Chapter 4 ~A rogue attack~
Fiona's POV
It was afternoon when I reached home.
I don't know how many hours I had been running; I was utterly exhausted physically, but emotionally I felt free.
The door swung open at the first knock. My stepfather was at the door. A worried look etched across his face. “Fiona.”
“Dad.”
Those were the only words I could utter, and he didn't ask me anything. He just took me in, prepared a warm bath and home-cooked meal.
That was the way I stayed for three whole days, locked up in my room, no contact with the world, crying for what could have been.
I hadn't been to school or even gone to see my mother. I couldn't bear the thought that I had failed her once again.
I was planning to rot in my room, but on the fourth day, my door swung open and my dad came in.
“Fiona, this has to stop. You've not been out for four days now. Your mother would never have wanted to see you like this.” He wore a stern but soft expression.
And then I told him everything that had happened, leaving out the vision and what the moon goddess had told me.
He took a deep breath and sat on the bed. “Listen, I'm not a werewolf, neither am I claiming to be, but what I do know is that not becoming Luna is not the end of the world.” He said, squeezing my palms. “It's never over until it is, okay?”
I nodded, wiping my tears. “Thanks, dad, it's just that sometimes I feel like I'm responsible for mom's… situation.”
He smiled a sad smile. I wondered why he would not tell me my full story, who my father was and how Mom became like this. “Come on, Fiona, let's go see your mother.”
He took my hands, and we walked into the bedroom where my mom was laid, feeding tubes and IV lines stuck into her.
She looked beautiful, even in a coma.
I hugged her and smelt her hair. She smelt of coconuts.
“I saw her twitch her fingers five days ago.” My dad blurted out.
“What?” I asked, confused. He nodded, his eyes glinting with tears.
“I was here at night and her fingers twitched.”
That was the same night I saw the vision of the moon goddess.
This could be a sign.
In the night, my dad began running a temperature. He was coming down with the flu.
“I'll go out and get you drugs.” I offered after making dinner. He'd thrown up twice already.
“Fiona, it's late.” He shook his head.
“Seriously dad.” I deadpanned. “I'm a werewolf. What can harm me?”
He finally let me.
I walked through the woods because it was the shortest route to the drugstore. I needed to buy a car, eventually.
The night was quiet with the chirping of crickets, and my sense of smell was heightened. The woods smelt alive, of pine and earth and moss.
I looked up to see the sky. I gasped softly when I noticed it was a full moon.
It was a full moon, and yet I couldn't shift to my wolf. Heck- I couldn't even speak to it.
My ears picked up a sharp rustle of leaves far in the woods. I froze, the hairs on my neck rising.
I could smell them before they surrounded me, a pack of rogue wolves.
I remembered all they had taught me about rogues in the packhouse. They were violent, aggressive, and dangerous.
‘One bite from them could make you cursed or worse, dead,’ the words of Eros replayed in my mind.
I stood transfixed on the spot. There were five of them surrounding me, snarling loudly. They smelt of blood, rot and wild musks.
I picked up a stick from the floors, attempting to use it as a defense, but even I knew it would do nothing.
Any lone wolf that came across a pack of rogues was as good as dead.
In a flash, one wolf pounced on me. I fell to the ground, my breath laboured.
‘Oh no, please,’ I begged, knowing that it was futile.
Its sharp fang sank into my right leg first, and I hit it on the head with the stick multiple times. It was my adrenaline working.
It recoiled in pain. Blood seeped from a wound inflicted by my hit.
A sharp pain tore through my leg and only then did I notice the deep gash the bite had formed on my leg.
I clenched my teeth in pain as I applied pressure to the wound to stop the bleeding.
Two more wolves were approaching me again. I was too weak to even fight. So I sat there, waiting for the worst to happen.
The wolves were about to tear me to shreds when there was a sudden force that landed everyone to the ground.
I turned swiftly to see a majestic silver wolf attack them. It moved with precision, and in a flash, two of the rogues were dead.
The silver wolf's growl echoed through the forest like thunder. Even the air seemed to bow.
It stood majestic and powerful, strong but beautiful.
The other three circled the big wolf to jointly attack, they snarled and waited for the right moment.
I watched what happened next in awe.
The big silver wolf stood majestically, its eyes flared a molten gold, burning with power that made all the rogues retreat. They looked, whimpering before they finally disappeared into the woods.
“Alpha.” I managed to mutter through the pain. The big silver wolf that saved me was an alpha.
I held in my breath as the Alpha wolf walked towards me, eyes glinting with what looked like pity.
It stared at the gash on my leg that was now dripping with blood. Bending down, the wolf licked my wounds and instantly; they felt better.
The wolf turned back abruptly and dashed into the woods. Immediately, I saw headlights and the screeching of a vehicle.
I squinted my eyes, sighing with relief when I saw it was my dad.
He opened the jeep and rushed out to meet me.
“Jesus, Fiona! What happened?” He looked distraught.
“I fell down when I was running.” I lied smoothly.
He scrutinized the deep wound, not believing it was a simple fall.
“I know I shouldn't have let you out by this time.” He crouched down to help me to my feet.
Before the jeep made a U-turn back home, I caught molten gold eyes staring at me from deep in the woods.