Wereball Serie - Along Came A Mate

Home is where the heart is. The truth is that my love organ had been dissected and divided into several pieces. And these bits were scattered everywhere.

One piece had stayed in my family home, with my parents. Another was thousands of miles away, in the Scottish Highlands, with my grandparents and uncles. Another belonged to my little brother, in his hospital room, fighting against an evil bigger than all of us. Thankfully, I was lucky enough to have a piece of my heart with me, in my everyday life: Tiziano, Amaia and Makena, and, of course, Lachlan.

At that precise moment, I was with that particular piece of my heart, enjoying a night out at the university bar. Except Amaia, who had stayed home, wasn’t with us, instead enjoying the solitude of the fortress and a quiet night alone.

“Ehm, Yvaine, darling?” Ludmilla, a member of Makena’s gang called me. The two of us had never talked much, apart from the conventional small talk which my wolf and I considered a waste of brain energy.

Sitting on a stool by the window, between Tiziano, indulging in his fourth margarita, and Makena, flirting with a random werewolf with all her might, I looked up at the smiling girl in front of me. “Hey, hello Ludmilla! How are you?”

“Oooh look! The radiologist!” Usually Tiziano’s filter was barely effective on that huge mouth. After a couple of drinks, his so-called filter was thrown into a bin. Whatever he thought, the boy would say it. “I think I broke my nail lifting this drink! Could you check if—”

Quickly placing my hand over his active mouth, I smiled at Ludmilla. For some reason, Tiziano hated radiologist and physiotherapists.

“Forgive my friend. He was just kidding”

“I certainly wasn’t—”

Ludmilla seemed like a nice girl. A couple years older than us, she had been placed in the category of acquaintances I only met when I hung out with Makena’s large group.

Ignoring Tiziano’s mirthful gaze, the she-wolf winked at me. “I’m fine! We’ll go to the faculty of veterinary later, if you want to join. For a few more drinks.”

The amount of time I could devote to these people without getting bored was not unlimited. So, the answer would have been a simple no.

“Oh, I wish I could. But I can’t. Next time!”

‘Definitely not next time,’ Tiziano commented through our mind-link

“Sure, don’t worry,” she said with a sheepish smile, avoiding my eyes.

‘Why is this girl still here?’

“I need a favour...”

Ah, here we go. We had to waste at least five minutes of banal conversation before getting to the heart of the matter.

“Could you lend me your phone, please?” As strange as that request seemed, it sparked my curiosity.

‘Of all the people present, why is she asking you?’ Tiziano groaned, pursing his lips.

‘Behave Tizzy!’ I warned with a chuckle.

“So I have to text someone to solve a problem. It’s a bit of an emergency.”

In fact, Ludmilla seemed a little off. Almost annoyed, with a permanent frown.

‘I think the alcohol finally got the better of her werewolf genes. Her skin has started to shrivel.’

Ignoring Tiziano’, who was pissed because Ludmilla had interrupted our conversation and because the ice in his glass was melting, I put my phone on her awaiting hand and politely said, “Oh, I hope everything is okay.”

“Thanks, Ivy!! You’re the best!”

If the simple act of lending a phone was enough to be rated the best, then this girl and I would have been better off staying acquaintances and not friends.

“Who are you texting anyway?”

“Just this boy...”

I raised my eyebrows at her. “That’s a lot of information...”

Ludmilla chuckled before she started typing again.

“He blocked my number over a stupid misunderstanding. And I think he has my friends’ contacts, so I had to text him from an unknown number of someone he doesn’t know, because I—”

Not paying attention to her anymore, I started laughing with Tiziano over some random comment he made through our mind link.

I smiled nonchalantly. “Sure, don’t worry! It’s just a message!”

“Thanks again! Let me know if he answers, okay?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Has he replied??” Ludmilla asked me for the umpteenth time. Stifling a laugh, I checked the phone.

Zero messages.

Again.

“Not yet!”

Already taking my jacket, I tried to locate Makena who was nowhere to be seen. A little tired, I had decided to go home and was hoping to have some time to take Plutos out before my private party with my pillows and fluffy worlds of blankets.

“Who is this guy who made you so nervous?” This question was genuine. I had always found it fascinating how people find time to obsess over someone.

“Don’t worry. Nobody important.” She mumbled, grunting, and looking terribly upset for the lack of response from this mysterious person. Already forgetting the matter, giving up finding my friends, I started walking home after saying goodbye to the rest of Makena’s group.

Lachlan and his gang had cancelled at the last minute and made up an excuse. I knew that “someone” did not want to be in the same room as Makena.

When I got back to campus, I was so tired I could barely get one foot in front of the other.

The night was quiet, with few people around. Bats swayed in the wind as forest animals slept amidst the trees scattered around the campus. Being a werewolf university, endless expanses of forest and greenery were as much a necessity as a commercial hub would be for a human community.

When I reached our building, I heard several steady heartbeats, numerous werewolves in their sleep, and a few silent whispers. My brother wasn’t home, so I sent him a short message to say goodnight.

An odd sound called my attention. A heartbeat, one as frantic as the beating of a hummingbird’s wings. There was a soul that lay anxious, wide awake.

It was Makena.

Completely confused by her presence in the house, as I never noticed her leaving the bar, I hurried and followed her scent.

My wolf and I shivered at the sight of her. It had gripped our hearts like an invisible hand.

Makena, my strong, independent friend, always wearing a confident smile, always with whoever she wanted at her feet, was curled up on the bed in a fetal position, clutching her chest. Her swollen face showed how much she had been crying, I could almost recognize the dry rivers of tears on her cheeks.

“Makey” My whisper rang out loud in the silent room. I sat on the edge of the bed, with a sad expression.

“It hurts so much Ivy. So much that I wish I’d never met him. I wish he was nothing to me. ”

Then I noticed it. A red, massive bruise on her chest. It seemed as if she was having an internal bleeding....as if her heart was crying blood.

“What is going on?” My medical investigative side had gone into action mode. “Let me get my stethoscope and my-”

“No. No need. I know what it is.” She said with a shaking sigh. “Don’t worry about me, it will soon pass.”

I gasped; waves of concern swept through me.

“Lie down with me and hug me.” She patted the seat next to her and I gladly settled around her trembling figure. I kissed her head and rested my chin on her shoulder.

“It’s okay, I’m here.”

I thought the situation stank a lot of Gaius, but I decided to let it go. For now.

So, I comforted one of the pieces of my heart. My Makena.

After a certain time, the scent of Tiziano invaded my nostrils, and his sturdy footsteps stopped in front of the bedroom.

“I’ll take care of her from now on, honey,” He muttered with a serious look. “You can go to sleep. It’s late.”

He kissed me on the cheek, checked that I was okay, and patted me on the head. Tiziano, The Dad was here.

Too tired to focus on Makena’s situation, I scrambled onto my bed.

When I was about to let go and enter the sweet land of unconsciousness, my phone lit up, signalling a new message.

If I had known how a message would change my life forever, irreversibly, I would have prepared my heart for it.

I would have brought a defibrillator from school and put it under my bed.