She was tired. Tired of Lucas Cates. Of the cat and mouse games he played
with her heart. From making her feel like she was the only one for him then
breaking her heart by betraying her, (i.e. humping Presley in the woods)
and then asking for forgiveness again, allowing herself to fall into his
trap of lies and deceit. Sophia was also tired of being the half-breed of
Wolf Lake. The discrimination that she experienced all her life was finally
taking its toll on her self-esteem and her will to hold back her anger. She
was tired on not being accepted from neither the Pack nor the humans in
Wolf Lake. Quite plainly she was just simply tired of Wolf Lake and
everything it represented.
It was finally time to strike back.
She couldn't believe what Luke had done this time. He had just gone too far. She was finally moving on with her life by going out with Scott. The night had been perfect until Luke had to weasel his way into everything. First by eavesdropping on their conversation and then almost running them over with his car. Luke knew better than to risk the Pack's privacy by confronting a human male for supremacy. But regardless of rules, Luke was only thinking of one thing. The fact that Sophia would be kissing anyone but him. The fact that she had turned the tables on him by finding her own mate, and not waiting for him to finish his current piece of meat, Presley.
Sophia kept on turning the tables even further, by glaring those amber eyes at Luke and throwing him into the windshield of his own car. Taking him clean off his feet and throwing him back, she saw her anger reflected in Luke's eyes. She also saw the surprise and shock in Luke's eyes of just how far along she really was. No longer living under his command, Sophia finally felt free with the crash of Luke's body on the hood of his car.
Turning back around, she saw the fear and confusion also reflected in Scott's eyes. She couldn't understand what had just happened to a human. There was explanation to tell him. What would you even say to a person who just witnessed a 100 pound girl pick up a 200 pound guy with one hand and perfectly throw him into the front seat of his car without even breaking a sweat? There were no words to explain her super-human strength expressed there nor the intensity of those glowing eyes that she revealed to Scott when she finally turned around to face him. Only the gasp and the shock seen in those eyes was enough words for Sophia to get the hint that he no longer wanted anything to do with a "freak" like her.
Unsure and scared of what she would do next, Sophia did the only thing suitable in this situation. She ran. Running to an unknown place, she just went where her legs carried her, not even looking at where she was going. Enjoying only the feel of her feet hitting the ground and the wind hitting her hard in the face, Sophia ran letting her legs cramp until she thought they would collapse under her. When she finally became aware of where she was, she found herself in front of the Wolf Lake Police Department. Knowing that her father would be inside, Sophia didn't waste a second as she charged into the building and quickly closing the door behind her.
Luke didn't even waste a second to quickly follow Sophia, catching her scent of the Change hanging high in the air, leading him towards the police station and Sheriff Donner. He knew that she was now to close to the Change that he couldn't help her through the flip by other means. Stopping outside the police station, knowing that she was just beyond the door, Luke stopped himself from barging in. He knew he would have to deal with the sheriff and with their relationship, it was just going to make the situation worse. Luke then hung tight to the shadows of the forest before changing into the light gray wolf that he was. He knew that the Sheriff would eventually take Sophia to Sherman Blackstone, not trusting anyone else with the life of his daughter. Luke just stood there fighting back the urges to be with Sophia, knowing that she wasn't too sure about her feelings for him right now unlike him. He was willing to go the distance for her now that he knew what it felt like to see her life in danger.
"Sophia, what's wrong honey?" Matt asked before he saw the intense yellow glow of Sophia's eyes. "Oh God honey, why didn't you tell me?" Matt asked once again seeing those amber eyes of his daughter along with them fear.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean for this to happen. I tried to stop it." Sophia confessed now of all times not wanting her father to be mad at her.
The Change suddenly began to take its toll on her body. She could feel her skin begin to burn and become agitated. Her bones began to pop and shift allowing her body to change with ease. Her senses started to expand allowing her to hear, see, and taste everything from people, animals, trees, the wind, and the wolves within the town. Another one of her wolven capabilities also picked up the scent of Luke right outside the police station. Frightened of his attempts to play with her heart again, Sophia just wished that she had thrown him harder. She was finished with Lucas Cates so why didn't he get the message.
Matt also picked up the pup's scent on his daughter and from outside the police station. He knew that the kid was trouble and had tried to stop the two of them from getting closer knowing that Luke would only hurt Sophia in the end. But he couldn't think about what type of torture to use on Luke at the moment, his number one concern was the health and well-being of his daughter. Carefully picking her up in his arms, he quickly rushed outside and placed her in the truck, ignoring the way that Luke was looking at Sophia from the shadows. Sophia's cries of pain brought him back to reality, striking him hard that his daughter didn't have much time left to live if she wouldn't give in to the wolf inside of her. Knowing how stubborn and ignorant she was, Matt raced against time to get her to safety knowing that she would die if she kept on struggling with her destiny.
