Chapter 3

~ A M E L I A ~

Jolting up and gasping for air, I patted my throat to see where the wolf sunk its teeth into me. My mind slowly reconnected with my body, and I released a huge relieving sigh as I steadied my breath.

I fell asleep. It was only a dream.

It almost reminded me of one of the recurring nightmares I had as a child.

Looking up at the sky, which was now completely dark, just like in my dream, I rolled my eyes. Great, my mind was playing jokes on me now.

Nothing seemed right with me, especially in recent months. Ever since I got sick, feeling like I was dying, then suddenly recovering with more energy than I ever remember having.

My mind was in hyperdrive all the time. Not to mention, I’d been getting these wild urges, so intense that it made me want to break something if I didn’t get what I wanted.

And that dream, it felt so real.

What was happening to me?

The comfort I would get at night, when the moon was out, or when I was outside in nature, was different to a human connection to nature. I was sure of it.

Could I really be… a werewolf?

~ ~ ~

As expected, my return home didn’t go unnoticed.

Both my parents sprang up and rushed out of the kitchen to see me entering the front door, coat in hand being dragged against the floor.

My eyes were firmly locked on the ground. I was too ashamed to look at my parents, but I knew they were close, watching me.

‘It’s all true… isn’t it,’ I murmured.

They said nothing, likely unsure of what to say.

‘My senses are wildly enhanced, I can smell anything and everything from miles away; I can hear your whispers at night when you think I can’t hear you. My feelings are madly intensified: my sadness becomes sorrow; my anger becomes rage, and when I’m—’ I stopped myself, they didn’t need the graphic details of what I was becoming. I sighed, ‘I’m doing things I never would have done before, I feel so much power in me, I’m a danger to those I love. I am becoming something inhuman; I can feel it, and I can’t stop it…’ A tear tried to fall, but I wiped it away quickly as I finally looked up at my parents.

Dad was holding Mum close in his arms. Her eyes were puffy and wet. I imagined she’d not stopped crying since my sudden departure.

A long sigh escaped my dad’s mouth, he released his grip on Mum and walked over to me, ‘You are not inhuman, and you never will be. This isn’t a bad thing, what you’re becoming, it only will be if you allow it to be.’

I was speechless. Dad was being serious again. He was never serious.

‘Your birth father and his kind… the werewolves… they stay with their own kind as it’s safer that way. They avoid or have minimal contact with humans to prevent their exposure. It allows them to live peacefully. So, because of this, I don’t know much about him, but what I do know is that he was the kindest and strongest soul ever. Nothing inhuman in the slightest.’

A small smile grew on my face, ‘You knew him?’

Dad placed a hand on my shoulder, ‘He’s family, not by blood, but still family. We crossed paths and bonded for a very short time whilst I was at university,’ he paused briefly, grazing my cheek with the back of his hand, ‘I see a lot of him in you, and I see why he chose us to be the ones to care for you, and it has truly been an honour to be able to raise you. You’ve become an amazing, intelligent, strong young woman. He would have been so proud.’

Finally, I allowed the tear to fall down, ‘I’m sorry for running out on you both…’ My head dropped onto his chest.

His arms wrapped around me, and I felt Mum’s arm follow instantly after, pressing herself against me to make me sandwiched into a much-needed hug from my parents. Their warmth and love broke down all the pain I felt in my heart, giving me a sense of peace again.

‘We’re sorry for not being honest with you,’ Mum finally spoke, soft sobs lingering in her voice, ‘but we just wanted to keep you safe from the dangers that threatened you.’

After a long embrace, I wriggled myself out of my parents’ grip and released a small huff, ‘I want to know more. What are these threats? How did werewolves come to be? Where do these werewolves live if they are not within the society of humans?’

They both smiled, but Dad spoke, ‘All those answers, I hope and assume, are in the package you still haven’t opened.’

Mum rushed over to the antique drawers by the staircase, pulling a key from her pocket and unlocking the one on the far right, pulling out a folded sheet of paper.

