LOGINLaina“Your father is awake.”I stare at the stranger standing beside my hospital bed for a few seconds, I don't understand what he means, then my heart begins pounding.“Dad?” The man nods. “He is awake.”Tears immediately fill my eyes.“Is he okay?”“He's still in critical condition, but he's awake.”I push myself upright. “I want to see him.”The man steps toward the door.“The nurse will take you to him.”I quickly wipe the tears from my cheeks.For the first time since I woke up, there is a small piece of hope inside me, my father is alive and awake. Maybe everything will be okay.A few minutes later, a nurse comes into the room with a wheelchair.“Ready?”I nod "yeah"She helps me sit up and carefully moves me into the chair.My body still feels weak, but I don't car
FlashbackLainaI was fifteen the first time I realized my mother would never leave my father, not because she loved him, At least, that's what I thought then.I had spent most of my childhood listening to them fight, sometimes it was shouting, sometimes it was silence.Sometimes it was the sound of something breaking downstairs, followed by my mother's crying.And sometimes, like that night, there were sounds I couldn't pretend not to hear.I was sitting on my bed with a book open in front of me when I heard my father's voice coming from downstairs.“You think you can embarrass me like that?”My body went still because I knew what was coming next, then came my mother's voice.“I wasn't trying to embarrass you, I am sorry”“You always have an excuse don't you Helen?.”“I didn't do anything.”There was a loud crash and I dropped the book I was reading, m
Laina“Where is my father?” I asked the nurse again,The nurse looks at me for a moment before offering me a sympathetic smile.“Laina, the doctor will be back shortly. He will be able to give you more information and answer all your questions.”“I don't want to wait for the doctor just tell me if my father is okay.” My voice trembled. “I want to know where my dad is.”The nurse walks closer to my bed.“I understand, but I don't want to give you information that hasn't been confirmed yet. The doctor will explain everything when he comes back, I promise.”I stare at her.Everything about her expression tells me that something is wrong which is why she can't say anything to me.I try to sit up, but pain shoots through my body and I immediately sink back against the pillow.“What happened to him? Is he dead?”She hesitates “I r
Trey“Get him out of here!”Laina's voice echoes through the hospital corridor even through the closed door, I can hear the panic in her voice.“I want him out! I want him out of here!”I close my eyes, for four years, I have imagined seeing her again, I imagined a thousand different versions of this moment, I imagined her running into my arms, her slapping me, I imagined her screaming at me, I imagined her asking me why.What I never imagined was seeing her terrified because I was standing in the same room as her.I slowly lower myself into one of the chairs outside her hospital room, my clothes still smell faintly of smoke.My hands are scraped and bruised from pulling pieces of burning debris apart, but I barely notice the pain, all I can think about is Laina, the way she looked at me like I was a monster.Like my presence alone was enough to make her panic and maybe I deserve it.
LainaPresentI sit behind my desk, staring at the documents spread across it, but I haven't read a single word in the last five minutes, my mind is somewhere else entirely.I have this feeling has been bugging me all morning that something was terribly wrong I just can't put my finger on it yet.I pick up another file and force myself to concentrate, it's all numbers and contracts that need my signatures, things that normally require my full attention.I am halfway through the second page when the fire alarm suddenly goes off.The shrill sound tears through the building and I freeze.For a moment, I don't move, then I hear the screaming and my chair scrapes against the floor as I stand.“What the hell is going on?”People are running past my office door as someone shouts something I can't make out, I am still in shock to even moveThen I smell smoke and rush toward the
TreyI grew up a rogue, I had no family, no pack no place to call home, I didn't even know who my parents were.For as long as I could remember, it had just been me against the world, I learned how to survive before I learned how to live.I learned that food wasn't guaranteed, that shelter had to be earned, and that trusting the wrong person could get you killed.Other wolves grew up surrounded by people who loved them, they had parents who taught them how to shift, elders who taught them the laws of their packs, and homes they could always return to, I had none of that.I had spent most of my life moving from one place to another, never staying long enough for anyone to ask too many questions, being a rogue wasn't easy.Werewolves weren't meant to live alone. We are pack creatures. We were meant to have people around us, people who would fight for us, protect us, celebrate with us, and mourn with us.I pretended I didn't need any of that, For years, I convinced myself that I was perf
Gesare“Do the test again.” The thin sheet of paper trembles violently in my hands as I stare down at the results, two pink lines“This can't be right,” I whisper, my voice rising into a desperate shout with a tremor. “I can't be pregnant, This has to be wrong.”The nurse shifts uncomfortably beside
Kumba.I leave the hospital, but I don’t actually leave the situation, my body moves out of the building, past the sterile smell and the white walls, but my mind stays behind in that room with Gesare, lying there, pale, barely breathing. That word keeps repeating in my head like a warning.I shoul
Kumba. I get to the hospital early which is not surprising at all, I am always early. The hospital lobby is quieter than usual at this hour, the bright lights reflecting off polished floors, everything too clean, too controlled. It’s almost ironic, considering how much chaos started within these wa
GesareThe first thing I notice is the sound of machines, beeping around me. A slow, rhythmic sound that seems to echo inside my skull.My eyelids feel heavy, like someone glued them shut, but I force them open anyway. The bright white light above me stings my eyes, making me squint and for a momen







