CHAPTER 7
LENA. We were both seated across from each other. My fingers caught the hem of my hoodie and I began to pull at the free threads that had been let loose when the ends of my hoodie caught against one of the sharp edges of the railings at the bus terminal. "So, are you going to just stare at me from across there or tell my why your hair is the shade of platinum silver," He spoke up, his manly tone slicing the silence between us. My system wobbled up. I tried to compose myself, search for the right words, the right way to begin this. It was all confusing, and I have no idea how to start. "Dad, I am as bewildered as you are right now. Last night, while in my room, I— I don't know how to explain it. One moment, I was crying and the next, I felt a wave of intense despair engulfing my whole body. The temperature in the room suddenly dropped to zero or something. I don't know. My room was frozen and there were spikes of ice forming on every object that had frozen. I don't know, Dad. It just didn't make any sense. I stood up to check out what was going on. I thought it was a dream or maybe a hallucination but it was real, dad. That was when I stared into the mirror and saw that my hair had suddenly turned into this!" As I spoke, my breathing began to get more intense. I felt like I couldn't catch up with my words. I kept rambling as my father watched me in a daze. Obviously following my words to his understanding. "Didn't you see it, Dad? Last night?" "What are you talking about?" He retorted, utterly confused. "You and Jason came into the room or was it some sort of trance I was in?” I buried my head in my hands. I thought I saw them, who could have opened my door then.This afternoon, I was really excited to learn more about myself but right now, I couldn't contain the bizarreness of all this. He stood from his chair and came to sit beside me. Placing a comforting hand on my back, he said. "Whatever is happening to you right now means something huge. I don't know why your hair turned white and if you really didn't dye it as a prank—" I looked up at him as rage from nowhere enveloped my feelings, he could have said a much more better statement. "You think I'd pull a prank at this time? How insensitive do you think I am?! For crying out loud, I went to see the Pack's Witch and she told me I was some unique wolf! Whatever happened to me last night was a rarity. So if you think this is just a prank then go on. I’m done here and sorry for disturbing my story!" I pushed myself to my feet and turned to him. "I understand that you are grieving Mother. And so am I! I thought I could confide in you but I guess you aren't in the right state of mind to help navigate this,” A hurt look was etched on his face. Then he asked. "What did she say?" He could have said this the other time, even asked for more information, other than that dicey response. I closed my eyes and blew out a breath from my lip. "She talked about it being a peculiar phenomenon. That was right after I told her I got gashed by one of the icicles and saw a white liquid oozing out of my skin instead of blood. She talked about the rarity of this new change. She talked about it being a profound alteration in my physicality. She talked about how this path was filled with unknown dangers. A treacherous part. She was willing to guide me through the realms of magic and secrets. She said I was no ordinary being. Said I was a gift for the goddess herself— how the hell am I remembering everything at a time?" I looked up at my father to see a look of shock in his eyes. It was similar to that of the Witch. Ardor, awe. "You're a White wolf, Lena," "You know of it, too?" He closed his eyes and raised his hand to stop me. "This is too much for me to take in right now. Can we talk about this later? I am more concerned about your mother's funeral right now. I'm sorry, honey. I'm just really disoriented and I can't seem to gather my thoughts," I took a step towards him and placed a hand on his arm. "It's fine, Dad. I understand. I didn't want to tell you at first but then, I couldn't hide my hair from you," He smiled and pulled me into his arms, engulfing me in his warmth. "I am always here when you want to talk. Though right now, we are grieving the loss of your mother, I will never detach myself from you and Jason. Your mother will hate me for that." I leaned away from him and nodded. We walked back to the living room and talked about how the funeral was going to hold. Apparently, our father didn't want us inviting so many people and I agreed with him. People had a problem with controlling their mouths and we didn't want to hear anyone speaking about her mysterious death. Once our conversation was over, I retired to my room. Opened my door and looked around. I hadn't been here all day and it felt