Chapter 44

     Stella tried to think about Leo's words as she tried to fall asleep. She suddenly sighed aloud, tossing and turning in her temporary bed. She knew she had to "breed" with Leo for the good of her race, but what exactly was her race? What could she do? Sure, Leo could change into a wolf, but she had never done anything like that. She felt a stubborn frown etch itself into her brow. 

     She lay there thinking for a few more moments, unaware of the pressure building in her bosom. Suddenly, she gasped. The pain in her sternum was almost unbearable, and she shut her eyes against it, almost as if the redness behind her lids could rid her of the pain. For a moment, the skin of her eyes registered a light on front of them, and she felt weightless. And then she was falling. 

     It was such a short fall that she did not even have time to cry out. Lifting  her head, she pried her eyes open to look around. She didn't recognize the room she was in.

             Perhaps, thought Stella, it was because the room was not a room at all. It was a grotto, with colorful crystal rocks and flowers, the stones making up everything she saw. Well, everything except the people. 

     People! People? What had happened? Where was she? She rubbed her arm, discovering that the bandage was gone. All of her bandages were gone. As was the pain in her stomach. She rubbed her abdomen almost unconsciously, remembering the pain that had plagued her moments before. She stood up, feeling light. Her hospital gown was gone, replaced by a light white dress that stopped above her knees. She was not wearing shoes, and wiggled her toes in the peach- colored grass. 

     "Where am I?" She asked. The people were not strange- looking people. They were all rather ordinary, some of them extraordinary. There was a girl a few years older than Stella who looked strangely familiar.... if only Stella could place her...with her straight blind blond hair and blue eyes she looked just like..."Isalie?" The girl asked. She ran up to Stella but stopped at the last second, placing her hands on an invisible barrier that separated them. "I'm sorry," Stella said. "You must be mistaken. My name is Stella. Who are You? Where am I? How did I get here?" Her questions were punctuated by a strange buzzing, a sound that filled her with a strange sense of conflicting calm and dread. 

     The girl shook her head rapidly, glancing at the two adults and boy behind her. "No," she gasped. "Your memories were stolen by Raphique. The sorcerer. He wanted to kill us all but made the deal that if you, Isalie, could find your way back to us he would allow us to leave. And you have! Well, sort of."

     Stella was confused.  She wondered why this girl looked so familiar, as did the people behind her. A man...with a black ponytail...a woman with platinum curls...and a little boy with green eyes...could this be her family? A name came flashing to the forefront of her mind, so fast she only just caught the shape of it. "R...Rhianon?" The girl nodded enthusiastically, years streaming down her face. "Yes, yes, you're remembering! I'm Rhianon, your sister! And Kyle, your brother, mother and father. 

     Stella glanced fearfully at Rhianon. "But...I thought Leo was my brother." She said. Rhiannon jumped up and down, bouncing on the balls of her feet. The little boy, Kyle, ran up beside his sister. "Leonardo? You found him? We thought he was...we thought..." the little boy sniffled. Rhiannon reached  down to grasp his shoulders. "But he's not Kyle. He's not. Our brother is alive."

     Stella shook her head. "If you really are my family, and I really am" she stumbled for the syllables to her name "Isalie, then where are You? How can I get my memories back?"  The woman with the near- white curls walked up. "You have to find us Isalie! Our precious daughter....you can free us, I know you can. All you have to do is find us. Find us..." Her mother's voice faded, as did the scene around her, until it was nothing but the black of a dreamless sleep to surround her mind.

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I have received this user's permission to post their chapter.

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Note by Rho_AnaGrey:

My pen name, first and foremost, is River Grey. Remember this if you look for my work. 

I love words. Words have the power to make a career, break a man, or change a nation. Someday I wish to be a full-time author, and not just on Wattpad.

 I'm a complete nerd, hard as it is to believe, and love all superheroes created by anyone (unless they are ripoffs). 

I hope you guys enjoy my books! There will be an army of them soon. Until then remember: carpe diem.