Chapter 7

Elina

At the end of the day, I leave quickly to head home and then go to Iris’s house to talk to Raina, her sister. I get home and park in the driveway; I hear yelling coming from my house. I walk up to the house slowly.

“You told me you would break it, Noime.” An unfamiliar male voice booms through the house.

“ I’m working on it.”

“ It’s been six years, and you still haven’t done it. How can I trust it get done in two weeks?”

“ I’m working on it, Alavic, and I don’t appreciate you coming to my house yelling.” Alavic? Xavier's uncles and the current Alpha of Xavier pack. Why is he here, and why is he talking to my mother?

“His wolf recognizes her as his queen...” he says those words, and suddenly the words Xavier spoke earlier flash in my head. I freeze; this is about Xavier and me.

“ His wolf will reject any mate that isn’t her. Break it or be fine prepared to sacrifice your daughter.”

“No!!!!!! That’s my only child; you will not take her away from me.”

“Then break the bond!” He shouts. I hear footsteps coming towards the door; I hurry down the steps and hide behind the shrubs. Alavic comes out of my house and slams the door. He walks down the steps and sniffs; he looks in my direction but doesn’t say anything. He turns and walks away. Once he’s out of sight, I come out of hiding. Xavier wolf recognizes me because of some bond we have. A bond mom had to break six years ago? When I was 11...then that dream when I was 11 was probably not a dream but a memory. I need to speak to mom I need to know the truth. I march up the steps to my house. I walk through the door and make my way to the living room.

“Mom…” I shout, which makes her jumps

“Ah, Elina, why are you home so early?” She looks exhausted, I want to ask her, to know the truth but I can’t. If she has been trying to break it for six years, that means she’s probably tried everything she can think of. If she knows I know I about it, make her worry more than she is already doing right now.

“I missed you. Do you want me to make dinner?”She smiles as stands to hug me,

“My precious baby, what would I ever do without you?” I grin and hug her tightly.

“You’ll never have to know.” She pulls away and strokes my face gently.

“Yeah, I’m going to rest; sweetie, call me if any customers show up.”I nod as she walks away. She runs a veterinarian hospital in the building next door. It’s more a hospital for all things supernatural, but the town locals occasionally bring their pets. I sigh; it would have helped me find out what the bond is, but I can’t ask mom right now. Hopefully, Raina will have some answers. I pull out my phone to text Iris letting her know I’ll be over later. I head to the kitchen to prepare dinner. I was hungry for some more pasta, so I figure I would make lasagna. I pull out the ingredients and start cooking. Three hours later, after the lasagna finished baking, I call Mom; Dad is the town lawyer, so he comes home a bit later. He walks through the door as I set the table.

 “Hey, sweetie.”

“Hi daddy, how was work?” I say with a grin I am a daddy’s girl through and through. We go fishing on the weekends or play baseball; he’s my favorite man in the world.

“Same old, same old, something smells good.”

“ I cooked lasagna.” He grins and pinches my cheek.

“I can’t wait to dig in; let me go wash up.”

“Okay, daddy, I’ll feed grandma.” I grab a tray and walk into the sunroom; grandma is sitting in the chair, just staring outside. I set the tray on the table and wheel her over. She moves her head to look at me. She sits in a wheelchair all day, doesn’t move, and barely speaks. She has been like this since I was around twelve years old, mom won’t tell me what happened to her, but she says it was an accident. I lift the spoon to her mouth; she’s still staring at me. I always feed her though, she is slow, but she eats eventually.

“Eat, grandma,” I instruct, but she doesn’t open her mouth like she usually does. I furrow my brows and move the spoon closer to her mouth. “Come on, grandma, it’s dinnertime.”I move the spoon closer to her mouth. She grabs my hand.

“ Demon! Demon!” she screams at me.

“Grandma, it’s me...” I try to get through to her as she holds on to me. She’s squeezing it tightly; as I try to pull away, something wraps around my throat and begins squeezing it.

“Gran...ma...it’s me..Eli..” I try to say, but I can no longer breathe.

“ Eli, did you,” Mom says as she walks into the room. “Oh my god, mom.”’ She shouts and rushes over to us

“Demon!”Grandma shouts her hold on me, tightening, and I feel my head getting lighter.

“Mom, it’s Elina; let go, mom! mom!” She tries to pull grandma away, but she won’t release the spell on my throat.

“ Avaris Ellis,” She shouts the spell; grandma's eyes fall shut immediately, her hand goes limp, and she releases my hand. I gasp for air, finally able to breathe. Mom catches me as I fall.

“Elina, are you ok?” I clutch my throat nodding as I look at grandma.

“Mom? What was that?”

