ALISON WAS TIGHTENING THE KNOT IN HER SHOELACE WHEN SHE FELT IT- A PRESENCE. The hair on her arms surged upright, the thump-thump-thumping in her chest quickened. Ever since her encounter with that vampire she has been on edge...it kept flashing within her mind, dancing circles and fear would always seep in. She couldn't even sleep without her light on anymore, the darkness scared her more than ever before, because in the darkness he would always linger. Taunting her, lurking just behind for him to always call her name, taking another vicious bit at her neck, sucking her body dry depriving it, of its life-force. Sinking his fangs deeper and deeper as her life source drained out of her, slowly and painfully.
A hand flew out reaching her shoulder making her jump, her heart almost ripping out of her chest. Almost and if it were him, it would've but she was greeted by her friend's face, Haile. She stood just a mere distance away from the front door. 'Vampires can't enter her home unless invited, so it's safe right?' Then why was she so jumpy lately? Even knowing that she didn't particularly feel safe, and with that thought it never gave her comfort in the slightest, because even if he wasn't here physically every time she so much as closed her eyes for longer than a minute, his presence's was felt, his cold fingers grazing her naked skin, pulling her neck closer towards him, as she felt him take another malicious bite.
"So jumpy," Haile teased, shutting the front door.
Heart thundering in her ears, glancing once more at her friend making sure she wasn't just imagining it, 'I'm going insane' she thought, lately it became harder to distinguish what was real and what wasn't. Alison had thought herself awake but never was she able to really feel it, she couldn't be. This was a nightmare of sorts, more vicious than most, more lucid.
Days had pasted, it almost had been a week since she'd been to school, how could she be thinking about school when her life was falling apart. Yet no matter how she felt about it, she didn't have a choice but to go, maybe some normality would bring her back into her reality. Maybe then she'll feel more awake than ever before? In the madness of everything, her life still had to move forward, there was no choice in that particular area. Life always went on and there wasn't anyone that could stop it, not even her. The thing about life is, it pushes you until you break just to see if you can put yourself back together. Was that even possible for her anymore? Everything that meant to her, it had been stripped away. Taken by force.
"I think I'm going insane," She whispered.
"Funny. I always thought you'd been born that way."
Alison levelled as unamused look Haile's way. "Where have you been? I haven't seen you in awhile."
Haile's eyes shifted, diverting her attention elsewhere, too ashamed to admit it. " I tried, but your mom and aunt thought it would be best if you had some time alone... you know to figure things out." She went on, but never really pestering Alison further, never fishing for anything further. Alison knew that Haile knew, the whole pack knew as to what happened to her, if not the pack then Haile defiantly knew. She was certain of that because her father was there, along with every other guard that swore to protect this pack, this kingdom.
But instead of making her friend feel more guilty than she felt in this moment, Alison chose to lighten the mood slightly. "Since when were you ever the type to listen to anyone?" Laughing slightly afterwards.
Haile's eyes twinkled with mischief. "I'm not, but..." She never wanted to finish what she wanted to say, she knew that Alison has been through a lot in the past week and she cared about her friend, she was worried. Of course she wanted to know what happened, her father never said anything besides that Alison ended up in the hospital, if only she never left her side, it would've never happened. But yet she did, and it did happen.
"Anyways I'm here." She said instead.
"Indeed you are." Sighing in the process, but it was a gentle sigh as if she was carrying the whole world on her shoulders.
"I'm your ride for today." Haile said all nonchalantly, Alison knew her mother had called her, it was obvious, too obvious. Lately she was afraid of everything even the air she breathed, but with Haile near her maybe she would feel a little bit safer, safer than she's felt the past few days.
They never spent another minute long chatting, instead they made their way to Haile's car. Her silver, Toyota Prius awaited for their arrival in the drive way. The sunlight shone on its polished metal as the car glistened brightly, awaiting for them.
Silence, something that has consumed Alison's life far more than it ever did, ever since her father's death her life seems to take a turn for the worst. Days has past and nothing, her aunt was doing everything she could to find him, to find his body but she hoped he was alive rather than dead because if he wasn't, even she didn't know what to do then? Could she live a life alone? Was she even prepared for that sort of life? She wasn't prepared for anything that has occurred within her life. Wolves were supposed to only have one chance at love, some searched the entire world for their soulmate, because to a wolf it was far more important than breathing and yet somehow she'd found him for only him to be ripped away from her within seconds.
The thing about a soulmate union for a wolf is that it's your other half of your soul, and if they are never to find them it's as if they would never be complete, always feeling like a half of them was missing. As if their soul had been at sea for so long, forgetting what land would feel like anymore. And as time would go by the hazy recollections returned and with them the longing for the feeling of soft grass beneath naked feet.
