By the time Elara reached her house, she was out of breath. She let her bike fall on the grass and lay down next to it trying to calm down. She had no idea who that man was, she was sure it wasn't Sean's dad, she knew his dad. This man was a complete stranger to whom she was very grateful. She was so scared. Sean's behavior was bizarre and to top it all, there was the appearance of her mother. Again.

"I think I'm going crazy"

"Well if you have a habit of talking to yourself then yes, I think you are"

Elara jumped "Jeez Laura! You scared me!" she lay back down gazing at the sky.

Laura lay down next to her and looked up as well "What are we looking at?"

"I don't know" Elara was still panting.

"Why are you panting so much? What were you running from?"

"Sean! He is such an ass, Laura! And he scared the shit out of me. And you know me, I'm not one to get scared easily."

"You went to see him?"

"Yeah... I just, I don't get it. Why is he so scared to admit he was with me?"

"I don't know love, but hey, don't let him get to you. Just treat him the same way he treats you."

Elara looked at her friend and smiled "Thanks for coming. Where's Sophie?"

"She got held up, family drama" Laura rolled her eyes, "And I have a date with that hot nurse I met at the hospital."

"You mean the hot nurse you stalked at the hospital" both girls laughed and Laura got on her feet.

"More homework for you my lady" she bowed awkwardly trying to be fun and gave her the sheets.

"Wow, thanks! I'm so grateful!" she said in a sarcastic way as she got up as well. "You're leaving now?"

"Yes, my date is in an hour and I need to get ready. I might swing by in the evening."

"Okay hun, have fun!"

Laura had reached her car when she stopped and looked at Elara "I forgot to tell you, we have like ten new students at school, and they all are so hot! Even the girls. So maybe you'll get over Sean quicker than you think." She winked and got in her car, waved at Elara before driving away. 

"After today, I think I'm so over him" she muttered to herself and picked up her backpack.

"Grandpa, I'm home!" she went straight to the kitchen where she found a deliciously looking plate of lasagna with a note next to it.

'I don't know where you're still at, and you don't have your phone. Eat your lunch and take your meds, I'm running a few errands.'

"Thanks, grandpa!" she smiled at the note setting it aside, and washed her hands before sitting down and starting to eat.

Full belly, dishes washed, pain killers taken, Elara found herself in bed with her book in her hands. She didn't want to waste her time and read all of it, so she just read the table of contents in hopes to see the famous word 'Tiassili' or even 'Tiassale' and she found it! 'The Shamans and witches of Tiassale'.

She hurriedly went to the page and gasped at the first illustration she saw. It portrayed an African shaman, wearing a headpiece that looked like a wolf's head, and there were wolves standing by his side as if they were his protectors. She started reading.

'The great Shaman and his Enchantress,

In the year of 1750, the great Shaman of the Tiassale village was found in the forest gravely injured along with a dead wolf by his side by the village hunters'.

They brought him back to his apprentice imploring her to heal him. Losing a Shaman in such a way was a bad omen. The enchantress ordered them to take him to his sacred chambers where she would heal him.

The tribe's king wanted to give the dead wolf as a piece offering and sacrifice to the gods but the enchantress forbade it. The king agreed but threatened to kill her as a sacrifice if the Shaman loses his life.

The young lady who had been learning from the Great Shaman for years, was known to control the five elements and wanted to perform a ritual in the hope to bring him back.

She lay the Shaman and the wolf side by side in the middle of the room and encircled them with torches. She had seen the Shaman link animals together to heal people from the tribe. But he never linked an animal to a human being before. But she had to try, and she did.

The enchantress was scared, knowing that one mistake would cost her her life but she performed the ritual anyway, linking the body of the wolf to the spirit and body of the Shaman while chanting spells.

The wind blew up, the fire of the torches went out, but the room was still lit by the full moon's light. And she could see it. She could see the wolf's spirit elevate from its dead body and plunge into the Shaman's. It was beautiful to watch. She looked at the Shaman's body lovingly, even though she never had feelings for him before.

She waited for hours next to the Shaman's body waiting for him to wake up but he didn't. The enchantress went to meet the king to declare failure but was stopped by the gasps of the villagers.

The great Shaman was standing tall and strong before the king. He was grateful for the enchantress and thanked her vowing to always protect her.

No one knew what really happened that night, except the enchantress. No one knew that she might have created an abomination. It wasn't until the next full moon, that they all knew that by saving the Shaman, she had created a wolfman.

A man who turned into a wolf and lost control to the animal instinct inside of him. A man who killed villagers without remorse.

A creature that looked like a man, but also like a wolf. He was stronger, faster, and more dangerous than any other human being. He was no longer human.

Feared by men, feared by animals, the great Shaman ruled the human race as well as the animal kingdom with his enchantress by his side.

The enchantress never stopped loving him. She always felt a pull toward him and could never leave the great Shaman.

They ruled together always protecting each other, the king and queen of Tiassale.

