Chapter 29
Cella
As soon as I close the car door, Lily speeds away, dust kicking up from the road. I cough and wave away the plumes and clouds of chist, keeping the dress Ethan bought for me hung over ing arm in the fancy protective black bag it came in.
Coughs fly from my mouth. I tum to my house’s door and walk through it, kicking it closed behind me. I switch the lights on and look around the day house, sighing to myself.
It’s a mess. Perhaps it’s a direct reflection of my current mental state with everything that has been going on so far. I walk towards my bedroom, passing my mother’s office.
I glance inside the door, my feet hesitating while I pass, and tear my gaze away, entering my bedroom. I place the black dress bag onto the bed. My teeth gnaw at the inside of my cheek, my brain and wolf itching for me to go back to the office.
I slowly exit the room, poking my head out to look down the hall.
The office’s door remains cracked open, frozen in time even after I passed by. I don’t know what I was expecting, really. Maybe a part of me wished that the office would have disappeared by the time I made it to my bedroom and poked my head out. I inch into the hallway, my eyes trained on the door.
Hurry! My inner she–wolf cries out.
Unconsciously, my feet pick up their pace. 1 quickly traverse back down the hallway and reach the wooden door. Slowly leaning inside, the door creaks open and I am met with the familiar scent of dust and musk from the undisturbed study
I circle around the room, hands placed behind my back, choosing to let my wolf guide me as to what it wants to see.
Thaven’t been in my mother’s office since she died, except for the time when I collected her journal filled with medical notes and research After that, I found myself coming inside more and more, breaking the barrier of guilt that closed me off from the space for so long.
Faint traces of my fingerprints have settled into the dust, the small indents creating shadows under the beams of light that push through the
Venetian blinds of the office.
Wherever I move, my wolf’s young bark chirps at me, guiding me as to where I need to go. I stare at a bookshelf filled with various books, memorabilia from my parents‘ lives and my childhood littered throughout.
There is a baseball that my dad caught at a game with a pleture of us sitting beside it. To the left sits a photo of my mother and I while at the city’s aquarium; we’re pointing at dolphins that swim overhead from the underwater tunnel we stand in.
Warmth spreads throughout my chest, confort filling my body. My mind goes quiet, all thoughts of Soren and his final contract with me slipping from my mind.
The office is quiet. My fingers trace over the photographs and mementos, quiet chuckles and laughs fleeing from my lips as I recount the memories. I turn to another shelf to the right of me, quickly stepping in front of it as more books and photos till my vision.
Turn around… my wolf beckons to me. I nod and sigh, swiveling around to look at the wooden desk behind me. Stepping around the desk, I stand behind the weathered leather chair and pull it out from the desk.
I sit down and a sense of familiarity and purpose fills my body. The thoughts of confusion, the desire to figure out who my real identity is, slowly fills my body, swaying my head back and forth.
On top of the desk sits amultiple framed photographs. Many of them include me in it as a young girl and teenager. Others are of my parents from when they are younger. One photograph in particular, though, catches my woll’s eye.
Reaching out, I pluck the photograph Iran its place. My fingers run over the dirty glass, uncovering my grandma’s saniling face. Her words from awhile ago fluar back into my head….
When that day cornes, you will be the most remarkable woll there is. You are destined for great things, my dear Celia, you just have to be patient.
My wolf howls at the photograph. I set it back down and push to my chair, immediately leaving the office.
I must go see my grandmother and see what she means by my destiny. She must know about my origins and why my wolf awakened so late!
The hospital lights are dan due to how late at night it is Visiting hours are sure to lie over, but may status as an intern and Healer Anderson’s menter is sure to grant me access to my grandmother.
I slip inside the hospital room, shoving my hands inside my pockets, and statul at iny grandmother’s skle. She’s currently unconscious, tubes moving in and out of her skin. I sigh and pull up a chair, taking her hand in mine as i sit down.
+25 Bonus
“Grandma?” I rub my thumb over her knuckles, “Are you awake? I have a few things to tell you.”
There’s no response other than the beeping of her the vital signs monitor that sits beside her bed. I sigh and close my eyes.
“My wolf awakened,” I begin, “but…she’s immature. I doubt that I am destined for great things like you said.”
“Celia?” Healer Anderson’s voice catches me by surprise. I swallow a gasp and turn around, standing from my seat. “What are you doing here so late? Shouldn’t you be at home?”
“I was, yes,” I scratch the back of my neck, “I needed to come see her.”
“Is there anything I can help you out with?” He asks, tucking his clipboard underneath his arm. I hesitate to respond, unsure if he will know
what to do.
“L” my voice cracks. I look away for a brief moment before turning back. “My wolf awakened today, Healer Anderson. She’s really young and she seems
“Immature?” He finishes my sentence. I nod with a sheepish smile. “That’s normal. Don’t worry about that.”
“Okay! I won’t!” I nod. He nods back and tuns to walk away. “Wait!” I call out. He turns to look at me, one eyebrow raised. “My grandmother said some things to me awhile back…about me being destined for great things.”
Healer Anderson’s eyes widen. He steps back towards me and I can see in his eyes that he is piecing together a puzzle that I am somehow a part of. He takes my hands in his and sighs, looking down at me.
“Celia,” he breathes out, “you might be the missing Lycan princess.” “What?!” I snatch my hands back from him. “I–I can’t be the princess!” “I think you care Celia! Who else than a Lycan would suggest a mind link as to not disturb my grandmother and other patients in the hospital “Does this mean that I will have a family again?” I look up at Healer Anderson, hope filling my eyes. He sucks in a breath, a pang of disappointment hitting my chest.
k to cure the
cure the former Luma!” Healer Anderson’s voice is excited yet quiet
“Celia…I would wait on revealing this to people, especially the Lycans. If you were to reveal yourself to them now, it could mean nothing but trouble and danger for you in the near future,” Healer Anderson warnes.
