Lya
'Hey,' a voice echoed through my head. I ignored it. Everything was so dark and disjointed. I had no perception of what was going on.
'Hey,' it repeated. It was a feminine voice. Flowy and soft, but also demanding respect and to be heard.
'What?' My own was groggy and cracked.
'A thank you is in order,' she said.
'And why would I do that?'
'For taking over and protecting your ass when you would never return the favor,' she scoffed.
I had no idea what was going on. I felt completely out of my own body. That feeling intensified as images from the past started to come into focus.
'It doesn’t have to be this way,' she whispered softly.
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I sat in my old childhood bedroom. It must have been late, because the curtains were drawn and a lamp was on. I looked on at a younger version of myself, smiling and giggling to herself.
I remembered this night, this conversation. I had just turned 15 two months ago, and my wolf had shown up just in time for my birthday. The voice had come a couple months before that.
When the voice initially showed up, I was wary. I was certain I was just crazy. I didn’t tell any of my friends, and certainly not my mother. The only person I mentioned it briefly to was my younger sister. She was enthralled, and wanted to know every detail. I kept it short, though. Just a friendly presence; a constant companion. She didn’t have a name, at least not one she had told me.
The night of my first shift, the voice warned me that a change was coming, encouraging me to find somewhere alone. She said most people wouldn’t understand, and it’d be better if I was by myself. She told me it would hurt, but it’d be brief. She said she would manage as much of it as she could.
She was right. The pain was excruciating, and I screamed as it felt like every bone in my body was breaking. When I opened my eyes and looked around, I saw paws instead of hands, fur the same color as my auburn hair, and when I turned, I saw a tail. The tail was the thing that really set me off. I had a tail. A big, fluffy tail.
Before I could really truly freak out, the voice jumped in. 'This is us, Lya. I am your wolf. I am a part of you just as much as you are a part of me. We will always have each other.'
That reassurance and acceptance warmed me. Everything would be okay. My life was a little in shambles with my dad recently disappearing and puberty just being hell for any highschool kid, but I would always have this. No matter how bad things ever got.'Keep this secret,' my wolf implored. 'When the time is right, I’ll let you know when it’s safe to tell others.'
'Are there others like us?' I had asked.
She chuckled. 'All in due time, you will know.'
I didn’t know how to see my wolf. She was like a mother figure, a sister, a mentor, and a best friend, all rolled into one.But this night she had brought me to - that’s the night that everything changed. We had been talking about a boy, Sutton, who I had the hugest crush on. He didn’t even know I existed. My wolf insisted he wasn’t worth my time and energy, that we will know when the one comes along, but he wasn't it. Just wait.
We heard voices from downstairs. That was unusual, because it was late and both my sister and I had gone to bed. I perked up when I thought I heard my dad’s voice.
I rushed out my bedroom door and down the stairs, stopping when I saw him in the doorway.
“Daddy?” My voice cracked. The past year of anger and hurt dissipated.
He smiled at me. His expression was warm. “Lya.” He held his arms open for a hug, but as I moved toward him, my mom jumped in between us.
“You do not touch her,” she hissed. “You don’t get to disappear for a year, leave us high and dry with no idea what happened or where you were, then waltz back in and be ‘Daddy’ again!”
He tried to push past her, but she slapped him and shoved him toward the door.
That was it, that was what had done it.
The anger bubbled up to a point that I couldn’t even handle. I just wanted to see my dad. I could be angry and seek my own retribution later, but right now, I was just thankful to know he was alive. And he was here.
A growl rumbled in my chest, and both of their eyes were on me. Soon, they were looking at a wolf standing on the stairs, not their daughter.
No, I thought. I am their daughter like this, too.
Shifting had become more fluid and there was almost no pain associated with it by this point. My wolf had told me the more experience I got, the easier it would be. I was thankful for that. Although it took me a while to get used to shredding clothes every shift. I had lost some of my favorite outfits because of that.
I looked out at my parents from behind my wolf’s eyes. It was such a unique sensation, being there but only being a fly on the wall.
The look of sheer terror on my mother’s face hurt and bit deep. Looking at my father, at the time, I thought he felt the same. The fear in the room was palpable. I could smell it.
But now, studying his face from this perspective. I saw a flash of something else. Joy? Pride? It was the same look he’d give when he informed me I was the best oldest daughter he had.
