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Chapter 24
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2024-10-29 19:42:56I walk to Lycanthropy class with Vivianne. When I told her that there was no ceremony, she was surprised. Apparently there's always been some sort of celebration, small or large. From what Adam supposedly told me last night, I can tell that he isn't on the best terms with his family right now, and I can't help but feel it's because of me. The last thing I want is to tear him away from his family, but I also don't want to start hating myself again for being human. I've just begun to get over it, and as usual, something has to try and drag me back. I'm scared of a situation where Adam may have to choose me or his parents, yet I feel like he's already made his decision. Would I ever risk my relationship with my mother for him? Now that I think about it, my immediate dedication to Adam scares me.
How could I trade in an eighteen-year relationship with my mom for someone I have known for not
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"Stay here?Now?"Adam stands before me as I feel like the bed is starting to digest what's fallen into its trap. I sit helplessly and hope that I'm swallowed before anything else can be said."I know it's a big idea to throw out there.""Big?" I question sarcastically. "I-I—I knew something like this was going to happen. I walk into the house and act like it's all casual, but I-I knew it couldn't be that easy. I thought we were going slow?""I've been trying to, Wrenley. I want you to be comfortable; I just think that we would be better off living together," he explains.I glance down at my school uniform. I don't feel like a teenager, or at least I'm not suppose
Waindale Chapter 26
When I was young, I always wanted to climb the clothesline in Grandma's backyard. She had a dryer and never used the thing. The lines strung across drooped and were worn down by the weather, and the two white poles stood like a playground. There was a flat part on top of the poles. I wanted to climb up and sit on top and stare out at the trees. So, one day, when grandma and my mom were busy inside, I went out and dragged a lawn chair to the pole and set it against it. I got up and reached to the horizontal bit. Managing to grasp it, I jumped and struggled to pull my body up. It was a balancing act, but I didn't fall. When I actually did it, when I sat up there like a perched bird, I watched the trees as I hoped to.The high branches swayed in the wind. The sound of the leaves reminded me of waves. If I wasn't afraid of slipping off, I would have shut my eyes and imagined myself on the be
Waindale Chapter 27
I wake suddenly with a dry throat. My blankets lay heavily on me, suffocating me, so I shove them off, feeling the air cool down my hot limbs. The clock reads12:04 p.m.; how did I sleep for so long?The smell from my nightmare lingers in my bedroom, making me sick. I can still feel its teeth grazing against my shoulder before chomping down and startling me awake. I knew I wouldn't be able to let go of the rogue. No matter what Adam tells me, nothing will calm my nerves. It's in my dreams now. It won't leave me alone.My stomach aches and I know it's because I miss him. It took me hours just to fall asleep last night, having to ignore the longing that's like a stone in my chest. How long has it been since I stayed the night at his house? Almost two days. I used to last longer than this, but things are different now. I feel
Waindale Chapter 28
Seeing him makes me emotional. Everything from Friday night comes flooding back."How did this happen?" Adam asks. He comes to the bed and takes off his jacket and then his shirt. He kicks off his shoes and lifts up the blankets."We were at the beach. I fell in the water."Adam comes under and I try to not fixate on his bareness. "Come on," he says and takes off my mittens. He sets my chilled hands against his chest and my eyes open wide.Instinctively, I bring my cheek against his skin and bask in the warmth. I swiftly pull off my socks and my extra shirts and pair of pants. Not caring about our intimacy, I press every bit of my body against him and cling to him like a child to a leg. His arm comes around me and I rest my head on hi
Waindale Chapter 29
"I thought we agreed that it was best to keep her out of this," I say.I follow my mom as she leads me to the living room. Adam is close behind me, and when we enter, grandma is sat there alone. "Your friends said that they would reach you later," my mom says. "I think we need to have this talk alone."I face Adam, my chest rising and falling like the waves I tumbled into. Grandma looks up at me from the couch. She doesn't give away anything on her face, so I hesitantly sit on the adjacent loveseat. Mom joins her, and Adam—me. I feel as if I have been called to the dean's office. The only thing keeping me from dashing out the front door is Adam's presence.I watch grandma with big, innocent eyes—the ones I used to pull when I was younger and in trouble. "They told you?" I a
Waindale Chapter 30