Luke tried to talk to Sophia during the ride to her house, but she blocked everything and everyone out of her mind because of the impecable pain that was now racing through her body as fast as her father was racing her to safety and to Sherman Blackstone who he had already called to meet him at his house. Within minutes it seemed, Matt had drove to his house and into the driveway of his home. Seeing that Sherman had already let himself inside to prepare for Sophia's flip, Matt picked up his pace. Quickly turning off the car, Matt carried his daughter towards the door which Sherman opened when he heard the car stop in the driveway, letting everyone in the neighborhood hear the sound of the sheriff's brakes working full time. So intent was he on saving his daughter's life that Matt forgot to close both car doors and turn off the lights. (Not that those things mattered at a time like that.)
"I see that it is finally time for the little one." Sherman said as Matt and Sophia entered through the door before he closed it behind him.
Matt continued to carry his daughter throughout the house leading Sherman into Sophia's bedroom where Matt placed his convulsing daughter's body down on her bed. He quickly pulled the sheets off the bed, he tried to stop his daughter from further hurting herself, but Sophia was beyond listening to anyone now. It was all on her now, her own struggle, only she could get out of that mess herself, or she would die trying to stop it. Matt knew that his daughter didn't want this Change to happen. Knew that he had taught her to hate and be repulsed by the idea of becoming a wolf. Stuck to the live of a small town for the rest of her life, being in a Pack who had teased and made fun of her the moment she was born. Although all those things were the curse of being a wolf, Matt never told Sophia the thrill and exhileration of running in the woods. Allowing yourself to really be one with nature.
"Sophia, c'mon honey. Don't fight this anymore. You can flip. You have to. I don't know what I would do if I lost you." Matt said as tears began to glisten in his eyes knowing the truth that he wouldn't be able to live without her in his live. It was tragic enough that he lost Marie but even worse when he lost his only daughter. "Sophia, c'mon baby flip. You have to."
Finally hearing those contradictory words through her mind, Sophia came back to reality and could believe what she was hearing. Her father, who always told her to never embrace the wolf within herself, was now telling her to give in to the Flip, let it come. She couldn't do that. She wouldn't Flip. There was nothing that could change her mind.
"No I won't. Dad I can't. Please-" Sophia said before the pain in her body began to increase as she screamed out into the night, not caring who heard her bloody scream. Almost every head of a Skinwalker turned in the direction of that horrible scream flowing throughout the nighttime silence of Wolf Lake. Some had heard that scream all throughout their life, young lives taken away at such precious ages and not living through the filp because they didn't have the strength or they got scared when they got stuck half-way through. Either way so many lives were lost to such an inevitable and dangerous curse upon their lives. That scream brought back so many memories that made some of the wolves in the town shudder at the feel of the pain of the flip once again on their body. One wolf, the Alpha, especially shuddered reliving the nightmare of the lives she had to end as a result of their bodies not willing to make it through the flip. It was only a matter of time when another lost soul would need rescuing. It seemed that tonight would be one of those nights. The pain increased with every passing minute because of Sophia's denial of letting herself turn into what she had despised her entire life. Becoming a wolf.
Luke had just turned the corner when he heard the ear-piercing scream that escaped Sophia's mouth from the pain she was in. Why hadn't she flipped yet? What could be taking so long? And then it came to him. Sophia didn't want to flip. She didn't want to live the life of the wolves in Wolf Lake. Confined to this town for the rest of her life. Rediculed for the rest of her existence as the half-breed that no one wanted to be friends with. He couldn't let Sophia write her own death sentence. He wasn't about to let her go just when he was risking everything for her. Not even knowing what he would do when he got there, Luke began to run towards Sophia's house and the sounds of her screams echoing throughout his mind.
No longer wanting to see the pain and fear expressed in his daughter, Matt slowly backed away from his daughter seeing that nothing he could do nor say would change her mind. A mind that had made this decision quite some time ago. He took a quick glance at Sherman and noticed that the keeper of the pack who was usually calm, collective, and rational in the most tempered and hostile moments was now afraid and unsure about what to do.
"Sherman, you have to do something. I'm counting on you to save my little girl." Matt said coming up to the man, grabbing his arms and shaking him threateningly. Finally able to pull the man out of his daze, Sherman locked eyes with Matt. Seeing the answer he looked for, Matt saw through the man's eyes that there was nothing he could do for the troubled girl.
"I'm sorry Matt. We knew this day would come and we knew what path she would choose. She's just not strong enough for the Flip." Sherman said knowing of no way to help the girl survive. She had to Flip on her own. She had to make the decision, a decision no one else could make for her. To become a wolf or to die trying.
"God damnit she is strong enough to flip. She just doesn't want to." Matt said before he winced at the cries that dispersed from his daughter's mouth. She was getting worse and Matt couldn't stand to hear her pain anymore. It had to end.
"Matt we have to end her suffering. She's been in the hold of the Change for too long for her body to successfully make it through." Sherman said hoping that the girl would have made it through the Change, but it seemed fate had other plans for the girl, much like her mother had been set other plans.
"No I am not letting Vivian snap the neck of my little girl. She'll make it through the flip so help me God." Matt said as he once again went over towards his duaghter trying to will her to complete the Change.
