Chapter Sixteen.
Alena stood frozen where her feet were rooted to the ground by the fountain, the trickle of the water could just be heard over the roaring in her ears as her wide eyes were locked on the black wolf in front of her that was slowly stalking towards her, its chocolate eyes locked on her and only her. Alena could only remember standing there kissing Samuel and then the sickening sound of his bones snapping and rearranging themselves to form the animal in front of her, it had all happened so fast that she hadn't had time to react or run and now she was going to pay the price for her slow reactions. She could always use her magic but her brain seemed to be detached to her the rest body making it impossible.
Alena shut her eyes tightly as the animal began to snarl and growl. She knew it was close she could sense its presence. She opened one of her eyes only to see that it was now running at her with its mouth wide open its eyes locked on her exposed neck, both of her eyes flew open and she released a scream that was suddenly cut short as the animal clamped its jaws on her neck and with one shape tug pulled.
Alena was being shaken, her head lolling back and forth as she opened her eyes wide to see that her mum was shaking her, her face full of concern as Alena breathed out a sigh of relief. It had been a dream, and Samuel hadn't turned into a wolf or torn her head off.
"Alena what's wrong?" Her mum asked as she pulled her up into a sitting position. Alena looked at her mum to see that she had bags under her eyes as if she hadn't slept the entire night, her red hair was pulled back into a messy bun and the night clothes she wore were creased.
Alena looked around to see that the dress she had worn earlier in the evening hung on her wardrobe door along with the mask, as her eyes adjusted to her dimly lit room she could see the mud stains on her dress that caused as small frown to appear on her face. The only reason that her dress would have mud stains on it would be because she'd of fallen over. The realisation that she had fallen over seemed to jolt her memory as she remembered everything that had happened earlier in the evening, how she had dance in front of the large crowd without embarrassing herself with Samuel and walking out to the fountain where Samuel had kissed her, her lips tingled at the pleasant memory but it quickly went away as she remembered hearing a growl and seeing a sand coloured wolf with red eyes. A gasp escaped her lips as she relieved the moment that Samuel had charged head on at the wolf only to morph in to his own wolf mid-air, the sound of his bones cracking as they rearranged themselves, a coal black wolf appeared where he had once been standing as he attacked the other wolf with its teeth aiming for its jaw. She shook her head unable to face the rest of the memory as she knew how it ended, it ended the same way she had in her dream only the sand coloured wolf's head had rolled along the ground instead of her. A sob tore through her throat as her mum wrapped her arms around her and began to rock them both back and forth as if she were a small child; she didn't say anything as she patted her back softly.
Alena couldn't believe that Samuel had really changed into a wolf, and how Daniel and Dean hadn't done anything, as if seeing a huge wolf was a daily occurrence which to them it most likely was. Samuel, Daniel and Dean were all wolves; it was the only explanation for their calm reaction, which also meant that the rest of their friends and family were also wolves. She shivered in her mum's arms as she wondered how many people that inhabited the small town were wolves, she guessed that the majority if not all of those that had been at Frank's charity ball were werewolves which meant the major was also a wolf. She didn't know exactly what they were, werewolves, lycans, she didn't know. She wanted to believed that the entire transformation was a joke, that it was some sorry of special effects with a projector and screen but she knew that she was only lying to herself. What she had seen was real and she had to come to term with the fact that her friends and their families were humans that could morph into wolves bigger than the average sized wild wolf. The thought alone seemed crazy and if Alena hadn't witnessed it herself she would have questioned her sanity. Alena was a witch as was her mum and the oracles, there were other witches, she was real which meant the idea of werewolves or lycans being out there all the more believable.
"It was horrible." She whispered into the croak of her mum's neck.
"What was horrible?" Her mum asked softly as Alena pulled back so that she could stare at her mums face, she could see that the light pink night gown her mum wore was covered in black smudges from where she had been crying and she guessed that whoever had out her to bed and changed her hadn't been able to take off her make-up which meant her face would most likely be a black mess. She would normally care about how she looked but she couldn't find it within her, not when there were more complicated issues going on her life, such as her being part of a prophecy and her friends and possibly first love being huge, hairy dogs.
