The Mark of the Wild Flower

Chapter 5, Love hurts

Third person POV

For as long as Craig could remember, Fabian was the smart and sensible one, he never put a toe out of line, until he defied father and went to university to study medicine. “Alphas should study politics and business not medicine” was father’s words. Fabian becoming a doctor was the coolest thing Craig ever imagined. Craig acted like Lika’s death didn’t phase him as much, but Lika was the only one who never made fun of his action figure collection, fought father when he wanted to throw out his teddy bear. Fabian didn’t stand up against father but did help Lika in the fight by hiding my things. When Lika died Craig was the only one to see Fabian retreat into a dark place inside himself.

Besides defying father Fabian was always cool, calm and collected, and ready for anything. Craig noticed another difference the night Fabian turned 18, like he became more recluse. Fabian was strong and outgoing but private and never let anyone see him struggle, but that night this girl in his car, Phoebe’s friend Ellie, was there, and when Lucian imprinted on Donna, Fabian took her outside to keep their secret hidden but he never came back. Ellie also changed, and it worried Phoebe. Craig and Phoebe suspected something happened outside between them, but they didn’t know what it was. Craig wanted to let it go and was certain Ellie just had a crush on Fabian and was turned down. But he worried about Fabian.

Craig turned to Phoebe, “What is happening?”

Fabian

For me it was clear as daylight, I am imprinting on Ellie. Ellie keeps glancing at me, and tears are filling her eyes. I am flushed, feverish, and sweating like a pig, I feel like I am getting sick. Stay human Blackwood! You cannot imprint on this girl.

“Craig please stop the car!” I jump out and vomit. What is wrong with me?

Stop fighting it. You are imprinting and if you go on any longer the feeling will kill us both. Great another moment Chase decided he’s holier than thou. I can’t and you know why!

Craig jumps out of the car and so does Phoebe. Craig is helping me get up. Handing me a bottle of water and a toothbrush. Where did he get a toothbrush from?

I am sure I am in and out of consciousness. Like a film with missing prints I come in and out this world.

“No, I need your help,” Craig’s on the phone, I strain to listen but can’t hear with who.

“Please, he’s imprinting, but he is reacting very badly” Who is he telling this to, not my father, I’m going to kill him if it is father.

“Yeah I am going to wait here,” He takes the phone away from his ear “Babes, take her to your house please, Donna and her mom is going to wait for you there. Put her in a cold shower, apparently, we can slow this down. Lucian will pick us and take us home and then we’ll meet you there.”

He puts the phone back to his ear and answer a very clear question from the other person “Eleanor.”

I look toward where I think Phoebe and Eleanor is and see Phoebe ushering her in the car. I start to feel even more sick. The thought of her leaving me is killing me but I have to let her go. I cannot fall in love with a human. I have to let her go.

I watch the car speed away. My vision is too blurry to continue watching, and I faint.

I have no dreams I just fight against this ever-growing blackness around me. It is suffocating and I taste bile. It growls at me, a deep growl almost as if coming from a deep place. I feel hands closing around my neck and from far away I hear voices. I try to make out what they are saying. I am not sure what it is. It gets darker and I lose my breath. Am I finally dead? And then a bright flash cuts through the black…

“Fabian Blackwood, you wake up this very instant” My eyes shoot open to meet the dark blue eyes of Lucian.

“What happened?” I feel this cold feeling and realise that Lucian is pushing me into a cold stream of water. It’s dark in the bathroom and I can barely see so through the hazy fog surrounding my headache. I feel like I am drunk. “Did I drink?” I have a growing migraine and my body is starting to pain very badly.

“No,” Lucian sounds serious, “You are imprinting, and you haven’t completed the process yet. Somehow you are fighting against it. No wolf should do this and has done this in very long time.”

“Why are you fighting this?” Craig’s voice floats in from the bedroom.

“I… I don’t know.” Eleanor’s face flashes through my brain, that night I kissed her comes floating through my mind and makes me growl.

