The Mark of the Wild Flower

Chapter 10, The Wolf Inside

 She finally settles when I get the bleeding to stop, and I decide to pepper her on the night she was bitten.

“Ellie,” she looks up at me while I help her put her shirt back on, “What happened that night you were bitten.” Her eyes grow dark, her beautiful autumn green eyes gone.

“I don’t want to remember what happened to me that night,” She seems angry, “Why?” She is angry but I need to get answers.

“Because I have a feeling and I need to confirm it.” Seems like I am losing my ability to communicate.

“Fabian I don’t want to remember.” Okay she is livid. That is why I prefer cadavers, they don’t get mad. I still struggle with her nighty as I am scared I hurt her.

“Darling please.” I try to sound assertive. I can see her face relaxing and her eyes going blue. Wait does her eyes change colour?

“Fabian,” She pleads, “That night ruined me.” Finally, I get the damn shirt on.

“You were five.” Maybe being cocky is not the best way to go at it. “how much of a life did you have before that?”

“Yeah so?” And she is angry again. I might be too assertive.

“Well, I suspect the dog might not have been a dog,” her face contorts into confusion.

She squints her eyes and then proceeds, “f**k you Fabian,” I probably deserve that, “basically it happened at the entrance of the estate, the one on Grove street, the dog was suddenly there. And then it bit me. The end.”

“Not the description I was hoping for Ellie. Did it talk to you or anything?” I try to will her into telling me, I don’t like this, I want her to want to do these things for me, but this is important and she is being unreasonable.

“Well, it was my 5th birthday, Phoebe and I were on our way to her house, we were walking because it took us 20 minutes usually, it was dusk and we decided to speed up the walking as her mom was waiting for us with a surprise for me, and I didn’t like the dark. When we got to the entrance, we heard a growl and in front of us was this big black dog. Your dad said it was a wild dog. When it growled Phoebe ran away and I wanted to follow her, but it was like I was pinned to the spot, it lunged at me, bit me and ran away. After that I blacked out and only woke up 2 days later.” That was something at least.

“Did the wolf speak to you or something like that?”

I can see her whole demeanour change to that of fear, “Not that I can actually remember but yesterday at Phoebe’s when I passed out, I thought I had a flashback of that day and the dog was speaking to me.” She quivers.

“And what did it say?”

“Don’t move, I don’t want to hurt you any more than this will!”

“Can you remember anything else? How did the dog look exactly? Which way it ran?”

“Uh the dog had silver eyes and disappeared right after it bit me. Fabian what does this mean?”

“I don’t know sweetheart, but I am about to find out.” I get up and walk to the door in search of my phone.

I phone the only person I know that will know what to do. Mrs Silver.

“Fabian?” She sounds asleep, crap what is the time. I check my watch, 5am on a Sunday.

“Sorry ma’am but I have to ask, is it possible that Ellie was bitten by a werewolf and not a wild dog?”

“Fabian, I don’t know how to tell you this, but Almeria doesn’t have wild dogs.” She says very matter-of-factly

Now I start to put 2 and 2 together. “I see, and ordinary wolves?”

“Fabian, your father told the whole pack it was a wild dog because that is what I told him to do. You are aware of my abilities, correct?”

Mrs Silver is especially gifted at controlling the minds of others and can make anyone believe they are a sock if she wants them to.

“Yes I am, so you willed the pack to believe it was a wild dog?” this is making me feel very uncomfortable. I hate when she manipulates people like that.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Your father would’ve taken her away from her parents and raised her as a pack orphan if I didn’t,” the way she spits the words ‘your father’ just makes me wonder if what she did was for the better, “have you seen the pack orphans?”

“Coming to think of it, I didn’t even know there were pack orphans.”

“Exactly. He ships them off to neighbouring packs to deal with, because he believes pack orphans makes a pack weak. Your dad has lost sight of the true values instilled by our first Alpha. He forgot why she left her pack to start Almeria. There are things he’s done that will have you mad.”

“Okay but why didn’t you tell Donna and Phoebe about this, why didn’t you tell Ellie this when she started imprinting?” I am getting angry all over again.

