Chapter 20:

The darkness seemed to be a friend of mine these couple of days. He frequently visited me, knocking on my door.

"How is she?" a baritone voice spoke up from the darkness. It seemed to care, yet annoyed.

"Alright. She has been healing more, I just want her to wake up." A deeper voice spoke, one I knew all too well. Dmitry was there.

"We all wish for that and... she will. I know that." Who will wake up? Me? Am I asleep? Dmitry, I am here! I ran around blindly searching for him.

"When we travelling back?" the other voice spoke again. It seemed anxious to get home.

"When she is healthy enough," Dmitry spoke again. Was I sick? Yes, I was sick. The wolves. They attacked me and that lady... oh, my word! That lady, she smiled as those horrible beasts past her. She was controlling them; how do you control beasty wolfly things?

"Have you noted the council yet?" Council? What council?

"No. I will deal with them when the time comes. For now, I am just dealing with her health. Alek, I want you to get me those witches. I want answers..." where is he going? Witches? Was that lady a witch? What was I kidding myself, witches? I was going crazy. No, I was dreaming.

"They're downstairs." I heard footsteps leaving and I started to panic. No! don't leave me. I ran around again in the darkness trying to find an escape. I needed to wake up from this awful dream, but there was nothing but darkness. Help! Suddenly the ground started to shake and give in under me. The ground disappeared under my feet and I fell. It was strange, I fell but there was no wind. I felt the motion of falling, but it felt too unreal. My body started to twitch in pain and light consumed me.

"Tri." I took a deep breath in and tried to shoot up from the place I was lying down on. Pain stopped my attempts, it was everywhere. Dmitry was suddenly by my side. He lifted me into his arms and cradled me to his chest. I placed my cheek near his heart, listening to it beat. Tiny electrical sparks followed everywhere he touched, replacing the pain.

"I am here, YA nadeyus'." My heart skipped a beat as he spoke to me. I felt safe in his arms.

***

I was lying in bed in Olive's house. Dmitry has not left my side for a second and though it made my heart swoon, it also made me curious as too what was going on. I was bruised pretty badly. My stomach was one big purple canvas and my arms had cuts and nasty spots. My lip was busted open and I had one purple cheek. To say the least, I was in a lot of pain.

Sadly, my fatigue body was not what I was worried about. The strange looks everyone was giving me was freaking me out. Olive and Gina were hugging and kissing me after Dmitry called for them and even Michael looked relieved at me. Dmitry just sat next to me on an old wooden chair that moaned every time he moved. He held my hand tightly in his, almost too scared to let go.

"You gave us all a big fright," Gina explained next to me as Olive nodded her head in agreement. I smiled at them but then frowned. What did happen to me?

"What did happen?"

"You don't remember?" I looked at Dmitry and then back down at the bed. Everyone knew to look at me curiously, it made me uncomfortable.

"It is normal for someone to forget a trauma. She also had a few nasty bumps on her head." I new person came into the room. She looked in her mid-thirties, with short dark hair. She too wore a white doctor coat. "Hello, Hope. My name is True. I am a doctor, I treated you after your attack."

"Attack?"

"We will get to that." She explained and nervously looked at Dmitry who clenched his jaw. "First, I just need to make routine checks." I nodded in understanding. I gave her my arm, so she could take my pulse and slowly slid my hand out of Dmitry's. He silently protested, but I gave him a reassuring smile. Placing my hand on my head, I felt my temperature.

"I don't feel anything wrong with my temperature and I feel tired. My body is in pain though and it is sore every time I move, but not life disturbing. I guess you have me on some strong pain medication. Morphine? I feel a bit light-headed and nauseous."

"I am impressed. Parents?"

"Yes." I smiled at her. After a few minutes, she was finally done.

"What happened to me."

"You don't remember anything?" Dr. True asked me as she sat on the bed. I frowned; I was attacked they said.

"I was attacked?"

"Yes," Dmitry spoke and looked intensely at me.

Woods. Running. Wolves?

"Whisper."

"Hope..." Olive softly looked at me.

"Whisper." The black figure in the mirror, it spoke. It controlled me. I was not in control. It left me in the woods.

"Your journey starts tonight. Be quick, be smart, for enemies has arisen."

