Chapter 4

It was the next day and Riley was starting to wake up. She looked around her and realised she slept at the cave. She stood up and stretched her back and saw the view. It looked different than last night and it wasn't just because she could see everything clearer. The trees looked like they had grown taller and stood still. The branches and leaves didn't move in the wind, but just stood like a statue. The sun shined brightly and the sky was a beautiful sapphire blue that glistened in the day and hid in the night. She looked around and saw that Maria was gone. She wondered where she could have gone, but decided to stay where she was: she had never been this far away from her pack. Thinking of her pack, she wondered what her parents would be doing and thinking. She looked out and towards her house. She could see some of the pack members training and transforming into their wolves, looking happy and enjoying life. She wondered if that was what Marias pack looked like before everything happened to her. Suddenly, she could hear someone coming up behind her. It was Maria and she was carrying a dead rabbit with a knife in its stomach. "Why do you have that?" Riley asked. Maria looked at Riley and then back at the dead rabbit she was holding. She lit the fire with another wave of her hand and placed the rabbit above it on a stick to roast. "It's breakfast. For me anyway. I don't think you would want some." Riley shoke her head and sat near the fire that was now lit. "You have to call your parents Riley. Let them know that you are okay, that you are going home and that I'm coming too. If they asked, you stayed in my apartment at a hotel." Riley sighed, but nodded and grabbed her phone from her pocket. She started to dial her dad's number and walked over to the edge of the mountain so she could see her house. "Riley is that you? Are you okay? Tell me where you are and I'll come and pick you up, I promise." "Don't worry dad. I stayed at Maria's house and she's going to come back to our house for dinner, remember. I'll be back soon. Bye" Before Riley's dad could even answer, Riley ended the call and turned back and looked at Maria. She had already begun to eat the rabbit and it was strange for Riley to see this because she was used to people eating like a human and not a wild wolf. "Once I've ate this then we will go to your house and remember not to tell anyone about who and what I am." "I know. I won't, you don't have to worry and just so you know, Sara will be there." Maria stopped eating and froze. You could see in her eyes that she was disgusted when she heard the name. She didn't show how angry she was, but Riley could figure it out. Maria stood up and threw the rest of the rabbit off of the cliff. Two birds grabbed it before it went out of sight and fought for it. There was a black bird and a white bird. The black bird won the rabbit and flew away. Maria chuckled to herself as she tried to imagine the bird eating a rabbit that was ten times its size. She walked over to the cave and took off her top. Riley saw that her back was covered in scars and bruises. Some looked old and some looked new. She didn't know what to say or where Maria could have gotten them from. She decided not to say anything and instead ask about it later. A few minutes later, Maria was wearing a white fur jacket and grey trousers that gripped onto her legs. She had grey boots that went up to her ankles and wore white gloves that gripped tightly to her hands. Her hair was loose and stood out from the white fur. She didn't wear any shades so Riley could see her blue eyes that sent shivers down her spine, even though she knew that she wouldn't hurt her. "Alright then, let's go meet your parents and pack." Maria and Riley started to climb down the mountain and walk into the forest and trees that awaited them at the bottom.

The walk through the forest was very quiet and Riley didn't say a word about Maria's scars until it got unbearable for her to not say anything anymore. "How did you get those scars on your back? You had lots of scars and bruises." Riley stopped walking and turned around to see Maria behind her. "Where did they come from?" Maria said, "It doesn't matter. All you need to know is that they came from fights and winning battles. I don't want to talk about it anymore and neither should you." Riley decided to leave it alone and take no for an answer, although she wanted to find out more about them. The two carried on walking and listened to the sticks snapping in two when they were walked on and the birds singing to each other in the branches. Just as they were getting closer to the pack house, Riley stops and turns to look at Maria and says, "Before we go in there, I want to tell you something about my parents." Maria nods at Riley for her to carry on. "My parents will plan on asking you lots of questions, but you must not let them know who you are. They both have short tempers and decide whether they like someone or not on first impressions so you must give them a good one." Maria nods at Riley and says, "Don't worry, I've had lots of practise with alphas and they won't know who I am. I promise you that." Then the two walked out into the opening and Maria could see what Riley's house was really like in person. The garden was empty and that was because there were no wolves allowed to transform as they thought that Maria was a human. The house was a lot bigger than she had imagined. It was made out of logs and looked like a holiday home that people go to in the winter. There looked like there was a window for every room and even had a balcony for one. "I know that it's a lot nicer than yours, but come on let me show you around so you can meet my parents." Maria nodded and followed after Riley into the pack house.