Softly, my jaw dropped, ‘You said you didn’t have the key to that drawer!’

She grinned awkwardly, ‘Hopefully that’s the last lie about your double life. Here,’ Mum handed me the paper, ‘it’s the letter your birth father wrote to us when you were sent to us. We’d hoped it’d explain why he had to give you up but…’ she shrugged.

‘I think he was in a rush to get you away, so he kept it brief,’ Dad added.

They were right about that. I scanned the letter, but there was no indication of what the threat against my life was, or any other facts that could tell me more about where I came from. Just him pleading with my parents to keep me safe and raise me as their own.

My eyes dropped to the bottom and saw the sign-off…

E.

‘He signed it “E”, so his name begins with an E?’ I looked up at Dad.

He nodded.

My brows perked up, waiting for more, but he said nothing, ‘He wanted you to withhold his name from me, didn’t he?

Dad nodded again, with the addition of a sigh.

I looked down at the letter, scanning it again, only to confirm my birth father mentioned it in this letter to withhold any information my parents knew about him from me.

‘He said in the letter to me, he’d withhold information to keep me safe,’ I said, shaking my head, ‘but how can I learn about my birth parents if no one will tell me who they are?’

‘Truthfully, darling, we don’t know much about him or his wife, or about werewolves. But you should know more than us eventually…’ Mum gestured her head up towards the stairs.

Gazing up the stairs. Could all the answers to my questions truly be within that package? I ran up the first couple of steps but then paused and turned to my parents.

‘Go,’ Mum whispered, ‘We’ll be here when you’re ready.’

~ ~ ~

As I rested on my knees on the floor, I slowly and carefully used my scissors to slit the tape sealing the package, popping it open.

My palms were sweating.

This was it.

Peeling the box flaps back and holding them down, I leaned over the box, scooping out all the packing filler away and allowing it to fall all over the floor.

My heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was going to pop out of my chest.

Breathe, Amelia. Breathe.

Inside was a wooden chest. It looked to be hand-carved with breathtaking details of wolves, trees one would find in a forest and the moon. Sticking true to the theme.

Chewing on my lip, I clicked the chest open and, one by one pulled out the contents…

Numerous letters, obviously written by my birth father.

An old book, which looked to be some sort of journal.

Another old book, slightly larger than the first. After a brief skim, the contents seemed to cover the history of the pack that my birth father was a part of. It had a drawing of a map inside, of what appeared to be a small village.

A key, with no indication of what it opened. It was clearly for nothing within the chest. Great. I hoped the letters would reveal the answer to that mystery.

Lastly, a flat and small black box. I opened it to find a gorgeous necklace. An upside-down triangular black stone, encased in silver - beautifully wrapping the stone, as if it was melted on command to create such a beautiful design, sitting on a simple silver chain. A stunning piece of jewellery.

I sighed, placing the necklace back in the box and staring into space. Needless to say, I was hopeful for a little more, and something about my birth mother too.

Glancing over to the package, I saw a white card at the bottom that I must have missed. I picked it up and saw the date noted on the corner. July 17th 2006. My birthday.

Flipping the card over, I saw a photograph of a baby in a woman’s arms. It was me and my birth mother. The image was so closely focused on me that I couldn’t indicate any features of this woman that would help me identify her. Yet, even though I couldn’t see her, I could feel her happiness. It made me smile.

Where was she? Was she alive?

My mind goes into a spiral of wonder and a spark of curiosity fires up in me, ready to burst. I had to know more. I had to know everything.

One by one, I ripped all the letters open and began reading them all.

As I consumed the final letter, my smile fizzled away. Something wasn’t right, the letters stopped so abruptly. That letter didn’t feel like it was intended to be my birth father’s final letter.

Did something happen to my birth parents?

The fear of something bad happening to them lingered and churned in my gut.

I gazed over at the map of the village in the open history book.

If I wanted more answers, if I wanted all the answers, I had to go there.

I had to find this village.