Chapter 25: Sixine
1706 Words
Since when do we flee in the forest? Where are we going? Is there someone steering this ship, or are we drifting without a clue where we are?
What the hell have you done, Six?!
Trusting your intuition is not letting yourself be carried away by the first man who shows interest in you!
There is nothing left to protect me from this threat of which we still know nothing. And the girls? What will happen to them?
I stop running.
The image of my friends is imprinted before my eyes before being disturbed by the tears that run down my cheeks. The pressure is too strong. I am lost in an unknown forest, with a wolf about whom I know almost nothing, far from those who have always ensured my balance. We need each other, otherwise we would all end up on the floor.
Damn, you’re too dumb, seriously!
The spasms of my irrepressible sobs are so strong that they force me to sit down. We are screwed. Separated, we are cooked.
Jaxson stopped, too. He squats down and leans tenderly towards me.
"I’m here, Six. Everything will be fine, I promise you," he whispers softly.
"What do you know?" I gasped in a flood of tears.
"I will watch over you. Always…"
"You can’t do anything for me!"
Suddenly, my inconsistency jumps out at me. Jaxson’s captivating gaze pierces me, but not as much as the knife in my heart, I stabbed myself. I left my friends...
"I am a wolf. I will protect you."
"But what do you think you’re protecting me from? From your pack? They hate you now. Because of me, you…"
I sob harder, overwhelmed by the guilt that grips me with such violence that I suffocate. Because he too, I dragged him into my disastrous escape.
"It has nothing to do with you," Jaxson tells me, a hint of disbelief crossing his soft-featured face. "I am an Omega. It may sound shocking said like that, but that’s how wolves work."
"It’s horrible! How can you accept such a thing without protesting?"
"I had no choice," he says, a little surprised by my bewilderment.
"We always have the choice."
"You gave me that choice."
"You understand nothing. My friends…"
"They are fine, believe me," he tries to reassure me.
If he knew...
"I know what you’re thinking, but they’re not well. They are in danger. And this ridiculous escape only makes the situation worse!"
"You regret it?"
His look betrays a deep sadness. He is lost, too. And the worst part is that he doesn’t even know why. A new flow pours from my eyes without my being able to control it. Like everything else.
"I need to tell you something…"
My words get stuck in my throat swollen with emotion. I am a terrible person, I abandoned my friends and caused the exile of a wolf who only wanted to help me. It’s horrible.
I take a deep breath and say suddenly, while I have the courage:
"I am a witch."
He looks at me with incomprehension, which has the gift of annoying me while stirring up my tears.
What word did you not understand?
It’s easy to make promises when you don’t know everything… Will he persist in honouring them now that he has all the facts of the equation? It’s not his fault though… I lied to him and violated our basic laws to protect my interests. How could he have known?
"I’m a witch, Jaxson. I’m sorry."
"You mean…" he stutters.
He looks so scared now that he can’t finish his sentence. He doesn’t even seem to know what to think anymore. He shrank back all of a sudden, adopting a defensive posture, his eyes ringed with an orange halo which lets me predict that he will soon metamorphose.
"We were in danger, and it was the only way we could find to survive."
"With wolves? But you are crazy!"
Disgust crept into his voice. It’s neither warm nor comforting, it exudes contempt. And it hurts… This law seems well anchored everywhere, it was only us to make a strike without noticing it.
"We only hoped to survive. Not harm anyone."
"Is this a joke? You betrayed me!" he howls, while suddenly transforming into a monumental wolf.
Will he finish me off?
I read in his bestial gaze a mixture of defiance and disappointment. Fear too. So is this how it’s going to end?
How naive you can be sometimes! It was sure that it would end badly: a wolf and a witch! It was obvious!
Even though I know it, it hurts me. I don’t know why, but I believed it. I felt so good, immersed in the glow of his irises, that I thought I had finally found my home there. And now a simple revelation collapses my fragile house of cards.
He stares at me for a few seconds before scooting between the trees.
It was all just an illusion. It’s painful when the truth comes out, I should have guessed better. Suddenly, I feel a little less guilty for having dragged him into this mess. And much more to have abandoned my friends for him.
