“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
The following week had the students of Tulane University all high-spirited and eager, eager to hop into the new curriculum as resumption schedules kicked off.“You would tell me if something is wrong right Nico?” Ariana'svoice sounded worried from over the phone.She had been trying to reach me but I had been intentionally ignoring all her calls because I wasn’t ready to face my reality yet. I practised how to stay calm each time my nose smelt meat from miles away. My body ached uncontrollably and sometimes my gums put so much pressure on me that I ended up crying in bed. I avoided silver iron like a plague because I had learnt of its cause, and I couldn’t resist the smell of wet earth like Nico once stated.My life was slowly slipping away from my hands and I was too scared to face my friends with my new habit of always sniffing or growling on the bed due to several wolf nightmares. A huge part of my humanity was evaporating into thin air and I knew it, it was going to be a hard seme
“Are you sure about this?” Nico had asked when I decided it was time for me to return to school.Hazel had made sure I was familiar with the symptoms and how to go about them when they came. She had stayed longer than I expected her to, but her presence and help made it bearable to live.When I asked her about what she meant when she said Dad was scared to face reality; “He couldn’t accept your Ma was gone, he couldn’t accept Elena was the killer, he didn’t want to accept, he didn’t want to believe Elena was back into his life. It must have been so hard for him.” Were her words.“How do you know this?” I had grown inquisitive.“He told me the day we finally met at a mini cafe, after so many years of not seeing each other. He struggled with what was visible before his eyes. He didn’t want to live in the truth because it scared him to admit, admit that Elena was not done with us. So he made his mind believe it would be over if he ran away.”All of what Hazel said was not strange to me,
The hard smack from behind me sent me flying off Ariana’s body. The pack was here, and I wasn’t the only one staring at them bewildered. Ariana seemed to have lost her chance of breathing because I could hear the rising beat of her heart. Her feet lost direction and she lay on the floor unable to move or say a word, just breathless pants and terrified eyes.They were already transformed in their full form, and their eyes were focused on me. Did they come to have a share in my prey? Why were they here?Ariana finally found her balance and took off into the dark woods when she noticed the pack was no longer paying attention to her but me. I snared, I growled, I took a stance of defence and looked at them fearlessly, but nothing seemed to scare them from walking towards me. They circled me and watched me fall on my knees and scream out in the pain of my full transformation. First, my bones gradually began to rearrange themselves, taking my clothes apart bit by bit, furs covered my body
“What is wrong with you?” I vented at Nico as soon as Thomas and Richard left the tent. “Why were you indulging them in such conversation?”“Calm down Ella,” Nico’s voice was soft. “I wasn’t indulging,I was only asking questions to be clarified on what next to do. I never would have let them hurt Ariana you know that.” His eyes were laced with sincerity and I believed every word he said. “Hey... hey what's the matter?” Nico moved closer to me when tears began to gather in my eyes.“I almost hurt her Nico, I almost hurt my friend.” I placed my head on his chest and allowed my tears to wet his shirt. “I jumped on her with my claws... I don’t even know if I scratched, or if she got home safe. What if she didn’t? What kind of friend am I?” I continued to sob.“I know you didn’t hurt her Ella,” Nico said.“You are just saying that to make me feel better,” I sniffled.“No. I am quite sure of what I saw last night Ella.”I looked up at him and sniffled again. “What did you see?”“A strong wo
Lola’s place was enough hideout for me at night, but not during the day. I still bumped into Ariana in school, and she still avoided me like a plague.“Ariana still avoiding you?” Lola asked, one peaceful night at her place.“Yeah,” my voice was rough with emotion.“Give it time Ella... she would get around,” Lola said.“And what if she doesn’t?” I knew what the answer was going to be, but somehow I just wanted to live in denial.“You can only try Ella, but you can’t force it.”The noise of crickets suddenly became the only audible sound that filled the room after a long pause. “So why did you leave the dorm?” I asked.“I didn’t leave, I just wanted to be alone for a while... away from the noise and chatter of students who enjoyed living normal lives and had nothing to worry about.” I caught a sore in Lola’s voice that made me feel it wasn’t just about being alone... it was about home. Something troubled Lola about her home but she didn’t want to share, at least not yet.“So are you g
The words hung heavy in the air, each syllable a hammer blow to Ariana's already fracturing world. "Lola? Thomas?" she croaked, her voice barely a whisper. "They are... He is... one of you?"I sat across from her in the dimly lit classroom, winced. The confession had been arduous, each name I had shared chipped away Ariana's carefully constructed reality. But honesty was what I agreed was the only path forward."Yes," I confirmed, my voice heavy with regret. "They are part of the pack. Like me. They are the pack.""No... no... you can’t be serious," she choked out, the words laced with disbelief and a sliver of desperate hope. “I would have known, I would have known if Thomas and Lola were...” She looked at me with tears in her eyes.My face etched with the weight of the truth. I couldn’t bear seeing Ariana so heartbroken."Why?" she breathed, her voice barely a whimper. "Why didn't you tell me? Why did you lie to me, Ella? All this while you knew... and you let me chase him around li