First Meeting

ROSALIA'S P.O.V.

"My baby!" My mother held me gently as tears streamed down her eyes. I tried my best to return the hug, but my arms refused to listen. The pain was unbearable, but seeing my mother and father sorrowful hurt even worse. I seriously have to stop ending up like this, I hate making my parents worry about me. "Mom, I'm okay. I promise. Please don't cry." My fingers rubbed her lower back gently as she held me and sniffled some more.

"Thank you Goddess…thank you, goddess…," She whispered softly close to my ear. My father held us both in his arms, and for the longest time, no one said a word. I was relieved that no one was angry at me. We just held each other, and I think I needed that more than anything. Comfort. From everything I've been going through, I've gone through it alone. This whole time I've never had anyone by my side. Sure, some people have helped, but honestly, I don't know where I stand with them. I won't dare say we're friends, even if I wanted to think that at one point. Especially one guy who I wanted to understand, but I realized too late that there was never anything to understand except for one thing. It wasn't meant to be. I wish I could have gone back and stopped every stupid thing I did. But, you can't change the past.

The one thing I have to remember is that in this life, I do have people I can trust. Those people are my parents. I should have relied on them in the past. The good thing about this second life is little by little, you learn from your previous mistakes. That's what I plan to do now. So after we all calm down, I tell them what happened. Well, rather all I remember from that night. I was upset about the test situation, and then I heard the voice. That's what I'm calling it now since I still can't confirm what was real and what wasn't.

"Okay, so this Brittany girl is the one who said you cheated on your exam." I nodded as my father sat in a chair beside my bed and my mother decided to sit in the bed with me. He crossed his arms, clearly upset, "Unreal."

"Why would she say such a thing in front of the whole school?" My mother rubbed my hand in a soothing gesture as she looked at me. "Isn't it obvious? That girl is jealous of Rosalia. We need to have a word with her parents now. No one bullies my daughter and gets away with it!"

"Honey, calm down, we can solve this without hostility,"

"Meghan, she's the reason our daughter is the latest gossip. If we don't take this seriously, that Bonnie girl is gonna think she can do whatever she want to Rosalia. We gotta put her in her place!"

"Um…," I looked at my dad, "Her name is Brittany."

"Bonnie. Brittany. Whatever the hell her name is! She needs to be dealt with. Now." Dad's eyes began to turn grey and I could tell that his wolf was coming out. Uh oh. That's not good. When papa wolf comes out, it's fight now, and don't talk later. Mom quickly goes to his side and holds his hand gently.

"David, I need you to calm down, you don't want to scare Rose do you?" My mother's voice was gentle and calming as dad began to calm down. He sighed covering her eyes. "I'm sorry honey. I just can't believe someone did this to our baby girl." He walked over to me and held my hands. "Don't worry sweetie. Your mother and I will fix this."

As much as that makes me feel better. I hate the fact that I'll be relying on my parents to defend me. I can hear the backlash now. Sixteen-year-old still babied by her mom and dad. Goddess, how humiliating.

"I don't know how much good that'll do. I can't prove that she lied and made it up, because there's proof against me," That's the hard truth to swallow. Brittany still has the upper hand on me unless I can prove my speculation that she framed me. I have no idea how to do that.

"That's right. We can't just go up to her and say she lied with no proof honey," Mom and dad shared a glance at one another. As they continued the conversation back and forth with one another, I couldn't help but stay in deep thought. As humiliating as it was to tell my parents about the situation, I feel like I'm out of options. They're the only ones I can turn to and trust. They believe me when no one else will. But still, I wish I didn't have to rely on them. I'm not a child anymore, and I wish I could handle my problems on my own. I know I'm not strong enough, but I don't want to be seen as a baby.

"I wouldn't say that description fits you."

My eyes widen as I hear the voice again. When I look up, I'm no longer in the hospital bed. It's not even the room, and my parents are nowhere to be seen. I look around to see everything is black. I can't see a thing in the distance. I wrap my arms around my body. I don't know where I am, but this place doesn't feel safe. What is this place? Where am I?