“Fabian, there are few things that people don’t know about me, one is that I can sense the future.” Woah, makes sense, but I cannot dwell on this titbit now. “I sensed long ago when Ellie’s mother was pregnant with her that you and Ellie were destined to imprint. When she was bitten I didn’t want her sent away, I can sense her to be a good strong Luna that will restore the Almeria name to her former glory, unfortunately I sensed Lika’s death that is why I kept it quiet as our pack needed someone strong. But if I were to tell Donna, Phoebe, Ellie or even you any of this, I risked your father finding out. But now that you imprinted, and from what I can sense accepted one another as mates, your father can no longer harm her.” Valid argument.

I hear Ellie starting to scream again. “She’s turning, what should I do?”

“Fabian, she’s not turning yet. It’s her body accepting and rejecting the imprinting as a wolf, because she’s known her life to be human, she doesn’t understand what she’s going through so everything is fighting it. If I were you, I would keep her there until her birthday and just be next to her all the time. She needs your support. I will come later and help you set up.”

“We both have school, I cannot do that.”  

“Then take her to your apartment by the university and keep her there, being around you will help ease the pain.”

Has this woman lost it? “Mrs Silver, don’t you understand I cannot expect her to stay with me for two weeks, not knowing when she’s going to have an episode and keep her from her studies?”

“Fabian Blackwood! Listen to me, you take care of this girl or I’ll have your head. You are 20 years old and smart enough to think for yourself. It’s 2 weeks, 1 of which is a week long recess, I’ll convince her parents it’s a camp or something. Donna and Lucian will help you!”

The thought of leaving her makes me sick and I agree with the plan. “But what about her bleeding?”

“Bleeding?” Her all-knowing attitude replaced by confusion.

“She’s bleeding profusely from her scar.”

“I don’t know Fabian.” She sounds genuinely concerned, “I’ll research it and let you know.”

“Thank you.” And I hang up.

Ellie

Fabian leaves the room, and I can hear him on the phone. I am in too much pain to concentrate on the conversation. It’s not long when I start to scream again. I can’t help the pain and wish it would just stop.

As if on cue Fabian comes back into the room, concern has taken over his face.

“Honey, I know what is wrong with you and you are not going to like it.” He sits on the bed and my pain starts to dull. So apparently, I do need a strong man to help me in life.

“What?” is all I manage through gritted teeth and a throbbing headache

“Turns out the dog that bit you wasn’t a dog but a werewolf. You’re not turning yet but because your body is convinced it’s human it doesn’t understand the imprinting process. I think it might be rejecting the process.” Great, another thing to add to my list of things that makes me helpless.

“How can I make it stop?” I sound very desperate. I am very desperate. The pain spikes again.

“I need to stay with you until your birthday. Being near your mate helps the healing process. Being with a mate makes you stronger.”

“How am I going to explain that to my mother?” How am I going to bring a boy into my house? My mother notices when I haven’t peed the whole day how will I bring a boy into my house?

“That is what Mrs Silver is going to sort out. She has a very certain set of skills that makes her special. Donna has inherited it as well and it is scary how they use it.” He sounds creeped out.

“What is she going to do? Dress up like me and parade around like me? We don’t exactly look alike.” I am rather confused but I can’t think straight, my headache is killing me.

“Wolves can manipulate the mood of others, sometimes even the thoughts of others, that is how we can camouflage our identities in the human world. But Mrs Silver is able to manipulate what others see and hear. She can basically take over the mind of others including the strongest wolves. She has everyone in the pack convinced you were bitten by a dog and not a were. She is going to convince your parents that you are safe at a camp or a school function.” He sounds pretty frightened by this ordeal. What did I hear correctly?

“You mean I am not going home?” I squeak

“No,” he trails of for a second, “you are going to come and stay with me in my flat at Uni. It’s across Lucian and Donna’s so you will be able to be with me or them all times and we will help you with the pain. Donna can even manipulate one’s nervous system to relax and go numb if she feels like it. So between the three of us we will keep you safe until you turn.” He smiles at his admittance.

“Wait my birthday is in 2 weeks.” I don’t see the point anymore. Phoebe has been trying to plan something small for months, but it’s probably ruined now. Then it struck me, “Donna, Lucian, Phoebe and Craig are all werewolves?” So they must all know what I am going through.