I take a seat up front as my mind swims in ideas and day-dreams of my weekend with Adam. My mom came into my bedroom as I was getting ready this morning. She sat on the edge of my unmade bed and watched as I made sure I had everything necessary—and arguably unnecessary—packed in my suitcase. We talked a little. It wasn't like our usual sarcastic banters, but rather deep and blunt. Since I felt guilty about my fib regarding the status of Adam and my relationship, I decided to fill her in a little. I even told her that Adam and I haven't doneanythingyet, but the message was masked by other words yet clear from context. I told her that we were taking it steady, and this seemed to settle her nerves.Although I have stayed the night at his house before, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous myself. Last time things didn't go exactly as I planned, but worryin
Waindale Chapter 31
Adam carries my bag inside and up the stairs. I follow as we pass many doors which I know lead to bedrooms, but unlike last time, one door is open that has always been closed. Unaware, I glance inside as we pass, but the contents of the room bring me to a stop. Adam soon realizes that I'm not with him, and he turns.My hand pushes the door further open. It's a boy's room—that's clear. Not a little boy, but what I would assume to be a teenage boy's room. "What is this?" I ask Adam."That was my brother's room," he says.My hand springs from the door as if it has suddenly become searing hot. "Oh, sorry," I mutter and quickly bring the door to its previous position.We enter the master bedroom and he places my bag down for me to un
Waindale Chapter 32
I sit against the front door, enveloped in my blanket, waiting without a drop of patience in my being. The tile floor is hard and cold, but I've adapted to the discomfort and stopped caring about my numb toes. My mind is conjuring all sorts of things I want to shout at him. There are so many things that I can't seem to decide what to say first. Maybe how it's our first night as people that live partially together, and he's abandoned me on this special marker. Maybe how this is the second time he's done this—left with little to no explanation—and all I can do is worry until he comes back, if he does. Maybe how I'm in this house all alone and something could happen to me; he must have left for a reason.My fingernails dig unconsciously into my palms as my eyes stay fixated on the ground. Sounds come from outside then, and I perk up like a dog who's been waiting for their owner
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Sometimes I see him—his face in the darkness of the open closet or the blur of trees as we drive by. I wish I believed myself when I mutter that it's just my head conjuring such things from nothing. I wish my father wasn't capable of things beyond my imagination.It's been a year since I escaped my father and became a shifter. I thought that would be enough time to move on from it all, but I often find myself reliving the many memories I have stored away. Adam will pull me from my trance only to tell me that he's called my name twice already. He'll ask me what's on my mind like he doesn't know, and I'll wave him off as if it were nothing. We used to talk about it during the first few months, but eventually, I saw no use in repeating the same worries and nightmares. There is only so much he can do.Despite my lingering past, we are
Waindale Epilogue
"I never thought this day would end," Vivianne groans.I glance at her as we walk down the hallway—her, Imogen, and I all heading toward the main doors of the academy. "I got so used to doing nothing over winter break that even putting on my uniform took it out of me," Imogen says. "So how about we go to the diner and celebrate our first day back? I'm thinking burgers, fries, milkshakes—""Sorry, I can't," I say. "Adam is waiting for me.""Out front? Right now?" Vivianne asks."Yeah. He should be out there."She frowns. "What about girl time? You pretty much disappeared the entire break and came back suddenly one of us, now—"
Waindale Chapter 55
Once I make it back home and dress behind the house, I come to the front and find him leaving through the front door. "Adam!" I call and hurry towards him. "Where are you going?"He takes a breath. "Good, you're back. Stay inside—my mother is on her way. She'll stay with you here.""But where are you going? Don't tell me you're going with them into the mountains.""No. I'm going to the north border to meet the group when they arrive back. I made some calls and sent Ben to the town hall.""I—okay. When will you be back?" I ask, tired of being apart. It feels like every time we are reunited, something is wedged between us, keeping us from each other. I miss the days when our biggest worry was whether or not my mom would be w
Waindale Chapter 54
If he was cold, I could warm him. Hot, I could cool him. Dead, I could revive him.I wake on the hard stones of the beach, empty and alone. The night gives way to day as the sun begins to break through in shades of orange and pink, yellow, and beyond—the lightest blue. The blood that drained from within me has dried, and I shed my clothes to wash them and myself in the ocean.The godly strength I felt is gone, but the ocean water is not frigid against my skin. Overwhelming hunger has surfaced, but the great understanding I once had has dimmed. I'm one of them now. I can feel the need to shift inside me, but I'm scared of how it will feel; how I may change not only physically, but mentally.My stomach thunders, furious from starvation.