But the look was quickly replaced. Sadness, hurt, grief. And with that, he bolted out the door.
I ran back up to my room. I had loved my wolf with all my heart, but all that dissipated in just a few short seconds. It had made my mother scared, and it had sent my daddy away again.
'You have to go now, forever,' I told the voice.
'Lya, no,' she insisted. 'I can’t. I’m a part of you.'
'Leave.'
She refused. I racked my brain for every bit of werewolf mythology that I knew. Silver.
The only thing I had made out of silver was a set of jewlery. I rarely wore it, because I got rashes from it. I ran over to my jewelry box and picked up a silver stud. I dug it deep into my wrist and dragged it as far as I could. The blood that seeped out made it slippery and difficult to hold onto. This hurt worse than my first shift. The voice whimpered, crying out in pain. I smiled. It was working.
'I’ll kill you then,' I told the voice.
'You can’t kill me without killing yourself, and I won’t let us die,' she choked out, her voice getting fainter and fainter.
I dropped the earring and grabbed a silver bracelet from the small box. It became a permanent fixture on my wrist.
The next day, his truck was still in the driveway. Mom had it towed. I never saw him again.
A couple nights later, when out in the backyard, I saw large pawprints in the mud. Just outside my window.
Over the next three years, my mother and I never once even alluded to that night. She still took care of me, but she wasn’t kind, warm, loving, and involved anymore. She always had a twinge of fear whenever I was around, and that hurt even more than if she would just get angry at me, or tell me how she felt. Just a conversation was all I wanted.
On my eighteenth birthday, I knew exactly the reason why she told me I needed to leave.
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The images faded and I was back in the darkness of my brain. Alone.
'Yes,' I said, knowing the wolf was listening. She always was. 'It does have to be this way.'
Oliver I walked down a footpath leading away from the back of the packhouse. I had my head down, looking at my feet. This path wasn’t anywhere near as worn as it should have been. I wasn’t making my way out this direction enough. I felt guilty at that thought. I couldn’t really claim it was because of how busy things were with the pack; we had had peace for so long, and the hierarchy operated like a well oiled machine. I could take a couple hours to pay this particular Elder a visit more often. She lived alone now, her mate dying five years previously from the slow decline of heartbreak, after their son had passed. I often wondered how the death of their only child and the death of her mate didn’t take her, too. Her mental fortitude was one of the things that garnered her a place as an elder. I came up to her cottage. It sat about a mile away from the packhouse, a few hundred yards inside the forest that surrounded the town, but still well within our territory borders. She defi
Lya My eyelids were heavy, and it was a monumental effort to just crack them open. I was surrounded by white, and everything smelled sterile. I tried to shift positions, but searing pain ran through me. I gasped. “Hey, take it easy, kiddo,” a familiar voice said from the corner of the room. I turned my head to look at him. Trevor gave me a half smile. “You certainly do like making a scene, don’t you?” “I’m sorry,” I croaked. He reached over and handed me a cup of water from the bedside table. “Had to expect something like that with the bombshell I dropped on you,” he muttered. “Where are we?” I asked. He looked at me with a sad expression. “You are in a hospital. My first aid knowledge doesn’t quite cover bullet holes.” I gulped. I guess I wasn’t in any condition to run. When they found out about Ted, it’d be really easy to just waltz up and arrest me. Or maybe it would be really easy to suggest he shot me and I killed him in self defense. I breathed out. I had a defense, at
OliverSomeone knocked on my office door. I looked over at the clock on the wall, surprised to see it was already a little after noon. I closed the book, careful to only touch the cloth surrounding it, and shoved it to the side of my desk. “Come in,” I called. The door swung open. Dr. Whitledge bowed his head as he walked in and stood in front of my desk. “Go ahead and sit, Dr. Whitledge.” He sat, still not saying anything. I leaned back in my chair and looked at him. “So,” I said, breaking the silence. “So…” his voice trailed off. “Would you be able to do me a favor?” I asked. He nodded. “Could we do a DNA test on Lya?” I asked. “I have questions about her parentage.” I motioned to the book beside me. “As do I,” he said. “I really thought she must be a part bred that didn’t inherit a wolf, but signs point to otherwise, yes?” I nodded slowly. “She does have a wolf.” “Then why isn’t she healing appropriately?” he asked. “That’s a long story.” I leaned forward, placing