Maria entered the house and saw a hallway with two people stood in. It was Enzo and the luna. Riley cleared her throat and the two turned around to see her. Her mother ran towards Riley, wrapping her arms around her. Enzo slowly walked towards them and looked at Maria. Their eyes met and Enzo nodded towards Maria which she knew he meant as a thank you for looking after Riley. Maria nodded back to let Enzo know that she understood and that she would do it any time. Then the luna backed away from the hug and looked at Maria. The luna had green eyes, which must be where Enzo got them from, and had light brown hair. She wasn't tall or small and she was very thin. "Thank you for letting Riley stay at your house last night. My name is Yasmine and I'm sure you've already met my son, Enzo." Maria smiled and said, "It's lovely to meet you Yasmine and yes I have met Enzo. My name is Maria." Yasmine smiled at Maria showed her the way to the dining room. As Maria was walking to the dining room, she could hear everyone talking from in the rooms in hushed voices. Maria smiled to herself at how funny it was that they thought she didn't know about them. When she was walking, a room caught her eye. Through the little gap in the door, she could see a library and bookshelves inside. Maria knew that she would find the book in there and that she had to get inside somehow without being caught. Still, she followed the others into the dining room.

It was bigger than she expected and a long table in the centre of the room. Chairs surrounded it and the walls had paintings and pictures of different people. Some were people Maria knew, like Riley and Enzo, but some were people she didn't, although she could take a good guess that they were other pack members. Maria looked towards the table and saw Riley's and Enzo's dad. He had dark brown hair and brown eyes that was the colour of mud. He was also very tall and you could tell by the way he was standing that he wasn't afraid, but instead very confident which was what every alpha should be like. He was also strong and muscular, showing that he could win in any fight he went in; apart from if he fought Maria because she had strength only he could dream of (you will soon see what I mean later on in the story). "You must be Maria. My name's Mark. Please, take a seat." He pointed at a chair and Maria sat down just like everyone else did. Two people came through the door and were carrying two trolleys with food and drinks on. They placed the food on the table and filled up the glasses with water. There was a selection of foods to choose from. There were salads, burgers, chips and lots more. "I hope you like it. I didn't know what you like to eat so I put a selection together," said Yasmine. "It's lovely. Thank you." Maria started to eat and so did the others. Then, Mark said, "So Maria, where did you move from." "I moved from Italy a few years ago because of my father's business. Have you stayed here all your life or have you moved from somewhere too?" Mark looked up from eating and said, "I've lived here all my life. Do your parents live near here or do they live far away?" Maria stopped eating and tightened her grip around the fork that she was holding. Enzo noticed how her hands tightened their grip and he was becoming more and more intrigued about Maria by the second. Riley also noticed what Maria was doing and said, "I don't really think that it is necessary for you know about her parents." Mark looked at his daughter and noticed that she wanted him to leave it alone and so-for once in his life- he listened. "Are you enjoying the food?" asked Yasmine. Maria nodded and carried on eating. Riley smiled to herself as she saw how eager Maria was to eat something other than rabbit. "I never got a chance to thank you for standing up for my daughter when she was getting bullied, even when you didn't know her," said Mark. Both Maria and Riley nearly choked on their drinks and food when Mark said that comment. They both looked at each other in confusion, but then quickly looked at Enzo across the table. Enzo shrugged his shoulders and said, "They had a right to know." Then, he went back to eating his food. The dining room door opened and Sara came into the room. She walked over to Enzo and gave him a kiss on the cheek, sitting next to him. Maria's blood boiled, but she contained her anger because she knew that was what Riley would want. "This is Sara, Enzo's girlfriend," Yasmine said. "Oh I know who she is," Maria replied, taking a sip from her glass of water. Sara looked nervous from the last comment and the alpha and luna looked confused at why the air grew so tense. Enzo looked at Maria and she looked back at him. As much as Maria wanted to punch Sara in the face, she didn't and instead she carried on eating her food. After a while, Maria stood up and asked, "Where is the bathroom?" Yasmine pointed to the door and said, "It's just through there and to your left." Maria winked at Riley, letting her know that she was going to go and get the book. Enzo saw the wink and got suspicious at why Maria was leaving and also taking her bag. He decided to let it go, but just keep it in the back of his mind. Maria walked out of the room and towards the library she saw when she first arrived.