"I hope she can only endure the pain." Sherman said not wanting to believe the sight before his eyes of the girl he thought could hack it falling into pieces when the tough got going. He thought that of all the young half- breeds not making it through the Change, she would be the exception to the stereotype.
Vivian had heard enough of the girl's screams to know that it was time to stop her suffering. She quickly walked towards the back doors of her house leading out to the woods while discarding her clothes. By turning into a wolf and cutting through the woods, she had the added feature of getting there faster than driving all the way in a car. The whole way that she ran there, she hoped that by the time she got to Sophia the girl would have already gotten out of the flip, but the closer she got, the more her hopes diminished.
"Sophia, honey, you can do this just give in to your destiny. You can't fight this." Matt said as he brushed away a strand of hair that had become plastered to her head from the sweat coating every aspect of her body.
"I will never become a wolf." Sophia screamed once more the pain beginning to take its toll on the girl as she began to weaken greatly. "I would rather die."
Those four words rang out in Matt's head seeing how badly he had damaged his daughter's beliefs on the Pack. He would regret every word he ever said about the danger and problems of becoming a wolf to his daughter for he had lied to her only telling her the disadvantages instead of the beauty of the ability of being a wolf.
"Dad, don't blame yourself. This is my choice." Sophia said as she controlled her pain long enough to run her fingertips along her father's temple, and hold his other hand. Matt didn't ask for this, didn't ask to take care of his only daughter all on his own, didn't ask for Marie to die. He didn't deserve this. Sophia didn't deserve thise curse upon her life. Why should she have to suffer?
(A/N- There is a great song that goes along with what Sophia is feeling right now. "The Voice Within" By Christina Aguilera off her latest album Stripped. Although I'm not a die-hard fan of hers, this song fits in this story very well.)
The pain began to grow in Sophia bottling up inside her body in astonding proportions. There was no stopping the scream that ripped from her lungs, taking with it her soul. If some of the Skinwalkers weren't listening before, they sure as hell were listening now. Matt couldn't see the destruction upon his daughter anymore, he couldn't let her suffer like that. He turned away from his daughter in time to see Vivian walk into the room, placing her hand on Sherman's shoulder letting him know that she was there.
She slowly made her way towards Matt, kneeling down beside him, trying to comfort the man who would do anything for his daughter, and the time that she needed him most, there was nothing he could do. Matt held his head in his hand beating himself up inside at the pain he had inflicted upon his daughter, worse than the pain that she was suffering from now.
"Matt, you know what has to be done. She can't live with this pain for much longer." Vivian said telling Matt the truth of the circumstance he wished he would never have to come to terms with. Nevertheless, Vivian was right, it was time to end her misery. "Matt, do you want me to do it?" Vivian asked knowing that the question she just asked would be the hardest one of Matt's live.
"NO!" Luke's voice growled out as he came barreling up the stairs. Vivian and Sherman acted quickly enough to stop Luke from entering the room, knowing that he would do everything in his power to help Sophia. But she was beyond the point of help.
"Here Matt. Something to help Sophia with the pain." Sherman said handing Matt a syringe filled with a clear liquid. "Whatever you decide to do, I stand behind you."
"Matt, don't kill your own daughter. She doesn't deserve this." Luke screamed out before Sherman closed the door to Sophia's room, but it didn't stop Luke from trying to voice his opinion and run in there to save her.
Matt quickly walked over towards the door and locked it, not wanting anyone to come bargining in again. He slowly turned around to walk back towards Sophia. Looking at her face made him break down in tears. How could it have come to this? She didn't even show any signs of becoming a wolf. He had prayed for years that he would never have to see this day nor the look on his daughter's face, knowing that her father would be the one to end her life. Would she ever forgive him from presenting her to this kind of treatment from the other wolves? Would she be better off dead or a wolf? It was too late to change her mind for she had already decided her future. One that wasn't going to last much longer.
"Please Sophia, don't do this." Matt said begging with his daughter hoping that she would reconsider. He couldn't stand hearing the screams emitting from her throat. Hoping that whatever kind of drug inside the syringe would help his daughter, Matt stuck the needle into her flesh and deposited the liquid.
Immediately, Sophia's cries diminished to whimpers and her body began to relax. Her muscles felt numb and her mind relaxed as if she was about to go to sleep. Her limbs felt hard to move so she laid there keeping her eyes on her father.
"Dad, it's time." Sophia said looking her father in the eyes with more seriousness than ever. " I don't blame you for anything. You're just trying to protect me. I will never forget what you have done for me. I love you Dad."
"Sophia if I could take it all back I would, trust me." Matt said as one tear escaped down her cheek unable to hide his emotion and love for his daughter.
"You can't change who you were nor what you did. You were on acting on what you thought was the best for me." Sophia said as she too let go a tear letting it slide and shimmer its track down her cheek until her father stopped it by wiping it away with his slightly calloused finger.
"I'm sorry for what I have to do Sophia. Please forgive me." Matt said as he stood up and put his hand on his daughter's face. Looking down into those honey brown eyes, he saw a pure and innocent girl looking back at him. Knowing that he couldn't look his daughter in the eyes with what he was about to do, Matt quickly turned away as Sophia herself closed her eyes tightly begging for release of her pain.
