Ares.
I gently pulled Alora out of the car, breathing heavily as the pain in my torso intensified and I staggered. Looking down at Alora, she was still asleep and I started her scars.
Her arm was showing off her scars and I heard the sound of footsteps drawing closer to the front door.
Isabel and the rest would be here any moment and it was obvious Alora had hidden her scars from them. It was something she wasn't proud of and I knew she didn't want anyone to see it.
Growling painfully, I knelt against the hard concrete floor, resting Alora on the floor as I started to take off my suit jacket. I winced in pain as blood seeped past the wound and I took deo breath as my vision became blurry.
I was losing a lot of blood and I was going to pass out anytime soon. So I managed to quickly take off my jacket and place it against Alora. I took her arm and passed it through my sleeves as I buttoned it to hide away her arm and some parts of her stomach.
But something caught my eye at the side of her stomach, there was a weird scar but it was mostly covered by her skirt and I didn't want to be a perv by pulling it a little to see what kind of scar it was.
I sighed, carrying Alora once more as I headed towards the house door, it pushed open immediately and Lana rushed out, her eyes widened in shock.
"Oh my God!" She yelled, storming out of the house as she stared back at the door. "Isabel! Come! Over here!" She shouted.
"Oh my God, Alpha, Alora." She started to say as she looked confused, her eyes welled with tears as she looked down at Alora before her eyes found my blood stained white shirt.
"Moon goddess!" She exclaimed and I bit back a moan of pain, staggering forward as I felt my vision tilt around me.
"Alpha!" I heard Isabel rush outside as Carmen and Camilla followed her, pulling Alora away from my arm gently. I stumbled, falling on the hard floor as my breathing labored and the images became blurry.
"Alo..Alora, take c-care of her." I managed to say as I could feel the steady beating of my heart, a sudden calmness like I was floating against a soft flowing river.
"Stay with me please, Ares." I heard Lana say as she took my hand and I could hear Isabel taking out some instruments and my shirt being ripped off.
"Hurry! He's lost a lot of blood." Lana said, and I felt her hand on my face pushing away my black hair from my face.
But I didn't care about what was happening around me as an image filled my face. It wasn't real, I knew that but I allowed my mind to play the trick on me.
It was the least it could do.
There was a woman in front of me, black hair just like Alora's, long, soft and carried away by the wind as it ruffled her hair making her appear magical.
She had bright blue eyes, a happier, warmer version of mine. They stared at me with so much love and kindness that I gasped, she was the only one who had ever looked at me this way and I had missed it.
The woman was lean, built like a model and she was beautiful too. Her soft pink lips parted like she was saying something to me but with the so much noise going around me, I could barely hear her.
When she reached her hand to me, placing those slender fingers against my face, I lost it. They were so soft and I felt my heart break inside of me. Tears slipped past my eyes as I finally focused on the woman.
Everything around me vanished as I was suddenly at a beach. But there was no sound of crashing waves, only silence with the bright sun staring down at us.
I finally had a good look at the woman, she was wearing a long white dress as she stood in front of me, a gentle smile on her face. She held until my face and I leaned closer.
"You've grown so much." She said her voice sounded so beautiful, like a bird singing in the woods.
"You've grown taller." She said, coming closer to me. She was shorter by a foot so she had to tilt her head to look at me.
"Your eyes have gotten colder too. They used to be so vibrant so full of life. Now it looks like a cold paint of blue on an empty canvas."
Her words pierced through me and a tear of my own fell past my eyes as I took in all of her.
Her pale skin was home to many scars, running down her arms like a kid trying to learn how to draw. Irregular and deep. It was almost like this frail body didn't belong to this beautiful face.
While her face was flawless, her body spoke of the battles she had been through.
The endless war, internally and physically.
The scars on her wrist where she had used a blade to tear off her skin, spoke of the internal battles she faced alone.
I cried softly as I turned my gaze away from her wrist.
"I'm sorry.." I choked out, dropping my head in shame. "I..I'm so-so sorry. I didn't know." I cried just as she pulled me into her arms, letting me rest my head against her small shoulders.
"It's ok, my son." She said and I broke, falling to my knees as she followed after me, cradling me like she had done when I was younger.
"You have nothing to be sorry for. It's not your fault." She said softly, rubbing her hand through my hair as I cried harder.
It's been so long since I cried and I didn't even realize it was something I could still do. I appeared to be void of emotions but my mind was a raging place of thoughts, memories that didn't seem to go away. Haunting me into the deepest part so I was left with an empty shell of anger and pain.
