Bite or Howl

Chapter 33

Phoebe POV

Darkness. My breath hitched in my throat and my entire body felt numb. A rush of pain washed over me and I shuddered, my eyes squeezed shut as I braced myself. But then the pain disappeared. Everything disappeared, and I couldn't feel anything. I was a blur. Was I dead?A flash of light came seeping into my eyes although they were closed and I could feel this warm sensation around me, covering me up and cuddling me like a blanket. A reel of memories flashed back before my eyes and I was suddenly reminiscing the times I'd spent with people. Felix, running downstairs with a handful of lollies in his arms. "Phoebe!" He'd call with the biggest grin on his face. We'd sit in my cell for ages, munching on the hard sweets he'd brought from the bedrooms of different werewolves. I remember Lupus and I mucking around in my room, having pillow fights and knocking each other with them. My room was covered in white feathers while Lupus and I layed down on my bed, catching our breath and laughing hysterically. And Chase. 

Oh god, my Chase. My beautiful knight in shining armor with his dark blue hair, shining underneath the castle lights. The way he'd hold me close to him in a warm embrace and rake his fingers through my hair. He'd whisper sweet things into my ear that made me feel like I was flying, floating, falling, all at the same time. He was everything I'd ever wanted. And he still is. He's my weakness and I love him. But I never got to say I loved him too.

I began to float and let go of the world as I entered the spiritual one. I'd always imagined this as a painful and agonising journey but I was wrong. I felt light and free. There was no pain or suffer that I experienced, it was all calm and I felt so light, free. My eyes slowly started to flutter open and I was greeted by an orange, yet cloudless sky. My body was hovering just lightly over the water and I started to tilt downwards, my feet slowly touching the water. It was odd though, my feet weren't getting wet as it touched the water beneath me. 

Quickly, my head shot down and examined my stomach, my hands immediately pressed over it, expecting a bloody wound over it. But to my surprise, there was no blood or wound there, just me. My hands then traveled up my body and started to feel around my neck, searching for the slit Catherine had created. Just like my stomach, there was nothing. I looked up and saw a tall figure walking closer towards me. I started to near it with anxiousness.

The Queen steps forward out of the distance and appears beside me with a warm smile on her face. Her hand laid over my leg, rising up and tracing small circles over it. "I'm so sorry, my darling." She whispers. Her voice is heavy and strained. "I'm so sorry, dear." She repeats again, choking on her words. I shake my head and put my hand over hers. "You have nothing to be sorry about, Your Majesty." I reply. She looks up at me and smiles. "You are a wonderful child. I am so grateful my son has such a beautiful woman mated to him." Her comment brings a smile on my face, mixed with warmth and sadness. 

She then glances behind my shoulder and smirks. I scrunch my brows together in confusion and meet her gaze behind me. When I turn, my gaze lands on two people that make my jaw drop and my eyes glisten in tears. Walking closer towards me stands two people, hands interlocked and their smiles gleaming. My past Alpha and Luna. My mother and father. My parents.

But seeing them now makes me head ache. Suddenly I don't remember them as the evil wolves that neglected to bring me up, but the two brave, strong wolves who hid their daughter away from danger and her future. An image flashes through my mind of my mother cradling me as she hushes my cries. I remember her caressing my hair as she cried. Her tears soaked my blanket as she apologised for the future ahead of me. "I'm so sorry Phoebe, but it's for your own good." I remember her saying. Something I had forgotten a long time ago. "If we hide you now, we will save you from what the universe has written out for you. I can save your life, my daughter." Suddenly, everything comes back to me.

They stop walking after a few feet and open their arms wide. I turn back to Queen Clarissa and she motions for me to forward. Nodding her head, she speaks, "Go." I smile and run towards them. They sigh in relief as I fall into their arms. My father's embrace wraps around me completely and my mother looks up at me with a gleaming smile. "My Phoebe," My mother murmurs. Her eyes glisten with tears as my father holds my face in his hand. "I don't know what to say." My father eventually mutters. His thumb traces along my cheek and I feel whole at his touch. "I'm so sorry, Phoebe. We're so sorry." my mother quickly says. I shake my head in disapproval and bring my lips up into a smile. "Don't be sorry, I'm here." I reply and they embrace me tighter. I feel light and calm. A part of me had been restored at my parent's touch and I felt as if I was living.

"All this time, all this pain, all this anger. You did everything for me," I whisper into their embrace. My mother brushes her fingers through my hair. "There was no other way." She replies back to me, pressing a gentle kiss on my forehead.

Queen Clarissa then approached me from behind and slightly touched my shoulder. "My child, it's time to go." She announced. I turned back at her in confusion and tilted my head. "What do you mean, go?" I asked. She looks back at my parents and nods. "Go with us to the land of the dead where your spirit can run free." She then finishes. My heart suddenly dropped and I felt as if I had been punched in the spine. My face had fallen and I felt numb. I turned back to my parents. "No, I can't go." I announced it to them. Their expressions suddenly dropped, but my mother smiled. "But darling, you'll be with us." My father then tells me. I feel tempted. "You'll have the life that we never gave you." He tries to convince me. I want to stay with them. I want to be their daughter. To spend all those times I'd missed out on over again. But I knew I couldn't.

I shake my head and slightly smile. "I'm sorry, but I can't. I need to get back to my kingdom." I tell them, pulling back from their embrace. A spark erupts in Queen Clarissa's face. "Darling, I've never seen someone so encrypted to their people." She mumbles. "I'm sorry, but I have to go." I tell them one last time. My parents look at each other deeply like they're having a conversation through their looks. They turn back to me and nod, "We love you, Phoebe."

A white sensation washes over my body and I could feel myself floating off the ground. My eyes flutter closed and my body starts to feel heavy. I felt more whole and my physical self slowly started to seep inside of me again. I was drifting away and I could feel it. At the very last moment, before everything turned to darkness, I could hear my parents whisper, "We're proud of you, Phoebe." And I couldn't ever feel happier.