"You can't recognize your own mind, host?" My head turns immediately to where the voice leads to, and I'm completely shocked by what I see. A wolf stands before me, but not just any wolf. One with midnight black fur that helps it blend in with its surroundings. It hovers above me as it seems to be over 12 feet tall. Quite the height to see! The eyes of the wolf gleam in a golden color. Oddly enough, the eyes are beautiful but dangerous as well. This may be a wolf, but this isn't an ordinary one!

"What….h-how? You're…" Could this be who I think it is? It can't be. The wolf rolls her eyes in annoyance and walks around me. She's observing me. That much I can tell, but I'm so terrified that I can't even look her in the eyes. I don't want to provoke her even once.

"This is what I was assigned to? I expected better, but I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. You are a weak host."

Weak…? I built up the courage to slowly look up at the terrifying beast. She looked down at me, straight into my eyes. It felt as if she was looking deep into my soul. My throat felt like it was closing, and I instantly felt like I was suffocating. I replayed the word in my head over and over again. Weak. That was the voice that spoke to me that night. The same one that spoke to me in my head not once but twice. That voice belonged to this wolf. The voice that is speaking to me now. I open my mouth to speak, but I don't know what can I say. This wolf speaks the truth. Deep down I knew I was always weak. I am weak. There's no mistaking that, and that is how I feel. If I'm finally having a conversation with the familiar voice, this has to be my wolf. But why is she so hostile towards me? This isn't the type of first meeting I expected. I thought when one meets their wolf, it's a joyous occasion and both are happy to be together. As I look at the wolf before me, I don't see any happiness or joy. Only a disappointed expression and harsh judgment underneath.

"Can you not speak human?" Human? Am I that lowly in her eyes? I can't stay quiet forever. Maybe I can get her to warm up to me.

"My name is Rosalia. Are you...by chance my wolf?"

"What else would I be? Your guardian angel? Do we have a problem?" I gulped as I can feel the hostility from the question. I'm at a loss for words at the moment. What am I to say?

"N-No," I stuttered, "I...This…You just weren't what I was...expecting." A low growl escapes her lips and causes me to flinch hard. Did I say the wrong thing?! Is this where I die?!

"Tch. The feeling is quite mutual. A host who can't even fix one problem, and has to rely on her parents to help. You don't need them when the problem has already been taken care of." Taken care of? What does that mean?

"What...do you mean?" The tall beast walks by me on a dull grey path that appears on the ground, and I slowly pursue but I make sure not to get too close. I can't be too careful. "You should know. After all, you gave the order to take care of that insect." What? What is she talking about? Did I do something to Brittany? If so, then what? As much as I want to ask about Brittany, my mouth stays shut. Almost as if it's telling me not to say a word. When she stops dead in her tracks, I stop as well.

"I can tell you're going to be a piece of work, but heed my words human. You are weak now, but do not make it your objective to stay that way. It will indeed take time but do not fear. I shall make a monster out of you." The atmosphere around me starts to drop in temperature and I look up to see those golden eyes staring back at me. A few steps are taken towards me, but my feet stay frozen on the path as my wolf gets closer. When their face is almost close to touching mine, I hold my breath and look at their eyes. I try to remain calm, but I'm terrified.

"This is what you wanted, Rosalia Gardens." From that moment, everything around me starts to blur and quickly it all fades away to a luminous light. I can't see a thing and nothing reaches my ears until in the faint distance, I hear voices.

"Rosalia! Honey, say something! What's wrong?!" I open my eyes to see my parents hovering over me with fearful expressions on their faces. What just happened?

"Mom? Dad?" Mom wraps her arms around me, "Oh goddess you're okay! You just passed out on us." Dad pushes the red button beside my bed, "I'm getting a nurse in here, and then a doctor. They need to check on you again, and tell us what is going on." I reassure mom and dad over and over that I'm fine, but they don't wish to hear any of it. So I go through the process of having the nurse check my vitals while the doctor explains my injuries and what could have made me pass out just then. My blood pressure is pretty low since I lost so much blood from my alleged "attack". My thoughts are only focused on what went on in my mind while I was unconscious. It was all in my head, but I know that was real. I can't even believe it. I saw my wolf, but she does not care for me. If anything, she despises my very existence. That is all for one reason, one that I can not bear to handle. All because I'm weak.

She was to be my other half. I was so excited to have my wolf, and she wants absolutely nothing to do with me.