The Lupine Saga

The Wait

Chapter 1

"Look away, honey!" Tony's voice hurled Clara away from her thoughts.

She glanced to the side at her husband with flushed cheeks, embarrassed to be caught staring at the little girl jumping through hoops with nothing but affection gleaming in her eyes.

"It is just a girl." Her husband reassured her.

Sure, Clara was aware of that. The little girl briskly waved her way with a childish smile before her tiny feet sprinted off towards the smiling lady with outstretched hands, waiting until she threw herself in her arms.

"She is so pretty." Clara beamed, waving at the lady, who nodded in acknowledgment. Clara's eyes fell back on Tony, and she held his gaze. "Lively kid, don’t you think?" She commented.

Tony has had this moment several times, and had handled such moments tactfully. It was a sensitive moment for them, especially his wife.

Exhaling sharply, he stretched the cup of cappuccino her way and, with a broad smile, Clara accepted it. He settled beside her on the park bench.

Taking in a deep breath, she muttered while pointing at another couple who were trying to get their son on the carousel. "One day that will be us."

Tony took her hand to his mouth, brushing his lips on the tips of her fingers.

"Sure." He mumbled, his gaze glued on the couple, "When it's time."

"I don't understand why we have to wait." She almost huffed.

Coming here was never as soothing as she claimed it was. It only reminded them of what was missing in their lives.

Tony chuckled brightly at her. "You are not going to believe this." He exclaimed, trying to steer the conversation to a brighter angle.

"You tell me what it is." Clara's body shifted with interest rimming at the edges of her eyes.

"I have Friday as my day off, so…." He drawled hilariously, wiggling his brows her way, even wrinkling at her.

"No way!" She gasped incredulously with full enthusiasm.

He nodded at her to affirm it was no joke. Seeing her beam with happiness after her moment of self-pity, he added.

"That means we are still going to hunt. It's happening, and we have the entire weekend to explore the woods."

"It's pretty amazing; I am looking forward to it." Clara chimed.

"I know. We could take Max or find a dog sitter for him."

"We will take him." Clara beamed as she glanced at their dog a few spaces away, running after the Frisbee thrown by the blonde-haired, skinny boy. Max retrieved the Frisbee, returning it to the small group of kids playing in the field.

She and her husband usually walked their dog most evenings to the park, which was usually the most exhilarating place for all of them.

"The camping equipment?" She shared a glance at her husband as she questioned with a raised brow, also taking the first sip of her cappuccino.

"Yet to rent them, don’t bother yourself too much about that. If we can't rent them, then we could explore making a cabin." He winked at her, then shrugged. “That would be fun.”

"We could call a few friends." She then suggested, remembering their last camping out adventure with their friends. But observing her husband's immediate down expression, she dismissed her earlier claim.

She didn't want to dwell on it, at least not now. This was their special moment, and going back in time was never going to serve them. They hadn't hunted in a while now, and she wanted to cherish this moment with him.

Tony had also shared her passion for hunting, and this had made him more appealing by the day. This special part of him made marrying him more interesting. She thought to herself as her stomach bubbled with excitement.

"I am glad I can get to do this with you." She leaned into him, resting her head on his broad shoulder.

They sat in utmost silence with their gazes on different picnic mats surrounding them as parents watched their children play.

These beautiful sights made Clara strongly believe without doubt that someday they were going to have their own children.

That evening, she made some steak and chips for dinner. Only after setting the table did she realize that her husband was not home. Searching through the apartment, she felt a cold thread wash over her.

Tony never left anywhere without prior acknowledgment.

"Darling?" She continued to call as she ascended the narrow stairs of their little apartment. She turned the bedroom doorknob and peered into the room, which she found empty. She heaved a breath and headed to the closet and bathroom.

Without a trace of him, she descended the stairs and headed back to the living room, to the ringing phone.

She got a glimpse at the caller I D, and her heart sank to the pit of her belly. What was going on?

With the constant fear gnawing on her inside about Tony leaving, she couldn't help but bear her worse fear that Tony had left her. She couldn't give him the one thing he wanted more than anything. She had disappointed him. He had no reason to stay with her.

A tear slipped down her cheek, but she immediately gathered herself and sidestepped the thoughts, choosing to trust her husband.

It was never going to get to that. Tony loved her. He wanted to be with her. He had been with her for so long. There was no turning back. There was no way he could leave her. She gulped, reassuring herself.

With quivering fingers, she tapped on the accept button on her screen.

With quivering fingers, she tapped on the accept button on her screen, and Tony's face came through in face-time.

"Dinner is served." She immediately announced, trying as hard as she could to hold a passive edge to her tone. She couldn't irritate him with nags and lectures on what to and what not to do.

"I am out." He added, scratching his creased and sweaty forehead, a gesture he did whenever he was nervous.

But why would Tony be nervous? Was he walking away? Did going to the park remind him of the one thing that was missing in their lives? In his life? Clara questioned herself.

"Where are you?" Again, she repressed the war waging on her inside to bless him with an emotionless tone.

She saw the sudden glint in his eyes before a smile curled on his lips.

"Rentals.” He answered her with a smile. “Though I wanted this to be a surprise."

Relief washed over her immediately at the mention that he had only gone out to rent equipment for their hunting trip. “How thoughtful of him.” She thought to herself as she saw the smile on his face as he took out the list he had with him. It was the list she had made a few weeks ago which shows he was thinking about them.

She felt instantly guilty for thinking he had bailed out on her. Tears brimmed in her eyes from gratitude that Tony did not leave her.

She could never tell him this, not at all. This would only succeed in creating tension between them.

"Come home; I will be waiting." That was all she said to him before she ended the call, not permitting him to see her tears and vulnerability at the moment.

She dropped on the sofa in the den and waited. “He was not leaving me.” She continued to meditate in her mind, even though it was taking a while before they had kids of their own. Tony understood her feelings, and he respected them. She told herself over and over again.

Clara was determined to stay up just until her husband, Tony, returned, but seeing as she cuddled herself on the couch, one could only assume that nature couldn't be cheated on.

The next moment when she opened her eyes, she scanned around the room and noticed Tony had never returned the previous night as he had promised.

To confirm her thoughts, she ran to the front door to check if his car was parked outside. But she was met with a shining bright light that penetrated into her eyes. Intimately, she covered her eyes with the backs of her hands.

After she had adjusted to the light, she retrieved her hands from her eyes and found herself standing at the heart of the forest just like the last time.

“Why am I here again,” she asked herself in confusion, glancing around her trembling. Feeling lost, she shook in tremor, and she spun around when she felt a shadow running past her and at that moment she heard it yet again; the loud howl from a distance which was drawing into her soul.

In fear, she started calling out to her husband. “Tony... Tony!!!” But he was nowhere to be found.

Tears began flowing down her checks. “Please help me, Tony. I’m scared, I just want to go home.”

At that instant, she began grasping for air and held tightly onto the two hands that were strangling her neck from behind, which was suffocating her.

“You are not me, and you can never be me.” The voice came from behind her, possibly from the person strangling her.

“Who is this? And what does this person what from her?” Those where the questions that where on her lip that she desperately wants to ask this lunatic, but life was already leaving her body. But before she went limp, she faintly heard the person whispering.

“Just die, I don’t want you here. I am the rightful Luna.”