Soon it will all be over. Stay in there Sophia. You can do this. It will all be over with shortly. Almost there. She kept telling herself this knowing that relief was in sight. It was only a matter of time before all her worries, troubles, and frustrations would be over with. She would soon be free of her restraints. She would simply just be free.
***************
Luke who was still being restrained by Sherman and his mother had heard every cry of pain from Sophia's mouth. Not just because the unearthly shrieks echoed throughout the house, but because he was able to hear them on their personal link. Although the link was fairly new, every emotion, cry, and pain hit him like it was happening to him and not Sophia. When he heard the cries simmer down he thought that there might just be some hope left, but Sherman told Vivian it was the drugs that he gave Matt to stiffle the aching of her body.
When everything went quiet throughout the house and on Sophia's link it caused Luke to begin to worry. Even Vivian and Sherman stopped worrying about Luke and concentrated on the silence of the house, knowing that it was almost time. Just when they thought the stillness and silence of the house couldn't get any quieter, it did. You could hear a pin dropping from the other side of town even without their wolven capabilities. Luke tried to advance his hearing capability to possibly hear Sophia's breathing, but it was either so soft he couldn't pick it up or she wasn't breathing at all. He hoped and prayed that it was the first one and not the other.
Just when they got used to the silence in the air, they all jumped about six inches off the ground with an ear-splitting crack. They had all hear too many times to know that it was something else besides the cracking of the neck. Surprised and even shocked that Matt would go through with putting away with Sophia's misery the three of them stood there a few moments just looking up at the ceiling as if they could see through it into Sophia's bedroom.
Luke couldn't stand the urge to stay away from Sophia anymore. He had to see for his own eyes that Sheriff Matt Donner, who hadn't shed his skin in over 17 years, had reverted back to old ways by snapping the neck of his own daughter. Seeing that his mother and Sherman were still shell-shocked by the actions of the sheriff, he took the opportunity to quickly run up the stairs and into Sophia's bedroom. Coming back to reality, Vivian and Sherman saw Luke running up to Sophia's bedroom and quickly followed him. Vivian wasn't about to let her son see the disadvantages of those that couldn't flip. They were right on his tail when he tried to open the door only to find it locked. They grabbed onto his arms and tried to hold him back, but the curiousity of Sophia's life fueled the wolf within him. He easily pulled himself away from his mother and Sherman and kicked down the door. What he saw inside though would haunt him for the rest of his life.
On the floor, back up against the wall, knees to his chest, he saw the sheriff there huddled like a little child. Running his hands through his hair, he couldn't help the pour of tears falling from his eyes. He would never forget what he had done to his daughter and the price he had to pay for it. Knowing that he would survive when she wouldn't was punishment enough. Luke continued to watch the older man's reactions even as Vivian slowly walked over towards Matt and sat down next to him. Knowing that no words could help at this time, she just pulled him into her arms and tried to comfort him. Matt willingly accepted her invitation and fell into her arms, content to just stay there for the time being considering he was falling to pieces.
Luke's eyes suddenly caught the movement of Sherman as he walked towards the lifeless form of Sophia. Checking the girl pulse, he turned to look at Vivian and shook his head, silently signaling that the girl was gone. Matt didn't need to even look up to sense that Sherman had nodded his head. He knew the truth for he had finished the death sentence that Sophia had written for herself. Sherman lightly touched Sophia's upper arm speechless that the Pack along with the world had lost such a touching soul. Sherman then made his way over towards Matt seeing that the man was in no condition for much of anything.
Luke couldn't believe what he was seeing. The girl, the outcast, who at times seemed like she needed nothing from anyone, was now being remembered by so many. He had finally made a decision about her after all those years, but it was now too late to tell her the truth. He now lost her for more than just a couple days or weeks. She was now gone forever. Finally letting it all sink in, Luke couldn't go near her body without regretting the fact that he never told her how he felt about her. How much he cared for her. How much he enjoyed being around her. How much he loved her. He loved her. He finally admitted it to himself and he wasn't afraid to say it outloud either.
He slowly began to walk backwards not taking his eyes off Sophia and not stopping until he ran into a wall. Feeling as if his body weighed 1000 pounds, he felt his legs give in underneath him and felt his body slowly slide down the wall. A knot formed in his stomach, heart, and his throat, he tried to swallow so that everything would go back to its right place, but there was nothing that would stop the ache in his body. It wasn't physical, but emotional. A pain traveled its way up towards his heart and he felt like someone was literally stabbing him right then and there, yet no physical wound was on his body. He couldn't believe that it had come to this.
Vivian, who began to worry about her son and the look appearing in his eyes, walked over towards him. Kneeling down once more, she turned Luke's head so that he was looking at her. The hopelessness and guilt she saw in those green eyes would permanently be transfixed in her mind forever. Luke looked like his heart had just been wretched from his body and Vivian knew that nothing would nor could take the place in his heart that Sophia had filled. It was so strange that Luke felt this way about a girl. The fact that he was tearing himself to pieces now that she was gone. Ironic that he who had also made fun of her from time to time now was willingly to sacrifice everything for her. He fell for the girl. Hard.