Opening the door, she saw bookshelves all around the room. Every shelf was filled with books that were all different types of genres. Some were fiction and others were non-fiction. They were all different colours, sizes and thickness. There was a window in front of a desk with a note and pen on it. Maria turned on a lamp and picked it up. She was looking for a few minutes before she found it. The book was in the corner of the room covered with dust and cobwebs. She blew on the book to see what it looked like. The book was called 'oggetto strega e incantesimi' which was Italian for 'Witch objects and spells'. Maria placed the book in her handbag and turned around to see that someone was in the room with her. "Who are you and what are you doing here?" asked the woman. Maria didn't say anything, but just looked at the woman. She had long curly brown hair and had yellow eyes. Only witches have yellow eyes, unless you are in wolf form which she is not. She was small for her age (by the looks of things; she looked to be around 60). She also wore clothes that was torn and long and wasn't things you would wear now a days. Maria remained calm and showed no expression or hint of fear. Instead she said, "Who are you and what are you doing in here? Were you spying on me?" The woman laughed and said, "I asked the question first." Maria took a step towards the woman and replied, "And I chose not to answer. So this is what can happen. You can either answer my question first or we can just keep standing here in silence." For a while that was what they did. They both stood in silence until the woman caved in and said, "My name is Elenor and I just came to close the door until I saw you in here. Your turn to answer." Elenor took a step forward as well. "My name is Maria and I was just looking for the bathroom, but since this isn't it, I will go and try another room." Maria started to walk towards the door and pass Elenor, but she grabbed Maria's arm before she got the chance to go any further.

Elenor's eyes rolled into the back of her head and all you could see were white. Her hands tightened their grip and began to shake. Maria had to use a lot of her strength to get Elenor's hand off her arm and when she did, her eyes went back to normal and she took and deep breathe in. The woman looked like she had just seen a ghost and she looked terrified. "Are you okay?" asked Maria. Maria didn't show any concern and her face just remained blank. Maria kept staring at Elenor until she finally said something, "What happened to you? I saw things and felt so much pain." Elenor started to look less frightened and more concerned. Maria raised her head a little bit and just walked out of the house without saying good bye or letting anyone know that she had left. Elenor ran to the alpha and said, "Why was that girl with the black hair and icy blue eyes in our house?" Mark looked at her in confusion and said, "She's Riley's friend. Why?" Everyone in the room was on edge, but mainly Riley. She was starting to worry that Elenor had found out what and who Maria was. Her hands began to shake and she listened to every word that was being said. "She was in a room and I grabbed onto her arm and I felt and saw things like never before. When I touched her, my body grew cold and I started to shake from how cold my body grew, but the visions. They were something else." Elenor stopped talking and just stared at Mark with horror in her eyes. "Elenor, what did you see? What were the visions?" Yasmin asked and her voice also began to shake and crack. "I don't know if the visions were showing me the future or the past or both, but I do know that what I saw was horrible and will frighten me till the day I die." Elenor paused for a minute and looked around the room. Everyone's expression was the same. Fear and wonder. Soon, she carried on talking. "The visions showed blood, war and death, but that wasn't the worst of it all. It showed Salice. The most powerful witch was there." Everyone was shocked at the last comment, but Elenor wasn't finished explaining. "Then, I saw Maria and Salice talking over lots and lots of dead bodies with blood covering them from head to toe." Soon everyone looked at Riley to see if she could give them any answers to this, but she didn't even know herself. "There's a war coming Mark. I don't know when or who we will be fighting, but I know it involves Maria." Mark looked at Elenor and asked, "Where is Maria now?" Elenor shook her head to say that she had already left after what happened. Everyone was just stood there in silence wondering what all of this meant and how they were now going to get prepared for Salice.