mind. ‘Father won’t be happy about this, it’s past midnight.’

Despite the realization, the raven-haired boy still took his time walking around the dark woods. He found strange comfort in strolling in the middle of the night with nothing but the sound of rustling trees. The instinct within him confirmed that there were no living souls around him, which made his heart settle at ease.

Or at least that was what he thought a moment ago. A sensation smacked him across the face ‘Someone is here?’ he thought in question despite knowing the answer.

After wandering these woods for years, he was positive that no one roamed it at night. The thick dense trees blocked out the moonlight from hitting the ground, making it nothing but a big pit of darkness. In addition, no one comes this deep within the forest.

Nevertheless, Noah turned on his heels in the direction of the presence. The next thing he knew; he was running towards it.

As he advanced, he soon knew that he was heading to the cliff. The topography marked the end of the Moonglade Pack territory. Beyond the cliff spread out the rest of the woods are usually visited by humans, the part where the glamour stopped. An invisible wall keeping humans away from the land of Glaham. The world of shifters. 

‘No human would come this far into the woods at this time,’ he wondered as he got closer to the cliff. 

With every step closer, Noah started to hear the sound of the flowing water; its scent teased his nostrils. He only had to pass the next row of trees before he saw the lake. The moon was high in the sky with its light shimmering on the water's surface. The sea of trees stopped around the lake's perimeter, and behind it stood the 50-meter-high cliff. Despite the calm wind, Noah noticed the disturbance of the silent water. 

‘That shouldn’t be happening…’ he thought. A part of him wasn’t so sure about what was going on but he sensed something nonetheless. 

His crimson eyes scanned the lake before it stopped somewhere amid the surface. A dark red color fouled the crystalized water. Noah inhaled sharply… ‘Blood.’ Despite the distance, Noah knew what he was looking at. The way red spreads like a virus through pure water and tainting it with its smell. The wolf inside him knew it right away. The realization settled in quickly and Noah was already dashing through the woods. 

He could sense the faint presence of life from where the blood spread. The closer he got the darker the color got, the smell was dense in the air now.

Without more thought, he jumped in. 

~~~~

Ophelia opened her eyes, the moonlight tickling her lashes.

‘Am in heaven?’ she thought at the sight of the bright white light shining above her amid the darkness. Her eyelids were too heavy for her head to lift, and the nothingness around her seemed to shift in waves while the ringing in her head never stopped. 

It took her a while to make out the muffled words echoing in the back of her head. She forced her eyes open again, it took every ounce left of her energy to lift her pupils to look at the face hovering over her. She felt the cold droplets of water fall on her face, shuddering her numb body.

‘An angel?’ the thought occurred to her. Was she dying? She wasn’t sure, but the red pupils and the raven hair that gazed at her from above had life in them like nothing she has ever seen. The angel hovered over her with socked hair stuck to his forehead and dripping down his face.

Behind her blurry eyes, she barely made out the worried complexion of the angel hovering over her. 

“Hey! Stay with me!” the voice rattled far in her mind. 

For some reason, she found calmness in the voice of the stranger angel and found herself drifting off again. 

~~~~

 “What in heaven's name happened?” 

Noah turned to look over his shoulder at the door. A middle-aged woman walked through, her brown hair struck white at the roots and blended in with the darker color of her hair. Her golden eyes were shining with worry as she hastily got Noah in her arms. 

The warmth that instantly spread through him was welcomed after he jumped into the ice-cold waters, his young bones were shuddering with cold. When he is human, the cold always got to his bones quickly, since there was no thick fur to shield him from the cold breeze. 

The woman stepped back with her hands on either shoulder. “Are you okay, Noah? You are not hurt?” she exclaimed, her eyes skimmed through him making sure he was in one piece. 

Noah nodded reassuringly and smiled, his hands slowly wrapping around her torso as she stood next to him. “I’m okay, but…” he paused and turned his head. 

The woman followed his sight to the bed before them and saw the girl's slender frame huddled under the blanket. The little girl’s state was terrible. Her lips were blue from the cold and the icy waters, bruises, and burns covered the length of her arms. Looking a little bit closer, she could see the dried-up tears staining her pale cheeks. 

“Heaven's have mercy…” the woman prayed under her breath and turned to Noah. “What happened?!” 

Noah turned to look at his mother in agony as he remembered the state of the little girl as she pulled her out of the lake. He might be an Alpha, superior to the rest of the pack, however, his heart was still green inside. The sight of the bloodied water bumped the blood in his veins. He hated to admit that he was scared, but seeing this girl’s small body floating on the surface made his blood run cold.

“I was scared that she would die as I brought her here,” Noah said, his head hanging low on his neck.

He narrated the story to his mother, starting from his walk in the woods to how he felt another presence and hunted the trail till he found this little girl. 

Valarie Bernard, his mother, held out her hand to pat his shoulder with a sad smile loaming on her lips. “You have done great, Noah,” she said. “You still managed to bring her here despite the fear. She will be okay, our doctors will take care of her and when she wakes up we can help her get back to her pack.”

Noah slowly held up his head to look at his mother and nodded with a forced smile. 

They were silent as they both watched the little girl sleep deeply, she was in pain. They could see that in the sweat that trailed down her temples. 

Valarie couldn’t stop gazing at the silver-blonde hair, it struck her with familiarity she couldn’t point out. She tried to recall where she has seen such hair but her line of thought was broken as the door creaked open. 

A man walked through the door, his frame tall enough that he had to dodge the door as he walked in. His hair was a similar color to Valarie with deep brown eyes. His features were sharp and the thin beard lined his jawline perfectly.  

Bernard Hiraeth, the Alpha and leader of the Moonglade pack. Noah’s father. 

“Father!” Noah exclaimed as he jumped to his feet. 

The sight of his father calmed his ravished nerves. ‘Father is here now,’ Noah thought. ‘He will take care of this.’

This was just the effect his father had on everyone, he knew how to handle the situation and there was nothing he couldn’t do. After all, he was the leader of the pack…or was it just who he is? Some people were born to lead. Bernard Hiraeth was the proof. 

Noah had a hard time picturing himself in his place at some point. 

Bernard greeted his wife and son with a warm smile before he noticed the little girl laying on the bed behind them. He had already heard about what happened. His son brought in a female from another pack. But Bernard never thought that it would be just a little girl. 

Bernard snapped out of his thought as he felt eyes poking holes through him. He turned to see Noah staring at him in doubt. Bernard smirked and patted his son’s head. 

“You did the right thing, Noah,” he said. “Trusting your instinct.”

Noah nodded his head once, his father ruffled his hair one last time before he moved closer to the bed. Just like Valarie, he was struck with silver hair. One answer came to his mind. 

‘Impossible,’ he shrugged. ‘Silver hair doesn’t only belong to them but if she…’

He prevented his mind from wandering that far off and took in a deep breath. ‘If that were to happen then it’s a catastrophe.’

He heard the story from Noah and sighed. 

“There is nothing we can do at the moment,” Bernard said. “We have to wait until she wakes up. Until then, she will have our best care till she recovers. Can you watch over her, Noah? After all, you were the one who bought her here.” 

Noah nodded in acceptance. He wanted to be the first one to be there when she awakes. Valarie and Bernard soon left the infirmary, leaving Noah alone with the little girl. He couldn’t help but replay the night.

“An angel?” he recalled her whispering by the lack before she blacked out. 

Noah was called many things -

Angel was never one of them.