The storm quieted after long hours into the night, and when daybreak was announced from the scouts, we all ventured out. The sunrise was just peeking over the horizon as we emerged from the stairwell upon the ruins of the packhouse. The windows were shattered, and the tree cut down the side of the house, tearing up centuries of woodwork and labor in its wake. I felt eyes on me, knowing for certain I had known, and I did not need to hear their gratitude or concerns to know them well.
Cars arrived soon trailing behind a snowplow that carved its way from town. Power was still down, but the caravan brought worried families and friends to check on us. Loved ones jumped into each others arms. Beatrice hugged her father and mother and four siblings. Elijah cheered up his little cousin Kyle, who was teary-eyed with worry. Anthony consoled his son and wife. I stood alone, walking into the wintry world outside. I stared out onto the town, thickly covered in snow, and could see the flames of my vision and how the fires had danced against the skies above the city. I would tell Elijah about what I saw when this was all over. I felt a hand on my shoulder.
Looking up, I saw Sam watching the town with me and smiled. "Thank you for keeping me company," I said quietly. Sam shook his head. "It is all I can do for you, Seer."
"Davina is fine. I'm not... used to the title yet," I admitted. Sam nodded.
"How did you know about how to activate the visions?" I asked him then, too aware of the eyes on us. Sam was quiet for a long moment before speaking. "It was a guess, as good as any other. I figured, you know, in those movies with people with powers, they all clear their minds and focus, right? I figured it might work." I laughed hard, bending over and holding my gut. Sam blushed. It was so silly, so ridiculous, and yet so solid that it had worked out perfectly.
The day passed along with repairs starting on the house, just as my vision had shown. I walked up the stairs to the attic and pulled down the step ladder to find too much sunlight coming down. A quick trip up showed the disaster. The roof had torn partially open. My old room, my old life as prisoner, laid as a wasteland of snow and broken glass in front of me. I don't know why, but it made me cry.
"Your past dies here, Davina," Laluin said, cooing me. "A brighter future awaits you."
The next day, those who resided or functioned out of the packhouse were relocated to the Redfield Hotel for temporary boarding. The hotel was mostly used for purposes such as these and for outside pack visits, as humans hardly roamed in, and so it was made for accommodating wolves. My room was a master suite, fitted with anything I could possibly need. I was told by staff what an honor it was to have me, despite recognizing so many that had once scorned me years ago. Laluin told me to brush it off, but the bitterness sunk in.
I was ordered to find a dress for the coming Solstice ball, and I loathed every second. Rebecca Campbell was ordered to be my chaperone in town to get it done. A warrior and patrolman, Rebecca was a prima dona with claws of steel. I'd known her back in the early days of high school as the one every teacher loathed and every student wanted to be. It was nice to share a familiar company with someone who cared so little about other people's opinions.
Every shop was a fail, and every dress failed to impress. Even with Elijah's black card, Rebecca found nothing on me she saw as perfect. Two days passed of searching before she would settle on a gleaming dark crystal-teal gown. The top was embroidered with beading and tatted with fine lace down the sleeves. A grand moonstone necklace was paired with the look for symbolic purposes, an idea proposed by the Elders to increase the impact of my first event appearance.
Walking around town with Rebecca and hauling bags, I was exhausted by the end of the second hour. We walked down the sidewalk as Rebecca ranted about the stresses of patrols and how bad the sun was for her skin, when my shoulder collided with someone and I hit the ground. Cement bit by knees as they scraped along to a stop, and I winced as the palm of my hands burned where I had braced them to protect my face. I heard snickering behind me, looking back to see a group of college-aged kids my age walking off and glancing back at me. Rebecca whirled, approaching them fast as her six-inch heels clacked against the ground, grabbing one man's arm and wrenching it behind his back. He howled in pain, begging her to stop while the others looked on in horror. He was forced to his knees, and his feet were kicked down until he was kneeling low to the ground. I stood, nursing bloody knees as I looked on at the sight. It was Rufus Seeder, again. His posse could never let my life be easy. "What shall I do with him, Seer Davina?" Rebecca said, and for the first time in all the years I had known her, I felt pure rage rippling off her at the behest of another. Recovering from my surprise, I glared down at Rufus. "Was being banned from the packhouse not enough for you, you idiot?" I growled. One thing that proliferated my new status was the fear it invoked. I smirked, crossing my arms, ignoring the shopping bags scattered on the sidewalk now. "If those fucking clothes are ruined and I have to go back to shopping, I'll have your dick, impotent asswipe."
