Future Rewritten

A What...?

Groggy.

Nicole woke up back in the infirmary. She internally chuckled at herself. This was the third time she woke up here. They must have a bed with her name on it already. Stretching and turning over, she sees Ronin lying in the bed next to her.

Nicole goes to speak, but the doctor interrupts her. "Glad to see you awake."

Nicole kept her eyes on the sleeping Ronin. "Is Ronin going to be alright?"

Chuckling, the doctor checks her vitals. "Though, his wounds were severe, he should be completely healed in 2 days. It's the luck of the werewolf."

"That's wonderful." Nicole sighed, happy to hear he'll be perfect again in no time.

"You, on the other hand. Lots of bruises and a few small open wounds. Luckily, no broken bones. That leg of yours has a torn ligament, but it's nothing serious. You should be completely fine in a few weeks." Doctor informed Nicole.

"So my leg will take the longest to heal?" Nicole asked, finally turning to the doctor.

"Yes. You might walk with a limp, but I want you to move it as much as possible without over extending it. It will help with the healing process. Once it's fully healed, you might never know there was a problem." The doctor jotted down some notes and headed for the door. "You have some visitors. I'll let them in if you're up to it."

"Of course." Nicole took some time, but she sat up in bed.

When the door opened again, she was greeted with several faces. Lynn and Lawrence were the first two to enter. Next came Charlotte, Amber, and Sarah. Last, was Conner. He didn't approach more than right inside the door. He periodically looked from Nicole to Ronin before turning his gaze away.

"Hello..." Nicole smiled.

"I'm glad to see you're okay. I was so worried." Charlotte ran over to hug her.

"I don't know what our Alpha was thinking!" Amber joined in the hug.

"I mean... anyone whose spent time with you knows you're no threat." Sarah squeezed in.

"Thanks... I think..." Nicole smiled, trying to hug all of her new found friends.

"I heard the good news about your injuries." Lynn spoke over the happy girls. "It's nice to know that you're going to be just fine. Just a little longer than what we're use to."

"I'm happy to hear Ronin will be fine." Nicole looked back over to the unconscious man in the bed next to her.

Nobody spoke for what felt like a good 15 minutes. The girls were still fussing over Nicole. Conner refused to acknowledge anyone in the room. Lynn was whispering to Lawrence. Ronin was asleep. Nicole felt for the first time that she was home. The only thing that bothered her was what had happened.

"Lynn..." Nicole spoke up, causing everyone to quiet down. "Do you think I could talk to you?"

"Of course..." Lynn smiled. "I think we might need to talk in private."

Saying their good-byes, the group left. Leaving only Nicole and Lynn in the room, that were awake. Nicole didn't know how to begin. It was a subject she believed she had tried to talk about before. Only vaguely remembering it from her youth. Yet, this time, she believes that Lynn would help her more.

"I'm sorry." Nicole sighed. "I kind of remember talk about things I used to do when I was young and getting punished for it. I don't know if it had anything to do with what just happened, but I have a feeling it was similar."

"I figured." Lynn moved to sit on the bed with her. "Like I said earlier, I'm a witch. My powers are intuition and empathy. Strong as they are, you are different."

"I'm what?" Nicole asked hesitantly.

"You are like me. A witch." Lynn patted Nicole on one of her hands.

"A witch?" Nicole seemed surprised. "Shouldn't I have known about this?"

"I think it has to do with your upbringing." Lynn answered. "I think that after your parent's car accident, you went to a home that wasn't part of our world. So, as your powers were growing, they would call you names and belittle you. I think you suppressed your powers because of this."

"How?" Nicole was intrigued.

"Now that's a story." Lynn chuckled. "So please let me explain and try to wait until the end to ask questions."

"I can do that." Nicole nodded, ready for what's to come.

"So, when it comes to witches, it's customary for it to skip a generation." Lynn began her long explanation. "So, it was my grandmother who was a witch, but my mother was not. Which is normal, passing from mother to daughter to granddaughter. The first born only. Normal abilities for witches are on a more of a mental plane. If I want to do something to heal, protect or attack, I'll have to do a spell. On very rare occasions, a male witch will be born. When that happens, all of his children will be witches. Those born to a male witch could do some things without even casting a spell. Mostly, they become great healers or great protectors. Able to heal or put up barriers without casting a spell. You are completely different."

Nicole was awestruck about everything she was explaining. "I'm different. Is that good different?"

Lynn chuckled. "I thought you'd wait to ask question until the end?"

Nicole felt sheepish. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I'm not mad. I expected you to ask a question sooner." Lynn smiled to reassure her.

"I'll try to keep quiet." Nicole took a deep breath.

"I know." Lynn started her explanation from where she left off. "Only those born from a long line of female witches and a rare male witch can manipulate the elements like you can. Your mother might not have been a witch or she could have, but it's your father that was a witch that guaranteed you being a elemental witch. As you learn more about your powers, you can call on them when you wish, but right now it's all tied to your emotions."

"So, when I saw Ronin in trouble, it activated in hopes to protect him?" Nicole was recalling what she had done.

"More than that..." Lynn paused before lowering her voice. "Because you saw the man you love dying in front of you, you reacted. Your powers react to the emotions of the purist forms. Love, fear, hate, desire. All of it directed toward Conner, who was the cause of it all to save Ronin."

Nicole looked to Ronin. "It wasn't until I realized... That's when I felt this overwhelming... It's like I felt the ground itself. I commanded it to open and swallow Conner up within it. It filled every once of me and was the only thing driving me."

"That's your powers." Lynn smiled. "I can help you. I can help train you in the ways of our kind. So that you can protect Ronin, yourself, our pack, all of it. It will be my honor."

"I'm the one that's honored. I hope I don't disappoint you." Nicole smiled back.

Lynn left Nicole to rest. It had been a long day and the only thing Nicole wanted to do was rest. She looked over to Ronin and smiled, softly. She couldn't wait for him to heal and for her to tell him her feelings. Now that she knew what they were.