"Luke, honey, are you okay?" Vivian asked seriously worried about her son at the moment, never seeing him in this type of daze before.
"She's dead. Sophia's dead."
It was finally time to strike back.
She couldn't believe what Luke had done this time. He had just gone too far. She was finally moving on with her life by going out with Scott. The night had been perfect until Luke had to weasel his way into everything. First by eavesdropping on their conversation and then almost running them over with his car. Luke knew better than to risk the Pack's privacy by confronting a human male for supremacy. But regardless of rules, Luke was only thinking of one thing. The fact that Sophia would be kissing anyone but him. The fact that she had turned the tables on him by finding her own mate, and not waiting for him to finish his current piece of meat, Presley.
Sophia kept on turning the tables even further, by glaring those amber eyes at Luke and throwing him into the windshield of his own car. Taking him clean off his feet and throwing him back, she saw her anger reflected in Luke's eyes. She also saw the surprise and shock in Luke's eyes of just how far along she really was. No longer living under his command, Sophia finally felt free with the crash of Luke's body on the hood of his car.
Turning back around, she saw the fear and confusion also reflected in Scott's eyes. She couldn't understand what had just happened to a human. There was explanation to tell him. What would you even say to a person who just witnessed a 100 pound girl pick up a 200 pound guy with one hand and perfectly throw him into the front seat of his car without even breaking a sweat? There were no words to explain her super-human strength expressed there nor the intensity of those glowing eyes that she revealed to Scott when she finally turned around to face him. Only the gasp and the shock seen in those eyes was enough words for Sophia to get the hint that he no longer wanted anything to do with a "freak" like her.
Unsure and scared of what she would do next, Sophia did the only thing suitable in this situation. She ran. Running to an unknown place, she just went where her legs carried her, not even looking at where she was going. Enjoying only the feel of her feet hitting the ground and the wind hitting her hard in the face, Sophia ran letting her legs cramp until she thought they would collapse under her. When she finally became aware of where she was, she found herself in front of the Wolf Lake Police Department. Knowing that her father would be inside, Sophia didn't waste a second as she charged into the building and quickly closing the door behind her.
Luke didn't even waste a second to quickly follow Sophia, catching her scent of the Change hanging high in the air, leading him towards the police station and Sheriff Donner. He knew that she was now to close to the Change that he couldn't help her through the flip by other means. Stopping outside the police station, knowing that she was just beyond the door, Luke stopped himself from barging in. He knew he would have to deal with the sheriff and with their relationship, it was just going to make the situation worse. Luke then hung tight to the shadows of the forest before changing into the light gray wolf that he was. He knew that the Sheriff would eventually take Sophia to Sherman Blackstone, not trusting anyone else with the life of his daughter. Luke just stood there fighting back the urges to be with Sophia, knowing that she wasn't too sure about her feelings for him right now unlike him. He was willing to go the distance for her now that he knew what it felt like to see her life in danger.
"Sophia, what's wrong honey?" Matt asked before he saw the intense yellow glow of Sophia's eyes. "Oh God honey, why didn't you tell me?" Matt asked once again seeing those amber eyes of his daughter along with them fear.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean for this to happen. I tried to stop it." Sophia confessed now of all times not wanting her father to be mad at her.
The Change suddenly began to take its toll on her body. She could feel her skin begin to burn and become agitated. Her bones began to pop and shift allowing her body to change with ease. Her senses started to expand allowing her to hear, see, and taste everything from people, animals, trees, the wind, and the wolves within the town. Another one of her wolven capabilities also picked up the scent of Luke right outside the police station. Frightened of his attempts to play with her heart again, Sophia just wished that she had thrown him harder. She was finished with Lucas Cates so why didn't he get the message.
Matt also picked up the pup's scent on his daughter and from outside the police station. He knew that the kid was trouble and had tried to stop the two of them from getting closer knowing that Luke would only hurt Sophia in the end. But he couldn't think about what type of torture to use on Luke at the moment, his number one concern was the health and well-being of his daughter. Carefully picking her up in his arms, he quickly rushed outside and placed her in the truck, ignoring the way that Luke was looking at Sophia from the shadows. Sophia's cries of pain brought him back to reality, striking him hard that his daughter didn't have much time left to live if she wouldn't give in to the wolf inside of her. Knowing how stubborn and ignorant she was, Matt raced against time to get her to safety knowing that she would die if she kept on struggling with her destiny.
Luke tried to talk to Sophia during the ride to her house, but she blocked everything and everyone out of her mind because of the impecable pain that was now racing through her body as fast as her father was racing her to safety and to Sherman Blackstone who he had already called to meet him at his house. Within minutes it seemed, Matt had drove to his house and into the driveway of his home. Seeing that Sherman had already let himself inside to prepare for Sophia's flip, Matt picked up his pace. Quickly turning off the car, Matt carried his daughter towards the door which Sherman opened when he heard the car stop in the driveway, letting everyone in the neighborhood hear the sound of the sheriff's brakes working full time. So intent was he on saving his daughter's life that Matt forgot to close both car doors and turn off the lights. (Not that those things mattered at a time like that.)
