Chapter Four

ELLA

I bolted right up, panting. My body was drenched in sweat and shaking from the horrid dream of being burned by my fated mate. The scariest part about it was that I still loved him even when I was burned to ashes.

Too scared to be alone, I went outside. Mom was fanning the fire alive with a thin piece of wood.

The view of the orange flame was so frightening that I didn't realize I had spaced out for a while until I felt Mom's hand against my shoulder, standing before me with worried eyes.

"Are you okay? I've been calling you for a while," she said.

"I am," I responded, after reminding myself that what I should fear is my fated mate and not the fire.

Mom didn't want me to believe I was.

To stop her from worrying about me, "I'm hungry," I said, stepping away from her, straight toward the mud stove.

"Breakfast is almost through, and I have made something special for you." Mom followed closely, determined to give me the best birthday as always.

A sweet, toasty scent I was unable to recognize wafted from the cob stove. Even by the round, golden-brown, and flat image of it, I still was unable to tell what it was.

"It's a pancake," Mom said as I stared at it.

Our habitual intake in the woods consisted of fish, berries, birds, and their eggs, so it was the first time I was seeing something like this.

"I've been trying for years to grow wheat here but failed continuously because there's little sunlight to make it grow in the depth of the woods. I gave up, and yesterday, while trekking to the part where I was growing them, I saw several of them that had managed to grow, and I thought it would be great to make pancakes with blueberry syrup, as my grandmother did for my birthdays."

Mom took four out of the pot, stacking them on top of each other, and then poured some smashed blueberries over them.

As I sat down, she looked at me eagerly to know what I thought of it.

"It's delicious," I said, enjoying its sweet and soft taste along with the blueberries.

A rustling from the bush before us and the scent of another werewolf instantly made me rise to my feet.

"Shift and run as far as you can from here," Mom urged me as she stood defensively before me.

Her claws extended with a flash of her fingers.

As I was about to flee, an old she-wolf with a walking stick fell from the bush onto the ground.

She was shoeless and wore an old frock that was black from dirt and full of holes. Many warts were on her face.

"Please spare me some food. I haven't eaten for days," she begged.

I began to approach her.

"El, I said, leave. She may be pretending that she is helpless and is working for him, as you know," Mom said, not trusting her.

"Mom, she is hungry and is also wounded. "I noticed a small wound that probably wasn't healing because her body is too weak from hunger.

"Thank you. You kind she-wolf," she said weakly as I put her hand over my shoulder, aiding her over to the rock I had been sitting on.

As I helped her sit, she said, "You carry a rare grace I haven't seen in a long while that pulls werewolves to you, that I'm quite sure even small creatures can't resist it also."

There was something unusual in her green eyes and the way she spoke that gave me a strange feeling that she wasn't just any old she-wolf.

I gave her my pancakes and the peppermint tea Mom had made. She began to devour them hungrily.

Mom's extremely sharp claws were still out, still not buying what she'd said.

"How did you find us?" Mom asked grimly.

"Some teens thought it was fun to make fun of an old and weak beggar by throwing stones at me. I managed to escape them by fleeing into the woods. When they saw I was going too far, they turned around. But I went in deeper, smelling a delicious meal and hoping that someone with a kind heart would share it with me," she answered, now down to the last pancake.

"We have to leave now, Ella," Mom ordered, pulling me away from the old lady.

"If we're found by a beggar, then sooner or later someone else will find us. Someone we both don't want to be found by."

"Isn't he going to have me anyway?" I snapped at Mom, pulling my hand out of hers.

"So why would he be looking for me when he can just wait until tonight to kill me?" I said, fighting back tears.

Mom spun towards me.

"I told you, you don't need to worry about tonight, for I will do everything in my power to protect you."

"Can you truly, Mom?" I asked, not even sure anymore that she could after that dreadful dream.

She stood frozen.

"If I'm going to die tonight, please just let me die knowing I've helped a wolf." I walked back to the old lady.

Within her wound that still hadn't healed, I saw small gravel and pieces of grass that needed to be cleared out.

I went for a piece of moss and filled a small wooden container with water to clean her wound.

As I did so, I heard Mom, still within the spot where she had frozen, say, "If I hold you long enough from going to him, I know that I can save you."

"And you can trust me that I will never let you go, for you too are all that I have."

Having finished cleaning the old lady's foot, I ran to hug her.

"I'm sorry that I ever doubted you, Mom," I wept.

"It's okay; anyone in your position would have doubts too." She hugged me back.

"And what do you suppose to do to her Alpha Mate?"

Mom and I turned toward the old lady upon hearing her speak.

Having finished eating, the old lady stood up, holding her walking stick. I noticed that her wound had healed already.

"Killing an Alpha isn't as easy as killing a low-ranking wolf. You should know Luna Catherine of the Seracee Pack."

I looked up at Mom to see her face contorted in shock.