Cursed By Fate

Elijah arrived home shortly after noon to find his wife in the kitchen. She hurriedly dropped the dishes and ran to hug him.

“I didn’t know what else to do so I started stress cleaning”, she said as she smiled still holding her husband. Elijah did not respond and that alarmed her.

She looked up at him asking what was wrong but he remained silent still.

“I couldn’t do it. What does that say of me, a man who cannot avenge his daughter,” he said with his head bowed to the ground. She tightened her grip as her arms remained wrapped around him.

“It says you’re a man with a kind heart and that doesn’t make you any less of a man. She pulled his hand and dragged him into the kitchen.

She kissed him and brought out a pregnancy test kit from the drawer underneath the counter, he looked more alive than he had been in months.

She handed it to him and he saw a single stripe which indicated f positive result. “Wait! How?” he asked almost too excited to speak. She explained how she had been feeling and how it prompted her to go buy a test kit.

“I used it when I got up this morning”, she said as she beamed with excitement.

Elijah lifted her off her feet when he could not hide his excitement anymore. This was the best thing that had happened to him in a while. It was almost like a reward for his restraint, he finally was able to feel good about not killing Jack

******

Louis was delighted to hear of the death of Jack and his nephew. Normally he would have made a spectacle of Elijah for not following through but other issues occupied his mind at the moment.

Shortly after the rest of the pack he sent out that morning with Elijah returned and gave their report, he received some troubling news from an emissary from the Shadow Moon pack.

A scout of theirs has seen Elijah and the others cross through their territory. He stealthily followed them and observed everything that had occurred between the werewolves and Jack.

He was on his way back to report what he had seen to his Alpha when he was discovered and killed by Louis’s wolves. The emissary had requested Louis come to the border that separated their territories to meet with their Alpha for a parley. Refusal would mean an automatic declaration of war and Louis knew they had the numbers.

He sat alone pondering on his decision when it dawned on him. Rudolph was an old man, he was far superior to him in most ways and had a better relationship with the rest of the alphas. Going to war would be detrimental not just to him but to his The meeting was the only plausible move he could make. He sent for his spy and sent him with a message agreeing to meet at sunset.

“Call the council of elders now, I need to meet with them immediately,” Louis said. He sounded worried and the tone of his voice was hasty. It took the guards a few minutes to round them up.

When they had been fully assembled he narrated the situation before them and asked for their input.

This was surprising to them as this was the first time he ever required their opinion. Elder Arthur was the only one who spoke. He supported the idea but cautioned that Louis be careful when dealing with him.

He advised the Alpha to exercise restraint and only engage Rudolph as a last resort. Louis was silent for a bit, after which he dismissed the council and summoned his strongest warriors to accompany him.

******

Carl saw the Horror on Laura’s face. He took her hand and took her outside the lobby to talk. John watched from a distance as he waited to hear from the doctors on when he’d be able to see his wife.

“Those were werewolf attacks, I could tell from the injury patterns”, Carl said to Laura. “But you’ve been here all this time,” Laura replied.

“I think this was another pack’s doing, Jack had made a career off killing wolves, this must have been a vendetta kill,” Carl said.

“You think the police and coroner would be able to tell it was a werewolf? Laura asked as she squeezed Karl’s hand. “I doubt it, it’ll most likely be written off as an animal attack. What I’m concerned about is Caroline. Is it possible for them to trace her healing back to me?” he asked Laura with great concern in his eyes.

“Whatever the outcome is, we’ll deal with it together my love” Laura reassured him. Just then, John rushed out. “It’s Caroline, she regained consciousness.”

They ran inside behind him, and into the ward where she was moved. Caroline, sat on the edge of the bed smiling at them as they walked in. John was the first to embrace her. “Oh my God, I thought I lost you.”

John said as tears flowed from his eyes. Laura joined in the embrace as Carl watched from the door smiling at them.ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

It was a blissful afternoon that followed what was a horrific morning. Caroline requested to see the doctor to ask if she could be discharged. The doctor was however unavailable as he was still busy with the police and coroner.

“I think we should leave either way,” Carl said as this seemed to be an opportunity to avoid questions they could not answer.

“Yeah I think you’re right”, Laura said in agreement. John looked at Caroline and she nodded as well. Carl looked outside to see if anyone was watching, but everything seemed normal and quiet, as aside from the nurse at the reception. They agreed to leave in an air of twos so as not to arouse any form of suspicion.

Carl and Laura left first. They had just gotten into their car when Caroline and her husband began to exit the building. “Mr. John, my name is Detective Walter, I’d like to ask you some questions please.” were the words that followed from the man who stopped them.