From fire, you have died and from ash, you shall rise.

"I wasn't in control." I panicked and started to breathe heavily.

"Shh." Dmitry cradled me again, "What do you mean Hope?"

"I don't know. I was not controlled, it felt like I was in the back seat of a car. Then I was in the woods trying to find my way back and those wolves... oh my gosh, those wolves. They were not normal they, they were big. They chased me to a cliff with a river and I just, I just jumped." Dmitry made a strange growling sound and tighten his hold on me.

"That all?"

"It is blurry after that. There was a woman? But the wolfy things..." I tried to remember more, but just that. Just their glowing eyes and the lady's smirk. "She looked...evil. I don't know. How did you guys find me?" I looked around the room, none made eye contact with me. "Gina?"

"Darling. Look, you have to be very open-minded know, okay?" she looked at me with guilt. She was scaring me. "There are things in the world that some people don't know. I, we... it is difficult to explain."

"What's going on?" I looked pleading at Gina, but she looked away in lost. I then looked at Dmitry, but he just clenched his jaw. He seemed to do that a lot.

"Maybe this is not a good time. You are still in shock and weak. I will tell you when you are better." Dmitry explained.

"No! What is it? This here..." I motioned to them all with my hand. "This is scaring me more. I don't like being kept in the dark, so just tell me."

"Hope..."

"Just rip the damn band-aid off." I irritated snapped. This was all confusing me and the meds were not helping.

"Humans beings aren't superior in the world," Dmitry spoke confidently and serious.

"What?" I laughed scornfully and looked around the room. No one was looking at me except one. A man a saw before with Dmitry was in the corner snickering to himself. When he saw me looking at me, he gave me a reassuring smile.

"What, My King, meant to say was that humans are not alone. Other beings are roaming Earth." The man spoke with a chuckle.

"Alek." Dmitry signed into his hands.

"What? You shit bags are only confusing the poor Luna more."

"I must say I agree with the young one. Your dogs are not doing a good job." Dalia spoke from the doorway which earned her a growl from almost everyone in the room.

"Ho' dare you to show your face here, witch," Dmitry growled loudly at her.

"You're not my king." She snapped back. What was going on?

"Everyone just stop! Stop! What is going on? Who are you? Why is he calling you a witch? And for the sake of the world, why are they all calling you king?" I freaked out at them all. "Just explain."

"Hope remember I told you there are many mystical things in this world? My dear, you have all the puzzle pieces." I looked at her confused, what did she meant I have all the puzzle pieces. "Moontide? The herbs? We read your cards. Wolves on steroids. The necklace?" It can't be. They are all fairy-tales, kid's stories.

"Witches don't exist. Do they?" Dalia gave me a closed-lip smile. "You are all supernatural beings?"

"Correct term is 'mystics'" Dmitry spoke softly. He looked at me, pleading for me to understand.

"But you're not the same... mystic?" I asked Dmitry.

"No. She is a witch and we are..." he stretched out.

"Wolfy things." Alek laughed from the corner, which made Dmitry glare at him. This exchange made me giggle and shocked everyone. Dmitry snapped his head my way, not believing what he heard.

"So, werewolves? That explains a lot. Now that I think about it... how did I not notice it? You eat a lot, all of you growl. Your community... it's a pack." But were they bad guys? Did they send the other wolves after me? What am I saying, this is not real. "You are all joking."

"They are not." Gina spoke, "I am a human like you, but all of them are werewolves except Dalia who is a witch."

"No. I mean it can't be. We would have known if 'mystics' existed."

"Hope." Dmitry took my hands and looked me straight in the eye. Confused I stared at him, but then it happened. Right before my eyes. His eyes changed from their strange two colours to a glowing icy blue.

"You're real." I lifted my hand to his face. Sparks igniting on my palm while Dmitry closed his eyes and purred aloud.

"Yes. You're taking this well." Dmitry lifted his eyes at me.

"The shock will probably come later. Are there others?"

"Yes, but we will go into that later." I just shook my head up and down. This was going to be interesting.

"Dmitry. Why do they call you king?"

"Remember I told you that I was important, the CEO?"

"Yes."

"I am their king. I am the werewolf, King. My job is to protect my kind." 

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