different. After all that happened last night, I saw it differently. I left my phone on my way out. It sat on my desk and when I went to check it out, I realized I had several missed calls from Leah. I picked my phone and dialed her number immediately before jumping into bed. After a few rings, Leah picked up. She didn't begin with the usual "Hey, bitch!" Went on to ramble instead. "Lena, you okay? I heard about your mother and I have been calling all morning. I stopped calling when I figured you might be in a bad place and unable to pick up." I leaned back against my bed and stared up at the stars that glowed in the darkness. A tear slipped down my cheek and I wiped it immediately. I wasn't looking for a pity party right now. Just a friend to listen to me. "She was found at the mall's parking lot, right beside her car and her grocery bags beside her, Leah," "My sincerest condolences, Lena. Do you want me to come over? You need me there. I can't imagine how much grief you must be going through right now." I shook my head like she was seated right before me. I wasn't sure I wanted to face her right now. Not with my hair and whatever was going on in my life right now. I wasn't ready to answer her questions. Not yet at least. "No, Leah. I am okay for real. I don't want you putting yourself through so much stress to come see me." Before she could give a reply, we heard a ding on our phones. It was a notification from WillowPrivs. A blog created to keep us updated on things happening around us. "Did you get that too?" I asked. "Yes, I did. Let's switch to facetime." We did switch to facetime. She was in her room with a face mask on. We both opened the notification. Leah's eyes widened and she gasped before looking at me. "Henshaw. He's dead. He was found by the lake, Lena!" "Fucking hell!" I cussed out, rereading the same thing over in the picture.CHAPTER 8 LENA. This morning, I decided to come to school using the school bus. Leah had called this morning to inform me about her driving over the house to come pick me up but I turned her down immediately. I wanted to walk to school. Besides, it wasn't that far from my home. But on the way, I decided to get on the bus because it was almost time for classes to begin. Only that I got to school to see everyone milling about the parking lot. I climbed out of the bus and scanned the parking area for Leah's black Jeep Renegade. As soon as I saw her, I hiked my backpack higher and hurried my footsteps. She was standing with one Brenda, of the girls from cheerleading and as I drew close, I realized they were talking about Henshaw's death. "Can you believe this? He was found close to the filling station, dead. They said his body was mangled. I have the photo," Brenda said and pulled out her phone from her pocket. Leah contorted her face in disgust and waved her off. "I
CHAPTER 9 LENA. I couldn't contain the rage that filled my whole body as soon as I saw Trevor right beside me with a bunch of flowers in his hand. I wished I could wipe off that look of faux sympathy from his face. I tried to push past him but he blocked the way. "Can you at least hear me out? I know I fucked up but that isn't why I am here," Taking steps backward, I folded my arm and cocked my head to the side. "Really? So why the fuck are you standing right before me and encroaching my space?" The rage I felt from seeing him a few days back with those girls and the deep grief I was going through right now, combined with the pure resentment I already had for him laced up to form a rage I couldn't contain. I felt like I was exploding. Leah sensed the emotions rolling off me and grabbed my hand. He pushed his hand forward and stared at me. "I got this for you. These are your favorite. Carnation. I heard it makes someone who is grieving feel better," I deadpanned. "
CHAPTER 10 LENA. Mate? That was impossible. I sat up for a moment and stared at him, long and hard. He took a puff and turned to look at me. His perfectly arched brows lifted in askance. "Staring like the others? I thought you were different?" Frowning, I took the cigarette from his hand and took a few puffs. "What's wrong with staring at you?" "Nothing at all. Sometimes, I feel comfortable and most times, I feel my skin crawl," Scoffing, I shook my head and took another puff before handing it back to him. "You feel your skin crawl. That's really funny," "Funny? How so?" "You believe you're special. I don't know if you are and I don't care. You're just a fine specimen and trust me, everyone is going to stare, including the boys," "I don't think it's about my looks," He said with a shrug. The cigarette hung off his fingers. "Then what do you think it's about? Your ego?" "Ego? Nah. I just think I am special," "Narcissist much?" He chuckled to himse
