Chapter 26

CLEMENTINE

~Huh…~

~Huh…~

~Huh…~

All of a sudden, I’m breathing heavily. Dizziness clouds my vision, and I have to fight to stay awake. I thought I was strong, but it turns out that seeing my blood running down my leg is enough to make me faint.

My father looks worried about what’s happening to me. Hell, I’m worried about what’s happening to me as a pool of blood collects at my feet.

“I-Is this your period or something?” he hesitantly asks, making me want to smile, but I don’t.

Because this isn’t my period.

I shake my head, telling him that it’s something else, as my breathing gets shallower. All I can think about is the fact that Helia isn’t saying anything.

~Helia, what’s happening to me?~

It’s a few seconds before she replies. “Clementine…,” she says, crying.

She’s fucking crying.

Before Helia can utter a word, I hear footsteps stomping down the stairs and into the office. I glance behind me only to find Alex and Ivan staring at me with wide eyes.

I clutch the lower part of my belly, close to my vagina, and fall onto the ground with a ~thud~.

Before I close my eyes, I hear voices yelling.

“What did you do her!”

“Clementine!”

***

When I slowly awaken, I find myself on my bed. It’s dark, and Ivan is nowhere to be found.

I try to get up, but the pain stops me. I can’t bear to move.

~Fuck…I feel terrible.~

Breathing heavily, I try to reach out to my inner phoenix. ~Helia, please talk to me.~

Silence.

This time, when I try to get up, I’m successful, but it’s so painful. The only thing keeping me going is the fact that I have to know what happened.

When I open my bedroom door, I hear faint voices coming from Alex’s office. I slowly walk there, but when I arrive, the voices stop. Someone opens the door.

Alex.

Alex, Ivan, and my father are standing inside, engaged in what seems a heated conversation.

“Why are you out of bed?” Ivan growls, and grabs my waist to steady me. It feels a lot better to put my weight on him.

“What happened to me?” I ask, looking at each one of them.

“We still don’t know, Clem,” Alex replies sadly.

“Isn’t Helia saying anything?” Ivan asks gently.

I shake my head.

“She’s not talking to me. She was crying before I fainted.”

“Crying?” Alex asks. “Why?”

“I don’t know.” I motion for Ivan to help me sit on the chair, then admit, “I’m scared.”

Somehow, I know that this is bad. Very bad.

“Don’t worry. I’m sure it’s nothing,” my father gently says.

“If it was nothing, then why would the phoenix queen cry?” I point it out.

I take a deep breath and try to talk to Helia again. ~Please, talk to me.~

~Helia?~

~Please.~

~“I’m scared, Clementine,”~ she sobs.

It’s weird to hear Helia crying in my head. Before today, I had never even heard her whimper.

~Why? Why are you scared?~

~“I’m scared you’ll replace me.”~

~Replace you? What do you mean?~

~“Your body was trying to shift, Clementine—into a wolf. When it didn’t happen, you bled.”~

~That’s impossible. I’m not a werewolf. If I was one, everyone would have known before. Hell, I would’ve known. So, why now? What the fuck is happening?~

“What’s going on, Clem?” Alex asks worriedly. I’ve been quiet for some time.

“Wait,” I say so I can continue my conversation with Helia.

~You’re stupid—I’m not a werewolf. You scared the shit out of me, Helia. I thought something bad happened.~

~“It seems that you are, Clementine. Yours is just different because you are a part phoenix. When you killed Sofia, your werewolf side was kind of activated. It just happens that now your body is forcing you to shift. It didn’t work because I didn’t let it.”~

~Helia, this is insane. Are you sure?~

~“Positive.”~

~So, what, that means I am a tribrid?~

~“Not technically. You have to choose between me and your wolf.”~

~So, that’s why you were crying?~

~“Yes…”~

~I could never replace you, Helia. We are one. I love you so much.~

~“Really? I love you too, Clem. So much.”~

Her excitement makes me laugh, startling everyone.

“Clementine, what the fuck is going on?” Ivan yells.

I send him a glare, and he looks at me apologetically.

I clear my throat. “We have a problem.”

***

I cannot believe that I was bullied my whole life for not being a werewolf, and now here I am, discovering that I am indeed a werewolf. It seems that my phoenix side dominated my wolf side all this time, but now that it’s been activated, my body is confused.

Part of me wants to know my wolf, but at the same time, I can’t live without Helia. She is everything to me, and she grants my secret childhood wish every day: to fly.

I know what I have to do. I have to meet up with the greatest wizard of all time, Malcolm, again. He probably has the answers I need. After all, Helia doesn’t know what I should do, and I doubt the boys will either.

“Clementine, what’s happening?” my father asks.

Ivan and Alex wait impatiently for my answer.

“This blood… My body was forcing me to shift…”

“What do you mean ‘shift’? Into what?” Ivan asks in confusion.

“A wolf. My wolf was forcing me to shift.”