𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟑

𝘓𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘦 

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╰┈˚ · ° .  THE CHIRPING OF THE BIRDS WAS WHAT WOKE ME UP. Rays of sun, only slightly covered by the tree branches, shined from above. I winched slightly, my hand raising to cover my eyes from the sudden assault of the light.

My back was sore as I sat up with a groan. Apparently I had decided to take a nap in the woods?

My body was screaming at me, aching from probably passing out on the uneven ground of the forest floor, but it wasn't only that. My body wasn't only in pain, tingles were spreading all over it, shiver running down my back and the hair raised on my arms.

With a grimace, I held my head when a full blown headache started with intensity, almost like sharp spikes being stabbed through my brain.

I was totally and utterly confused about my whereabouts. And then... the fog that my brain was covered in, slowly lifted. Memories of the previous night assuming me at the speed of light. The fight with Sam, him running away and me following after him. How he shook from the anger so much before his body transformed into one of a huge wolf. The pain in my gut, like being stabbed time after time. Flames enveloping me whole, burning my skin even if now I could not see any trace of burns or scars left behind. The ring of fire that bursted out of me burning everything in its path but me and my brother, who was standing there on four paws insted of two legs. And then nothing, only the whining of the wolf and complete darkness.

With a jolt that sent even more pain throughout my body and mind, I stood up. I watched with wide eyes the forest around me. I expected it to be only a charred mess, maybe even still burning with scorching flames. But no, it was as if it had never happened, actually, it seemed like nature decided to flourish during the night. Emerald colored grass made as a cushion underneath my feet, flowers of every color and shades so bright that they seemed fake and definitely out of their blooming season. On the feet of the trees, layers of moss grew, the trunks were wider than what they normally looked, the branches longer and full of bright green leaves. I knew the woods at the back of my house very well, almost as if they were carved in my mind from the hundreds of times I had drawn them and walked through them. And this... this was not how they usually looked. They looked magical, too unreal.

What the fuck!

My breathing started to accelerate, my eyes were as wide as coins. I couldn't understand what was happening. I could feel my heartbeat in my throat, my lungs begging for air. My body started to tingle more, spreading down until my fingers were almost twitching.

The first flicker appeared at the tips, sparkles flying around. I looked down at my hands, panicking even more as flames started to appear. They cascaded down my fingers and down onto the grass. It burned where it hit before nature adjusted itself and a flower bloomed from the scorchers that the flames had caused.

What. The. Fuck. What the actual fuck!

"Oh my god!" I thought that I was going to pass out from how hard I was breathing. More and more flame formed in the palm of my hands until both were entirely covered by it.

One second I was panicking and the next I wasn't.

I don't know how or when it happened, but the more I stared at the fire that covered my hands, the more I calmed down. My heart returned to its regular pattern and my breathing had stabilized, I was not anymore in the middle of a panic attack.

It took me a second to remember how just looking at my lit lighter would've calmed me down. It always worked. Whenever I was angry, sad...

The flames in my hands died down to nothing as I took control of my emotions. I was so surprised that for a couple of minutes I didn't move even an inch. I just continued to just stare down at my hands, that just seconds before, had produced fire literally out of nowhere. And then, the memory of my brother returned to the forefront of my mind.

He had transformed into a wolf. A huge black wolf.

"Sam?" I called out loud. I knew he wasn't here anymore but I still tried to call him again "Sammy?"

The first thing that came to my mind was— I'm crazy. I'm literally having hallucinations and then... the legends of the tribe.

Yeah, I'm definitely going crazy— I thought bitterly

I walked back to my house once again calling for my brother. I went to his room, the bed was made and the clock on his nightstand signaled the 6:10 in the morning. Too early for him to get up. I searched around the house, no sign of him. I sended him messages and even called. No answer. His phone was on the coffee table in the living room with my missed calls and messages and even one from Leah from the night before.

It was probably past ten when I decided to call the Clearwater girl asking if she had seen him. And only at her negative answer, and from what she had told me, a negative one from any of their friends, I started to worry. No one had seen or heard him since yesterday.

I entered my mother's room with tears pooling in my eyes that I didn't let fall. She was sleeping, the half empty different bottles of antidepressants on her nightstands were like a beacon for my eyes, but I didn't get too focused on them. Not now.

"Mom." I said in a whisper, shaking her body lightly trying to wake her up. "Mom."

Allison Uley let out a sleepy groan. "What!" She snapped still half asleep, her words slurred. If it was from the sleep or her medication, I had no idea.

