Chapter 27
I stayed in my room for a while till Mum came to get me for lunch. I sat with them, but we sat awkwardly until Josh started asking some questions. I answered them as well as possible, but this was still weird. Tala was quiet. I didn’t hear from her when I was with mum and Josh. After lunch, I looked around the house and found a collection of books to read. I scanned through them and found one that seemed interesting to me. I took it upstairs and went back to my room to read it. I knew mum and Josh wanted me to do more with them, but taking it slow was helping. Josh seemed okay, but I was trying to determine if I could trust him. I read the book when my mum called me to come down for dinner. I didn’t realize the time until I looked up and noticed it was half past six. I sighed, placing the book on the bed. I walked down the stairs and headed into the kitchen. Mum smiled, but before she said anything, there was a knock at the door. I looked at mum, who seemed to be confused. Josh walked over to the door and opened it but seemed tensed when he stared at the people there. There stood my grandparents with two boys. My eyes widened. “What are you doing here?” my mum asked, pushing past Josh and glaring at her parents. I stood rooted to the spot as the two young boys came into the house and looked at me. They looked like a mixture of Josh and mum. My head got heavy, but I felt more eyes on me. I looked up to see the old man again, my grandfather. His face was hard. “We are family,” he said, glancing back at my mum. “We should be allowed to see her.” My mum stared at him. “You know you aren’t allowed,” she murmured. “If he takes her…” What? I looked at them. “What the hell is going on?” I asked, finding my voice suddenly. The old man glared at my outburst, but I didn’t care. I looked at mum, who now turned around and stared at me. “Leah,” she said. “I had nothing to do with this. We were taking it slow. A friend of mine was…” but her father cut her off. “We wanted to see you,” he said, stepping into the house. I stared at him. “Lies,” Tala mumbled. I knew that. “I don’t believe you,” I said. I felt the change in the atmosphere as he stopped and kept his eyes on me. “I’m not going to beat around the bush here,” he grunted. “I think having you here is a mistake. You don’t belong here. You should still be with that man you call your father.” I felt anger rise within as he continued. “Your father was a nobody,” he growled. “He should have never been with my daughter.” “Well, you can’t help who you fall in love with,” I muttered, which made him glare at me. “Love?” he asked. “That wasn’t love. That was a pity.” I felt my head hurt more. I felt Tala’s presence more, but she said nothing. “Dad,” mum shouted. “Where is Flora?” The old man turned around and glared at her. “This is all your fault,” he shouted, ignoring her question. “She should have never been born. Not when you were meant for Josh.” I felt my heart break. This man was supposed to be family, but he hated me. All because I was someone else’s child. I looked at my mum, who seemed taken aback by what he said. My grandfather turned back to me. “You are nothing but a product of a useless human,” he growled. My anger was now turned into rage. I heard enough. “A useless human,” I spluttered. “My father was not useless. He was among the most amazing men you would have ever met.” I stepped toward him. “He looked after me all on his own,” I shouted. “He held two jobs and kept a roof over my head while I went to school. He missed any activity I did. You are mistaken if that is what you call a useless human.” 2 I felt wetness on my cheeks. The man stared at me, but there was nothing there. Anger and resentment. All eyes were on me. “You want to know something,” I murmured as I stood before him. “You think I am nothing to you? That’s fine because you all mean nothing to me.” I barged past the old man and ran through the door into the rain. I ran toward the forest, not knowing where I was going. I hated this place. I hated my so-called family. I heard some shouting, but I didn’t bother looking back. I ran till I couldn’t hear anything, but seeing was getting harder. I used to run in school and was quite fast. I made the track team and even won a few medals for it. The rain was coming down harsher, but it didn’t stop me. I ran but tripped over a tree branch and landed on my ankle. I rolled on the ground until I landed in a heap under a tree. The rain was cold on my skin. The rage was still there, the words of the man who was supposed to be my family filling my head. I looked around, but there was nothing. It was dark and wet. “It’s okay,” Tala’s voice whispered into my head. “Why didn’t you help me?” I cried. “I needed help.” Tala said nothing but sighed after a few moments. “I would have,” she said. “But this was your fight, not mine. When everything is explained to you, I will help more.” I screamed. “Tell me,” I cried. “Tell me what this is all about?” Tala was silent. I was about to say something when I heard a branch break, and I looked to where the sound came from and stared in horror as the biggest wolf I had ever seen stared back. I tried to move, but my ankle wasn’t having any of it. Pain shot through me, which caused me to hiss. I stared ahead as the wolf didn’t move. “Nice, doggy,” I muttered. The wolf was all black but massive. His eyes were blue, and they never left me. Wonder if he is dangerous. “No,” Tala said, “He’s not. He seems to be worried about you.” I stared at the wolf. I didn’t want to look anywhere else. I was too afraid that he would hurt me. The rain was coming down still, and I was drenched right through. I moved my knees up to my chest and wrapped my arms around them, keeping my eyes on the wolf. My head got heavy again like it did yesterday. “Tala,” I whispered, but there was no sound as my eyes closed, and all I could see was the wolf staring at me till my eyes were shut and I was sent into darkness. Well, if I have to die, a wolf is a good way to go. TALA I had to get her to do it again. Sleep is the only thing I could think of. I could feel our mate coming closer. I want to shout on the rooftops and tell Leah, but I can’t. I wanted to come out and kill that old wolf. I wanted to protect her, but the moon goddess’s words flooded around. “Not yet,” she murmured to me. I hated I had to sit back and watch all this unfold like it did. I heard movement and knew it was our mate. It is all up to him now, but I will keep telling her we will meet soon. I just hope it will be sooner, something is coming, and it is after my human. I need to be ready and able to shift.