"I can still hear his bones breaking, the sickening crack and popping noises." She admitted as she cringed backwards. She looked at her mum to see that she was looking at her with concern etched onto every aspect of her face, her mouth pulled into a tight line of worry while her eyes were soft a filled with concern, a small frown was on her mums face showing just how much Alena was scaring her mum. Alena knew that she wasn't making any sense but nothing seemed to make sense anymore, everything she thought she knew, and everyone she thought she knew relatively well seemed to prove her wrong.
"Alena, sweetheart just breathe." Her mum coached her slowly as Alena stopped her incoherent mumbling as did as her mum said. She breathed in deeply feeling the air filled her lungs while her shoulders rose and her chest stuck out slightly before she realised the breath, her entire upper half sagging as she continued to breathe in and out. Her once erratic heart beat began to slow and the jumbled thoughts began to clear, leaving her mind empty and free. She could now feel a dull throbbing sensation at the back of her head as she lifted her trembling hand to the back of her head, her hair was now down and in a mass of wild curls and kinks as she felt the back of her head only to wince in pain, she could feel a bump and the raised skin and jagged line of where she had cut her head on the fountain.
"Samuel turned into a wolf." She whispered as she moved her shaking hand to her mouth and looked her mum directly in the eyes, hoping she would see the truth in her eyes and facial expression. She realised that as the words had slipped out of her mouth just how crazy she sounded but she needed to talk to someone and her mum was the perfect listener.
Alena knew that she couldn't tell Lucy, it wasn't her secret to tell and she didn't know how Lucy would take it, she would surely think that she was crazy and losing her mind and no doubt put it down to the added stress and pressure of the prophecy. She had already burdened Lucy with enough of her problems and she couldn't do that to her best friend. If Lucy were to believe her she knew that things would become extremely awkward between her, Daniel and Dean as well as Charlie and Alena couldn't do that to her, Lucy deserved to have friend, friends who had big secret but friends all the same.
"Alena..." Her mum's voice was calm and Alena knew that her mum thought she was crazy. She pulled back out of her mums arms and scooted away a little, grabbing the closet pillow and hugging it tightly to her chest, the pillow offered warmth and a sense of comfort as a dull ache began in her chest, I didn't heart it was only a little uncomfortable. She was confused at the feeling but put it down to the fact that she felt as if she had been betrayed by her friends.
Alena realised then that she had also betrayed her friends, Samuel, Daniel and Dean had every right to keep their other life a secret from her as she too had a secret about another life. She was a witch, and she hadn't told them and probably wouldn't have told them until much further into the friendship when she knew that she could trust them. Maybe they had planned on telling her when they knew that they could trust her; she didn't blame them for not telling her straight away, she would have freaked like she had anyway but maybe she would have been more accepting if she had found out in a different situation. But seeing the red eyed wolf standing so threateningly and how it had acted as well as how Samuel had easily torn the head from its body had bile rising in her throat as she realised that the sand coloured wolf was probably had a human sighed just like Samuel which meant that Samuel had killed a human so easily. He thought had her paling as she realised that Samuel, her Samuel was a murderer.
"I'm being serious mum. We were just stood there by the fountain and then this read eyed wolf appeared and began to run at us and then Samuel just ran at him and shifted into this huge wolf." She wiped away the tears that were quickly replaced by fresh ones as the make-up she wore began to irritate her eyes as she wiped them with the corned of her pillow.
"You hit your head pretty hard." Her mum reached out to touch her but she recoiled with a hurt look on her face.
"I hit my head after this had happened. I'm being serious. Witches exists we are living proof of that and what's not to say that there isn't any other mythical creatures out there like us. I saw him mum, with my own two eyes." She whispered at the end unable to hide the hurt from her voice. Her mum watched her with a calculating expression on her face, her nose slightly scrunched up as Alena silently pleaded with her eyes for her mum to believe her. She watched as the colour slowly drained from her face before she gasped out loud a little, the shocked evident on her face as she reached forward to pull Alena into a hug, this time Alena didn't pull away.
