The Wild

-21- Tough Choices

Copyright © 2014. All Rights Reserved.

Our failure to get what we needed essentially ended with the five of us heading back to Stillwater with nothing but a pat on the back from my parents. Before we could pack up and go, Mom pulled me aside from a conversation John and my dad were having in the kitchen. She took me to her and Dad's office where she held me by my shoulders, studied me for a while, and then kissed me on the forehead.

"I'm glad you came to us, even if we weren't much help," she admitted, a sorrowful smile on her lips.

"It's fine. It's been a while since I was last here," I said, just to fill in the silence. She nodded and pulled away, bringing a hand to her chin as she turned away to face the desk. She went behind it and took out a safe box. She set it on the desk between us and worked the lock until the top popped open. "What's this?" I asked, walking around to stand beside her and look down at the contents. It was full of the usual stuff--money, papers, little objects, et cetera.

"It may not save your life at all, or get you out of this situation," she started, rifling through the papers before coming across a velvet pouch. She poured out the contents and handed me a necklace. "It's a family heirloom. My mother had it, and then she gave it to me, and I'm giving it to you. It must be centuries old, but it still works like a charm. I don't need it anymore, but since you aren't quite an Alpha yet, it should help block your presence from the wolves."

"What do you mean?" I asked, still studying the crystal in awe. It was trapped inside a slender metal cage, crafted with intricate etchings and patterns. The crystal inside was clear, but a beauty nonetheless.

"Werewolves have a keen tracking ability when they're in their wolf form. At night you're more vulnerable to being found because of that, but this will confuse them whenever they cross your tracks. Or, at least it should. I still don't know how your father ran into me like that," she confessed with a small laugh.

She fell silent as she watched me slide the necklace over my head. She clasped her hands together and grinned at me. "Do you like it?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I love it. Thank you, Mom," I said awkwardly, but sincerely. She laughed and reeled me in for a hug.

It was probably the strangest hug I'd ever received from my mom, but I accepted it nonetheless because I wasn't sure when I'd see her next. This time, I wasn't leaving because I resented my parents, I was leaving because I had no choice. As much as I loved the comfort of my old home, I still risked the safety of the neighborhood and anyone else in my wake.

We left it at that and made our way back to the kitchen so she could say farewell to everyone else leaving. I hugged Dad, no matter how weird it was to do that. Eventually it was time to go, and we were off on our two day journey back to Stillwater.

Bennet was feeling much better, but regretted not forcing himself to stay with my parents because he was just heading back to Stillwater to go through it all again when Tyler finally decided to leave us be. Mom gave cracked open her safe of past belongings in her days as a traveler with my dad, and offered him a tea recipe to help the withdrawals. He, of course, gave it to me to handle. He wasn't exactly the tea-maker like I was.

The ride back was solemn and, to be quite honest, gloomy, but it was better now that Bennet was back to his normal self. He was making up for his lack of self by cracking jokes and cheering Amaya and I up despite the impending doom swarming our heads like gnats.

"Listen," he started, tossing his arms around behind Amaya's back. We were all in the bed of the truck, the wind in our hair and the sun on our faces. "I know it all seems kinda bleak right now, but I promise you that it'll all turn out eventually."