I can't believe I'm finally doing this.
I take a deep breath as I enter the woods surrounding my new home.
I should've done this a long ass time ago. Face my demons. I'm not a child for God's sake. And I shouldn't let vampires and werewolves kill each other over me. I am a strong. Fucking. Wolf.
A fallen branch cracks as I step onto it and it makes me sharpen my senses.
"Where are you?" I call.
Nothing.
She doesn't want to come out so close to the clearing, my wolf concludes.
"I'm here!" I yell.
Nothing.
I need to go deeper.
Every now and then I jilt from hearing weird moving sounds. I am relieved that it's only animals or birds.
For now, my wolf awakens.
Don't be such a coward.
How far do we have to go before she appears? And what if somebody else appears instead of her? Someone that wishes us dead?
Another branch cracks.
I jerk my head back. "Who's there?" I yell, trying to sound dangerous.
Maybe you should shift... It's not like your pathetic hundred pounds can protect us.... my wolf insists, but instead I reach for my phone.
There is still reception.
Who will you call?
If we're to die, I want someone to know it.
You're gonna call Darius??
I swallow hard. No.
Then I dial Ian's number.
Why him?
He's the only one who knows about my vampire story. Besides, if I'm gonna die I want to hear his voice one last time. If Dione was alive, I'd call him. Hell, I'd ask him to accompany me - because he was a true partner. He never failed me. Like I failed him.
But since he's gone, it's Ian that came the closest to the spot Dione left unfilled.
Aww, my wolf squeals. This is too much for me.
The line keeps ringing. "Answer Ian, bloody hell," I say out loud, "now it's not the time to be in the shower..."
Just as I'm about to hang up, he picks up. "Hello?"
My heart falls to my feet. "It's me," I whisper.
Short silence ensues.
"I know it's you," he almost smiles. I can feel it.
Ugh, almost.
"Why are you calling, Lila?"
I swallow hard. "Well, I'm finally doing it."
"Doing what?"
"I went into the woods."
Short silence. "And? Did you meet her?"
I shake my head as if he can see me. "Not yet."
"Are you in danger?"
I don't know. "I'll be fine," I reassure him, then clear my throat. I haven't spoken to him since we broke up. He told me he didn't want to hear from me. But if I'm to die, I want him to know I still cared - regardless of what I've done. "How have you been doing?"
I hear him swallow hard. "It's going," is all he says. Then he scoffs. "Isn't your dangerous mate gonna be crazy mad when he finds out you called me?"
I frown. I don't even know.
What do I say? That I don't care? That he won't know? I'm not going to keep secrets out of fear. So I go with "I don't think it'll matter."
"Huh. Love broke this soon?" There's irony in his voice.
I swallow hard. "I just wanted to hear your voice in case-"
Then I hear a female cough through the phone.
Wow.
"Am I... interrupting something?"
"Um, sort of," he says.
Silence.
"Be careful, Lila. You might run into her."
I exhale a stressed sigh. "That's what I'm hoping for."
I quickly scan my surroundings. Even though it's still daytime, it's getting pretty dark. "I think she's the one who needs to find me, not the other way around-" and then I remember. It's daytime.
She can't come out of the shadows!
"Well, sorry I can't be of any help," he says.
"You actually were," I note.
"I got to go now, I'm... sorry for bothering. I'm glad you're seeing someone," I shut my eyes.
"Yeah... thanks, Lila," he hesitates. "Let me know how it went."
I hang up because I can't speak anymore. I do feel warmer around my heart knowing he's moved on. I guess I don't have to feel as guilty anymore.
But it was rather quick. And I reluctantly admit it stings a little, but I really have no right to feel that way.
Damn straight you don't...
I said I know! God, I hate you sometimes.
Goes both ways, sugar.
Then I remember where I am.
I shift into my wolf form and continue our way deeper into the woods.
I need to find a part with less light penetrating through the trees!
Or... wait here until it gets darker! My wolf suggests. That way we conserve strength for a fight.
That's actually a smart idea.
Want an even smarter one? Run towards the edge of the woods! Don't just chill nowhere to be found...
I realize I'm completely lost actually. I turn to the left and start walking towards where I think is my pack's habitat in the clear.
After what seems to take hours, I just stop and collapse onto a cut tree, getting some rest. An uncomfortable sensation fills me, as if I'm being watched.
I shift back into my human form to take my bag and out of it a bottle of water. I'm so thirsty from all the walking and mental straining, I gulp it all down.
"And there I was thinking you wolves couldn't understand our thirst."
My eyes pop as I almost choke jerking my head back.
It's her.
I stare at a female vampire with long dark hair, piercing blue eyes with prominent blood vessels around irises, and a tan so pale it looks like porcelain.
She is laughing.
She looks exactly the same as the first time I saw her 20 years ago - as if she was in her late 20s. But who knows for how long she's been that way...
"It's...you," I finally find my voice.
She lifts an eyebrow, seemingly intrigued. "You don't seem scared to see me."
I swallow hard, trying to explain myself, but I have difficulties finding the right words. "I- I hoped I'd find you. Well," I correct myself instantly, "that you would find me."
Her thin mouth stretches into an amused smirk. "You don't say..." she steps around me in a slow manner, as if we have all the time in the world. "Don't tell me you came all the down here alone just for an old lady like myself..." her face expression doesn't match her words and it scares me a bit.
Still, I decide to be honest. "I am curious to see what you have to tell me."
She plays with her hair and I notice her abnormally long fingernails. They look awful. "You want to hear my story?" she asks with wicked disbelief.
For an unknown reason, I start feeling very drowsy. "I want to know why I am the only werewolf who keeps bumping into vampires," I demand. "And why I am still alive even though I always went closer to beasts calling my name... that's another thing," I remember, "How do you know my name?"
She stares at me, silent at first, then smirks and starts rolling a strand of hair over her finger. "You always did turn when we called. Yet, you are alive and well. For now." She looks at me up and down. "On the other hand, I am dead and I never once turned when they called Lila, Lila, Lila.... Life's unfair like that."
I frown, suddenly not keeping up with our conversation. "But, why did they call you Lila?"
A very entertained shock spreads over her face. "Why, don't you know who I am... Lily?"
I literally feel every single hair on my body go up and it makes me want to shake. Instead I just shake my head slowly from left to right.
The woman stretches her lips, showing a set of yellowish teeth. "Why, I," she places her hands over her chest, "am your mother."
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😳So! 😳How did you like the chapter? Were you surprised or did you expect this? What do you think happens next? Thank you all for reading❣️