The Past II.
1418 Words
“Savanah, will you tell us what happened?”
My parents looked at me with worry in their eyes.
“No, Mom. I’m tired.”
“Oh, honey, go get some rest.”
Actually, I wanted to read on the porch.
“That’s a great idea. Go outside, and I’ll make you some tea to calm you down, okay?”
I nodded, then ran up the stairs to my room, grabbed my book, and headed outside.
"He took her hand gently, his eyes never leaving hers.
“In this moment, nothing else matters,” he whispered,
as the world around them faded away, leaving only their beating hearts.
Under the silver glow of the moon, they found a love neither dared to speak aloud."
I tossed the book on the swing. The tea had gone cold.
I couldn’t focus. I’d read the same line at least ten times.
“Oh, Dean… what happened?” I whispered to myself.
But maybe it wasn’t new. Maybe it was always like this.
The kids used to pick on me being adopted was rare in the werewolf world.
At school, they mostly avoided me. That was the better part.
Some weren’t so kind. Cruel laughter, nasty words, and occasionally something worse.
Sometimes, the popular girls would mess with my clothes in the locker room or shove me in the hallway.
My parents tried talking to the Alpha, but he always brushed it off with a laugh:
“Kids will be kids, George. What do you expect me to do? Punish pups? Come on they’ll grow out of it.”
I felt restless.
What happened out there?
Dean wasn’t the aggressive type not like that.
He was my only real friend.
Growing up, he always stood up for me. Not with fists, but with his voice
firm, commanding, like a future Alpha. Even as a pup,
one word from him, and they backed off.
Back when I was just a scared little girl, hiding behind school walls and oversized sweaters, trying not to exist. The other kids never saw me as one of them. I wasn’t born here. I didn’t belong here. My eyes, my silence, my presence it all made me a target.
They used to whisper behind my back. Sometimes they didn’t bother whispering at all.
Freak.
Witch.
I remember one time, after a particularly cruel prank, I locked myself in the art room. I didn’t cry. I never cried. But my hands shook as I stared at the paints, wishing I could disappear into the canvas.
Then the door opened.
He didn’t say a word. Just walked in, sat beside me, and handed me a candy bar. The silly kind with caramel and a cartoon wolf on the wrapper.
“Eat,” he said.
That was it.
No questions. No pity. Just Dean.
And somehow, that made everything okay at least for a while.
..........
Then I saw him.
Dean was walking slowly toward our house, frowning, lost in his thoughts.
I wanted to run to him, but something held me back. Like invisible hands gripping my shoulders.
I knew he needed time to process what had happened.
So I stayed still, silent, letting him come to me if he wanted to.
Slowly, he approached and sat beside me without a word.
He grabbed my book and absentmindedly played with the edges.
“Sav… I’m sorry.”
"What happened, Dean? Why did you hit him?"
Confused, he looked at my.
Dean clenched his jaw. "Oh, Sava..."
"I'm not sorry for hitting him. He's a piece of s**t. I don't care about him. He should've known his place the first time you said no."
His voice softened. "I'm sorry for the way I scared you."
“I’m not scared of you, dummy. But that was crazy that wasn’t you. You’re not the violent type.”
He went silent, clenching my book tightly in his hands.
“Sav, I don’t know why, but I’m more protective over you now. I can’t stand it when someone hits on you. I never liked the way everybody treated you, but… I don’t know, somehow it’s different now. I’m confused. I can’t explain it better than that. But…”
“Savanah, honey… oh, Dean, hello.”
“Sorry to interrupt, but the Alpha called. We need to go to the packhouse.”
“For what?” Dean shouted.
My mom felt uneasy but stayed calm. With a smile, she said, “We can’t figure that out on the porch, right?”
Dean calmed down. I took his hand, and together with my parents, we went back to the pack house.
"What's going on, Dad?"
"Dean, go find your mother. I need to speak with Savanah and her parents alone."
"I'm not going anywhere. What do you need to tell them that I can't hear?"
"Dean..."
"Dean, it's okay. Please," I said softly.
Dean looked at his father angrily. He hesitated for a moment, then turned and walked away in silence.
"So, Savanah, George, Martha – please, have a seat."
"What's this about, Alpha? Did something happen?" my father asked, concerned.
"Well... I’m not quite sure how to say this. The situation is... complicated."
"Complicated?" my parents echoed in unison.
The Alpha sighed.
"George... we've tried, but it's just not working anymore. I'm sorry, Savanah, but you're becoming more and more of a problem."
I sat there, frozen in my chair, staring at him.
A problem?
"A problem?" my mother repeated in shock.
My father gripped the armrests tightly but said nothing, trying not to make the situation worse. He knew that exploding in anger wouldn't help anything.
"Yes, a problem," the Alpha repeated. "Because of your daughter, my son’s celebration was ruined. He turned sixteen—he should have been enjoying time with his friends. Instead, he had to deal with an incident caused by Savanah."
I tried to hold back my tears.
"I... I didn’t mean for anything to happen. I just told Derek no. He kept pushing me to go with him. He’s tried before, but never this aggressively."
Now crying, I told them everything that had happened.
My parents were horrified.
My father couldn’t hold back anymore.
"Alpha, do you really think this is okay? Will you finally take some action?"
"George, calm down. I’m trying to handle this. As I said, Savanah... I’m sorry he misunderstood. Derek is a young man, and clearly he misread your behavior."
We couldn’t believe what we were hearing.
My father pulled me and my mother into a tight hug. We both cried into his chest, clinging to him like he could protect us from the world.
"Alpha... what are you saying? I don’t understand."
"George, I believe it’s best for everyone if Savanah leaves for a while."
Silence.
The kind that chokes the air out of the room.
The ticking of the clock on the wall was the only sound.
The heavy mahogany desk, the gray walls, the shelves full of books and photos—all of it felt like it was crashing down on us.
"Excuse me?"
"Don’t worry, George. I spoke with a good friend of mine. The new academic year at the Academy starts in two weeks."
"The Academy? You want to send my daughter there? That place is brutal. It’s full of future Alphas who are learning to control their instincts and their wolves. No. Absolutely not. I won’t put my daughter through that."
The Alpha looked at me with sadness in his eyes.
"What about you, Savanah? What do you think?"
"Me?"
"Yes. Because the other option is exile. You and your parents would be cast out of the pack. Have you considered what that life would look like? Where would you go?"
Silence, again.
"You can’t be serious..."
"I’m trying to maintain peace in the pack. And every time something happens, somehow Savanah is involved. Always."
I couldn’t breathe. My chest was tight, my heart pounding.
I saw the decision forming on my parents’ faces.
I couldn’t let that happen. I had to stop it.
My voice trembled as I whispered:
"I’ll go."
The Alpha smiled.
"Good. I’m glad you made the right decision, Savanah."
"Savanah! Leave my son alone!"
"Present Day"
Now, sitting here in the dim evening light, I wondered if he remembered those moments the way I did. If he still saw the quiet girl behind the storm that was growing inside me.
Because I was changing. And something deep inside told me... there was no going
- Writer
