Recrudescence

Sonia didn't want to go to her room yet. She strolled along the corridor. A gentle breeze caressed her burning cheeks. She looked at her left. A French doors was open to what looked like a garden.

Curious, she walked into the garden and started exploring. The garden was well-maintained and ground lights illuminated the walkways. She smiled, grateful for the blissful serenity.

Deeper into her walk, she saw the prettiest woman ever sitting on a bench and looking at the starless sky. She was an older woman, but she had aged gracefully. Her silver blond hair cascaded around her shoulders. Sonia admired her for embracing her grey hair.

The woman seemed lost in thought. When she closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, she crinkled her nose as if she caught a bad smell. With distaste, she looked at Sonia, pink eyes shining from a distance.

What's with these people and their odd eye colour?

She was like a white bunny caught in the headlights. Which, despite the glare sent to her direction, Sonia found very cute.

Sonia turned away to give the woman the privacy she clearly wanted to enjoy her alone time.

A sudden gust of wind and strange sounds jolted her. She turned to find the woman, now very close to her, held by a warrior. Vincent, the guy who helped her reach the pack house, was having a hard time keeping the woman in place. Which was weird due to the size difference between the two. Sonia gasped, her hands covering her mouth.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

The woman's eyes travelled from Sonia's face to her wrists and back up. The expression in her face morphed from anger to shock when she saw the bracelet. This second of distraction allowed Vincent to restrain her which made the woman desperate to break free. She looked at Sonia with pleading eyes, shouting words in a foreign language. She struggled to free one hand, trying to reach Sonia.

This situation was painfully familiar to Sonia. The same desperation Sonia had felt, the helplessness, even the bruising hold of his hands around the woman, Sonia could almost feel on her own skin. Sonia remembered the many times she was the woman restrained. How she cried for help and no one came for her.

Not this time.

She won't stand and watch such brutality happening to another woman without interfering. She launched herself at the man, punching and screaming to let her go. But her little human fists were no match to his strength. In fact, she was hurting herself, but that didn't stop her.

“Vincent, stop. Let her go...Stop! You’re hurting her!”

The stone man didn't budge. He looked nothing like the polite guy she met days ago.

The woman stopped struggling at last. He carried her away while her eyes never wavered from Sonia who trailed behind them, asking where was he taking her and what was he going to do to her. Images of her own past flashed before her eyes.

Sonia, brought to the hospital by her dad's bodyguard, confused and scared. She begged them to let her go. She cried and screamed but they didn't care. They slammed her on a metal table and tied her hands and legs. She felt vulnerable and exposed. She forgot how much she screamed. How much she pleaded. Nobody cared.

A doctor came and gave her a shot to calm her down. He didn't address her nor explained anything to her. It was like she wasn't human anymore.

Sonia was brought back to reality when they arrived to a door that opened to reveal a nurse. She ushered him to come in.

“Lay her on the bed. I'll bring the wolfsbane,”the nurse said.

Sonia couldn’t believe her ears. Were they going to kill her? Wasn't wolfsbane a poison to werewolves?

She went to stop them, but two firm arms stopped her and brought her to a strong chest. She struggled to get free, but couldn't. Alpha Omar pulled her out of the room and closed the door.

“No, let me go. They'll kill her! You should help her!” She was thrashing and clawing at his arms.

“Shhh... it's ok, calm down. They won’t kill her. Trust me.”

“They’re giving her wolfsbane! That's poison!. That's murder!”

“It's just a small dose to weaken her wolf. Trust me. It’s not harmful.”

“Why? What for?" she asked, looking between him and the closed door.

“Just calm down. I'll tell you everything.”

Omar loosened his arms around her and she started pacing, still on edge, her hands shaking.

“What happened? Why did Vincent attack her? Who is she?”

“Let's go to your room. It’s getting late. I'll tell you everything on the way.”

They started to walk, but Sonia stopped abruptly.

“Wait! I need to see her. Please, I want to make sure she’s alright.”

They went back to the room. Sonia cracked the door a sliver to peek in. She saw the woman lying on the bed facing her direction. Her eyes were lost like a withered pink iris flower. The sound of the door made the woman look absently at it. When she saw Sonia, sadness and regret filled her eyes then leaked out in the form of a single tear.

Sonia closed the door gently, then turned to Alpha Omar.

“Let's go.”

They walked in silence until she blurted out the questions brewing inside her, “What happened back in the garden? Why did Vincent attack her?—”

“Vincent was stopping her from attacking you.” There was sadness in his voice.

He looked at her to gauge her reaction. When he saw confusion in her eyes, he continued, “I was there.” He sighed. “I was on my way to check on you, when I saw the attack from the window. I'm happy Vincent saved you. I wouldn't have made it in time," he whispered the last part.

“Why would she attack me? I don't even know her.” Sonia was sure she wouldn't forget a woman like her, if she'd ever met her.

“I don't know. Maybe she thought of you as a threat.” Omar was puzzled by his mother's reaction.

“Me, a threat! To a werewolf!” Sonia found the idea ridiculous.

“Yes, since she lost her mate at the hands of humans.”

“Oh, I see.”

“I’m sorry about what happened. She’s not in her right mind. Her wolf is grieving. We’re trying to weaken the wolf to give her a chance to survive, but it seems like she doesn't have the will to fight. Even her human form is giving up. I don't know what to do to help her. I thought maybe if she knew that I found my mate, it’ll give her a reason to be happy. I'm really sorry. I never thought she’ll attack you. She's never been aggressive.”

“Who is she?” Sonia asked, though she had already figured out her identity.

“My mother.” Omar's voice was heavy with emotions.