"My mum once told me that they were others out there, I never realised what she meant until now." She whispered into Alena's air, blowing a few strands of curly hair into her face that Alena quickly brushed away and tucked it behind her ear. "I'm sorry I didn't believe you." She continued as kiss was placed to her temple.
"I realise how crazy I sound." She yawned.
"Let's get some rest and talk about this tomorrow." Her mum sighed as she laid them both down, Alena lying on her side next to her mum who was running her hair soothing through the ends of her hair.
"How did I get home?" She yawned once again, she had been wondering about it since she had woken up the last thing she could remember was blacking out.
"Samuel brought you home saying you had slipped and cut you head, he had tended to your wound and even left his jacket." She saw her mum nod her head to the end of her bed as she looked to see that the black suit jacket he had given her at the end of her bed.
"Oh." She muttered as she rested her head on her pillow and closed her eyes, willing her brain to shut off and give her some peace.
"Everything will be okay, you'll see." Her mum kissed her forehead as all Alena did was nod her head.
Alena had lay awake in her bed for hours after that, she hadn't been able to sleep for hours and when she had she had woken up because of a nightmare. It was the early hours of the morning before Alena had finally been able to sleep without any nightmares jumping her awake.
She spent her entire Sunday in her room, her mum often came to visit bring food and her dad had been to visit her offering her a shoulder to cry. She had been surprised when the oracles had visited her one by one asking if she was okay and if she didn't anything. Alena knew that her mum would have told them that she wasn't feeling well or something and she was glad that she hadn't told them the truth. She considered the oracles friends but not close friends, she wasn't about to spill her secrets to them just yet.
Her phone had been going off all morning telling her that she had received a number of texts and missed a number of texts, to which she had ignored she guessed that they were from Samuel, Daniel and Dean and maybe Lucy but she didn't want to look, she couldn't. She didn't know what she felt or what she should feel all she knew was that she was a bundle of nerves and a mess of feelings. She also knew that they had been around her house as she hand heard the muffle voices from her room, her mum had politely said that she wasn't feeling well and they had left shortly after that. She felt bad and sick with guilt but she needed time, she needed to think about what had happened and she needed to come to term with the fact that they were werewolves or lycans.
She stood from her bed, and walked to her window, it was late at night and she needed some fresh air as she opened her window wide and stuck her head out, breathing in the cold night air as she smiled a small, yet please smile. The night air washed away her thoughts as she closed her eyes. She was going to school tomorrow and she didn't know what to expect, she was planning on avoiding Daniel and Dean. A noise from the bushed had her opening her eyes and scanning the edge of her forest only to freeze as she saw the black wolf that has been haunting her dreams, its chocolate brown eyes gazed up at her, the moonlight reflecting off of them as she brought her hand to her mouth to stop herself from screaming. Although it was Samuel and she knew it was him she couldn't shake the memory of his killing the sand coloured wolf. Tears gathered in her eyes as the wolf whined, all Alena could do was quickly shut her window and curtains before walking to her bed and threw herself down as she buried her face in her pillow and cried herself to sleep, her heart aching once again as the cold feeling consumed her being, something was missing and she didn't know what.
"You don't have to go to school today if you don't feel up to it." Her mum said softly as she walked into the kitchen the next morning she knew that she looked a mess, her hair was thrown up into a messy bun and she hadn't bothered with make-up, dark bags were circled under her eyes that were a little red from crying.
"I'm fine, and I told Lucy I'd be in." She lied smoothly as she grabbed her bag. She hadn't spoken to Lucy all weekend and had turned her phone off yesterday around midday. "I'll see you after school." She muttered, she had left the kitchen before either of her parents could reply.
