The Crow and The Wolf

Chapter 10

10. 

○○○

Valeria's eyes flicked open in the middle of the night, as a sudden rush to vomit everything she had eaten took over her whole body. She rushed to the bathroom, trying not to throw up any acids on the way. With her head in the toilet, she hurled every fibre and nutrient in her system as sweat built on her forehead.

She wiped away the sweat and tucked the hair strands behind her ears, then rested her head on her arms. Valeria shivered from the unexpected cold from sitting on the floor and cringed at the foul taste that lingered in her mouth.

Valeria brought her knees to her chest and laid her head against the bathroom wall. Her head was heavy and her chest ached for relief; she was afraid that she might let out more fluid than what she had left.

Valeria stayed in that position for a while, as she wanted to be sure that she wouldn't need to run across her bedroom to hurl again. She got up from the floor and went back to bed, but she couldn't go back to sleep; instead, she just stared out her window. Valeria felt a sense of relief after throwing up, but she was still feeling uneasy. She wondered if it was something she ate or if she was coming down with something.

She had forgotten to close her curtains, so not only did she have a full view of the moon, but it also provided some sort of warmth for her at that moment in time.

She reached out to it, watching the light play around her hands, and smiled when she felt the brush of her wolf against her mind. Valeria smiled in glee, the vomiting scene forgotten as she focused on the return of her wolf.

'Where did you go?', she asked her.

Her wolf simply turned her head, as if choosing not to answer the question.

'Well, are you okay?',

The animal seemed to mull it over before releasing a small huff that Valeria took as an okay. Her wolf rubbed her fur against Valeria's mind before venturing off further to the back of her mind for some rest.

She stayed up for the rest of the evening, reminding herself to check with her mother about the vomiting in the morning.

Sunrise finally arrived, and Valeria stayed in bed for another hour before deciding it was time to get ready for school. She took a shower and let her curls flow down her shoulders as she wore a simple pair of jeans with a sweatshirt and ventured out of her room.

At the sight of her mom in the kitchen, seeming to pack her lunch, she remembered the whole vomiting scandal she had in the early hours of the night.

"Were you also hit hard by the spaghetti leftovers?" Valeria asked her mother curiously.

Her mother paused for a moment before shaking her head, "No, why? What happened?"

Valeria shook her head while grappling with a bottle of water from the fridge. "I had a whole vomiting episode last night; everything just came up blah," she explained, mimicking vomiting sounds.

Her mother looked at her before leaning over the counter to check Valeria's temperature. She felt around her daughter's skin before going back to preparing lunch and said, "Come by the clinic after school, and we'll take tests to make sure. There is a nasty bug going around, and werewolves aren't invincible, you know."

Valeria gave her mother a nod before eating breakfast and leaving the house, telling her mom she'd see her later.

She walked down the pathway, waving at Mr. Egdar, who smiled at her before waving her over for some chat time, but she shook her head with a small smile and said, "Running late today, Mr. Edgar, but ginger cookies after school?"

"I will be waiting in the kitchen, dear," he smiled.

Valeria nodded as she walked past a few houses and the tiny forest that surrounded the school, the large brown structure that appeared before her.

Claw High was never anything out of the ordinary. It functioned similarly to human schools, except that instead of learning about the human body, students learned about werewolf anatomy in life science and culture in life orientation.

The hallways were empty, and she had already missed an entire period, so she decided to wait for the next period. Taking a detour to the girl's bathroom, minutes later the scent of a certain she-wolf fills the bathroom, along with other scents as well.

"I heard he turned down his mate," one of her henchmen informed her.

"I heard she rejected him," the other expressed her thoughts.

"I don't care who rejected who," Serene muttered, "all I know is that he's available for the claim, so spread the word that he's mine."

Who's he? Valeria pondered to herself.

When she thought the coast was clear, she sighed and pushed the door open, but was surprised to see Serene smirking at her. Her blond hair was tied up in a french braid, and her hazel eyes were practically giddy with delight.

"I'm not a fan of eavesdroppers," she said.

Valeria couldn't help but roll her eyes at the statement, "Well, next time you want to have a tea party, don't choose to host it in the bathroom."

Valeria walked past Serene to wash her hands, ignoring the glare that she could feel from the she-wolf.

"Luc is mine, Hendrix."

"I never said he wasn't Romani," Valeria retorted, emphasising her surname the same way Serene had.

Valeria watched as Serene glared at her one more time before leaving the bathroom. She soon followed after, heading to her next period, all the while her brain tried to come up with multiple reasons as to why Beta Luc would reject his mate.

○○○

🪐Please vote and give comments on the chapter, you're thoughts are highly appreciated and I would love to hear what you think. Have a lovely read and a sunny day. 🪐