“You shouldn’t fight this,” comes Lucian’s concern, “I know she’s not really a first choice, but your body wants her. You never kissed someone before, so I am sure it won’t be bad.” Is he trying to convince me to kiss her? But I have kissed her before. It was like drinking water when you’re thisty but yet never get satiated.

“No… I kissed her before” I look up to see both Craig and Lucian staring at me. “The night we turned 18, I couldn’t help it. She was just so beautiful, and Chase made me.” I remembered her smell. It was so strong that night, I remember that smile she wore when I bumped into her, and she saw my acceptance letter.

I see shock pass both their faces and then realisation. “Is that what happened between you two?” Craig asked.

“You already started imprinting on her that night?!” I hear Lucian say. “s**t, you i***t, you should’ve told me. You know what you have done by avoiding her for 2 years right?”

I am confused and I can see Craig is also confused. Lucian pulls out something from his pocket, it’s shiny. His phone. And then he disappears.

Craig turns to me, “Fabian,” I barely hear him, and I feel faint again. “What have you done?”

Lucian returns after what felt like an hour or maybe seconds. He holds his hand out to me and mumbles under his breath about women and cell phones. When he realises I am not going to take what he’s offering he growls “Fabian take the aspirin and drink it. We need to break your fever.” He puts his phone to his ear.

“What have you done?” I hear Craig growling.

Lucian snarls at Craig to shut-up and let it go. I see Craig jump and then hear him ask Lucian what’s happening while I swallow the horrible pills in my hands.

“What’s happening?” I finally manage

“I have I have no time to explain. I’m calling Donna, Craig get this i***t in some pants and let’s leave. If he doesn’t complete this now, he’s going to kill both of them.” He turns to me, “Stop fighting this Fabian, as your Beta you better listen to me.” Gone is that goofball I called my friend, since he started studying engineering, he became a lot more serious, he is still a goofball at times but not so much anymore, and definitely not now.

Ellie

Everything happening around me is a blur. I get dragged to Craig’s car, maybe I walked.

Then I am in the seat next to Fabian. I look at him and it seems like he is very sick.

I get scared when I suddenly realise, I don’t know where I am and what is happening.

“Where am I?” I ask, but I don’t think anyone hears me.

I look at Fabian again and the only thing I can think of is that night he left me, he kissed me and then left me. He avoided me like I repulsed him. I feel tears well up in my eyes.

“Craig please stop the car!” I hear Fabian scream. He jumps out the moment the car stops and vomits on the sidewalk. And then I cry even more, I even repulse him now. Why is this hurting me so much. Every time I catch him looking at me my heart breaks into pieces.

I jump out and Phoebe looks at me. “Are you alright honey?” I hear the concern in her voice, but I just cannot answer her. I barely manage to shake my head. I start to feel sick. Maybe I got a bug because I feel very faint and very ill. Phoebe grabs me and after hearing Craig tell her something she pushes me back into the car and I feel the car moving. The movement makes me feel even more sick and I start seeing black dots on the horizon.

This cold feeling jerks me back into reality and I realise I am butt naked sitting in the bathtub in Phoebe’s bathroom. Donna’s mom is sitting on the edge of the bath and wiping my face with a cloth. It smells like roses.  

“Finally, you’re awake,” I hear her soothing voice. I look around me. There are rose petals floating on the cold milky water. If I didn’t feel like I just got hit by a cement truck I’d probably think this is a spa day. I look at Donna’s mom again. Her warm coloured skin always reminded me of chocolate, and I feel very soothed by her presence.

“Honey we need to talk,” she gets up and encourages me to do the same. I swear from thin air she produces a towel and wraps me up in it. She then takes me to Phoebe’s bedroom and tells me to sit on the bed. As I sit, I notice a small light green dress next to me.

“Girls get in here, she is awake!” She calls to someone, then she sits down next to me and says “If you feel up to it put on the dress, there’s underwear behind you.” She points to the dress and the underwear.

I slowly get up, testing how I feel, but I feel alright now, and then I quickly dress. I am barely decent when both Donna and Phoebe burst into the room.

“You gave us quite a scare,” Comes the velvety voice of Donna as she wraps her arms around me.

“Yeah,” Phoebe’s chirps in, I sense she is annoyed.