The cold morning air was welcomed by Alena as she buried her hands in her coat pockets the music on her IPod playing softly in her ear buds and she walked towards the bus stop. She was happy that Daniel hadn't been there to pick her up as well as the bus being there just as she got to the stop meaning she didn't have to wait in the cold. As she climbed onto the bus she noticed she got more stares than normal and she guessed that those who were staring were werewolves or lycans and knew all about her knowing of their secret. She sat at the front and buried her face in the scarf she wore, trying desperately to ignoring the obvious stares she could feel on the back of her head. Her heart was beating fast in her chest and her cold hands began to sweat, she hoped they wouldn't attack her.
Alena was the first one off of the bus as she walked across the car park and into the school building, with her head down and her music in her ears, if someone was trying to get her attention she wouldn't know and it helped her ignore the stares she could feel on her. Lucy was waiting with an annoyed looking on her face at her locker as she pulled out her ear buds and prepared for the bombard of questions and insults that were going to be thrown her way by her best friend.
"Alena," Lucy scolded taking in a deep breath as she turned to face Alena, giving her her full attention. "What happened to you? What's wrong?" Lucy asked, her voice full of concern.
"Not here, please." She whispered, she was well aware of the looks they were both getting and she didn't know much about werewolves but she guessed that they had heightened senses which mean they could probably ear everything she said.
"Okay," Lucy sighed as she pulled Alena into a much needed hug. "Just let me know you okay." She whispered.
"I will be promise." Alena sighed.
"Where's Daniel? You two normally arrive together." Lucy asked as she craned her neck to look through the crowded corridors.
"I don't know." Alena shrugged as she rummaged through her locked, gathering her books and folders needed while hanging her bag on the little hock on the inside. Her face was hidden so that Lucy couldn't see the grimace and fearful expression on her face at the mention of Daniel's name.
"We had better hurry, the bells already gone." Lucy said as she stood up straighter.
"Actually I was thinking of stopping at the toilets on the way to tutor, I'll meet you there." Alena said, she saw Lucy opened her mouth as if she was about to protest but one look at Alena's face she closed her mouth and gripped her shoulder with a reassuring smile on her face before walking off. Alena knew that Lucy probably thought all her problems and trouble were because of the prophecy and she was more than happy to let her friend think that for the time being, just until she knew what she was going to do. She hurried through the corridor, ignoring the stares as she hugged her folder closer to her chest and ducked into the closest toilets. She walked into the first free stole and sat down on the folded down toilet seat, she hadn't expected the stares and her nerves were frazzled at the realisation that here were more werewolves than she originally thought. She waited until the bell had gone before opened the door and splashing cold water on her face, she was in no hurry to get to tutor as she left the toilets and began to walked through the now empty corridors, the peace and quiet was welcomed.
"Alena!" Her name was called from behind her as she heard two sets of footsteps run after her. She froze where she stood in the middle of the corridor, her grip tightening on her folders as fear spiked her heart. Daniel and Dean now stood in front of her, worry visible on both of their faces as she shrank back and away from them, the action didn't go unnoticed as they both frowned at her.
"Are you okay? How's your head? I'm so sorry." Daniel rushed out all in one breath.
"Alena..." Dean began scratching the back of his head with his hand. He looked as if he didn't know what to say, as if he noticed her frazzled state and didn't want to break her.
"I haven't told anyone, I won't tell anyone, I promise." She whispered in a small voice as tears welled in her eyes. They were going to attack her she knew it; she was going to end up just like that sand coloured wolf, headless. They were there to make sure that she wasn't going to say anything and silence her is she did, finish off what the Samuel's black wolf had failed to do, there concern and worry was all an act.
"Alena, we're not-" Daniel began taking a step forward causing her to automatically step back, pained expressions appeared on both of their faces.
"Please don't hurt me," She whimpered knowing how pathetic and weak she sounded but she didn't know what else to do, using her magic was impossible in her current state of mind.
Her plea froze both of them, there movement's halted as they stared at her is disbelief. She took this as her opportunity to run, her folders held tightly to her as she turned and ran down the corridor with tears streaming down her face.