Wysteria

Who I was before

I woke up to the sun shining in through the window, the warmth washing over me. At first I enjoyed it, letting myself bask in it's rays, when I glance at the clock to find it's almost noon. I jolted up, pulling myself from the bed.

"Easy, Tera" Faye says "you don't want to irritate our injuries."

"can't help it, Faye" I say "I'm late."

I changed into appropriate clothes and hurried out the door, running down the steps expecting to get yelled at for being late.. sleeping in.. a familiar fear creeping in.. but when I find Erin behind the front desk, I froze in place.

"E-Erin?" I say

she turns, a smile on her face

"Tera?" she says "your supposed to be resting"

"but.. what about-"

"I'm covering you today" she replies"bosses orders.. go rest."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing.. Mr. Rhodes had arranged for someone to cover me? why? does he think I'm incapable of doing my job? I can't have that.

"Thanks, Erin" I say "but I'm good, now."

she raises an eyebrow at me.

"uh huh"

"Really, I'm fine." I say "you can go back to the kitchen, they need you there what with the upcoming event-"

"I said I wanted fairy lights!" a voice yells

moments later, a young girl stomps out of the hall. she seems to be very distraught.. but upon noticing me, she lights up.

"oh thank the heavens" she says "Teeera"

she runs over to me, wrapping her arms around my waist as she buries her face in my shirt.

"They're not listening to meee" she whines " I want fairy lights not lanterns... fix this."

I look at Erin with a raised eyebrow silently asking her if she really wanted to do this.. but the look on her face said it all.

"I'll head back to the kitchen." she says "if you need anything, Tera-"

"I'll call you"

she nods and heads back to the kitchen as I allow myself to be led away by the girl.

"let's go see about those lights" I say

"don't overdue it." Faye says

"I know."

I felt the pain wash over me causing me to grit my teeth as I continued to smile and act as if everything was fine. I've been careful about how much strain I put on it, but I can't draw to much attention to my injuries... unfortunately, fate had a different idea..

"Be careful!" the girl yells "that sculpture is custom ordered, it was hand sculpted by a master artist in Deleverda. it's worth a thousand times more than this inn!"

As if by the will of the gods, one of the people carrying the package lost their footing and suddenly it came crashing forward.. without thinking about my current state I rushed to help them stabilize the sculpture knowing how much it meant to the young girl and how much replacing it would cost, which is a price this inn couldn't possibly afford, but the weight was unbelievable. I barely managed to keep it from falling, a sharp pain washing over my body.

"Don't scream" Faye says "you can't draw attention to our state."

I wanted so badly to howl from the pain, but I knew revealing that I'm wounded here would be a death sentence.. there could be an enemy nearby or, Even, hidden in plain sight.. the weight is becoming too much.

"you cannot drop that statue" Faye says "it would be suspicious."

Normally, she'd be correct... if a wolf was surrounded by wolves, it would be strange if they couldn't carry this but we're surrounded by humans whom wouldn't comprehend someone carrying this without help.. I can use that to my advantage.

"ok guys" I say "we're going to slowly lift this back up."

they nod and we all get into position, careful not to drop the sculpture.

" on my count... one, two, three.. lift"

with a bit of communication and teamwork, we managed to get it upright once more, shuffling towards the pedestal.

"now, slowly and carefully lift it up onto the pedestal"

I felt the weight bearing down on me as we carefully lift the package over the pedestal, suddenly I heard a cracking sound, pain shooting through my body. I bit my tongue trying to stop from crying out.

"quickly.. our rib is cracking."

within seconds the sculpture was on the pedestal, everyone stepping back to admire our success.. however, I didn't stay for the celebration, I needed to check on my injuries.. who knows what could happen if our body gives out.. we could lose the baby.. that's when I froze, my heart beat escalate frantically.. my pup.. what about my pup?

"Faye, how is our pup?" I ask

"its still a bit vague, but it's presence hasn't disappeared."

