Chapter 39

ELEANOR

As I walked into the house, I saw Mrs. Costa coming out of the living room.

“Hello, dear. You are coming for the housewarming party?”

“Of course,” I said in a high-pitched tone with a nervous smile on my face. I completely forgot about the party with everything going on.

“Eleanor?” Mrs. Costa said in a doubtful tone. Looking at her sweet face, I didn’t have the heart to lie to her.

“Okay, I might have forgotten, but…”

“Don’t worry, dear, I’m not going to hold it against you. Anyway, would you like to have some tea with me?” she asked me.

I nodded my head and followed her to the kitchen.

“Where is Mr. Costa?” I asked her as she placed a cup of peach tea in front of me and took a seat.

“He’s overseeing the finishing touches to the house since Xavier isn’t available.”

“Hmm.” I took a sip of the peach tea, and my eyes momentarily fluttered closed.

The taste transported me back to a time when my mom would make this tea for me. Even though my father was rich, my mom never asked for a penny from him.

That doesn’t mean we were out begging on the streets, but things were definitely tight for us financially.

Mom worked as a waitress at a local diner in the human town, and she never let me help her out financially because she wanted me to focus on school.

There were times she went hungry for me, but she would never show it.

One of the luxuries that she would buy was peach tea. I have always loved the taste of peaches, and after having a taste of this tea at a friend’s house, I kept talking about it.

So, Mom started buying it for me once a month.

I was pulled back from the blissful memory when I felt a hand placed on top of mine. I looked at Xavier’s mother to see her eyes were soft.

“Why are you crying, dear?”

“It’s nothing, Mrs. Costa. I…I just had a memory of how my mom and I used to have tea time together,” I told her.

“What was your mother like?”

“She was one of the kindest souls I have ever met. She practically lived her life for me, making sure to provide everything that I needed.”

“Didn’t your father help you guys out financially?” Mrs. Costa asked me with a frown, but I shook my head, and a sardonic smile appeared on my face.

“He didn’t want anything to do with us. And he wanted us far away from him. But we were doing just okay without his help until…”

Words stuck in my throat as that dreadful day played back in my mind.

“Rogues never bothered meddling with humans or any lone wolf living in the human town before, but that day was different,” I mumbled as my eyes glossed with tears, and my mind was transported back to that day.

***

^ONE YEAR AGO^

It’s been raining continuously for the past two days, and people were forced to stay indoors.

“I don’t think we can survive for another day, honey bun,” Mom said as she walked out of the kitchen with another bucket and placed it in front of the sofa I was sitting on.

This rain has made our lives harder and more expensive since there were a lot of places leaking in the house, forcing Mom and me to sleep together in my room.

“Don’t lose hope, Mom. We will figure it out,” I told her with a bright smile on my face.

“Shall I get some popcorn? Let’s watch some TV tonight?” Mom asked me, and I eagerly nodded my head.

While I was busy looking through which program we were going to watch, Mom came back with a bowl of popcorn.

“Haven’t decided on anything yet?”

“No, everything seemed boring to me,” I mumbled, getting frustrated while changing the channels.

~Ding, dong.~

My finger stopped pressing the button while both Mom and I looked at one another.

“Who could it be at this hour?” Mom mumbled as she got up to go and see, and I followed her.

We were only a few steps away from the front door when the person began to bang, and this made my heart jump.

“Eleanor, get out of the house now,” Mom whispered, but I held her hand.

“I’m not leaving you,” I said with finality.

She turned around with a panicked look on her face, but she knew how stubborn I was.

She moved toward the door and looked out through the peephole.

“What are they doing here?” she mumbled to herself as she stepped away from the door. Her face was as pale as a ghost.

She quickly stepped back, got a strong grip on my hand, and pulled me to the back entrance.

“Mom, who are they?” I asked her as we ran out of the house and into the forest. It was still pouring outside, and my clothes quickly soaked through.

“Those two men were following me all last week,” she mumbled as we ran. “I don’t know why, but something about them doesn’t feel right.”

“Mom, I don’t think we can run like this for long,” I said, out of breath.

She nodded her head and shifted into her wolf mid-air, and I did the same.

We ran a few miles and thought we had lost them when a huge wolf tackled Mom to the ground.

It was a brutal fight as the rogue tore away Mom’s flesh, but she didn’t stop fighting. I tried to go and help her. The rogue picked me up and slammed me on the nearby tree, making the tree fall to the floor upon my impact while I fell to the floor.

My head was pounding with pain, and I couldn’t hold on anymore when I shifted back to my human form.

Right then, we heard a lot of gunshots.

The rogue looked at me one more time before they both ran away from there.

“Mom, please listen to me!” I begged her as she shifted back into her human form.

“I…I…I’m not going to make it, Eleanor,” she choked out, blood dripping from the corner of her lips.

***

“My mother’s body was so mangled, it was almost impossible to carry her back home. But even through the horror, I’ve always thanked my lucky stars. If our neighbors hadn’t shown up with their guns, I know I would have ended up just like her,” I stammered.

My entire body started to tremble, and I felt my throat burn with tears.

Mrs. Costa got up from her place and pulled me into a hug.

“I’m so sorry you had to see that, Eleanor. I never knew there was this much pain locked up inside you.”

“That’s all right, Mrs. Costa. I’m happy that I at least have you now,” I mumbled as I pulled away from her.

She wiped away my tears, and I forced a smile.

“I’ll always protect you, Eleanor,” Mom promised.

As she spoke, I realized just how quickly this pack had become my home.