Many successors came after them and kept the peace between wolfmen and humans until...'

Elara turned the page to continue her reading when she found the page was blank. "What the actual fudge!" she groaned and looked at the following page finding it about another African witch tribe. She threw the book to the wall out of frustration only to have it fly back to her and hit her in the face.

"Ouch! Oh come on!" she rubbed her nose glaring at the book. She had learned nothing about the Tiassili elders, meaning her reading was for nothing. She wasted her time on that book instead of doing actual work and finishing her homework that was due the next day.

She carefully set the book on her bed so it wouldn't come back flying at her before getting up and walking to the window. She sighed when she saw her grandpa's truck was still nowhere to be seen. Elara was feeling hopeless and empty.

Maybe I imagined it all? Maybe there is nothing called the Tiassili elders. My mom is dead after all. How am I even seeing her? Maybe I hit my head in the woods and went crazy?

Letting out a heavy sigh, Elara decided to go out and for some fresh air; it might help her clear her mind. She put on her shoes, grabbed her textbooks, and went downstairs to the kitchen to take a bottle of water before heading out. She found a nice spot under a huge willow tree after wandering aimlessly in the garden for a while.

Elara had been studying for a couple of hours when Sophie dropped next to her "Hey El," she smiled and looked at her friend's nose, "Why is your nose so red?"

"Hey, Soph! Ughh don't ask, I had a fight with a book" they both laughed at how ridiculous that sounded. "I went to see Sean."

"What? why would you do that, you idiot! How was it?"

"It was creepy, he was creepy to be exact. It felt like he held so much hatred for me and I don't even know why" Elara shook her head and shrugged "I actually thought he was going to hurt me if it wasn't for whomever it was that called him."

"I'm sorry El, I wish I was there with you. But look at the bright side, now you know he's no good for you."

"Yeah..." Elara nodded and closed her books pushing them aside.

"What's bothering you?"

"I'm seeing my mom" she blurted out and then regretted it.

"You're seeing your mom" Sophie repeated slowly "As in, seeing pictures of your mom?"

"Nop, she's real. I can see her, and talk to her." Elara smiled "Forget it, I'm asking for counseling tomorrow when I get to school. I'm feeling like I'm losing it."

"Hey, don't worry, you're not. Maybe you're under shock but you'll be fine, I'm sure you will."

"Thanks, Soph." she smiled at her friend even though she wasn't sure it was true. "So, Laura told me we have new hot students?"

"Of course she did" Sophie rolled her eyes "Yeah, twins and their cousins apparently."

"Why did they move to Pine Hill High? The school year is almost over."

"I don't know I haven't spoken to any of them. They gave me an off vibe."

"Oh Sophie, you and your vibes" Elara laughed "Could you also see their auras?" she teased her.

Sophie got on her feet "Well, since you're teasing my psychic skills, it means you're doing much better" she smiled "I'll pick you up tomorrow for school, don't forget to charge your phone!" she walked away after saying goodbye to Elara.

That night, Elara had dinner with her grandpa. She wanted to ask about the Tiassili again but remembered how he reacted at the hospital so she pushed the thought away. After dinner, she stayed up late finishing what remained of her homework, and slept with her books all a mess on her bed.

"Oh my god! I can't believe you Elara!" Sophie pulled back the curtain and tried to snatch the duvet away from Elara who just snuggled more into it.

"Elara Bell! Get the fuck out of bed now! We are going to be late for school for god sake!"

"Noooo I want to sleep!"

"Ok, I'm getting cold water!"

"What! No, I'm up I'm up!" Elara sat up feeling defeated "I was studying last night, I didn't get much sleep." She pouted.

"Come on baby, get ready, you have five minutes! And your hair is a mess by the way" Sophie smirked and left the room to give her space to get ready.

Ten minutes later, Elara was climbing into Sophie's car "Sorry, taming my hair was a bit difficult" she had managed to pull her messy red hair into a tight bun.

"Yeah tell that to the principal when we get there late" she grinned and drove off. They entered the main building just as the first bell rang "I think we better run now" they laughed as they both ran to their classes and reached their destination just in time with the second bell.

Elara could see many new faces in her English class, at least four new students. And they were all gorgeous, Laura was right about that. She didn't socialize with any of them as they seemed to have created their own group, except they also hanged with Sean and his group which was a bit odd.

By lunchtime, Elara didn't feel like sitting in the cafeteria. Everyone kept asking her what really happened that night, and they kept throwing her pitiful looks and she hated it. The plan was to grab her lunch and head outside.

"Hey, you're Elara right?"

Elara turned to the girl behind her in line and raised an eyebrow "Yeah?"

"Is it true that you're so obsessed with Sean you're telling everyone he was there with you?"

"What?" Elara clenched her fists "Do you think I'm that pathetic?" she shoved the girl and ran out of the cafeteria. She felt suffocated and wanted nothing but to get out of there.