Never Bend

chapter 21: Deliverance

"Yes, almost. I could hear what was going on in your reality, even before Dad met me. I could come to you in your dreams, then I could manifest as a thought, just like I did for the past few months. Anyway, out of all the names I heard, Leah was the one I chose. I don't know if you remember, but someone said it meant 'delicate and soothing nature.' Don't you think that's an appropriate name for me?"

"You mean you could hear everything?" Now silent, I can only imagine how painful it must be to be but not exist. To have a full mind just to be caged into a body that won't respond, the worst must be not to be able to communicate with people around. I sight.

"Yes, first it was because of my inexperience, but Al, Dad's wolf, showed me how to communicate, breaking the barrier between our souls. We became one." She sighs, showing apprehension about the subject. "Then there was the fight, followed by our dad's capture. Followed by the ritual with the hooded woman and after that, darkness surrounded my life. Every time you would get emotional, I would emerge from my slumber. I tried to reach out to you, but there was an airtight barrier that kept me from reaching out to you. For weeks, I would flight against that barrier using every energy you would send my way until I was strong enough to communicate. Or so I hoped, but it never happened. You'd take that damn inhaler! Weakening me again and breaking my will until I gave up. It was useless, I chose to watch instead and invade your dreams whenever I could." Leah sighs, rolls onto her other side, stretching her limbs and gets comfortable again.

"You mean you've always been there? Or at least since the inhalers, I've been using them since I was 12. Wait! That means. My asthma attacks were always related to you?"

"I think so. You were always complaining about not being able to breathe, about drowning in your emotions. That was how I felt whenever pushing through the surface and out of that magic cage!" She complains. "It was horrid for me too."

She was there all these years. Otherwise, how could she have known that feeling? That feeling would make me anxious, imagining death scenarios, feeding and turning my magic against me. Without the inhaler, I could have killed myself. Oblivious to my aptitudes, the inhaler became my lifesaver, saving me from myself.

Until I didn't have them anymore. The difference was that this time, Lina, Tom, and Phil were there, teaching me how to proceed. Now, the inhalers were obsolete.

"Yes, this time you didn't cower, you fed me with your power, and I broke the spell that kept us apart. Yesterday was the last straw, after you got so mad at those girls. I can't believe it took so long."

I look up at the massive roots through her eyes as she scans our surroundings.

"Let's just say I sealed the deal in the end," a male voice comes from beneath the trees. Leah jump on her fourths, surprised.

Leah follows the voice and discovers Philip approaching us, naked, without flinching or showing any discomfort. I close my eyes, since Leah doesn't seem to care and keeps her lids open.

"Tom explained you were having problems with your mutation and he needed me to assert your wolf's intentions, at the very least. Kept in the dark for so long, having a broken wolf was a possibility  and we couldn't have that with humans around. Not to mention it would break every rule meant to protect the human realm. To avoid that, we needed Leah to fall under my dominion. So I asked my wolf to command you and force you to transform. That's one benefit of being an experienced Alpha wolf. We can help the younger ones. Your wolf heard my call. She accepted my help, and I guided her with an alpha command."

That's bullshit! She can have conversations without me! That's not true! That's creepy. I look at him since she hasn't moved from her spot, and neither has he. What is the alpha? How many people had access to my thoughts? What about Lina and John and the girls? I wish I could show my disgust, but I am stuck in wolf form.