Like Magnets

Ch 2 It's okay

Chapter 2  

•XOILA• 

 I stumbled back almost falling down the little steps that lead into the room. When I thought I regained my balanced I tried to walk back up the steps and fell back landing on my butt with a thud I groaned rubbing my butt scrunching up my face.   

I sat there for a moment and then scrambled up in a panic, realizing that there are rogues attacking and are in the house. I took a calming breath counting to 10 thinking 

It’s okay, it's going to be okay... you're okay  

 After a few calming breaths I stood up holding my hands to my chest, seconds went by and I realized that I couldn’t hear what was going on, running up the steps I pressed my ear to the door to listen. I tried my best straining my hearing and even with werewolf enhanced hearing all I could hear is the muffled sound of a struggle.

There was a crash and a bang then a sudden outburst that made me flinch as each one reverberated through the door.   

I feel myself start to panic and I slump down my eyes watering, my breathing rapid   

my chest feels tight   

I can’t breathe 

I try to calm myself and even out my breathing, I stand abruptly, I try walking around the room pacing  

It's not working  

My eyes start to water but I stop in front of the door and take a calming breath  It’s okay, it's going to be okay... you're okay  

I wipe my eyes and I slump in defeat praying that my mom's okay and that dad's going to walk into this room to tell me that everything is okay.  

After another 30minutes I get up from where I'm sitting and survey the room  what I'm going to assume is a “panic room” 

there's a queen-sized bed up against the left side of the room with simple red bed sheets blankets and randomly colored pillows of different sizes. 

There are nightstands on both sides of the bed and a bookshelf with one row of canned food, one row of water and flavored drink pouches, and on the last 4 rows books of all sizes lined up neatly with a few board games here and there.

I looked to my right noticing the mini-fridge and the desk with a few sketchbooks and notebooks of various sizes and colors.   

I reach for the biggest sketchbook which is a dark red one and then reach into the cup filled with pencils on the desk grabbing settling for the classic number 2 pencil and walk over to lean against the door. 

I sit there for a while giving myself a (false) sense of hope... that everything will be okay and that mom and dad are going to be fine.   

Hours went by and strangely enough, the sounds from outside were soothingly giving me a reminder that everything would be okay at some point and that it would all be over soon.

I open the sketchbook to the first page and begin to make random doodles in hopes of passing the time in the safety of this panic room slowly feeling as if I'm being consumed by loneliness.   

•3rd POV•  

The sounds outside of the room stopped and she came to a halt, she turned to hear what was going on pressing her ear to the door only to be met with it being dead quite a gnawing feeling of dread began to consume her as she started to tremble and she looked at her doodles. 

Her chest started to feel warm then she felt a sharp pain dropping her pencil. She closed her eyes as they began to water squeezing them shut hoping to lessen her pain.   

She opened her eyes to grab her sketchbook, she didn't know what possessed her but she looked at the sketchbook, she had unknowingly drawn a small family her Mama and Papa holding one another looking completely at peace  

As she stared at Beta Ardent Of the Stark pine pack, her chest began to feel hot looking at her drawing, she couldn’t help the tears that were building up when she noticed the faces of the 2 small boys in her Mama and Papas embrace smiling what seemed like encouraging smiles.

A scorching wave of pain filled her chest making her lungs constrict painfully as she gasped for air the pain now stronger and didn’t seem like it would subside, she clutched the sketchbook to her chest. 

The realization of the pain she felt was hit her like a bus   

It was her family's death    

All of her emotions flooded her senses as she realized that she would never meet her little brother’s the tears continued to spill over as she cried harder   

she won't ever get to hug her father again after a long day of him being out more tears began to fall  

she wouldn't ever get to pester her mother for stories of when she was young and hadn't met her father yet   

She curled up into a ball and realized she wouldn't ever be able to be in their warm embrace ever again at that thought she sobbed clutching the sketchbook so tight to her chest that it would surely leave marks  

She cried and cried for what seemed like hours until her eyes were puffy and burning from all the tears she shed for her fallen family.   

Not given a second more to mourn she heard a loud bang causing her to scramble from where she laid 

The fear of the rogues finding her made her hide under the bed closing and taking the sketchbook with her.   

Her mother's words echoed in her mind as she went under   

“I love you Xoila more than anything in this world... Dad loves you too... with all his heart Xo.. please stay strong… We will always love you Xoila" 

as the thuds got louder, she closed her eyes clutching her sketchbook to her chest, another bang made her flinch and she curled up shaking praying she could keep to those words 

She heard a boom followed by a crash as the door splintered off the wall and fell over. 

Her eyes shot open when she felt someone grab her leg, pulling her from under the bed making her scream and cover her face awaiting her fate   

But instead of pain, she felt someone pulling her into an embrace confused she uncovered her eyes slightly pulling back to look at the person that had the audacity to hug her.  

And was met with a glossy-eyed Alpha Amith who let out a sigh of relief and hugged her once again as he said “It's alright now, your safe little one”   

With those words the composure she had just gained broke and she couldn't help the tears as she hugged him back crying once more.                                                            

*********************************************************************************************************** 

 A few months later things went back to normal, no one was to enter the Ardent house so as to honor the pack's fallen Betas.  