"I see that it is finally time for the little one." Sherman said as Matt and Sophia entered through the door before he closed it behind him.
Matt continued to carry his daughter throughout the house leading Sherman into Sophia's bedroom where Matt placed his convulsing daughter's body down on her bed. He quickly pulled the sheets off the bed, he tried to stop his daughter from further hurting herself, but Sophia was beyond listening to anyone now. It was all on her now, her own struggle, only she could get out of that mess herself, or she would die trying to stop it. Matt knew that his daughter didn't want this Change to happen. Knew that he had taught her to hate and be repulsed by the idea of becoming a wolf. Stuck to the live of a small town for the rest of her life, being in a Pack who had teased and made fun of her the moment she was born. Although all those things were the curse of being a wolf, Matt never told Sophia the thrill and exhileration of running in the woods. Allowing yourself to really be one with nature.
"Sophia, c'mon honey. Don't fight this anymore. You can flip. You have to. I don't know what I would do if I lost you." Matt said as tears began to glisten in his eyes knowing the truth that he wouldn't be able to live without her in his live. It was tragic enough that he lost Marie but even worse when he lost his only daughter. "Sophia, c'mon baby flip. You have to."
Finally hearing those contradictory words through her mind, Sophia came back to reality and could believe what she was hearing. Her father, who always told her to never embrace the wolf within herself, was now telling her to give in to the Flip, let it come. She couldn't do that. She wouldn't Flip. There was nothing that could change her mind.
"No I won't. Dad I can't. Please-" Sophia said before the pain in her body began to increase as she screamed out into the night, not caring who heard her bloody scream. Almost every head of a Skinwalker turned in the direction of that horrible scream flowing throughout the nighttime silence of Wolf Lake. Some had heard that scream all throughout their life, young lives taken away at such precious ages and not living through the filp because they didn't have the strength or they got scared when they got stuck half-way through. Either way so many lives were lost to such an inevitable and dangerous curse upon their lives. That scream brought back so many memories that made some of the wolves in the town shudder at the feel of the pain of the flip once again on their body. One wolf, the Alpha, especially shuddered reliving the nightmare of the lives she had to end as a result of their bodies not willing to make it through the flip. It was only a matter of time when another lost soul would need rescuing. It seemed that tonight would be one of those nights. The pain increased with every passing minute because of Sophia's denial of letting herself turn into what she had despised her entire life. Becoming a wolf.
Luke had just turned the corner when he heard the ear-piercing scream that escaped Sophia's mouth from the pain she was in. Why hadn't she flipped yet? What could be taking so long? And then it came to him. Sophia didn't want to flip. She didn't want to live the life of the wolves in Wolf Lake. Confined to this town for the rest of her life. Rediculed for the rest of her existence as the half-breed that no one wanted to be friends with. He couldn't let Sophia write her own death sentence. He wasn't about to let her go just when he was risking everything for her. Not even knowing what he would do when he got there, Luke began to run towards Sophia's house and the sounds of her screams echoing throughout his mind.
No longer wanting to see the pain and fear expressed in his daughter, Matt slowly backed away from his daughter seeing that nothing he could do nor say would change her mind. A mind that had made this decision quite some time ago. He took a quick glance at Sherman and noticed that the keeper of the pack who was usually calm, collective, and rational in the most tempered and hostile moments was now afraid and unsure about what to do.
"Sherman, you have to do something. I'm counting on you to save my little girl." Matt said coming up to the man, grabbing his arms and shaking him threateningly. Finally able to pull the man out of his daze, Sherman locked eyes with Matt. Seeing the answer he looked for, Matt saw through the man's eyes that there was nothing he could do for the troubled girl.
"I'm sorry Matt. We knew this day would come and we knew what path she would choose. She's just not strong enough for the Flip." Sherman said knowing of no way to help the girl survive. She had to Flip on her own. She had to make the decision, a decision no one else could make for her. To become a wolf or to die trying.
"God damnit she is strong enough to flip. She just doesn't want to." Matt said before he winced at the cries that dispersed from his daughter's mouth. She was getting worse and Matt couldn't stand to hear her pain anymore. It had to end.
"Matt we have to end her suffering. She's been in the hold of the Change for too long for her body to successfully make it through." Sherman said hoping that the girl would have made it through the Change, but it seemed fate had other plans for the girl, much like her mother had been set other plans.
"No I am not letting Vivian snap the neck of my little girl. She'll make it through the flip so help me God." Matt said as he once again went over towards his duaghter trying to will her to complete the Change.
"I hope she can only endure the pain." Sherman said not wanting to believe the sight before his eyes of the girl he thought could hack it falling into pieces when the tough got going. He thought that of all the young half- breeds not making it through the Change, she would be the exception to the stereotype.