Waindale Chapter 53
Coughs erupt from my throat as I crawl out of the water and up the pebbled beach. My nails dig into the rocks as I heave out one last croak and collapse onto my back. The night has consumed the light of day, but the cover of dark won't hide me from him. He's coming for me, and my baby isn't safe.My chest rises and falls rhythmically as my eyes study the night sky. His voice sounds in my head, toying with me. I manage to climb further up the beach until the waves can't reach me. I don't know how far I am from Waindale, or how close I am to the mountains. The forest stands like I wall, masking the lay of the land.My growing baby eats up a majority of my father's power, but I use the rest to replenish my tired limbs. However, the longer I rest to heal myself, the more my father's looming presence devours me, stealing all forms of rationa
Waindale Chapter 52
In the middle of the library, I lay flat on my back and stare up at the intricate ceiling. Crown molding and other carvings rope along it like white vines and knot together at the center point of the roof. Aimed directly underneath it, I close my eyes and recall what I read in one of the many books I've studied from my father's collection. I couldn't find any information about teleportation or any sort of traveling similar to the mysterious vanishing he does, but I did read about astral projection, and if there's a possibility of seeing Adam again, I'm going to give it a try.I let a wave of relaxation wash over me slowly from my feet, up my legs, over my torso, down my arms and through my neck until lastly, my face relaxes as well. With steady, deep breaths I feel myself sinking into my mind, drowning until it feels like my body is melting into the floor. A sense of isolation takes over
Waindale Chapter 51
I think about the times he's begged me to listen. I think about the moment he held me so tightly and pleaded for me to stay alive—to hide when he says hide; run when he says run. There are things in this world that could rip me apart. There are monsters that hide in the shadows, but little did I know that I would be one of them. Adam couldn't protect me from myself, though. I was constantly preparing for the day my father would take me, yet when the time finally came I felt so blindsided. There was nothing I could do. I promised him time—I didn't know how much—but I told him that we would at least have a little. Time to have my baby. Time to plan a rebuttal. Time to say goodbye.Either I left with him, or he killed Adam.I close my eyes and imagine Adam's arms around me, remembering just how safe I felt in his hold. Re
Waindale Chapter 50
I'll do anything he wants. I'll agree to anything as long as Adam's safety is secured.Ester's voice fades with distance. The only things audible are my heavy breaths and the frantic beating of my own heart in my ears. I hurry through the trees like a blind woman guided by the hand of another, trusting in the abilities that I know will turn on me. Forest surrounds me, and just when I begin to feel trapped in the lush illusion, voices surface. I chase after them. I power through the brush until the jarring presence of my father taints the air. He leaves a trail of pollution everywhere he goes as if his presence on earth defies the laws of nature.The voices morph into words. It's Adam. I'm sure he can sense that I'm near, but I can't risk being caught by him. My father is hunting my mate, and I am hunting my father.
Waindale Chapter 49
I watch Adam and he lays peacefully beside me, the morning sun just beginning to rise and trickle into our bedroom. Abstract shapes of yellow sun are cast over the room, rectangles stretched on the wood floor and the cream walls, and I used to stare at them before getting out of bed. But now that Adam is here with me, I can look at him like I used to. I used to lay here and listen to his steady breaths. It wasn't often that I'd wake up before him, but with my father's power, my sleep schedule has been anything but normal.It's not a new concept to me anyway—to be awake at all the wrong times.Just as I note the pleasant silence, the bedroom door slowly opens. Ester pokes her head through, sees that I'm awake, then proceeds toward me with a tall glass of concentrated vitamins. She likes to juice things for me.