CHAPTER 11 LEAH. I was taken by surprise. I flew out of my seat and Trevor followed suit. He had been beside me all morning, begging me to help him make Lena talk to him. This was a terrible situation and I wouldn't have let him help but she had to be taken to the sick bay. "Trevor, we are taking her to the sickbay, okay?" He stood, frozen to the spot as he watched Lena's pale body sprawled on the floor. I had just fallen to my knees, right beside my best friend when I realized that Trevor was still standing a few feet away from me. I looked up at him, glaring with everything I had in me. If glares could kill, he would have collapsed to the floor. "You fucktard! Didn't you hear what I said?" He blinked several times and stuttered and rushed towards me. "I'll lift her up. Don't worry," Standing to my feet, I watched as he lifted her up with ease. We rushed down the empty hallway, towards the staircase that led to the second floor. It was quite a hassle for
CHAPTER 12 LENA. My eyes fluttered open. Looking around, I realized I was somewhere else. Infact, I was out of this world. I looked around me to see that I was surrounded by plains. My skin was pricked by the low grasses I lay on. Pushing myself up my feet, I felt a wave of dizziness hit me but I was able to control myself from falling. I walked a little distance, hoping to see a road or a house. Anything to let me know that I was close to civilization but there was none. Nothing. I could see nothing but plains and small bills that were dotted with grasses. "Where the hell am I?" I began to stumble my way over the tiny hill. I missed a footing, hitting a rock I hadn't been quick enough to see. I stumbled down the hill. There was no way to stop as it was sloping and smooth. Finally, I hit solid ground. I groaned in pain and sat up to check the scratches I sported from the very strange fall from above. Just then, something hit my nose. It was the smell of iron.
CHAPTER 13 LEAH. This was absolutely impossible. Hell, Luke was my mate so what the hell was going on right now? I took a few steps back and shook my head like I was trying to clear some sort of charm that had been cast on me because that was what it felt like. Yet, my wolf kept whispering the same words into my ears. Mate. Mate. Mate. Damon was definitely one of the most handsome male in Willow High right now. The hottest, even and the only person who didn't seem to be affected by his looks and charms was Lena. Though I had a boyfriend and a mate who was Luke, I had shown a bit of interest. I mean, he was really attractive. Who wouldn't fantasize a little about this god-like being standing before me. "L—Leah," I stuttered and cleared my throat, blushing slightly that I was this way with him. "Leah," He said and nodded his head. "You look quite familiar," I frowned slightly. "How? We've never met face to face before. This is like our first time," He lo
CHAPTER 14 LEAH. Luke had class so we spent little time together. While I was with him, I kept zoning out and blocking out most of what he was saying. All I could think of was the encounter I had with Damon. It felt strange. I went to my next class and for the rest of the time before lunch, I was so lost in class. It was unusual for me to be this distracted. As soon as the bell rang, I picked my purse and walked straight to the sickbay. I met Luke on my way there. As soon as he saw me, a smile covered his face. "We meet again, beautiful," I looked up at him with a smile but I felt empty on the inside. His once beautiful green eyes didn't look all that and his hair, I felt it was better a bit longer and falling over his face or piled up in a low ponytail. I shook my head. I was thinking of Damon again. We walked past the lockers and climbed up the steps, hand in hand. We were the It couple. The school's prom King and Queen. Why was I going to let some random new st
CHAPTER 15 LENA. "She's dead! She's dead!" I sat frozen in my seat, immobile and unable to make sense of what was happening or why she was yelling and crying about somebody being dead. I probably had a brain distortion for a minute and when she crumpled to the ground, I felt my feet move again. My chair screeched loudly against the monochromatic tiled floors and I rushed over to where she was on the floor, sobbing and hitting her chest. No one had moved. They were all still staring at her. Oh well, it was the weird Alexa who had a racoon for a pet which she brought to class in a glass box and a depressed and suicidal friend who was going to die soon anyways. But that wasn't the way I saw her. I had seen her a few times. Noticed how she stared at me while I walked through the hallways with Leah clinging to me. Noticed how she had whispered into her friend's ear and how the girl with blue coloured hair and multiple piercings and a scary gothic look nodded with a smirk.