The Crow and The Wolf

Chapter 7

7.

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The smell of bacon drew her from her sleep and she all but moaned at the aroma calling to her. She stretches her arms and sighed, pushing the duvet aside and deciding to follow the smell.

Her feet mindlessly walked down the stairs and she sat at the counter table. Her hands reached over into the bowl, and they grasped a fistful of the crispy goods before shoving most of them in her mouth. She moaned again with delight and a chuckle echoed in the room.

"Well, I take it you're hungry," her mother's voice filled her ears.

She hummed in agreement as she met her mom's eyes. She nodded and grabbed another piece, "where were you last night? I didnt find you when I got back home," asked her mother.

"I was at the bonfire with Nicco," she replied taking another bite.

"Really? You went to the bonfire?"

"Yeah, Nicco thought it would be a great way to celebrate my birthday," and as she finished her sentence, her eyes drifted away from the bacon in her hands to her mother's sombre look.

"Your birthday...your birthday was yesterday?" she asked as if not believing it herself. Her mother turned her back on her daughter and walked to the sink, dumping the pan in it. Valeria could hear her mumbling a few words that made her heart ache.

"Yesterday..."

"I didn't know...."

"I forgot...."

"my daughter.....birthday"

"Stupid brain...."

Not wanting to hear any more of her words, Valeria rounded the countertop and reached out for her mother's arm,

"Mother, it's fine, I forgot-

She was cut off by a growl, her mother's eyes were a mixture of red and brown, and they were locked right on her. She took a step back from her mother who watched her intently.

"Mother?"

Her mother's eyes flashed a neon colour and she guessed that her mother's wolf was consoling her mother or they were more or less consoling each other. Her mother's eyes lost the red and her brown orbs returned but Valeria could see that the red was bigger than yesterday.

Her mother looked away from her and sighed, "I'm sorry Valeria, I'm so sorry," and she watched her mother walk away from her and up the stairs.

Valeria heard her faint footsteps disappear behind her bedroom door and she released a breath she didn't even know she was holding.

She stood in the kitchen for a moment as if processing what had just happened before deciding it was time for her to get ready.

She spent the majority of her time in the shower, analysing and surfing through her emotions and memories in search of a time when her mother wasn't triggered by everything. A time when her mother didnt constantly have to worry about hurting someone, more specifically her.

She grabbed her coat and left her room. She looked at her mother's bedroom down the hall and thought over whether she should go see her or not but her stomach held clenched in anticipation and that was enough of an emotion to reject the idea of going to check on her mother.

She dragged her feet downstairs with a sigh and washed the dishes, packed lunch and left the house, locking the door.

She stood in Mr Edgar's driveway, listening for something...anything but the silence she received sickened her and her anxiety only grew in numbers.

'I could really use that advice right now old man,' she thought to herself.

She walked into the school building, her thoughts too preoccupied to see the brown-haired boy standing near her locker. She opened her locker with a grunt and she turned to Nicco idly greeting him but the look on his face made the wheels turn in her head to a pause.

"What's wrong?"

He shook his head in confusion, he paused and said, "nothing, just used to your wolf bouncing over to mine with energy every morning but today nothing, that isn't normal, but my wolf and I are puzzled to not even feel her,"

She paused for a while, unsure of what to say and dove into her mind calling out to her wolf but she too was met with silence. Her mind opened up to the field that surrounded her wolf's cave but it was like there was a barrier that was keeping her out.

She saw her wolf in the cave and she called out to her again but her wolf simply lifted her head from her paws and took a moment to look at her before walking deeper into the cave.

Valeria returned to reality puzzled and looked to Nicco, "She's blocked me out,"

"Do you know why?"

She shook her head and sighed already feeling exhausted. Her desire to get this day over and done with grows with every passing minute.

She was startled out of her thoughts when the bell rang. She made her way to class and sat in the back, observing as students stream in while trying to make sense of what Nicco said.

The classes went by quickly, and lunch soon approached. She sat down at their table with Nicco and noticed how he never looked away from a certain table.

"What's wrong?" She asked, observing his slightly unsettling demeanour. "Nothing," he hummed before he shook his head, "just thinking some things through."

"What are you thinking through," she asked as she took the pizza off the plate in front of him

"Zachery stated that he would like to give us a chance," he said, his eyes not leaving his mate.

"Nicco, he has no choice," she said.

"Yes, but this is a good step, but he doesn't want anyone to know," Nicco said and he turned to watch his mate embrace the she-wolf.

"I don't get it, then what's the point of giving you guys a chance if he doesn't want everyone to know?" she asked him.

"You wouldn't understand, but you will when you find your mate," he replied solemnly.

She said nothing and just watched Nicco as he continued looking at his mate longing for the remainder of lunch. Valeria knew that Zachary felt his eyes on him but never did anything about it.

When the bell rang, she scurried off to class wondering about Nicco's words and what he meant. She never rejected the idea of having a mate but she didnt like thinking about her mate as it only made her head hurt with her complicated overthinking skills.

What if her mate didn't want her? What if she already knew who her mate was but wasn't aware of it? What if the goddess was amusing herself by playing with her wolf?

She felt warmth wrap around her and pulled her head from her thoughts, staring into the grey eyes.

"Beta,"

Something shifts in his steely gaze, something she couldnt quite put her finger on but she ignored it as he replies.

"Valeria."

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