Mate

~

" We are going to miss you so much. " Nadia said with a sniffle as she pulled Elizabeth close to her.

" Me too. " Liza let out a whimper closing her eyes and snuggled closer to Nadia.

Henry had his head down.

Liza pulled back from Nadia and looked at him.

She got closer and he looked up. He had tears in his eyes and seeing him Liza began to sob out openly.

Nadia wiped her cheeks and looked elsewhere to stop herself from crying.

" We have been together since kindergarten. And now that you... are leaving... " Henry wiped his eyes.

" I- I will keep in contact. " Liza spoke and hugged him tightly.

Henry nodded, " Let's keep in touch. "

" I will. "

Henry began to pull away when he felt something strange and frowned.

Nadia noticed and her eyebrows furrowed.

When Liza pulled back, Henry put on a smile.

" We wanted to give you this as a parting gift. " He forwarded a box towards her.

" What is it? " Liza tried to open it but it wouldn't budge.

" Open it when you are desperate beyond measure. When there is no path of escape in sight. It will help you. " Nadia spoke.

" When did you become Shakespeare? " Liza spoke teasingly to which Henry chuckled.

" Elizabeth! " Mrs.Ryan called her.

" Go and remember our words. " Nadia said and smiled.

Liza nodded and turned around to leave.

" She is not wearing her necklace. " Henry spoke monotonously.

" Even better. Its time to bring them together. " Nadia sighed out.

" Express my gratitude to your father for transferring Mr.Ryan. " Henry said looking into Nadia's eyes that changed colour from brown to golden.

" Will do. "

~

Huffs and Puffs left his snout. The heavy paws made indentations in the wet ground of the forest.

' Mate. '

Behind it two more of its kind followed him.

The huge trees were blurred past in his vision with how fast he travelled through them.

' My mate. '

His foot slipped in one place making him stumble and slam against a tree.

" Calm down. " One of the beta, with grey fur, mind linked him.

" Why did you run away so suddenly during our run? " The other beta, with brown fur, also said through the link coming to a stop infront of him.

" I can't calm down. She is coming closer. " He spoke and steadied himself on the ground.

" Who? "

" My mate. "

" What? " The grey beta asked incredulously.

Raising its head to sniff in the air, its eyes glistened red before it turned to its right and began to run.

The only thing on its mind was the soft peachy smell that wafted in the air, captivating, alluring.

Calling him closer.

" Are you even sure? " The brown beta spoke.

They tried to catch up to him but he was faster, rushing past trees with only one aim in mind.

To find its soul mate.

~

The long eight hour drive had tired all of them out.

Elizabeth blinked her eyes open and looked around. Her brother was sleeping with his mouth open.

Her mother had changed seats with her father and she was now driving while her father slept in the passenger seat.

" Are we there yet? " She asked groggily and stretched her arms above her head.

" Almost. We have entered the premises of the city. Just twenty, thirty minutes more. " Her mother replied taking a turn.

She nodded and leaned forward to take the water bottle out from the pocket of the front seat.

Her mother looked through the back view mirror and gasped. She pushed the break suddenly causing Eliot to stumble forward and wake up with a startle.

Liza who was drinking water choked on it and coughed loudly.

Mrs.Ryan turned and glared at her.

" W-what happened? " Eliot asked leaning forward to check on his mother and father, who was still in deep sleep.

" Where is your necklace? " She asked angrily.

Elizabeth stared at her before she looked down at her chest. She patted around her neck before she closed the bottle and searched her bag pulling out the purple gem stone necklace.

" I removed it this morning while taking a shower. " She said while putting it back on.

" You removed it this morning? You know how many hours have passed since then. What if something happened? " Her mother asked roaming her eyes outside the windows as if she could see a danger approaching them.

" Nothing happened. I wore it now. " Liza replied and leaned back against the seat.

Mrs.Ryan removed her seatbelt before she turned around and looked straight at her daughter.

" You should /never/ remove it from your neck. Understood. Your grandma gave it to you for a reason. It protects you. If you remove it when taking a bath, wear it immediately after. " She said with a serious voice, " You too. " She pointed to Eliot who nodded fastly.

" What does it protect us from? " Liza asked tilting her head.

Her mother took a deep breath in, " Lots of things. Bad things. Unexpected things. Secrets that are potentially harming. ' And from being found out '. "

She whispered the last part.

Liza furrowed her eyebrows at this response. She had always been curious why her mother was so overly protective. Why she wasn't allowed to go out of town? Why she wasn't allowed to go out of house when she was younger? The same happened with Eliot.

What was their parents so afraid of?

But she never got the answer. All she got was silence.

Just like now. Her mother put on her seat belt and drove the car again.

Eliot looked from one to the other but didn't say anything. He didn't want to get involved in this matter.

Liza stared at her mom for some time expecting her to give an answer but sighed when she realised she wasn't going to get one today or any other day.

She slid the car window down and looked out. They were travelling at a road beside a hill. Both sides covered with trees. The breeze made her wavy dark black hair to fly.

She looked up the hill and what she saw made her go still and her almond shaped eyes grew wider, almost like a child.

From among the woods, she saw a giant wolf, abnormally large, as compared to a normal wolf. The fur black as the night without the moon. It whipped his head around as if in search of something.

Her heartbeat increased seeing such a magnificent creature.

But she couldn't see more as the car drove ahead and it was left behind.

Although she was sure that she had seen a glimpse of brown and grey fur. That meant their was more. A whole pack of them, maybe.

" Mom! Are there wolves here? " She asked facing forward.

She saw her mother go rigid as if she was struck by lightning. Her mother slowed the car before she stopped it and turned back.

Her expression looled horrified. Goosebumps could be seen on her skin.

" Why? Did you see some? " She asked.

" Yes. Just now. We left them behind. Though they were abnormally large to be mere wolves. " Liza replied nodding her head.

" Why didn't you tell me? I wanted to see them too. " Eliot whined hitting her arm.

" Sorry, I know you like wolves. But they were so majestic, I froze for a second. "

She jerked forward when the car moved suddenly.

" Maybe it was an illusion. There aren't any wolves here. You were mistaken. "

" But I really saw- "

" I think you are just tired. " Mrs.Ryan cut her off and turned on the radio to avoid conversation.

Liza was annoyed by her weird behaviour but she didn't say anything. Maybe her mother was just tired from the sudden move.

" Psst. Were they really that big? " Eliot whispered to her.

" Yep. They were this tall. " She showed by raising her hand above her head.

" I hope I see them too. " Eliot said excitedly bouncing on his seat.

" Hope so. " She giggled, unknown to what fate had in store for her.

The rest of the journey went without any event.

~

" Gone. Its gone. " The Alpha looked down towards the road while standing at the side of the hill. Some cars were travelling on the road.

" Maybe you were mistaken. " The grey beta replied taking a deep breath.

" I am sure I smelled her. I followed the smell here. But it's gone now. "

" Its been more than two years since you turned eighteen. I think its your desperation. " The brown beta said walking closer.

" Shut up, Lara. " The grey beta scolded her.

" I am sure she is here. I will prove it to you soon. " The Alpha said and ran off in the forest.

" Look now. You made him sad. Lara stop this already, he is not going to like you. " The grey beta huffed and ran behind the Alpha.

" I will show you, Leo. I will make the Alpha mine. I will become the next Luna of Crescent Moon Pack." The brown beta, Lara, thought and followed after them as well.

_