Elinor, Neeve, I need you.
I’m shaken by a shiver that runs down my spine as my stomach twists. I’m terribly hungry!
How am I going to get out of this, alone, surrounded by these trees? I don’t know how to orient myself or hunt! I’ve never needed to do this sort of thing… What am I going to do? Am I going to die just like that, in the middle of nowhere?
Now a dismal wind rises and makes the tortured trees dance. The gusts in the leaves spread heart-rending screams in the icy air. I don’t belong here! I want to find the girls, I want to find our life before, our coven, my parents, and even my unbearable uncle.
Get me out of here!
I don’t even know to whom I address this pitiful prayer. It is pathetic. And with sadness… My tears redouble. Again. But this time, a terrible pain tears me apart: under this moon which begins to round out, I adopt despite myself the form of a wolf. As the metamorphosis takes place, my vision blurs and my mind fades. It’s painful, but I struggle halfheartedly, and suddenly I lose what little control I have left.
I wake up, curled up at the foot of a majestic tree, tickled by a soothing ray of sunshine. The day begins.
What did I do last night? How come I have no memory of it? All I remember is Jaxson leaving me there and the transformation that followed. Nothing else. Worse than a hangover!
I lean on a prominent root to get up. But I’m naked, too! Unable to hide my privacy while moving, I give up. I won’t meet anyone here, except maybe wolves, or ruthless murderers who won’t care about my appearance. I wander between the trunks, then stop. What direction should I follow to find the Bretton lair?
How to find the girls? How to find the girls?
Come on, think!
Magic. Only magic can put me on their trail.
Won’t that screw up Eli’s protection spell?
But if I can’t find them anyway, it’s all over!
Concentrate! Come on!
I place my hands facing each other, the pads of my fingers barely touching, and improvise a spell:
"May the shadows come to my aid and guide me. May my steps lead me to the lair of the Brettons by the shortest and safest path. With their opacity, let the shadows conceal me from those who might wish me harm.
Within seconds, a small ball of swirling shadows appeared in my hands. A black and purple nebula, from which escapes a bewitching glow.
"Take me to Elinor and Neeve," I say feverishly.
It first advances slowly between the trees and then accelerates. I now run over a thick layer of dry leaves, occasionally digging a bug into the soles of my feet.
A smell both strange and familiar reaches me as I continue to pursue the nebula that sinks between the branches. A wolf. And not just anyone, the only one I’ve ever sniffed with avidity: Jaxson. What the hell is he doing around here? Has he crawled back to beg mercy from his brother?
I don’t have time to find a plan because he calls me:
"Six! Finally!"
He seems less upset than last night.
"Excuse me," he says without preamble. "Excuse me. I... I was surprised, but it was silly to get carried away like that. I realize that now."
He stares at me and sweeps over my naked body without the slightest embarrassment.
It’s okay, don’t bother!
I stare at him, not knowing what to say. His reaction hurt me, but what matters to me now is finding my friends.
"Neeve and Elinor…" I say, taken aback.
"I will help you."
"How?"
"I know the lair like the back of my hand, I’ll help you get them out."
"For what?"
"Because you are the one my heart and my wolf have chosen, Six. There is no going back for me anymore. I will go all the way, whatever your true nature."
His eyes sparkle with a determination that I don’t recognize. He is no longer the resigned and submissive wolf that I met, he has turned into a sort of ally devoted to my cause. At least that’s the impression it gives. Can I trust him?
He approaches me. Despite my doubts, my breathing hangs on his breath. The breaking point is not far, letting go would be both fabulous and stupid. Especially since he didn’t hesitate to abandon me when he discovered what I was. My heart is racing, how can I resist it? Especially since his help is welcome since I don’t really know how to exfiltrate my friends.
He tilts his head and gazes into mine. I feel his lips brush mine and my heart skips a beat. My spell fades. My cheeks are burning. I open my mouth, tortured to mingle my tongue with his.
"Interesting! Grab her! And get rid of this beast!"
- Writer