Vivian had heard enough of the girl's screams to know that it was time to stop her suffering. She quickly walked towards the back doors of her house leading out to the woods while discarding her clothes. By turning into a wolf and cutting through the woods, she had the added feature of getting there faster than driving all the way in a car. The whole way that she ran there, she hoped that by the time she got to Sophia the girl would have already gotten out of the flip, but the closer she got, the more her hopes diminished.
"Sophia, honey, you can do this just give in to your destiny. You can't fight this." Matt said as he brushed away a strand of hair that had become plastered to her head from the sweat coating every aspect of her body.
"I will never become a wolf." Sophia screamed once more the pain beginning to take its toll on the girl as she began to weaken greatly. "I would rather die."
Those four words rang out in Matt's head seeing how badly he had damaged his daughter's beliefs on the Pack. He would regret every word he ever said about the danger and problems of becoming a wolf to his daughter for he had lied to her only telling her the disadvantages instead of the beauty of the ability of being a wolf.
"Dad, don't blame yourself. This is my choice." Sophia said as she controlled her pain long enough to run her fingertips along her father's temple, and hold his other hand. Matt didn't ask for this, didn't ask to take care of his only daughter all on his own, didn't ask for Marie to die. He didn't deserve this. Sophia didn't deserve thise curse upon her life. Why should she have to suffer?
(A/N- There is a great song that goes along with what Sophia is feeling right now. "The Voice Within" By Christina Aguilera off her latest album Stripped. Although I'm not a die-hard fan of hers, this song fits in this story very well.)
The pain began to grow in Sophia bottling up inside her body in astonding proportions. There was no stopping the scream that ripped from her lungs, taking with it her soul. If some of the Skinwalkers weren't listening before, they sure as hell were listening now. Matt couldn't see the destruction upon his daughter anymore, he couldn't let her suffer like that. He turned away from his daughter in time to see Vivian walk into the room, placing her hand on Sherman's shoulder letting him know that she was there.
She slowly made her way towards Matt, kneeling down beside him, trying to comfort the man who would do anything for his daughter, and the time that she needed him most, there was nothing he could do. Matt held his head in his hand beating himself up inside at the pain he had inflicted upon his daughter, worse than the pain that she was suffering from now.
"Matt, you know what has to be done. She can't live with this pain for much longer." Vivian said telling Matt the truth of the circumstance he wished he would never have to come to terms with. Nevertheless, Vivian was right, it was time to end her misery. "Matt, do you want me to do it?" Vivian asked knowing that the question she just asked would be the hardest one of Matt's live.
"NO!" Luke's voice growled out as he came barreling up the stairs. Vivian and Sherman acted quickly enough to stop Luke from entering the room, knowing that he would do everything in his power to help Sophia. But she was beyond the point of help.
"Here Matt. Something to help Sophia with the pain." Sherman said handing Matt a syringe filled with a clear liquid. "Whatever you decide to do, I stand behind you."
"Matt, don't kill your own daughter. She doesn't deserve this." Luke screamed out before Sherman closed the door to Sophia's room, but it didn't stop Luke from trying to voice his opinion and run in there to save her.
Matt quickly walked over towards the door and locked it, not wanting anyone to come bargining in again. He slowly turned around to walk back towards Sophia. Looking at her face made him break down in tears. How could it have come to this? She didn't even show any signs of becoming a wolf. He had prayed for years that he would never have to see this day nor the look on his daughter's face, knowing that her father would be the one to end her life. Would she ever forgive him from presenting her to this kind of treatment from the other wolves? Would she be better off dead or a wolf? It was too late to change her mind for she had already decided her future. One that wasn't going to last much longer.
"Please Sophia, don't do this." Matt said begging with his daughter hoping that she would reconsider. He couldn't stand hearing the screams emitting from her throat. Hoping that whatever kind of drug inside the syringe would help his daughter, Matt stuck the needle into her flesh and deposited the liquid.
Immediately, Sophia's cries diminished to whimpers and her body began to relax. Her muscles felt numb and her mind relaxed as if she was about to go to sleep. Her limbs felt hard to move so she laid there keeping her eyes on her father.
"Dad, it's time." Sophia said looking her father in the eyes with more seriousness than ever. " I don't blame you for anything. You're just trying to protect me. I will never forget what you have done for me. I love you Dad."
"Sophia if I could take it all back I would, trust me." Matt said as one tear escaped down her cheek unable to hide his emotion and love for his daughter.
"You can't change who you were nor what you did. You were on acting on what you thought was the best for me." Sophia said as she too let go a tear letting it slide and shimmer its track down her cheek until her father stopped it by wiping it away with his slightly calloused finger.
"I'm sorry for what I have to do Sophia. Please forgive me." Matt said as he stood up and put his hand on his daughter's face. Looking down into those honey brown eyes, he saw a pure and innocent girl looking back at him. Knowing that he couldn't look his daughter in the eyes with what he was about to do, Matt quickly turned away as Sophia herself closed her eyes tightly begging for release of her pain.
Soon it will all be over. Stay in there Sophia. You can do this. It will all be over with shortly. Almost there. She kept telling herself this knowing that relief was in sight. It was only a matter of time before all her worries, troubles, and frustrations would be over with. She would soon be free of her restraints. She would simply just be free.