I felt myself relax, my pup is safe. after taking a moment to gather myself once more, I turn my focus on the injuries.

"How are we holding up, Faye?"

"we have a few newly broken ribs, but that's it."

"sounds like we got lucky"

"Indeed.. but it's not pretty."

I enter my room, closing the door behind me and go over to my mirror, pulling my shirt up. I couldn't help the gasp that escaped my lips as I lifted my shirt, my entire side was nothing but bruises, fresh ones appearing over ones that were healing. my ribs had just about healed completely before this incident occurred..

"why is it taking us this long to heal?"

"I don't know.. I find it strange as well."

"could it be because I'm a tribrid?"

"it's possible, however, I doubt it since Demons heal almost instantly and mages can use magic to heal rather quickly as well."

I was at a loss.. there's no reason I should be taking this long to heal. I rest my hand on my stomach.

"could it be because of our pup?"

"that is a possibility." she replies "a lot of effort and power would be focused on the pup while its in the womb however I don't think it'd account for this much.. if so, then there's more to it."

I run my fingers over the bruise and find myself wishing my mother were here.. maybe she could answer all my questions. after all, somehow she gave birth to me.. how, I'm unsure.. but she did. if anyone knew what pregnancy with a tribrid is like, it'd be her.. maybe she could have shed light on this experience.

"Tera!" a voice calls

I heard my bedroom door opening so I pull down my shirt to hide the bruises but it was too late..

"Tera-" a voice says "what was that?"

I turn to see Mr. Rhodes watching me in shock. I didn't answer him at first, unsure what i was going to say.

"what was that?" he repeats

hearing his tone deepen made me jump. I look away, unable to meet his gaze.

"n-nothing" I try

he was before me within seconds, reaching for my shirt but I pulled away. I could tell he wasn't pleased with my actions but I never thought it'd lead to him picking me up and carrying me from my room.

"Get Scarlett!" he yells "NOW!"

I struggle to get free with no luck. Even if I were at a hundred percent, I doubt I'd get free nevermind my current state.

"Either we do this here" Mr. Rhodes says "or we do it on the packs land"

"we can't risk it."

I stopped fighting, trying to think of how to get out of this situation without being dragged before a pack. we ended up in a small room where he sat me down and blocked the door. I could tell the windows didn't open and there was no way he'd let me break one, even if I did I couldn't use it anyway being pregnant and all, so I just dragged a chair to the corner and sat down staring at him. after a while of just staring at each other he moved away from the door long enough to let a beautiful brunette woman into the room, she's carrying a doctor's bag.

"you must be Tera." she says "my name is Scarlett, I'm Kalen's wife.. and a pack doctor"

"don't let her touch you."

she tries to approach me but I immediately respond with a growl causing her to stop. Mr. Rhodes looks angry, taking a step forward only to be stopped by his wife.

"it's alright." she says

she turns to me, a smile on her face.

"I can tell by looking at you" she says "that your not an ordinary werewolf.. are you?"

this shocked Both her husband and I.. how did she know that?

" I thought so." she says " I can sense your wolf, but you have features that aren't exactly human.. and considering werewolves are technically human, that means you've got something else mixed in there. so what are you?"

I was impressed with her deduction, however I didn't know this woman.. I wasn't about to admit anything to her.. she could be an enemy for all I know.

" look, Tera" she says " I don't mean you any harm, no matter what you are. I'm just trying to help you."

something about her was soothing, almost familiar.. then suddenly my mother flashed into my mind.. yes, that's it. a mother.. this woman had that motherly vibe just seething from her. kind, caring, devoted. an air of acceptance and unconditional love.. however, how could she possibly feel like this towards me? a total stranger?

"Faye?"

"answer her." she says "she's genuine. and I'm curious to see where it leads.."

" Demon and Elf" I reply

her eyes widen and she looks to her husband whom seems just as shocked as her. After a moment of them staring at each other, both return their gazes to me.