Rufus snarled under his breath, baring his fangs, and Rebecca cracked her heel into his calf, sending his eyes into a glossy state of tearfulness that made me smile. I stepped forward, grabbing his hair and yanking his head back, spitting in his eyes. He winced in pain, closing his eyes to try and fight away the sting as I spoke again. "Stop messing with me, you baby. For your father's sake, I will forgive this. Next time, I rip your manhood off and feed it to roaches." I let go, and Rebecca released, sending him to the ground. His group looked stricken by my sudden ballsiness, helping Rufus up as they all slithered away fast. I looked at Rebecca. "Thank you," I said, smiling gently. She waved a hand to dismiss it. "That was nothing. I hate that scumbag," She said, and I laughed. We recovered the bags, thankfully unharmed, and returned to the hotel with our prize.
I retired to my room at a quarter past three, curling into the bedsheets that smelled of soap and mint, and felt an exhaustion wash across me that lulled in sleep faster than I could comprehend.
My dreams were plagued, showing visions of wolves I did not know in far away places I had never been. Ruins stretched into the sky and broke apart at their apexes into long-since crumbled spires. Fields of grass and grand rolling hills that never ended beckoned Laluin and I into a great beyond. There was an emotion in me that I did not recognize. It felt like freedom.
Waking from a deep nap, my ears rang with the sound of knocking, and I sat up in the dark of late twilight, dazed and dehydrated. I stood, slipping on a cardigan to stave off the wintry cold, slipping my feet into slippers someone had gifted that I decided to keep, and making my way for the door. Another round of knocking ensued which devolved into banging, which I interrupted, opening the door. Elijah stood there, leaning against the doorframe in black skin-tight training clothes, looming over. I tensed. "Yes?" I asked, looking him over. His hair was tousled, and his neck had a smear of dirt on it. His body smelled of grass, sweat, and steel, enough to know by that alone that he had been training rigorously.
Elijah looked down at me, considering my entire being like something to be picked apart down to the bone before pushing off the frame and crossing his arms. "I came to talk," He said gruffly. I hugged my arms close, not to mirror, but to warm my cold fingers, raising an eyebrow. "Spit it out, then," I said defiantly, and I could see in the flicker of his eyes the ways in which it enraged him. That only made it more fun.
He cleared his throat, looking at the ground. Locks of soft brown hair fell over his dark eyes as Elijah scrambled to hide his expression in spectacular failure. "I wanted to apologize."
My mouth fell open. He flushed. "Don't act so shocked. The Elders thought it... unwise to treat an Oracle if Ilya as I do you." Damn the Elders, they never listened. "I disagree. But harmony can't exist in a pack without compromise."
"Spoken like a true leader."
"You say that as if I aren't one," He said coolly. I didn't respond, giving him his answer. Elijah loosed a breath. "I didn't come here to fight. I wanted to... thank... you. For warning us during the blizzard. I know how easily you could have let everyone there die of the cold once the tree shattered the windows and the snow fell in. You are a... a valued asset and strong person..."
Words escaped me.
"... Say something. Anything," Elijah said, clearly uncomfortable. I narrowed my eyes. "I did that for Sam, and for Delta Seeder. I did not do it for you or any of the pack. I would have preferred them dead," I said honestly. "The Elders simply want your attitude towards me to change because I told them off. It isn't genuine. Neither is this lousy attempt at an apology." His jaw slid as he clenched his teeth. "You know nothing but impudence now. It seems your new powers have made you egotistical. But do not forget, Davina," He leaned close, baring fangs. I froze. "It is I who decides who lives or dies in this scenario. You'd be wise to remember that."
Looking at him now, I think that, for the first time, I realized that the boy I once knew had died long ago, killed by the hands of the alpha I now shrank before. My eyes grew soft. "Some days," I said, ignoring his threats, "I think of the boy who used to sit by my bedside when I was sick and fall asleep holding my hand. The boy who hummed me to sleep when the nightmares were too much. The boy who told me that, one day, he would rule the world with me by his side. Sometimes, I wonder why he had to disappear at all. The only place he exists now is in my memories. I miss him."
Something in it must have struck some chord, some deep fleeting regret, as Elijah leaned away, an expression of shocked dismay crossing his eyes. I shoved past him. "I'm going for a run. Don't follow me. And shove your half-baked apology up your ass, fuckface."
He didn't follow.
I ran out of the hotel, down the sidewalk, where the winds took me to the ancient mountains, shedding my human weakness and running with Laluin into the Great Beyond. One day, I would take us even further. But, for today, I allowed myself to be bound to the heartless hills of Redfield.