“ I don’t know? She’s never done that before. Elina, I’m sorry.”She hugs me; I can hear her pounding heart. Just another problem on her plate, I hug her tightly, hoping to give her some comfort.

“I’m ok, mom, I’m ok.”She pulls away and looks me over before nodding; she turns back to grandma.

“ Go have dinner with your father. I’ll finish up here.”I nod and exit the room; my life keeps getting more and more complicated. My grandmother just attacked me after calling me a demon. Nothing makes sense anymore. I walk into the dining room, dads sitting at the table.

“Everything ok, sweetie?”I nod; no reason to worry, dad; mom will tell him if it’s necessary.

“ Mom is feeding grandma. She says we should eat.”He nods, and he digs in and takes a bite. I can’t eat; the feeling of being choked is too fresh in my mind.

“Taste delicious, sweetie.” He says before scooping another pile into his mouth.

“Thanks, Dad; I’m not hungry. I’ll eat later. I’ll keep you company, though.”He smiles at me.

“That’s why you’re my favorite daughter.”

“I’m your only daughter unless there is something mom and I need to know.”

“Like a second family in Seattle, shhh don’t tell you, mother.” He says, cheesing.

“Don’t tell mom what?”Mom asks as she walks in as; dad laughs, he winks at me.

“Nothing, baby.”I look at mom quizzically, wondering what happened with grandma.

“ Mom is sleeping. Elina, it’s best if I feed her from now on until we,” she trails off, and I nod, agreeing quickly. I love grandma, but I am not willing to risk my life. Who knows what will happen the next time I try. Dad looks between us, puzzled.

“ Why what happened?” He asks,

“Uh, she doesn’t recognize Elina anymore.”She explains as she sits and picks up her fork. That is one way to put it; not recognizing me is one thing; mistaking me for a demon is on a whole other level, but again I don’t want to worry, dad. Dad nods; he doesn’t ask any more questions. I guess we aren’t telling dad the whole truth. I feel my appetite returning, so I grab my fork and start eating as Dad tells mom and me about his day. We laugh and play around pretending to be a normal family for the remainder of dinner.

After dinner, I tell mom and dad I’m heading Iris; mom asks me not to tell dad about grandma until she figures out what’s happening. Which is fine with me; I don’t want to worry him if we don’t have to. I make my way out of the house, hop on my bike; it’s a little after 7 pm. I start my bike and then ride off. I have many questions for Raina; I hope she has the answers I’m looking for. I am riding my bike, thoughts racing as I try to make sense of the last couple of days. My dreams and grandma, I need to know what’s happening. I have to get to Iris soon; gripping the handle, I press the accelerator to speed up. I’m going as fast as I can when that feeling returns, the pull from the dream, deep in my bones, it’s pulling me forward, then finally I see it...those red eyes. Only I’m sure I’m not dreaming now; it’s real, this is the real thing. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen its form; it’s a wolf; I’ve never seen a wolf-like that. But I don’t have time to think because it’s running straight towards me.

Grrrrrrrrr Grrrrrrr Grrrrrrrr

I swing my bike around, heading back to where I came from. I look back, this bike is fast, but he’s catching up quickly. My heart slams against my chest as he lunges at my bike, barely missing the wheel. I speed up again; he growls and lunges again, this time catching the wheel. He swings it to the side; I hold on tight, my heart pounding. The bike crashes off-road into the woods. Pain ripples through my body, but I have to run. I can’t stay here and die. I hobble to my feet.

I hear growling behind me; I spin around and there he is, standing before me, barring his teeth. He calls me; he wants me, I step towards him...No, I can’t give in; I have to defend myself.

“Vasriezs Umbar,” I shout the attack spell, but it barely hits him. I try again but still nothing. F**k I have to run; I turn on my heels and sprint the other direction, ignoring the searing pain in my leg. My heart pounds as I race through the forest. I’m dead. I’m going to die; if he can outrun my bike, it’s only a matter of time before he catches me.

“Mine!”I hear Xavier's voice in my head, now would be a perfect time to show up, wolf boy.

“Xavier!”I shout, hoping he can hear me, but I don’t get an answer; he isn’t close by. I cut throw trees, branches hitting me as I run; I hear a growl behind. Oh no, he’s near; I feel something grab my leg. He sinks his teeth into me. I going to die; I’m sorry, mom and dad, I couldn’t save myself. He pulls his teeth out and bites me again.

“Ahhhhhh,” I scream out in pain.

“Mine!!!!!”I hear his voice; calm washes over me. I can’t feel the bite of anyone; my body feels light, like it’s floating. My mouth opens, but I don’t know the words I’m saying.

“Valarqurx utimum dugup lucintin Zin!”I shout with all my strength my body; I feel my consciousness fading as I fall with a thud to the ground.