The Crow and The Wolf

Chapter 20

20.

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Valeria lay on the bed in the darkroom; the warmth of the room was enough to sedate her exposed skin, which still irritated her when fabric touched her wounds. There was music in the background, a soft melody that she hadn't quite heard before but found alluring and calming.

Her thoughts were her own, and for once she could breathe without worrying about her wolf, her mother, or herself. She felt serene.

She stared out the window; the moon had risen to the sky, taking its rightful place in the sky, and she felt weightless as she watched the snowfall. The sound of the music called to her, and she found herself recalling everything from the past few days.

It has been three days since her shunning and Luc was the person who had taken her from the podium. The idea was to take her home, but when he got there, he found it trashed; claws had ripped the cushions and walls apart, and Mr. Edgar was waiting for them by the front door.

It turned out that Valeria's mother had lost herself after finding out that her daughter was to be shunned, and Mr. Edgar still believes that she hasn't gone full rogue but that she might be in limbo. The pain was too much for her.

Mr. Edgar suggested that Valeria stay with him rather than at the house, but it appeared that Beta Luc had offered to look after her.

So here she was, lying on the male's bed in his room. His scent was all over the entire room. The room was the same size as her own back at her home. He had a bathroom that was adjacent to the closet that they now shared.

He had no memories or images on the walls; they were matte black. He had a desk that was tucked beneath his window, and to the left of it was a bookshelf. Valeria had been attracted by the bookcase, but she lacked the enthusiasm to explore the genres that were buried on the shelves. Furthermore, his flooring was made of wood, and the remainder of the floor was covered with a cream-white carpet that gave the room a unified look.

Valeria couldn't deny it; she was wallowing in her own self-pity. She was sad, angry, confused, and happy. She was sad that her mother was now left to her own devices to figure out what she should do and fight for her sanity, and angry that she couldn't help. She was confused as to why Beta Luc had helped her.

The pack law stated that after the shunning, one is to be isolated, a lone wolf in the pack for a set period of time, but here was this male who had immediately not only released her from her shackles but brought her back to his sanctuary, bathed and clothed her, and protected her.

Why?

Valeria was happy because, even though she had thought she was alone, she still had Mr. Edgar, who had checked up on her last night; he had brought one of his many dishes and a lovely bedtime story to ease her to sleep. She was happy that even though all seemed lost, he was still there, and she couldn't have been any more grateful that one thing in her old life stayed permanent.

She feels her wolf gently brush her fur against her walls, but she groans, bringing up the walls between them. She wasn't angry at her wolf; she was, in fact, happy that she took care of her pup, but she still couldn't get over the fact that her own wolf didn't trust her with the information about her pup.

Valeria knew she was reckless. She knew she jumped into situations without thinking, but she would never do anything to endanger her child. For her wolf to hide this important knowledge from her, however, said a lot.

All she wanted was some time away from her wolf to think and to get rid of the feeling of betrayal.

She listened to the echo of the music as it bounced off the walls of the room. She had just gotten out of the shower and gotten dressed when she discovered his CD collection hidden away in a box on one of the bookshelves. There were numerous CDs by artists that were rarely known, but one CD stood out to her: an album by M83.

Valeria gave herself away to the sound of the lyrics and the beat of the music as she closed her eyes with a sigh, sinking further into the bed.

I'm slowly drifting to you; the stars and the planets are calling me.

A billion years away from you, I'm on my way,

I'm on.

And her heart raced in time with every high note and every beat, leaving the terrible feeling of undiscovered emotions behind. She closed her eyes and felt as if she could breathe for the first time without all of her thoughts getting in the way.

She disregarded the sound of the door opening, the footsteps that fell into the room, and the sinking of the bed when his body lay next to her. The soft voice of the singer died out as the music overtook it, and silence ensued between the two for a moment before his voice drew her back to reality.

"Do you always go snooping in people's things, Valeria?" she could hear the smile in his voice when he said her name, and she all but rolled her eyes.

"I wouldn't call it snooping if the box was right there calling out my name," she said, her tone strong and firm.

He hummed, "You haven't asked me why I did it?"

She opened her eyes and turned her head only to meet his grey eyes, which seemed to search for something in her own orbs as they did in his. Without luck in finding what she was looking for, she sighed, staring back at the ceiling, "I don't want to know," she lied.

And with that, the singer's voice came back into play with the music.

I'm slowly drifting to you, the stars and the planets are calling me,

A billion years away from you, I'm on my way,

I'm on.

Silence filled the space between them, but she could still feel his gaze on her and knew they were saying more than he ever did in a day, but she wasn't curious enough to open her eyes. But when he got out of bed and she heard shuffling before he could say anything, she smelled the fruit.

"I'm not hungry, Luc," she told him.

He ignored her statement, holding the fruit in one hand before gripping her hand and pulling her up into a seated position. She sat in front of her and placed the bowl in her eyes. "Valeria, open your eyes," the simple command was soft, and she found herself following it.

And his grey eyes met hers again; they pleaded with a smile, and she sighed, knowing there was no way she could say no.

She took the fork from his outstretched hand and started eating the mixed fruit salad. She enjoyed the mangos with a moan before placing some grapes and plums into her mouth. She played around with the pineapple, leaving it for last as it was her favourite, all the while he just watched her.

She finished the bowl and huffed, satisfied. With her hood pulled up, she looked into his eyes, "thank you," she said to him.

He took the bowl from her hands and met her eyes, "You're welcome; I was going to shove the food down your throat if you decided to not eat, so thank you for making it easier," he told her with a smile.

She rolled her eyes, but nonetheless, a smile adorned her lips. But that smile soon disappeared as all the thoughts she was avoiding came rushing back.

She felt his hand on her hand before anything else and asked, "What's going on in that big head of yours?"

"I'm worried about my mother Luc; I'm afraid she'll lose to the red," she sighed before looking out the window.

He gives her hand a squeeze, "Mr. Edgar says that if your mother was truly losing to the red, she would have been far from this pack and her link to you would have been broken." His hand leaves his own and he places it on his chest, "He says if you can still feel her here and that she's still within pack borders, then she's definitely not losing."

She says nothing and watches him leave her to her thoughts, the song still acting like a blanket of warmth in the room.

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