“Yes honey, like I said all the estate, that is our cover. It really is a wine estate but that is not what it was originally. We just decided it will be a good cover.” I sense he is telling me crap stories to distract me, but I am in such a mood. I don’t want to miss my birthday.

He squints at me, and I actually believe he is trying to prod into my thoughts. “I am not going to be home for my birthday.”

He bursts out laughing and I can’t help but scrunch my face out of frustration. “Craig said that the party Phoebe and Donna’s been planning is too big to miss. Donna has your mom convinced it’s the best idea ever. So, on your 18th you will be at Phoebe’s house and there is going to be a party that will make the queen drool.” This is news to me. “But you did not hear this from me.”

“A surprise party? But why?”

“Well I think Mrs Silver might have caused those two to love you like a sister and since you are now a pack member you are part of the family.”

“Mrs Silver?”

“She knew all along what happened to you and who you are, but for your safety she told everyone it was a wild dog. She can sense the future as well so she sensed that you and I were meant to be so she manipulated my father to think it was a wild dog.”

“Your dad saved me that night.” I smile at the memory.

“No that would be Lika. Dad was the one who could drive, so he took credit.” I can see there’s disdain in his voice.

“Lika? That was your sister?” I see his eyes go dark and I am almost reluctant to ask but I want to know what she was like. “Phoebe told me she was a saint of a person.”

“Lika was the sweetest girl to have ever lived. She was a hippy, loved even the bugs. Nature child. She found her mate but passed away soon after.” I can see how this hurts him. I touch his arm and feel the pain he has inside him. I gasp and he looks at me. “True mates can feel each other’s emotions and the stronger the bond the more they can do. I can read your dreams,” He smiles cocky but I can feel the pain is still there. “Lika’s mate found another mate soon after I turned 18 and we still see him, but his mate is in a different pack and we respect the pain he’s experiencing.” He takes a long and deep breath, and I can see this is distressing.

“You don’t have to continue. I never lost anyone close to me except my grandmother, but she was old and it was her time.” I fail at lifting his mood, but I manage to get a smile at least. “How about you tell me about your studies at UA?”

He smiles and then goes into a deep explanation of everything he does at the university. And soon the painkillers and his presence actually work. It’s not long until I fall asleep again.

The next two weeks fly by in a blur, Mrs Silver convinced my parents it was a mandatory science camp, and they knew about it for months so I when I finally return there would be no scolding.

Phoebe sends me the homework and between Donna, Lucian and Fabian I am barely awake and in pain. The times I am awake someone sits with me and feeds me and then when the pain starts Donna is summoned and she numbs me and puts me to sleep.

Donna taught Lucian and Fabian how to do it as well, they however can’t do it as well as she can but they seem to enjoy the new skill so in the last days of the two weeks the two of them help Donna.  

The last day at the flat I actually I start to feel a lot better. I walk around the flat and look at all his things. Amongst the books on the bookshelf I find pictures of people, there’s one of Lika, Donna and Lucian, Lucian and Craig, Craig him and Lika and then one of Phoebe but it’s torn in half. I find it very curious as Phoebe isn’t related to him, maybe it’s so that he can remember Phoebe is Craig’s girlfriend. I turn it around and find a words scribbled on the back, but since there’s a half missing I don’t quite know what the message is. I continue to search his apartment while he is in class.

I walk to his bedside table. On it is a book, probably the one he started most recently. The picture of Dorian Gray. Honestly this man has class. I decide to read it while his not here. I go make myself a cup of tea, climb under the covers and open the book. But I never get to the reading part. Inside the cover I find the other half of the picture that was torn apart. In this half it’s me, smiling, in my cheerleader uniform. I am happy and healthy looking. Now I understand what he was going through for the past 2 years. I smile at this and then turn it around, to find what the message read.

First day at Cheerleading Camp

This is written in Phoebe’s handwriting, and I recognise it, it was a picture she had stuck on her wall. I don’t remember it was missing. In the bottom there is another word but written in different handwriting. Just my name. This must be Fabian’s handwriting.

This makes me smile I stare at my name in the corner of that picture for so long that I fall asleep.