There was a time, after a storm, they see, that they'd tried every port, for the gales were so horrific it would feel as if their boat would shatter, and if they never found their other part of their soul, it would. It would break into more pieces that could be counted and they would have to live the rest of their lives underwater. As time would eat away their strength, they would slowly drown deeper and deeper. Never able to find a safe harbour. Never making their way out of the water as their wolves would significantly become weak, weaker than omegas themselves. Ultimately they would be driven into madness and eventually die.
'Maybe he is dead?' She thought, a frightful thought. Maybe she would be driven into madness, ultimately dying of a broken heart of almost mating her soulmate, almost knowing him. That's even worse than not finding them at all, at least then she could say at least she tried finding them, maybe it wouldn't hurt as much. And yet, she found him but lost him like you would loose a bloody sock. How was that ever fair? It wasn't, life was never fair. Life was more consumed with loss, losses that came and we feel the bonds of our love reach into the ether, feeling them there yet wishing for their presence, to hold and nurture once more. After everything that has occurred Alison was starting to understand that not everything in life worked out the way you'd hoped. It had many twists and turns, even if those twists and turn were never for the better, but somehow she felt like they had a purpose, even she knew it.
"Hey, you okay? I feel like I'm losing you?" Haile finally broke the silence that seem all too intoxicating for Alison, pulling her away from her depressing thoughts.
"Yeah..." She faintly whispered, as tears filled in the rims of her eyes but she didn't dare to spill them.
"Ali-" Haile was cut short, as she saw her best friend suffer emotionally more than ever before.
"It's not fair..." She whispered once more.
"As much as I didn't want to pry, but what happened?" Haile asked as gently as possible, she wanted to help, help her friend relieve the pain that was too obvious to simply ignore, you would have to be heartless to ignore a cry for help.
"Why do bad things happen to me?" In tears the inner angel pleads for someones help and there, in this moment, it was a chance to reach out and ask for help, for a need to understand why things were the way they were.
"What have done to deserve such a punishment?" She questioned, a question that never seemed to have an answer, and the sadness that Alison felt was simply just anger that hid behind, yet anger never came unless in direct self defence, and so perhaps she can credit this natural passivity with her willingness to simply just cry and feel the pain, to let the sorrow teach her more about her true nature and how fragile she actually felt.
"Ali, you haven't done anything-" But Haile's attempt was suddenly cut short as Alison's cry became louder, and in that moment she knew her friend only needed someone to just listen. And that's what she did. She listened, as hard as it was.
"Then why do I get punished! First my dad and now my mate being ripped away from me...how is that ever fair!?" Alison had always been so self-conscious when she cried but now she gave way to the enormity of her grief. She sobbed into her hands and the tears dripped between her fingers, raining down onto her lap.
"You found your mate?" Haile asked with a slight shock to her question.
"Yes..." Alison replied, her breathing slightly heavy from her sobbing, tears never seeming to stop running their way down her face. Feeling slightly ashamed to admit it, not ashamed that she found him but ashamed because she'd lost him.
"His dead- well at least that's what everyone is telling me, I don't even know anymore."
"Dead?" A slight fear engulfed her, coming to a loss of words.
"Although somehow I don't feel like he is... it's as if- I don't really know how to explain it... it's as if he still lives on." She continued.
"What was he like?" Haile threw another question at her, catching her completely off guard. What was he like? She didn't even know, she'd only had a brief encounter.
"W-what?"
Haile glanced at her friend, her eyes softened at the sight of her, "What was he like? What did he look like?" She asked again.
It took her a few minutes to gather her thoughts, everyone knew that she had met her mate but know no one took the time to ask her what he was like, well at least her mother never did, not that she had many people in her life besides Haile, she didn't have anyone else. "Um...Simply perfect." She laughed slightly, throwing her hands in the air out of frustration, not even believing herself. His face was hard to forget, it was sculpted by God himself. His forest green eyes were ingrained in her mind. Her Dad used to say that 'green was the strongest colour because it ignites the new season after the passing of wintery days', and in that his eyes were born strong, the green hue reminded her of the sunshine and floral blooms.
"Perfect huh?" Haile would do anything to help make her feel better, to cause just a simple smile. And she defiantly knew how, whenever she'd spoken about her mate it always made her feel better, and she was right, it seemed to have made Alison feel a little better.
"Yeah, his eyes are so green. In the moment, it felt like I was literally seeing the forest within them," She joked, smiling while she recalled the memory.
"I love green eyes." Haile pestered on for Alison to continue and so she did. That was all she talked about, she talked about him. To the first time they met, to what he smelled like and to the very moment it were their last. She spoke about everything, told Haile everything. Every detail. For the first time Alison felt a little bit lighter, like some of the weight she had been carrying all this time had eased off her shoulders and it felt freeing.