"It's Sam." I told her. I swallowed the lump in my throat as emotion started to clog up my mind, not making me think as clearly. Again the tingles spreaded to my fingertips, sparkles appearing in my hands. I let out a choked sob trying to calm myself down. If it was real, if I wasn't hallucinating everything, I really did not want to let my mother's bed on fire.

"What do you want, Beatrice. Let me sleep."

"I can't find him. I can't find Sam anywhere. No one knows where he is." I said with a plea in my tone. I didn't know what to do.

My mother groaned once again, her eyes opening slightly "I'm sure he will appear, don't worry." She said before turning around ready to go back to sleep "Or maybe he took after his father and left us too."

That was when the tears started to fall from my eyes. I quickly ran outside, the forest calling my name as I fell down on my knees as I wept. I didn't want to believe it. He would never leave me. Sobs broke from my chest as screams of agony tore from my throat.

Then a circle of fire appeared around me, as if to protect me, to sooth me. And only when my cries started to decrease, I noticed that it had helped.

Like a moth to a flame.

My hand went to touch the fire, it danced around it, wrapping around the fingers and moving as if it had a will of its own. It was beautiful. The flames grew, but my skin remained untouched.

And then it was almost like the fire had cleared my mind from the words of my mother.

No. He hadn't left us. And maybe I wasn't crazy. The fire around me pulsated with life, I could feel it till deep down my soul. It was real, it had to be. Sam had shifted into a wolf, like the legends had said. Spirit warriors that can shapeshift. And elemental women with power of a natural element. The stories said that our people would only shift when feeling a threat.

The Cullen were back. The Cold ones.

It had to be. Or I really was crazy and my brother had done the same thing that our father had. Left us. Even if Joshau Uley leaving us had been more of a blessing, it still had left a wound that was not going to be filled. Not for me or my brother and definitely not for our mother. But I wasn't ready for that to be true. I knew Sam, he wasn't Joshua. At least, I didn't want that to be true.

══════ 🜂🜁🜃🜄 ══════

╰┈˚ · ° .   It was late in the afternoon when I had enough of waiting. My mother had not said a word to me when she had gone to work, only giving me a look full of pity before she was out of the front door. No one, not Leah or any other person apparently had seen Sam or heard from him.

I was almost drowning in my despair and I had enough of it. So with a decision made, I walked outside all but ready to head off to the police station when the crunch of leaves and broken branches came from the forest stopped me in my tracks.

I turned towards the wood where I heard the rumors coming from, walking deeper into the forest past the tree line. It was so dark that I could barely see my feet and the risk of walking directly into the trunk of a tree was very high.

I glanced down at my hand, stretching the fingers as an idea flashed through my mind.

"You can do it." I whispered to myself trying to give myself the courage to try it.

I focused as hard as I could begging for even a spark to appear at the tips of my fingers... but nothing. No sparks, no fire, nothigh. Not even the tingly feeling that I felt before any of it would happen. Frustration grew in me like an angry beast. It was real, I knew it was. It had to be.

And as the barest amount of a stronger appearance of emotion in me ignited, sparks started to appear like flashes of light on the pad of my fingers.

Strong emotions.

That was what I had concluded could trigger the fire to appear. And so I got angry, the easiest emotion for me to feel. It only took remembering the words that my mother had said for a full flame to appear in the palm of my hand.

I smiled widely at it, making the flame rising even higher at the quick switch of my emotions –It was real.

I used my hand to light the way making it easier for me to see in the dark woods ahead of me. And there, behind a tree, a huge black wolf stared back at me. His eyes were too human to be the one of normal animal.

"Sam?" I spoke. My voice loud in the silence of the night "Sammy it's me, Beatrice."

The wolf whined, a sound of pain and sadness that made my heart squeeze in my chest. He kept eye contact for a second more before taking off once again leaving me alone with just a flame in my hand.

"Sam, wait!" I tried to run after him but it was useless. He was too quick for me to even follow him and too dark, even with my fire illuminating around me, to follow with my eyes his movements to even just understand which direction he had gone.

But seeing Sam in his wolf form, knowing with a knowledge deep inside myself that it was him that wolf, made everything better. Because the legends were real. The Cold ones, the shapeshifters, the elemental women. Everything was real.

And this was only the beginning.

✎

˗ˏˋ 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞 ˊˎ˗

Hello everyone!

This chapter is heavily focused on Beatrice's inner monologue. She is a really tough girl but that does not mean that she does not feel.

In the next chapter you will understand a lot of things. I really can't wait for you to read it

Anyways, thank you for reading this chapter, I'll see you on Thursday! 

˚ · ° . 𝐔𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐞 . ° · ˚

𝐓𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲

𝐓𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲

𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞!

– 𝐋𝐨𝐥𝐚 ☾