I see Phoebe’s mom entering with what looks like water in her hand. Donna’s mom gestures that I drink it while we talk.

“Mom, Luce said they kissed the night of their 18th birthday and that is why they’re reacting like this,” wait who kissed who? I see all 4 women looking toward me and the concern in their eyes are growing.

“I see” Mrs Silver replies.

“Honey, is this true? Please be honest, this is for both your safety.” I hear Phoebe’s mom ask while she’s soothing my hair. Phoebe’s mom is really the image of a cottage farm woman who loves to bake pies and make jam. She has a figure to die for but if you close your eyes you’ll never guess it.

I realise they are all waiting for an answer from me, “What?”

“Did you kiss Fabian Blackwood?” I hear the irritation in Phoebe’s voice. Why is she irritated, I am the one who should be irritated, I don’t know what is happening, but the minute my anger swells it disappears again.

“Yes,” I answer defeatedly, “He kissed me that night, he then left me. He doesn’t like me.”

“You never told me; I am your f*****g best friend! You b***h!” Phoebe starts yelling at me.

“Phoebe, listen she is probably embarrassed by this and has been sworn to secrecy even if she doesn’t realise it. She is only a human and humans can’t talk about anything regarding a wolf, especially if that wolf wills it to be secret” I swear the only word I heard from that monologue from Mrs Silver was wolf. Her words make me remember my 5th birthday, nearly 13 years ago. I suppressed that day so persistently that thinking about it makes me feel dizzy.

I see the wolf in front of me, black as the night. Barring its teeth, its yellow eyes staring straight at me, into me.

“Don’t move, I don’t want to hurt you any more than this will!” Where did that voice come from?

I look at the wolf feeling the fear creep up my spine, this time the dream feels different, I look down and realise I am in the same dress the night of Fabian’s party. I am older. This isn’t a dream. This is happening now. I can smell the woods behind the estate, like I did that night. Everything feels real. Oh no please let just be another dream. I can control this dream, I know how…

I look up just in time to see wolf running towards me, it jumps on me, and I scream and the wolf falls through me instead of biting me. Where’d the wolf go?

But then the stinging starts again, like the night I was bitten. The stinging turns into burning, I smell smoke. Am I being burned? The pain starts to make its way up my back and into my legs. I try to scream but I am in too much pain to focus on making a sound.

 From somewhere far away I hear someone screaming, yelling at me “Stop fighting it, give in!”

These words comfort me, and I feel the burn leak out of the wound.

 I can finally open my eyes.

Fabian

I get startled at the sound of screaming, the bloodcurdling scream of pain and fear.

“Fabian, get in here!” I look in the direction of where I heard my name come from. Donna is standing the doorway of Phoebe’s house. I look around and realise I in the back seat of Craig’s car, It feels so hot in here? What day is it? Should it be this hot?

“Fabian, fuckit wake up! Can’t you hear her screaming,” I look up into the eyes of Lucian, they are almost pleading, “Fabian, you’re killing her.”

“Who?” is all I manage to ask. I feel out of breath, was I running? I look to my feet, barefoot? Have I been running barefoot?

“Eleanor,” at the mention of her name I snap back and almost like I lose control of my actions I start to dart in the house towards the screaming.

I burst into the room I heard the screaming come from.

I see the pale writhing body of Eleanor on the floor. And in one swift motion I scoop her up and put her on the bed.

I lie close to her. Scared to touch her but needing her at the same time. I look to the women in the room, only noticing them now.

“Stop fighting it, give in” I hear Phoebe’s mom say.

They all leave the room, and I am left with Eleanor lying next to me. What is it that I have to do?

Kiss her you i***t. Stop fighting the imprinting and kiss her. For once the presence of chase doesn’t annoy me and I am happy to oblige. Eleanor gives another horrific scream and I give in and let my body take over. I kneel over her and then dip down to kiss her. I can feel her body relaxing and I feel how I the ill feeling from earlier drains out of my system, like a bad nightmare. I pull away and search her face, now peaceful. Looking like a princess in a Disney movie. I laugh at the irony.