Wolfsbane

Life with the Pack

Most of the mutts who begged for the mercy of the pack were accepted. Some were turned away because they couldn't be trusted. The new members were sent to go live with various others who had more room. I got to stay in the river rock house and so did Lola. I had proved myself in the fight and I was trusted by everyone. Even Dustin who had issues trusting anyone. Logan made a full recovery and the pack mourned Sam. They buried him on the property and as they stood around his grave, I stayed back a respectful distance. I didn't know him well enough. Life began to finally look up for me but it wasn't that way for everyone.

Lola cried more often than she didn't. She refused to eat. She refused to change until her body gave her no choice. She was becoming a danger. Everyone tried to help her to no avail. Her savior came in the form of Logan. He got her to eat, he got her to go to the woods, he got her to change and he ran with her after everyone else had given up. He would never tell us how he did it or what he said and neither would Lola but after that they were close. Lana always seemed to have one eye on Lola for awhile until she decided she wasn't a danger to her brother. It was Waine's idea to let her see her family from a distance to say goodbye since she never got a chance. He thought it would help her. He offered the same to me but I had to think about it. I was just starting to truly adjust and be comfortable in my new life. I didn't want to ruin it.

We didn't tell Lola where we were going. We stayed a safe distance back from the park her mother and siblings were. Lola didn't understand why we were there until she saw her mom with the other mothers at the edge of the play area. "I don't understand." She whispered. "Waine thought you should say goodbye to them even if you can't talk to them." I explained. "It's not that." She turned to me with tears in her eyes. "They told me my family was dead. Howard said that he killed them because of the way I acted in the beginning." Suddenly everything came together. Why she so adamantly claimed the pack was her only family. She thought she had no one else. Nothing else to fight for. We let her say her silent goodbyes and we left. Lola seemed happier.

I decided that I should do the same. I was embracing who I was now and I had to let go of any ties to my past. My mother would always be my mother. I would always love her but I couldn't be a part of her world anymore. She was out in the garden when we got there. I smiled as I watched her. That's all I did for awhile. Goodbye mom. She suddenly looked up and it seemed like she looked right at me. I mentioned it to Dustin but he shook his head. "She can't see you. We're too far away." but my mom seemed like she was smiling. I smiled back. "I'm ready. Let's go home."