Wild Avalon

29

After telling mom the enormous lie. I felt guilt like I had never known before. I had never lied to her like this. It felt so wrong to hold back everything about my mate. Hilda insisted we hold it in for now. She wasn't ready to talk about the truth yet. "Aaron had to leave right away to get the job." I continued my lie, telling my mother about falling in love while hiking until there was a flood and I was ripped away from him. I was washed back to the boat and came home just in time to rescue her. Some truths some lies all mixed together.  It felt so unnatural.

A raven crowed in the trees overhead. "Oh Avalon baby." Her tone was wrong, I knew the voice she would use to comfort me, I was worried about her. She wasn't acting like herself. "More impossible things have happened before." Her hand on the side of my face for a moment before tucking my hair behind my ear. "One step at a time. If you are truly fated, your bond can grow. Feel for him. Send him your love. Distance doesn't have to change you." I looked at my mom. Her and Talik had always sworn they were fated. That they saw each other and knew, just like the wolves did. She knew this loss, this pain even stronger than I did.

My heart stopped feeling the pain wash over me again. This time thinking of my mom instead of how I had been affected to learn Hilda had killed Talik. "I'm sorry, it's all my fault you lost your mate. I'm so sorry mommy." My eyes were watering, welling up with tears I couldn't hold back.

"No time for tears, Avalon. Not for the man that poisoned my baby and tried to kill her." She said firmly. Shocking me out of my sinking despair. Pulling me out of the bathroom and back on our mission. One foot in front of the other.

"You are a miracle Avalon, my miracle. The power inside you is amazing." Mom had never sounded so fierce. As we hit the trail. The crow sounded again in the air. I felt like we were being watched. I held up my hand and scanned the forest all around. I saw crows circling through the canopy's not far from where we were. As I watched I swore they were moving closer. I felt like they were a warning, one meant for me.

"We need to run!" I hissed. Yanking mom forward. Our feet echoing on the crunching gravel as we ran. We made it to the parking lot and entrance to the park. Closer to civilization than we had been since yesterday. We kept running until we came to the first, greasy, not overly clean looking diner. It didn't even look like the kind of spot that would have a salad for mom. It was still where she pulled me in.

She moved to the farthest, most hidden corner. Making sure to hide from the windows. Not waiting for a waitress to acknowledge us, or say we could sit anywhere like she normally did. I looked at her quizzically. "Mom?" She was acting like a nervous witness in a bad spy movie.

"I'm going to go ask to use the phone, order me something you think I might eat. Anything. Fish is fine, then chicken if there is nothing filling." I didn't think mom had ever asked me to order for her, or that I had ever seen her eat anything that had a heart more lively than an artichoke. I could only nod dumbly at her instruction. HIlda was on a sharp, cutting edge.

The waitress came, I immediately asked for two ice waters, as she put two menu's down on the table. I looked over it quickly. There literally wasn't a salad. Or anything vegetarian on the menu other than baked potatoes and fries. I ordered both and onion rings, and the trucker special for me, which mostly just seemed to include almost one of everything on the menu. Before adding two cokes. I wanted the sugar. Mom probably wouldn't, I would happily drink hers as well right now. Just to stay awake long enough to get to a bus or cheap hotel we could rent with cash. The waitress was back quickly with all the drinks. I finished an entire coke in almost just one gulp. Before starting to sip on the second while mom was still gone.

I heard something tap, hard on the glass, A large black bird was perched on the narrow edge pressed tight to the glass staring directly at me until our eyes met. Then it went wild. Like it was possessed. Smashing its face over and over into the glass. This wasn't right. I looked around. Before I got up and ran out the door, the raven stopped beating itself against the glass the moment I got up from the seat.

I ran out the front door, the raven took off and having no better plan than to follow, I did. Whoever that was it wasn't my mother. I knew it and for some reason that bird knew it. I knew it was one of Rama's, he could be watching us in his pool. Or he could wait for the bird to return with a message when I was safe. 'Or dead.' Hilda added as a grave note.

"If that wasn't mom?" my question left dangling. Unable to voice my fears in words. I asked Hilda. Saying it out loud as I ran instead of in my head. I saw several people turn to look at me. I kept running. Hilda didn't answer me. We both knew the truth. Just no one wanted to be the first to say it. Mom was dead.

I was grateful I had at least gotten some liquid, sugar and caffeine into me before I needed to run for my life again. I would suffer for this burst of energy later. At least I would have a chance to still be alive later.

I felt so stupid. Running with all my leg muscles feeling like they could fail at any moment. I had felt so great about myself after outrunning the hunt. I should have known it had been too easy to get my mother out of the compound. I had known things were wrong. The back of the house was unguarded. We had run on foot, there had been wolves, I had smelled them. Even if they wouldn't be able to follow my scent. They would have been able to scent mom if they tried hard enough. It had all been a trap. I had nowhere safe to go. No one I could call. A continent away from my mate. Still I kept pushing my body to run after the raven. I wasn't going down easy.