3 - Choice
1425 Words
Melina slowly opened her eyes. Her mind blurred, anguishing to understand what had happened. The darkness around her gradually dissipated, revealing the familiar surroundings of her bedroom. She felt a throbbing pain in her head and raised her hand to her forehead. Trying to calm down and understand what happened.
As her vision adjusted, the frightening memories flooded back. Joice's deformed, animalistic face, her glowing eyes and fluorescent teeth - an image that defied reality.
She jumped out of bed and placed her hand on her stomach.
"Are you okay, Melina?"
She turned to the armchair in her room, her body slowly turned. Melina shivered as she realized she wasn't hallucinating or having a nightmare; there was a real werewolf in front of her.
Her voice caught in her throat and a feeling of dread washed over her. She sat up slowly on the bed again, clutching the sheet tightly. Her body was still weak. But the urge to escape this otherworldly nightmare was stronger now.
Melina watched Joyce, whose face was now in its normal shape between man and wolf. No small transformations to prove her veracity.
Joyce was still, as if he were studying her, her eyes sparkling. The words wouldn't come out of Melina's mouth, her throat felt frozen with fear.
Melina quickly had a desperate idea. She swallowed and, in a shaky voice, asked for water.
"I need water."
Melina's heart was pounding wildly as she desperately looked for an escape route. Her trembling legs almost gave way under the pressure of terror.
Joice seemed to hesitate for a moment at Melina's request. But he shook his head.
He also managed to be a gentleman, even if he was extreme being a pack alpha or wearing a ten thousand dollar suit. He was quirky.
While Joyce walked away to fetch water from the kitchen. Melina took the opportunity to come up with an escape plan. His muscles tense and his heart racing. She knew she couldn't hesitate. Her only goal was to find safety for herself and her baby.
It took too long to realize your dream. This couldn't be happening.
She knew she needed to act while she still had a chance.
Alone, she left the room and walked with short, noiseless steps. She knew the ground she walked on.
Adrenaline pulsed through her veins, propelling her to keep running without looking back. The house was like a dark labyrinth. Melina persisted, guided by the spirituality of surviving what for her was a threat.
Joyce wasn't much of a threat. He was someone who analyzed the situation and shared it with the only one involved other than himself. He had a weekend to settle everything with her.
Melina was almost close to the exit door. She heard the slam of her refrigerator door and then propelled her body forward.
However, before she could reach freedom. Joyce, in a display of supernatural speed. He lunged at Melina, catching her by the arm.
The shock of his icy touch brought a wave of shivers down Melina's spine. She found herself unable to escape. Joice firmly held her trembling body, pulling her to a nearby wall and pressing her.
"If you try to run away, I'll tie you to a chair until I figure this out."
Joice exuded a dominant and predatory aura. She filled the air with unbearable tension and fear that spread through her body.
"Let me go. I'm going to scream."
"No, you won't. This isn't a request, Melina."
Joice tightened the pressure on Melina even more. Her fingers sinking into the young woman's skin.
"You are hurting me."
"I'm going to stay here until you understand what's going on. You'll understand this for better or for worse."
"Let me go!"
"Where did you think you were going?" Joyce growled, her voice heavy. "Running away from me is a mistake, little human. You cannot escape."
"I saw your eyes. Your face."
"I can do more than that."
She felt like captured prey, helpless in the face of her captor's preternatural strength.
"What are you? Why are you here?"
"You are accidentally carrying my child. That's why I'm here. I don't want to say this to you again."
With a sliver of courage, Melina lifted her chin and looked Joice straight in the eyes over her shoulder.
"I may not be able to fight you right now, but you will never touch my baby."
"This baby is mine too. It belongs to me and if I need it, even you will belong to me."
Melina looked at Joyce with a mixture of disbelief and despair in her eyes. The creature's words echoed in her mind, causing a turmoil of conflicting emotions. She knew that running away from reality was no longer an option. But accepting the idea that the baby she was carrying was a mixture of human and wolf was almost unbearable!
She was scary.
A superhuman fear in her.
"I can't accept this," Melina whispered, her voice heavy with sadness and denial. "I... I can't believe something like this is possible. This is a nightmare! Look at you, you showed up on my doorstep in a suit and tie!"
Joice kept his gaze on her eyes that stared at him, her blue eyes for a second penetrating his soul.
"I understand your resistance, Melina," Joice replied, her voice sounding softer now, letting go of her body. "But you must understand that our existence is beyond your control or beliefs. The bond between us has already been formed."
She stood in front of him, flinched.
Tears streamed down Melina's face as she struggled to process the new reality that unfolded before her.
"I just wanted to be happy. Why can't I just once in my life?!"
"Melina, you have a strength within you that cannot be denied," said Joice. "If you love this baby, stop fighting and be quiet. I don't want to hurt you."
While Melina struggled to accept the reality of werewolves' existence. She still had no idea of the magnitude of the role that her son would play in this occult world.
"I didn't choose it, I can't let you into my house and take it."
"I'll only take him if he doesn't cooperate. I'm offering you shelter. You're the mother of an heir. You'll have everything you want, you won't lack for anything and you'll be protected. You'll be able to grow up with the child if that's what you want. "
"My will? Do you know how much I want this?!"
She placed her hand on her stomach.
"If you don't do it on your own terms. I'll have to take you, you'll be locked up until you have the baby and then I'll take him and you'll never see him again."
"What?"
"Your love and protection for your child overcomes any barrier. Accepting our existence is the first step in finding a way to balance these two natures."
She looked down at her growing belly. She felt a sense of responsibility and it began to blossom within her.
When she looked up, she saw the man's expression waiting for an answer from her.
There was little time to give a right answer.
But she knew one thing. He would protect her biggest dream.
"I... I'll try," Melina murmured, her voice a fragile whisper. "I will try to accept, understand and find a way to protect my son. But please don't take him away from me. He is all I have."
Melina didn't know it was important.
Melina was completely oblivious to the fact that her son carried ancestral importance. She was unaware of her family lineage and the heritage that flowed through her veins. The baby she was carrying was more than just a child; he was a blood heir of the Moon, a betrothed destined for a special future.
Joyce watched the fear etched into Melina's pretty face. As she raised her hand towards the young woman's blonde hair to try to brush away a strand of her hair.
He felt Melina's involuntary shudder and decided to back away. He respected the fear of the one who was still struggling to understand the new reality that surrounded her.
"I know how hard it is for you."
"I... I will do anything to protect my son," Melina murmured, her voice shaky but steady.
Joice nodded once more, respecting Melina's decision. She took a step back, allowing the young man to regain his space.
"I will also do anything to protect this child."
- Writer