But this woman right here…
My mother..
Was the only one who saw through that facade, that wall that I had built around myself, it crumbled before her. But when I had been building that wall, she hadn't been here and it was only sad that she was gone by then.
And it was all my fault.
I couldn't save her.
I couldn't protect her.
"It is. It was all my fault and I'm sorry that I couldn't do anything to help you. I'm so useless and I'm sorry that you died." I cried, hugging her so tightly that it was any wonder how her human body didn't break.
My mother was a human so she was generally weaker than an average wolf but it wasn't like I could cause her any more pain by clinging so desperately unto her..
She was already gone..
I cried harder as she rubbed my back, pulling my hair away from face before she brought my face to hers.
"You must not dwell on the past Alessio, you must fight. You must not let your past get a hold of you." She said, wiping my tears away from my cheeks and I stared at her.
"No one has called me that in a long time." I whispered. My real name, Alessio, sounded weird in my ears and it's been so long since I heard it that it was hard to believe I was the one who bore the name.
"Because they changed it. You're still my little Alessio who clings to me all the time. Despite being so tall and scary, I still see you as the small child who I birthed." My mother smiled, it was a sad smile that didn't reach her eyes as she looked deeper into my eyes before she trailed them down my body.
"You must awake, my love. Everyone's worried about you." She said, taking my large hands in hers as she kissed them gently.
"I don't care. I was to stay a little longer." I said and she chuckled, ruffling my hair like she used to and I pouted.
"You're still a big baby." She laughed before she pulled me closer, resting my head against her chest and making me sigh in relief.
The air swept past us and I felt my mother's hair around me and I knew she was going to be gone soon. My eyes watered as she kissed on top of my head.
"It's the full moon in four days. You must prepare for the pain of the mark. You must stay strong my son. And you must open your eyes to see the person in front of you. Your feelings, you must notice them and don't let her slip off your fingers. She's just like you, broken and hurt." My mother said and I frowned looking at her as she started to vanish.
I could no longer feel her solid frame and I panicked, rising to my knees as I tried to grab as much of her that remained.
"Who are you talking about? Mom! Wait!" I yelled, but it was too late and she vanished into thin air.
"You know who, Alessio." She smiled sadly at me. "I love you my son.." Her soft voice filled my ears as the wind took her away, leaving me on the empty beach as the waves finally came crashing.
A loud sob escaped my lips as I screamed, closing my eyes at the intense pain that filled me.
When I opened them again, The white ceiling of my room was above me. The clear blue skies and bright sun vanished and I was back in my room. There was silence and I figured that Lana and the girls had gone. The moon light seeping through my curtains told me it was already night and I could smell the lingering scent of Seth and Victor.
I groaned, pushing myself from the bed as I winced in pain looking at my torso that had a white gauze wrapped around it. I coughed, grabbing my robe from the end of my bed before getting out of the bed.
The only person in my mind was Alora and I needed to see how she was doing.
My mind constantly tried to remember me in my mother's arms but I blocked it. I didn't need to think of that now. It was a weakness and while the person in the trance was a different me. I couldn't let that part of me seep past my mind.
It was dangerous and I frowned, staggering slightly when I tried to walk faster.
My mother was weak. A weak human who didn't do anything to save herself. And if I went down that path, I was going to end up like her.
Pushing my door open, I followed Alora's scent as I stood in front of the room just beside mine and listened.
The steady heart beat told me she was awake and I wondered what she was doing awake by this time.
I reached for the door handle.
"You must stay strong my son. And you must open your eyes to see the person in front of you. Your feelings, you must notice them and don't let her slip off your fingers. She's just like you, broken and hurt."
My mother's words filled my head and I snatched my hand away from the door and stepped backwards.
No way! She wasn't talking about Alora.
"You know who, Alessio."
I heard her voice again and I shook my head, stepping back again. Well, at least she was awake. That was all I wanted to know. I had no business here. I thought as I started to back away when the door opened.
Alora stood in front of me in a pale blue dress, her violent eyes filled with tears. Her scars were covered and I didn't notice any new ones signaling she was ok.
But I couldn't find it in me to walk away. Alora was different and it wasn't because of the attack earlier.
No.
It was her hair.
It was no longer black.
It had turned a bright shade of red.
Let me know what you think in the comments. Follow my Ig: chimdi_jane_samuel. I posted another chapter today for the sake of those who followed me on Instagram. Thank you so much. Follow me for double updates. Jane♥️