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Chapter 8 - Chapter 8: Saying Goodbye

Toni's PoV:

I opened my eyes only a moment later, tired. My arms were limp and my fingers trailed in the water of the pool, where I still stood, slumped, against William. I blinked at him through heavy eyelids.

Will stared at me for a while, checking that I was okay, and then turned to speak to Elder Jones and my father. "It's done," he said.

Faintly, I could hear the murmur of their voices. I tried to push myself up, feeling the pain start to ebb away. I was still weak and achy, but the stabbing feeling had left a few seconds after Elder Jones had completed the ceremony.

I took a step backwards and straightened my spine, blinking my eyes rapidly and flailing my arms. With a cry, I stumbled back into William, my legs still weak and unable to hold my weight. William sighed. He placed an arm beneath my shoulders and adjusted us so we were facing the pack house again.

"Can we leave now?" He asked, his calm demeanor hiding the impatience I knew he must have felt. "She's shivering."

My father, who was standing by the edge of the pool, nodded. I heard the drip of water as it fell from his leg.

William looked at me, glanced up and down at my limp body and seemed to make a decision. With a quick swoop, he lifted me into the air, one arm under my shoulders and the other under my legs. I felt my stomach drop as he carried me out of the pool, my fear of heights coming to the forefront. I was too tired to say anything, though, and I knew I wasn't able to walk on my own two feet.

My eyelids fluttered close. I tried to keep them open, to stay alert and present and to be able to argue at least a little bit with my father, who seemed to think I should leave the pack right away, but my body had other ideas. Instead, my head lolled back and I went completely limp in William's arms, fading out of consciousness.

Distantly, I could feel myself being jostled as Will walked back into the pack house. I could feel the sudden warmth of the hall and the water droplets running down my leg, and I could hear the sound of people cheering as we stepped through the doorway.

My father's voice cut through the crowd, whispered in William's ear. "You better take Antoinette now, it'll be harder to move her once she wakes up."

"Shouldn't we wait? She needs to say goodbye to people."

I struggled to open my eyes, to say that William was right and that I need one more day, one more week, as long as possible, to say goodbye to everyone. I could hardly move, though. I was too close to sleep.

"That will make it worse. Her mother has already packed her things -- Antoinette is stubborn, but she won't be able to argue once she's already left. Take her now."

There was a silence in which I can only assume William was nodding.

"What happened? Toni?" A shrill voice said. Celina was shouting, calling for me. "Toni? What did you do to her? What's wrong?"

No one answered her, but I finally shoved open my eyes long enough to get a glimpse of her desperate, worried face. I tried to look reassuring, but my muscles were too sluggish. William sped up, and pretty soon we were out of the hall, Celina's voice already swallowed up by the cheers of the crowd. I closed my eyes again. It was all too pointless.

The next time I woke up, I was being lifted from the back of a car. Still, my thoughts were groggy and mismatched to my surroundings. I closed my eyes again as I was carried up a flight of stairs and laid down in a bed that was not my own.