I stepped outside, the cold breeze blowing through my short hair. The smell of freshly fallen leaves was lingering in the air. For once, nothing bad was happening. There was no alpha pack. No were-coyote that we needed to turn back into a girl. And the greatest of all, no evil nogitsune trying to possess my mind. For once, we were as carefree as high school students could get.
I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. It was Scott. Hey. We're all waiting for you. Hurry up! I reached into my other pocket, pulling out the keys to my jeep. I looked at them in my hand for a minute before putting them back. I'll just walk. It's a nice day to walk. I was supposed to meet the others at the bowling alley.
Scott had picked the place. He was a terrible bowler, but I understood why. The bowling alley was where Scott and Allison had gone for their first real date. Allison. Just thinking about her made my stomach churn. It had been almost a year since her death, but I still thought about her everyday. She was a great friend, and didn't give up on me when I was possessed by the nogitsune.
I clenched my fist in anger. It was the nogitsune's fault that she had died in the first place. Allison's death had really hit all of us hard. Scott especially. She was his first love. Scott didn't talk to anyone for weeks. Not even Kira. We all kept our distance, letting him mourn alone. The twins had decided to stay. They weren't part of the pack, but they were still around. Cora had come back, and was staying with Derek in his loft. Peter helped Malia with the shift, and she could now switch from a human to a coyote whenever she pleased. Lately, Isaac has been coaxing her to spend more time as a human.
I could see the bowling alley at the end of the street. All my friends were standing outside. My pack. When I got close enough for them to hear me, I was going to call out to them but I froze. Something else had caught my eye. Cautiously, I turned my head. Across the street, sitting on a park bench was a woman. She held a cell phone to her right ear, and was nervously going through her bag in search of something.
My heart beat increased. I tried to fight it, but tears started to stream down the side of my face. I stifled a small cry. It can't be. It's impossible. I had watched her die. I was at her funeral. She was dead. But if she was dead, I wouldn't be seeing her now. Can people come back from the dead? If she was alive, where had she been all these years? Why didn't she come home? Didn't she want to be in my life? Didn't she care about me? About dad? I couldn't help but whisper. It was almost silent.
"Mom?"
Should I continue with this?