 'They lived as they died fighting for their pack and protecting their love’    

in loving memory of   

Morgan and Loren Ardent loving   

parents, friends, and Betas  

And to Alexander and Liam Ardent   

who didn't see the sun

but were able to reach the heavens’   

Those words were engraved over their shared headstone shined brightly as Xoila was always there maintaining the grave   

making sure it was clean and stayed as new as it was the day it was placed. The engraving was gold and the headstone was made of pure onyx with two small vases made of granite on either side for flowers to be placed and replaced.  

She stood after placing the freshly cut Daffodils securing them so they wouldn't be blown away.  

A single tear slid down her cheek as she took one last glance at the headstone turning to make her way back towards the pack grounds of her new “Home”   

After losing her mother and father in a rogue attack, Alpha Amith the tall 6'2 chestnut-colored man with wavy curly hair cut in a taper fade, and amber-colored eyes that made him seem intimidating 

Yes, he was a fearsome man but he was secretly a big ol’ softy who melted in Luna Sally's hands like a snowman on a sunny day.   

Alpha Amith took Xoila in to honor the memory of his best friend Beta Morgan protecting the last piece of his dear friends.    

He did his best to pay special attention to Xoila trying to making sure that what she had gone through wouldn't damage her mentality permanently but that new task he had given himself proved to be especially difficult because the once happy hyperactive Xoila had gone silent and expressionless was very closed off. 

This only left Amith and Sally feeling worried and torn at what would be the next plan of action so at Sally's request they gave her the empty room on the Alpha level of the packhouse so that she would always be close by putting some of their worries at ease 

Her new room was a nice pale mint color with vines painted on the wall giving it a rustic feel, it had all the posters from her old room ranging from marvel posters including a Stan lee poster and one of the guardians of the galaxy, she got a new desk with a new and her old laptop.   

There was a huge stuffed narwhal at the corner of her room by the window, fairy lights hung from the ceiling making it look like stars, with her bed on the left side and a nightstand to the right her room was similar to Stacy's except hers was lavender and there was a huge stuffed giraffe in the corner of her room.   

Stacy was a small girl about 5'4 with long black curly hair going down her back, soft hazelnut skin, plump lips, and a contagious smile. Stacy had different colored eyes one light brown and the other silver-gray her gaze captivating but also terrifying if you messed with the people she loved. 

 •STACY•  

When Xo came home the day her parents... didn’t Xo... she didn’t just lose her family she lost herself too,  

the eyes that once gleamed with mischief now looked empty and dull   

I didn't know what to do  I didn’t know where to start   

I was at a loss that day she was brought back to my house she would hardly speak, she wouldn't smile, she wouldn't eat, and that scared me and worried my mom a lot so I decided that Xoila should focus on other things.   

I started to attend pack training more frequently   

Not that I needed it I was way past the instructors (Strongest pack warriors)   

I had to make sure after making dad promise that Xoila and I did our own thing so we went to dad's private gym  

With his blessing of course  

A few weeks and I could see as Xoila become stronger and faster than most pack members.  

She was scarily catching up to me and dad couldn’t help but feel really proud of her improvements happy that I got her back on track but we were still classified as pups so Xoila and I were put on a limit for how long we would spend training.   

Cause my Luna mom wanted us to behave more like kids and not like soldiers 

When we were basically kicked out or dragged out by my mom we would go to Xo's room and would either sit around reading books, watching Disney movies, or would just stay in sitting on her bed and laugh at memes.   

But again we had limits and we would only ever come out if Dad was demanding our presence or Luna Mom  

Yeah I call her Luna Mom  

The 5'6 short wavy black hair, beautiful brown skin with silver-gray eyes that seemed to know all your secrets and incite fear in your heart with her calm demeanor and a silver gaze that makes you squirm when she’s in protective Luna mode   

Luna Mom also tries to help Xo in her own way she’s very attentive and makes sure that Xoila is included in all the things we do and that Xo is always fed meaning she had to eat or she wouldn't be allowed to go to her room Luna Mama always forced her to keep the new clothes she bought her doing her best to accommodate Xo seeing as she is surprisingly a bit taller than me  

By like 2 inches  

But when she can’t find something on her own we go SHOPPING to get Xo some clothes every now and then  

We all did our best to bring Xoila back to how she was but she remained the same   

quiet and closed off for the next year or so   

Alpha dad and Luna Mom were worried and wanted to do what they thought would be the best course of action thinking of ways to get the Xo to open up once more. Cadmar's ugly self continued the constant torment always making Xo would feel weak no matter how much she trained. He would call her names and challenge her during pack training   

When Dad forced us to mingle   

Cadmar knew this was the only time he could hurt her with the pretense of we were “just training”   

I did my best to help train Xo and protect her from Cadmar unnecessary bullpoopie fearing that he was pushing my best friend in the wrong direction. 

Things went on like that no matter how much I tried to make him back off   

I had to be in a constant state of alert until the day came where Cadmar was to leave for alpha training and not come back until he was of age Alpha Dad and Luna Mom finally decided to move with Xo to my room in hopes that would help her open up more   

I'm glad they did because I swear I will do everything in my power to make sure Xo is happy  No matter what or where life may take us I'll never leave her side because I know that if it was me she would do the same. So as her best friend I swear I will do my best to crack as many dirty or corny jokes I can think of knowing that hopefully, I could get a rise out of Xo.   

So I could get to see the old talkative Xoila one more time  

Praying to see the change we all hope for  

and this time for good…   

at least that was what I hoped for.