We said goodbye to a few of Chris’ friends before heading to his house. The night is chilly, but thanks to Sky I am not cold at all.
“It was fun,” Chris says while we are walking. Chris’ house is about a twenty-minute walk from here, but I don’t mind walking. My brain is in overdrive when I think about letting Chris go. He is so nice, and I know he is not a werewolf, but I have this feeling when I am with him, that I am safe.
“Yes, it was. I am glad Lara got what she wanted,” I told him with a laugh.
“Yeah, they looked quite cozy with each other,” Chris says with a chuckle. His drunkenness is quite noticeable in his voice.
Suddenly, I catch a few unknown scents and I feel Sky anxiety in my mind.
‘What is it Sky? Who are they?’
‘Just some drunken a*sh*les, avoid them if you can.’ She says seriously. They must be at the pub which is close to Chris’s house.
‘The only way to avoid walking past them is if we fly, and I don’t think that’s one of our powers, right?’ I asked her with a chuckle.
‘No, it’s not. Just be careful, they are not good people.’ She says seriously.
“Is it safe to walk by the pub at this time of the night?” I ask Chris, who shrugs his shoulders.
“Usually I drive past here, so I don’t really know, but I never had problem with them before. Why?” he asks.
“Just asking,” I tell him, and we keep walking. The noises are louder and louder with every step we take and Sky is more on edge too. I can already see about ten people on the terrace of the pub, drinking and laughing. I think they are a motorcycle gang. I assume from the leather jackets, but they look quite young, and I don’t see a single motorcycle around there, so I am not sure.
“Let’s just walk past them quietly,” Chris says, and comes to my other side to hide me from them as we pass by. We managed to walk by them without problem and I let out a sigh of relief.
“Guys, look what a fine chick we have here,” a drunk guy says, who just walked out of the bushes in front of us while he pulls his fly up. I look back to see all the attention is on us now, and they even stand up and start walking towards us.
“Let’s run,” Chris says, and we start running in no time. I can’t use my wolf speed since Chris is with me. He is drunk, so a few of them manage to catch up with us.
“I see you guys are in a hurry,” one of them says breathlessly. “I wanted to be nice, but after you made me run so much, I won’t take responsibility for my actions,” he says, and all of them burst out laughing. He looks like he is their leader or something. Now all ten of them are standing around us in a circle.
“We don’t want problems, leave us alone,” Chris says and tries to push me behind him, but they are everywhere.
“You can go little boy, we just want to get to know her.” Another says with a laugh while he points at me.
‘Let’s have some fun with them,’ Sky says angrily, and we want the same thing.
‘We can’t, Chris is here.’ I tell her while I think about what to do, but I don't have time for that.
“Just go Chris, I can handle them,” I tell him, and they burst out laughing once again, which makes me more angry.
“See? She wants to stay with us,” the leader says mockingly.
“Are you crazy?” Chris hisses at me and I get it, but how should I explain this to him now?
“Chris, I am a good fighter, I can take them down, go.” I whispered to him.
“I won’t let you stay with them alone, no, Angel.” He says, and I could kiss him right here and now. It's good to know that he would never leave me alone in a situation like this.
“If you guys are finished… f*ck, I hate to wait.” One of them says sarcastically.
“Then we will do it your way.” I tell Chris and push him out of the circle. They just look at us amused. “Stay here,” I tell him, and don't hesitate to take down the two closest ones with a swift move. I look at the rest to see the amusement is totally gone from their faces. Their jaws are hanging low from the surprise.
“What the…?” The leader starts in disbelief, and now it's my turn to laugh.
“So you guys want to play? Let’s play then.” I tell them, and they come at me, but they don’t hit me, they want to hold me down. I guess they want to r**e me or something and not harm me, but for me, it’s all the same.
I am busy fighting with six of them if I counted them well, while the rest goes to Chris, who is still in shock.
“Hey, a*sh*les, leave him alone, you want me, right?” I try to divert their attention, but I need to concentrate on the fight with the rest. When one of them punches Chris hard in his face, he falls to the ground while he is groaning in pain. I feel the anger floods through my whole body and, before I know it, Sky lets out a loud, animalistic growl, making the earth shake under our feet.
‘Stop it Sky!’ I yelled at her, but it was too late anyway. All of them run away scared, like their lives depend on it while they leave their unconscious friends behind, but that’s not what I am worried about.
“Chris, are you okay?” I ask him and try to walk up to him, but he backs away from me with a terrified expression on his face.
“Don’t come… closer.” He stumbles on his feet as he stands up and starts running in panic like a madman.
“Wait Chris, I can explain.” I shout after him, but he doesn’t stop running.
‘Don’t. Just let him go.’ Sky says when I want to follow him.
‘What have you done, Sky? He is afraid of me now,’ I tell her while tears are rolling down my cheeks.
‘It's better this way, Angel. I just saved him from a heartbreak.’ She says. I don’t know if she is right, but I can’t do anything about it anymore. ‘We can’t stay here, Angel. We need to leave from here and find mate.’ She says, and I agree with her on that one, even though my heart breaks if I think about leaving everyone behind. Nana, Lara, Chris… but maybe it will be better this way. I would just bring trouble for them if I stayed. Maybe even those guys will look for me just to prove that they aren’t insane, and I am a monster.
‘You are right, let’s go.’ I tell her and run into the forest, towards our cottage. I don’t shift, but even in my human form, I reach home in ten minutes. It’s four AM, so I try to be as quiet as possible. I go to my room and start packing. I pack just the most necessary things that fit in my backpack. I grab a piece of paper and a pen and I start to write a note to Nana.
Dear Nana,
When you read this note, I am far from here already. Now that I am 18, I want to travel a bit to find myself in this world and I want to stand on my own feet. Thank you very much for taking care of me in the last six years. I can’t be grateful enough for your kindness and hospitality. I will contact you once in a while and I will keep an eye on you from far. I know it’s sudden, and I still need to get my graduation papers, but please just keep them for me till the time being.
I love you and don’t worry about me.
Take care,
Angel
I wipe my tears away when I am done with the letter. I place it on the kitchen counter where I know she will see it, together with a part of my savings. I don’t want to leave, but I don’t want to bring trouble or danger to her. She is safer if I am not around.
I take my backpack and put the rest of my savings in my pocket. It’s not much, but it’s enough to go to a motel for a few days. Monday I will go to the bank. My parents left money for me, but I couldn’t get it because I wasn't eighteen yet. Now I can. I don’t know how much, but I will need to find a job too, just in case.
I don’t need to worry about school because all my exams were done, only the graduation ceremony is left. I don’t know what to do about Lara though. How will I explain to her where I am and why? Chris will tell her everything, I am sure. Gosh, I am so scared.
‘Don’t be, I am here with you,’ Sky says, and I almost forgot about her for a moment.
‘I know, and I am so glad for that,’ I tell her as I make my way through the forest.
‘I think it’s better if we shift. I will carry the bag in my mouth,’ she says.
‘Yeah, you are right. I know a motel not too far from the other end of the forest.’ I tell her while I start to undress. I put my clothes into the bag and I descend on all fours. I imagine myself in my wolf form and my bones start breaking in no time. The pain is still there, but I manage to swallow my scream. This time it took less time to shift.
‘Good job, you are good at this,’ Sky says, and I take my bag into my mouth before I start running towards the motel.