Daughter of Luka (LGBT+)

Forty-Nine 🌑

A few hours later, I was still at the wolf cave, though thanks to Yara's cooking talents, I was now well fed. 

Zachariah eventually returned from his run with Uziel. He had ended up beating him, much to Uziel's dismay. 

Once I had finished eating, I went over to Zachariah. 

"Mr. Z," I greeted him. 

"Ophelia," he said, with a pleasant smile. "If you would like, you could come for a walk in the forests with us tomorrow. Fenn has been researching, he believes that certain types of fruit and leaves in the forest could be combined into an antidote for the virus." 

I felt my eyes widen slightly. 

I knew it was only the beginning to an answer, but it was something. That was good. We needed to do whatever we could to keep ourselves safe. 

"Sir, you are buff," I said, as I noticed the muscles defined under the grey t-shirt that he had ran in. 

He chuckled. 

"I'm well-disciplined. It comes with the profession," he said. "And we have to persevere in finding this cure," he added, with strength behind his words. 

"You're a smart man, Mr. Z, I know you'll figure something out," I complimented him. 

He smiled back at me with sincerity. 

"You know this isn't going to help you get a better grade on your exam, right?" he asked me. 

"I know," I said. I wouldn't count on it for a second. 

"I have a feeling that my brother-in-law wishes to speak with me. I shall speak with you later, Ophelia," he said. 

I nodded in agreement, as I watched him enter Luka's office again. 

"Ophelia! You're still here!" Yara said with amusement behind her voice, as she came to join me. "That's great. I was worried that you had left and I hadn't said goodbye to you." 

"Nah, I'm still here," I said, stating the obvious. 

"Do you want to come for a run with me?" she asked. 

I could tell that deep-down, besides the mother and wifely duties, Yara was a free spirit. 

"I'd love to," I said. 

So, the two of us set off out of the cave and I was glad to find that it wasn't too dark out. I knew that I would have to return home soon enough, but for now I knew that I could spend some time with my other family. 

They really were beginning to feel like a real family, too.

We ran for some time, until we grew a little breathless, and then we started to slowly navigate the forest, back towards my house. 

"I just want Naomi to have a good life. I want a good life for my family," Yara began to say, her voice serious, as we continued on through the forest. "I care about them more deeply than I have ever cared for anything. And I care deeply for you too, now, Ophelia. You're now a part of this family," she reminded me. Her eyes flickered with some thoughtfulness, before she continued. "I wasn't too nice to you, when I first met you. I wanted to apologise for that. I can clearly see how much you look out for Accalia, and how important she is to you. That means a lot to me," she said, as we reached my house. 

I turned to her with an appreciative warmth to my eyes. I hoped she could see it. 

"Just know that if you ever need anyone, you have a friend here," she said, "And if what Naomi said is anything to go by, you have more than one," she grinned. 

I released a soft laugh. 

"Thank you, Yara," I said, with a smile.

She nodded and then waved, before she headed off into the darkness of the night. 

It was time for me to get back home. 

Fortunately, my house wasn't too far away. 

I may now have the strength of a wolf, but it didn't mean I wasn't able to become thoroughly exhausted. 

As soon as I had got back inside, I made my way up to my bedroom and collapsed onto the bed, until sleep took me. 

//

The following morning, I went to Accalia's house. My father gave me a lift, thankfully. We were also on break from school for the next couple of weeks, which was helpful, because I knew that we needed all the time we could get, if we were going to find a cure for the virus. 

The door opened before I could even knock on it. 

I met Accalia's gaze with an expression of wonder. 

"I could sense you were here," she said. 

Of course, she could. Accalia was exceptionally intuitive. As a wolf, that was essentially her sixth sense.

"Hey, come in," she said. 

I followed her inside. 

"I wanted to talk to you about something. I'm thinking about going after those two wolves that hounded Kate a few evenings ago," she said. "They had no right to infiltrate her home like that, and any friend of yours is a friend of mine. I want to defend her," she added. "And if they don't listen, then I'll simply have to eat them," she continued, with dramatic emphasis. 

She caught on to my wide-eyed stare and chuckled. 

"I'm only joking. Maybe," she said. "What were they even thinking? I don't want to sound judgemental but they're idiotic for messing in this business when they know I live a short distance away." 

I could only stare at her with admiration, as she talked, well, as an alpha wolf. She was incredibly strong and I would always respect her for that. 

"Anyway...I wanted to spend some time with you. I've missed you," she said, then, changing the subject and melting my heart completely. 

I followed Accalia further into the house and the two of us went to sit in her living room. 

"You won't get much out of my father. He's doing his usual thing- being sensitive, lowkey depressed, moody...he's worried we're running out of time," she admitted, "And I'm worried about him, of course I am. I can understand his concerns, as well as anyone. I think he's worried he has the sickness, but I doubt it." 

I really hoped that he didn't.