“Don’t tell me it cost a dragon's head to get here,” Arianawelcomed me with her usual sarcastic tone.“You don’t want to know,” I said dryly.“It did?” Claire sounded amused.I finally left home after several days of constant watch from Dad’s interrogative eyes and Nanny’s subjective plea. Dad watched me like a hawk and Nanny assisted when he was not around, her calm voice projecting how much she would always defend Dad “You know Papa loves you, you don’t need to be like that.”Coming out to Claire’s house took a lot of convincing. He offered to drop me off at her place, but Nanny luckily intervened and Dad let me go under the condition of...“What!!!” Ariana and Claire said in unison, amusement running all over their faces as they looked at my location app.“Wait a minute,” Ariana chuckled. “Your Dad asked you to keep it on so he could monitor your location?” her voice filled with questions.I nodded, feeling more damned than the last. “He insisted that I give him the address of Clai
A few hours ago“We need to talk Ella,” Nico repeated.“We would give you guys some privacy,” Claire and Ariana left the house, leaving an awkward silence hanging in the air.“So...” “I am sorry,” Nico hurriedly cut in. “I wanted to apologise for the other night at the club. I am sorry about how I sounded, it wasn’t right that I made you question yourself. I just got so hot seeing Michael all over...”“I know Nico,” I said, my tone bitter. It was a lot to recollect, the pain and humiliation of that night. “I know you didn’t mean that, hell!! I would have flipped if I saw you kissing another girl,” I smiled. We chuckled at the light joke, the tension of the room slowly dropping and melting down our defence walls.“What happened redhead? Why have you been distant? You no longer pick up my calls or respond to my text. If it hadn’t been for your friends who set up this meeting, I am sure I wouldn’t have been able to see you. Tell me Ella, what happened that day?” Nico’s sincerity was so
“Hold on a minute,” Nanny’s tone sounded bewildered like she had just realised what Dad was saying all along. “Werewolf? What do you mean werewolf? Do they even exist?” Her voice quickened.I heard Dad take a deep breath before he proceeded with the story. “At a certain time in my village back in Italy Nanny, the era of witches, werewolf and werewolf hunters were not folklore. Werewolves attacked humans, beasts and sometimes witches. Hunters were the only ones trained with the ability to stop them, sometimes we were trained by the witches themselves, and we were not expected to be friends or marry and werewolf...”“Wait...you said `we were trained`” Nanny wanted clarity and so did I in the little corner I moulded myself, trembling from each revelation.“I was a werewolf hunter,” Dad lowered his voice.“Mamma Mia!!!” Nanny exclaimed in Italian.Papa was a werewolf hunter? How much was he going to reveal? And how much did he hide from us? Did he have a hand in Garry’s death? Was he frie
“I could stand here and tell you how much I despise you for being selfish, for regarding your feelings over mine, not caring how it could affect me sometime in my life, but I won't. I just want to know one thing.” Hearing him say those words so carefree had a way of adding to the pain I felt. I didn’t care how he tried to justify himself, he deceived me, he lied to me and Mom. “Did Mom know ?” It took both Dad and Nanny by surprise. “Did Mom know who you were before she got married to you?” A feeling of betrayal I never knew I could ever feel struck, and this time, it was from my family. It wasn’t the childish feeling of Mom going far away without telling me, but Dad’s inability to see how much he had hurt me. “Did you tell her or did you just lie to her like you did to me?” I yelled. “That enough young lady,” Nanny moved closer to have a good stare at me.“No...let it go, Nanny,” Dad said softly. I ignored his move to protect me yet again and continued to glare at him. “No...noshe
I lay in my bed listening to Dad go off about how I knew Nicowas a werewolf all this while to Nanny and how I decided to keep it away from him. After the nauseating feeling I felt in my stomach when Dad narrated how Mom died, I lost it when Dad mentioned me staying away from Nico. It seemed to be the only thing he cared about, regardless of how much wrong he had done. I was very adamant and had retorted, telling him I wasn’t going to stay away from Nico and in fact, I already knew he was a werewolf long ago.The look in his eyes could not be explained, it felt like he lost all hope and trust in me, and I could tell for sure that he felt betrayed. Well, the feeling was mutual, as I saw no reason to trust him any longer or even live under the same roof as him. He ended up dismissing me to my room, and I strolled past Nanny’s disappointed gaze. Honestly, I couldn't care less at this moment,there was so much at stake. With so much uncovered truth, I needed to know what my next move would
The rhythmic clatter of the train tracks provided a backdrop to my racing thoughts. There was a special solace I found in the gentle rocking motion of the train, the passing scenery was a blur outside the window. The dim interior created an intimate atmosphere, allowing my mind to wander freely.As the train rattled along, I couldn't shake the lingering words of Elena. The memory of our conversation played like a haunting melody in my mind. "Say hi to Michael," Elena had urged, leaving me with a perplexing puzzle to solve. Ella gazed out at the fleeting landscape, lost in my thoughts. The city lights flickered in the distance, their glow a distant reminder of the world beyond my current situation. The train's whistle echoed through the carriages, bringing me back to the present.Elena's cryptic message lingered like a mist in my mind. Did Elena know Michael, and was he somehow involved in the chaos at Dad's workplace? I just couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to the situat
“What do you mean you snuck out of the house and you are at Nico’s place?” Ariana vented over the phone. “Your Dad has been buzzing my phone asking about your whereabouts. I even had to stop picking up his calls because I didn’t know what else to say to him.”“Don't worry about me Ari, I am alright,” I sighed.“You didn’t answer my question, Ella,” Ariana probed. “What do you mean by you snuck out? Is everything okay?”“It’s nothing, Ari...”“No don’t tell me that,” Ariana was tired of my bullshit. “Your Dad blowing up my phone, you snicking out in the middle of the night to Nico’s place. Come on, something is going on here.” She went silent and waited for an answer.“I promise Ari, it’s not something I can’t handle, it’s just a little misunderstanding that's all.” I wasn’t ready to tell her yet. “Please don’t tell my Dad about my whereabouts...please.”Ariana went silent over the phone for a minute and then agreed to be silent about my hideout. “She’s getting suspicious,” Nico said
I drifted in and out of fevered dreams, my body racked with chills despite the dampening touch of the cold towel on my forehead. Each shuddering breath reminded me of the gnawing truth; maybe I was turning. Elena's cryptic prophecy scoffed at for years, was about to bloom in the starkest hues of moonlight and fur. It had all happened so fast, a whirlwind of confusion and pain. My reckless defence of my estranged father, Nico stepping into the crossfire, his panicked teeth sinking into my flesh. Then, the chasm that opened between me and Dad, his eyes spitting venom and accusations, his face an alien mask of loathing.Nico hovered by her bedside despite it all, his face ravaged by guilt. Every tear that streaked his cheeks was a searing needle in my already burning core. I reached out with a shaky hand tracing the path of a glistening tear."Don't," I rasped, my voice brittle like dry leaves. "It wasn't your fault. You were protecting yourself."Nico choked, collapsing onto the mattres