***************
Luke who was still being restrained by Sherman and his mother had heard every cry of pain from Sophia's mouth. Not just because the unearthly shrieks echoed throughout the house, but because he was able to hear them on their personal link. Although the link was fairly new, every emotion, cry, and pain hit him like it was happening to him and not Sophia. When he heard the cries simmer down he thought that there might just be some hope left, but Sherman told Vivian it was the drugs that he gave Matt to stiffle the aching of her body.
When everything went quiet throughout the house and on Sophia's link it caused Luke to begin to worry. Even Vivian and Sherman stopped worrying about Luke and concentrated on the silence of the house, knowing that it was almost time. Just when they thought the stillness and silence of the house couldn't get any quieter, it did. You could hear a pin dropping from the other side of town even without their wolven capabilities. Luke tried to advance his hearing capability to possibly hear Sophia's breathing, but it was either so soft he couldn't pick it up or she wasn't breathing at all. He hoped and prayed that it was the first one and not the other.
Just when they got used to the silence in the air, they all jumped about six inches off the ground with an ear-splitting crack. They had all hear too many times to know that it was something else besides the cracking of the neck. Surprised and even shocked that Matt would go through with putting away with Sophia's misery the three of them stood there a few moments just looking up at the ceiling as if they could see through it into Sophia's bedroom.
Luke couldn't stand the urge to stay away from Sophia anymore. He had to see for his own eyes that Sheriff Matt Donner, who hadn't shed his skin in over 17 years, had reverted back to old ways by snapping the neck of his own daughter. Seeing that his mother and Sherman were still shell-shocked by the actions of the sheriff, he took the opportunity to quickly run up the stairs and into Sophia's bedroom. Coming back to reality, Vivian and Sherman saw Luke running up to Sophia's bedroom and quickly followed him. Vivian wasn't about to let her son see the disadvantages of those that couldn't flip. They were right on his tail when he tried to open the door only to find it locked. They grabbed onto his arms and tried to hold him back, but the curiousity of Sophia's life fueled the wolf within him. He easily pulled himself away from his mother and Sherman and kicked down the door. What he saw inside though would haunt him for the rest of his life.
On the floor, back up against the wall, knees to his chest, he saw the sheriff there huddled like a little child. Running his hands through his hair, he couldn't help the pour of tears falling from his eyes. He would never forget what he had done to his daughter and the price he had to pay for it. Knowing that he would survive when she wouldn't was punishment enough. Luke continued to watch the older man's reactions even as Vivian slowly walked over towards Matt and sat down next to him. Knowing that no words could help at this time, she just pulled him into her arms and tried to comfort him. Matt willingly accepted her invitation and fell into her arms, content to just stay there for the time being considering he was falling to pieces.
Luke's eyes suddenly caught the movement of Sherman as he walked towards the lifeless form of Sophia. Checking the girl pulse, he turned to look at Vivian and shook his head, silently signaling that the girl was gone. Matt didn't need to even look up to sense that Sherman had nodded his head. He knew the truth for he had finished the death sentence that Sophia had written for herself. Sherman lightly touched Sophia's upper arm speechless that the Pack along with the world had lost such a touching soul. Sherman then made his way over towards Matt seeing that the man was in no condition for much of anything.
Luke couldn't believe what he was seeing. The girl, the outcast, who at times seemed like she needed nothing from anyone, was now being remembered by so many. He had finally made a decision about her after all those years, but it was now too late to tell her the truth. He now lost her for more than just a couple days or weeks. She was now gone forever. Finally letting it all sink in, Luke couldn't go near her body without regretting the fact that he never told her how he felt about her. How much he cared for her. How much he enjoyed being around her. How much he loved her. He loved her. He finally admitted it to himself and he wasn't afraid to say it outloud either.
He slowly began to walk backwards not taking his eyes off Sophia and not stopping until he ran into a wall. Feeling as if his body weighed 1000 pounds, he felt his legs give in underneath him and felt his body slowly slide down the wall. A knot formed in his stomach, heart, and his throat, he tried to swallow so that everything would go back to its right place, but there was nothing that would stop the ache in his body. It wasn't physical, but emotional. A pain traveled its way up towards his heart and he felt like someone was literally stabbing him right then and there, yet no physical wound was on his body. He couldn't believe that it had come to this.
Vivian, who began to worry about her son and the look appearing in his eyes, walked over towards him. Kneeling down once more, she turned Luke's head so that he was looking at her. The hopelessness and guilt she saw in those green eyes would permanently be transfixed in her mind forever. Luke looked like his heart had just been wretched from his body and Vivian knew that nothing would nor could take the place in his heart that Sophia had filled. It was so strange that Luke felt this way about a girl. The fact that he was tearing himself to pieces now that she was gone. Ironic that he who had also made fun of her from time to time now was willingly to sacrifice everything for her. He fell for the girl. Hard.
"Luke, honey, are you okay?" Vivian asked seriously worried about her son at the moment, never seeing him in this type of daze before.
"She's dead. Sophia's dead."