Lia The swarm of visitors was a little overwhelming, even if it stemmed from good intentions. I wondered if my room had been a revolving door of people when I was asleep also. I looked over to the man in the chair by the bed. Mountain man was an accurate description for the pack alpha. Even down to the flannel shirt with rolled up sleeves, Oliver was a lumbersexual’s wet dream. He had messy jet black hair that curled at the ends, and a beard that looked like it had been forgotten about for at least a few days. His dark chocolate eyes never left me. 'We should keep this one around,' the voice purred. I scoffed at her comment. “Is there anything I can do to make staying here a bit more comfortable?” he asked. I shook my head. “Unless there’s a way to blow this popsicle stand before Thursday or Friday,” I said.“What, don't you like hospitals?” he smirked. “Who does?” I snorted. “You know, a good way to avoid them is to not get shot.” He gave me a pointed look, but the smile stil
Oliver Adair growled in protest as we left Lya’s room. 'We need to be with her,' he insisted. 'Adair,' I sighed, 'you know that will just set her off.' 'Her wolf won’t mind.' His tone made it clear he was not willing to negotiate, and it was a feat to maintain control.'But the one running the show will,' I said. My comment made him whimper. He knew I was right. I felt him recede back to the corners of my mind and curl up in a ball. Trevor glanced over at me. “I’m guessing that’s not really the first encounter you expected,” he said. I shrugged. “If you asked me even a week ago, no.” I paused, actually thinking about what transpired. I was hurt by the fact that I was losing out on that one magical, irreplaceable moment when both mates realize at the same time. And it hurt that I would have to hide it from her for who knows how long. I knew those things before walking through the door, though. My grandmother was right - I am more or less trying to court a human. “But given what
Lya It was dark out when I woke up. Lights were off, and moonlight streamed through the window. My arm brace had been taken off, and the bed returned to laying flat. I hadn’t even noticed anyone come in. The room was quiet, save for the beeping of monitors and a soft snore. I looked over, expecting to see Trevor. The form in the chair was decidedly not him. I reached out to the wolf in my head. 'So you couldn’t warn me that some random guy turned up here?''What, am I supposed to be your babysitter or something?' she jeered. 'You’ve already proven you can be a bodyguard, so why not?' I said wryly. 'Oliver and Adair are not a threat.''How do you know?' She didn’t humor me with a response. The person invading my room stirred, slowly opening his eyes. “Hey.” Oliver’s voice was gruff with sleep. “So are all werewolves creepy stalkers?” I asked. “Only sometimes.” The room was too dark to make out his expression, but it sounded like he was smiling. “Well, I don’t need a bab
OliverI woke up still in Lya’s hospital bed. Her head was resting on my shoulder, and she snored softly. I breathed in deep, as if her lilac scent wasn’t overwhelming enough. Her body pressed up to mine was a tantalizing temptation that had me reminding myself we were in a hospital bed, and she was healing, and she didn’t feel the same yet. But mate bonds didn’t seem to care about that. I slowly started to shift off the bed, making sure not to jostle her, but Adair growled. 'We stay,' he insisted. I looked out the window. The sun was up, with the last bits of pinks and oranges burning off. 'People will be by to check on her, and she will wake up at some point.' I really didn’t want to be caught in bed with her. Not yet. 'So? Mate.' 'I know,' I said, 'but she’s not ready.' Adair grumbled as he released the hold paralyzing me. I grabbed my jacket and slipped out the door, quickly closing it behind me. “Still here, Alpha?”I whipped around, coming face to face with Dr. Whitledge.
Lya Rose waltzed through the door of my room. “Good morning, sunshine!” she sang. “Afternoon, really.” I sat up a little. “Hey,” I said, offering a half smile. I looked around, trying to get a gauge for the time. I had woken up a while ago to the sun glaring through the window, alone. I wasn’t surprised Oliver had left. He was the Alpha, after all. I assumed that meant important duties that required round the clock attention. Still, I peaked over her shoulder, hoping to see him. “Just me,” she smiled. “I figured some time away from the boys might be nice. So how’s hospital life?” I groaned. “This is the most uncomfortable bed I have ever slept in.” “I’m sure any bed would be uncomfortable after being in it round the clock for a couple days,” she laughed. “C’mon, let’s get you up.” I had already been encouraged to get up and move a bit a few times in the later part of yesterday and this morning. It was never that far at a time, seeing as my left leg was so torn up, and my c