" I'm going to approach you now, ok?"she asks

their reaction was unexpected.. I couldn't sense any hostility from her. from either of them.. what was going on.

"I want to look at your wounds" she says

something in me felt at ease, even Faye didn't react as she moved in closer. Once she was within reach, Mr. Rhodes left the room. The moment the door was closed she lifted my shirt looking over the bruises.

"this from a small statue.. that's strange.. wait, what's-"

her words cut off mid sentence, suddenly she raised my shirt a bit more.. before I realized what was happening my top was gone. she gasps loudly, her hands covering her mouth as she takes in the sight of all my scars. I sat there quietly, accepting that she had seen them and that it would be pointless to try and hide them from her now, so I just let her look. her finger ran over one of my scars gently.

"what.. happened.. to you?" she says

her words came between breaths as if she had been running and couldn't collect enough air to speak normally yet.

"Tera-"

I didn't speak a word as I turned around to retrieve my shirt before freezing in place, my eyes widening as I noticed the tears welling up in her eyes. she was crying.. for me? I was lost in the shock of her reaction that I didn't notice her examining me until she finished and left the room.

"so, how is she?" Mr. Rhodes asked " I can't believe a statue-"

"Kalen" she says quietly

he stopped talking having noticed her sorrowful whisper, her sadness clear in the sound of her voice.

"babe, what's wrong?" he says "did something ha-"

"she's covered in scars, Kalen"

"what do you-"

"I'm saying she has the kind of scars" she says "that come from people.."

"wait.. are you saying-"

"I don't know.. she won't tell me anything about them."

I heard his steps but I couldn't find my shirt.. I grabbed a sheet, barely managing to cover my chest when the door slammed open. The look on his face was one of sorrow.. then rage. He walked in followed by Scarlett, the door closing behind them. After staring at my scars, Mr. Rhodes locks his eyes with mine.. I knew I had no other option now, I had to tell them.. I look out the window, taking a deep breath as he tried to ease his breathing. His eyes Burning into my back.

"my real name.. is Wysteria Foster.." I say "I lost my mother when I was a child.. and my older brother went off to school shortly after.."

"and this?" Scarlett asks "who did this?"

her husband, Kalen, was still trying to calm his breathing. I guess he can't ask questions right now.

"that would be my father." I reply " the beatings started when I was 8, shortly after my mother died.. it worsened overtime.. until.."

I look at the ground, my nails digging into my arm.. tears filling my eyes.

" when I was 13, my father took it to another level.."

"what did he do?"

"..w-when I got Faye, I had to leave.. I had to.. he would've killed me.."

I couldn't say anymore, my emotions took over and I was hyperventilating, memories filling my brain as I spoke.

"what.did. he. do?" Kalen asks

his voice was deep.. cold.. and so full of rage. I couldn't respond.. to say what he did.. I just couldn't do it.. I couldn't describe that..

"sweetie-"

"I- I'm P-pregnant"

it just came out.. and I broke down. Buried my face in my hands and bawled.. I could hear a fist hitting a wall.. curse words filling the room. Scarlett led her husband from the room and I knew it was a matter of time before they kicked me out..

"I'm going to kill him"

those words shocked me.

"if I ever meet that bastard.. I'm going to kill him"

his voice sounded sad.. heartbroken.. almost as if I were someone close to him. someone important.. but why would he care about me? I'm nothing.. I'm no one.. so, why?

"his own daughter?" he exclaims quietly " he .. his own daughter?"

Raped. the word he wouldn't say.. r***d. I curl into a ball trying to calm down, cutting out their conversation to focus on my breathing.. my eyelids growing heavy with each breath, tears streaming down my face..

"it's alright, Tera. I'm right here"

Faye's voice was gentle, soothing, and warm.. before I even knew what was happening, I fell asleep, the memories of who I was before fading from my mind.