Chapter Six: A Glimpse Of Relief

Chapter Six

Vaelora's POV 

Sound of glass breaking echoes through the walls of the hall but there's no glass in sight, it's just my heart shattering into endless pieces and I'm the only one who can hear it.

The room is still roaring with applause and laughter as I watch her take tentative steps towards him, her slender fingers clutching the train of her dress.

A tear slips down my cheek but I ignore it, fixating on the sight in front of me. 

He puts out his hand to her and she places hers in his, helping her up the podium. With a small smile, he leans over and kisses the top of her head, his eyes holding mine in an intense gaze.

It's mocking, like he's pleased with how I look at that moment.

Another tear rolls down my cheek and I wipe it off this time, tearing my gaze away from him before looking down at Maya who has a disgusted look on her face.

I want to run away from here, live outside of my skin and never be seen again but I can't. Not when my best friend needs me right now.

Blair howls in my head and I close my eyes, holding back the series of tears that threatens to spill.

She's hurt. Damaged. Broken. More than I ever knew.

The voices are getting louder every minute and if I don't get out of here, I'll lose myself.

“M-maya.” I call out but my voice comes out as a croaked whisper.

“Yes?” She answers, not looking up at me.

I swipe at the snot dripping from my nose and blink, ignoring the rest of the people in the room.

“I need to use the bathroom.” 

Blair's voice is rapidly blocking out every other sound I can hear and I can feel my wolf threatening to push out. I'd die before I shift in here.

Slowly, she unwraps her arms from mine and looks up at me but before she can say anything, I'm already heading down the stairs in a sprint, wiping away at the tears that's now overflowing from my eyes.

I can feel his gaze on me as I walk through the door but I don't look back, not even a glance.

In no time, I arrive at the gate. Before the security can ask me what I'm doing, I sneak out of the mansion and remove my shoes. Without warning, I pick up the pace and run into the woods, my heart thudding against my chest as I sob loudly, not caring if anyone hears me.

Blair continues to howl inside my head but I ignore her. Pain is threatening to consume me as she tries her best to push through my body but I don't stop running.

Once I get to the deep of the forest, I dig my feet into the mud and drop my shoes, shutting my eyes tightly and clutching at my chest.

I've been unwanted my entire life. What I never knew was what the pain of being unwanted by the only one who is supposed to be yours is.

But now, I do.

And it's the worst feeling ever.

It's like I'm being made to walk through the same fire I light up with my hands in hopes that it keeps me warm after every cold.

More tears roll my cheeks and I crouch down to my knees, digging my fingers into the dirt as I let the tears fall.

Blair pushes through me even harder and I cry out in pain, my bones cracking slowly as she takes over.

I snap my eyes open and grind my teeth against each other, grabbing the side of my stomach as she pushes harder, my canines already forming.

This is hell.

Goosebumps break out on my skin and my fur appears, covering the rest of my body as my dress slowly tears.

I press my arms against each other to stop her but it doesn't work. Another cry rips out of my throat as my claws form and I howl into the woods, my voice piercing through every tree branch.

My entire body is soaked in sweat and pain, but my vision is as sharp as a sword. I hear another wolf growling in the background but it's far away from me.

I take to my heels again and race further into the woods, the remnants of my dress hanging loosely on my skin.

It growls again but this time, there's a brewing sense of danger in it's voice. Fear grips me and I halt, taking in my surroundings before making sure that I'm not in the enemy zone.

I slow down my pace and quietly follow the direction of the voice, watching my back very often with anxiety.

The voice gets nearer and even though I'm shaking to my bones, I follow it until I come across a man laying in the floor with a huge gash on one of his legs. He frowns in pain and my eyes widen as I realize what's going on.

He's injured. And I'm half naked!

Immediately, I run behind one of the trees to hide, flattening my back against it as I shut my eyes and try to catch my breath.

“I can smell you. P- fuck.” He grunts again and I snap my eyes open.

“W-who are you?” I ask, looking around for a way to shift back.

He doesn't say anything again so I take that as my cue to shift. I close my eyes and let Blair take over, bracing myself for the impact of the shift.

By the time I leave this pack, I'm damn sure that I'll be so sick. The pain of shifting is fucking unbearable.

Damn this broken wolf.

It takes five minutes of bones cracking into place and my full human form being retrieved before I can breathe normally.

The forest is eerily silent as I take the leftover piece of my ruined dress and tie it around me. This is the first time that I'd shift and be so close to fully shifting.

The first time I've been anything close to a werewolf.

“Do you always scream like that?” He asks, breaking the silence and I scream out again, forgetting that he's there.

“Can you stop screaming?” I can hear the exhaustion I'm his voice.

“Sure. But what are you doing in the woods all by yourself?” I ask, peeking at him from the tree.

“Seriously?” 

My brows furrow and I stop out of my hiding place, not minding that I'm only clad from my breasts to the middle of my thigh.

“Yeah, seriously. Who in their right mind just comes into the woods for coming sake? And look..” I point to his injured leg. “You're injured.”

He closes his eyes and hiss, pushing himself up with one hand before fixating on me.

“Thanks for the information but if you didn't notice, I was fighting with a wolf and let's just say he did a number on me before running off. Now can you help me?” His voice is stern and commanding, just like that of a leader.

I give him a blank look, folding my arms over my chest.

“Are you not afraid that I may be in alliance with that wolf?” 

He shakes his head, looking away for a brief second.

“You can't even shift properly. You definitely can't be a part of those rogues.” He says and my eyes widen.

“What did you just say?” I ask, slowly moving towards him with annoyance dripping from my tone.

“Hold on..” He says and I halt, not taking my eyes away from him but deep down, my insides are shaking with fear.

“Fine. I don't think you're part of them because, I've never seen you here before. Listen, I need to get home as soon as possible and…” He looks down at his leg and I follow his eyes.

“...I can't walk. Can you help me?” 

I think about it for a few seconds, debating if I should take him out and risk being shredded alive by another wolf whilst in a torn dress or leave him here and let the rogue wolves kill him.

“Where do you stay?” I ask, watching him intently.

“NightMoor's. Are you going to help me?” He asks, biting down on his bottom lip.

Surprise takes over my face as he mentions the NightMoor pack.

“How do I believe you?” 

“Ugh. Just take me there and you'll see.” He pauses, fishing out a plaque from the back of his trousers.

I stare at it for a while and after concluding that I might as well take the risk and go back before Maya starts to look for me, I decide to help him.

“Fine. But don't rest your whole weight on me.” I warn before taking his hand and helping him up.

“Of course, Willow.” He says with a smirk and circle his arm around my shoulder.

“My name's is Vaelora, not Willow.” I counter 

and he chuckles as we take the road that leads to the NightMoor packhouse.

For the first time in the last hour, it doesn't hurt so much to live.