"Thank you, I'm sorry about everything..." I feel like a broken record as we head down the stairs from the highest point of the school, up the hill. Cut from stone and into Paramount Conservatory that nestles against the side of the hill, the lowest point connecting to the street.
"There's no need to apologize, Wren," Ulric glances at me as we walk side by side, the overhead walkways above the pathway we are heading down cause him to duck every now and then.
I slowly nod my head, wondering how nice a mortal truly can be. We could never be friends under any other circumstance, though this secret made for two causes me to draw deeper away from my society and what has been ingrained into me. Even though I'm suffering this punishment, that doesn't mean I can slack and must uphold whatever is expected of me.
It's hell...literal hell...
I ask him softly as we walk, "Why did you want to kiss me?"
Ulric stiffens slightly at my words, though he clears his throat and says, "I...am developing feelings for you," he glances away, his gaze set slightly ahead of the stairs and on the ground. It's a few moments before he follows up with, "I think I like you, Wren."
"I..." I pause a moment, halting my steps as I turn to face him. He comes to a stop and stares down at me before I release a breath, "I'm sorry...I'm sorry because I might like you too, but I think this is the last time we should see each other."
It hurts worse, being the one that must break away, for his own good. Another act I must bear the consequences of alone.
Ulric's eyes flicker slightly when I lower my gaze, catching perhaps a glint of light off his eyes that slightly reflect a golden tint. When he releases a heavy sigh, he nods and slips his hands into his pockets, telling me, "You are right, and I shouldn't have done what I did. It was completely out of line." My gaze lifts to meet with his as he finishes, "You are saving the both of us by your hard choice that brought me back to reality."
"I'm glad I could...help," my voice catches in my lungs as it alters in pitch, choking back the watery undertone caught in my throat. I somehow didn't think he'd agree so easily, humans are normally seen as the clingy type once they form any type of relationship, yet this puts everything into perspective.
Ulric turns slightly away, and I know that it's time we head down the second half of the steps. We pass by another overhang, heading halfway to the next. I know I'm caught up in my own thoughts, and I know Ulric is staring at the ground in his...
...it's as if we both want to set the record straight at once.
We look to one another as we walk, though, in the next moment, pain erupts in my shoulder.
Ulric's eyes widen in shock, just as I must reflect the disbelief I hold upon my own features. His features are entirely different than how I've seen him every time we've met...until now.
Blood splatters from the open wound now torn through clothing, registering what's happening as Ulric's eyes widen at me being shot.
I never thought this would actually happen.
Never.
I was warned of the dangers, so many times about why we travel with at least another coven member. The dangers of the veiðimenn...hunters. It felt like a nightmare to scare me to stay inside, and now I know they are all too real, better late than never if anything for me to experience.
A warning I didn't heed.
I just want Ulric to be safe. They're hunting me, not him...he's caught in between and I...
...I'm quicker than when Ulric and I raced at that beach, still able to feel the shifting sands beneath my bare feet. It made me feel alive, just as he does.
The air shifts next to his head, another shot fired, yet whizzes between us.
I shove Ulric as hard as I can, taking a single step to the side toward him and knocking him out of the way, behind the underground pillar beneath the overpass walkway.
I might have been fast for but a split second, yet I feel everything slipping away. Everything is the foundation of who I am. I catch sight of the overpass walkway up ahead, and if I'd not been so shut off within and wallowing myself into a hole, now I've sentenced myself to the grave, I might have seen the three hunters up ahead.
I hear three bullets fire, yet the impact is so much more effective in grabbing my full attention one of the shots imbeds into my abdomen, the second grazing the side of my neck, my hand flying up to cover the open wound. The third, and final one, hits me square in my upper right chest, knocking the air from my lungs as the bullets each rip through and shred organs.
My head knocks off the ground, hitting the stairs solidly while my gaze becomes hazy quickly.
Bleeding.
Internally and outward in a profuse manner. There is so much pain, and I can't heal. Like the devils my parents told me, the truth of the veiðimenn is horrific. Liquid silver bullets, explode within my bloodstream as my weakness spreads like wildfire, preventing me from saving my life. Instead...
...I'm fighting for my life.
Desperately, my hearing, the course of drums devouring every aspect of sound. I can't hear anything else, my vision seeing shadows of a far-off engagement.
I'm choking on blood, a hazy shadow next to me as it looms over top. Death has come for me, please show me mercy...please be kind and compassionate where I've never felt otherwise. Please let me find peace in death, the ultimate escape.
I don't remember much, the flashing of events from my life is the only movie I have on record. I want something new, though that seems out of my collection.
Raw, that's what I feel in my throat, my muscles...nothing like my own. Bright lights make it hard for me to see anything when I manage to pry my eyelids apart. It hurts, able to glimpse something over my nose and mouth briefly before I shut my eyelids tightly together. My head explodes with pain, groaning as I sway my head from side to side, tears forming at the corner of my eyes.
This pain...
...I can feel something touch my chest, firm, yet gentle as I am not allowed to try and lift further away, my back arching off the hard-soft surface. Distorted sounds echo in a mass of wavelengths, feeling so much, wanting this to end.
As my heart rate increases, so does my breathing, almost as if I'm hyperventilating. Not only that, but a distant beeping noise also matches the beat of my heart. It hurts so bad...
...please, make it stop, please.
It's a few seconds later that I feel something warm flood my veins, a calming, almost numbing effect racing through me. It washes over my being, feeling my muscles relax slightly as I mold back further against the surface I'm lying on.
I don't know when I drift off, though I know I'm within the sanctuary of my own thoughts for a while. It's more unclear as to how long I remain unconscious, though I do wake every now and then, my eyelids flickering briefly before closing again.
It's when I wake and open my eyelids, do I find myself in a darker space. It's hard to get a clear picture, my gaze set on the ceiling of a room. It has stars littering the expanse, as far as I can see, glowing slightly a soft gold hue. I see my favorite constellation among the many put together...
It's quiet, except for the beeping matching an even rhythm to my heartbeat. I don't feel or see anything covering my nose and mouth this time, though I do feel the aching throughout my body. It's not as vivid, though it's dull and in the background, slowly tilting my head to look to my right.
I see a small cot, bookshelf, and a simple cabinet. Turning my head back to center and glancing to my left, I see a monitor that beeps to my heartbeat, seeing the lines shift with each pass. It hurts to lift my arm, though I glance down and see there's a needle in it, hooked up to a tube that runs up to a bag of clear liquid on a metal hook.
There is also a small desk and chair, a lamp turned off that has papers scattered across the surface of the desk, while others are neatly in their place.
Aside from the light of the small stars on the ceiling, I see the soft glow of a standing lamp at the end of the room, near a door that slowly opens...
...Ulric?
His irises are solid gold, my eyes widening as I exhale sharply, though deeply regret it as pain sears through my chest. His demeanor alters, and his irises shift back, my heart stops in my chest.
I...I'm so...stupid.
Tears well further in my eyes, threatening to spill over as Ulric asks, "Wren?"
"You're a werewolf..." my voice is quiet and raspy, the tears finally cascading down my cheeks. Everything finally shifts into place, feeling a weight fall on me.