. . . Sweet Dreams
-By Yo-yo
Disclaimer: I don't own Wolf Lake, and if I did . . .well, I'd be broke b/c those a**holes cancelled my show! Now I've got to go commit suicide b/c I have nothing to live for. Boo hoo! _,
. . . Sweet Dreams XIX:
"Sophia . . ."
Wave after wave of nausea crashed down over her subconscious, making her body ache as though bruised and beaten. A small voice kept reverberating in her ears, calling her through the liquid darkness of uncertainty. She yearned to grasp the unknown, but found herself immobile; her body searing in protest against her actions.
She wanted to find that voice. She wanted . . . no needed to know to whom it belonged. She didn't recognize it, but somewhere, deep within herself, she knew the voice belonged to someone she knew once upon a time.
"Sophia . . ."
"Who are you?" she asked, struggling to free from the intangible barriers holding her in place.
"Sophia . . ."
"Mom, is that you?" she wondered aloud.
"Sophia . . . you know who I am . . ." the voice replied softly.
"No I don't," she struggled against the ever-intensifying drowsiness threatening to consume her. ". . .Who are you?"
"You know me . . ." the voice insisted, ". . . you've always known me . . ."
"Mom, is that you? I can- I can't remember your voice. I kept trying . . ." she explained, the darkness of unconsciousness lurking just beneath her eyelids. ". . . I kept trying to hold on to it, but you were gone so long, and I was so little . . . I forgot . . . I can't remember it anymore . . . I almost forgot your face until I found your wedding albums in the attic . . . Dad hid everything . . . He's really afraid . . . I can't get him to understand . . ."
"Sophia . . ." the voice replied, its softness never leaving the grasp of the tone, " . . . You have a decision to make . . ."
"I can't . . ." she struggled, the agonizing ache of her protesting muscles, paralyzing her senses.
"But you must," the voice insisted.
Suddenly, the liquid darkness dissipated, leaving a foggy haze in its wake.
Still struggling with the invisible restraints, Sophia noticed that she was lying on the floor of a dusty warehouse. A blaring light rained down on her, illuminating her figure. Studying her surroundings, she noticed two other spotlights, currently illuminating select pieces of floor.
She sensed movement amongst the shadows. She strained her eyes to discern what was causing the disruption, but all she could make out was a slim, cylindrical frame moving closer to her.
"Who are you?" she screamed, her body still protesting her struggles to be free.
"Sophia . . ." the voice replied, its source a mystery. " . . . This decision . . . This decision is going to change your life. Whichever you choose, your life will be different from the other. In both there will be things to regret . . . and things to cherish . . ."
"What are you talking about?" she called, sweat beading down her skin, "What decision?"
The figure kept moving towards her, and as moments passed, Sophia realized it was a person, maybe female . . .
~***~
"C'mon Sophia, wake up," he pleaded, gently wiping off the beads of perspiration with a cool towel.
As Luke sat in the back seat, trying to bring Sophia back to consciousness, Sean sped through the abandoned streets of Wolf Lake in the direction of a house that every Skinwalker had known since birth.
"Wake up babe," he cooed, pressing a soft kiss to her burning skin.
" . . .What are you talking about?" mumbled her limp frame. The small words that slipped her lips were almost inaudible as she struggled between the pain and the mystery of the soft voice.
"We're almost there," Sean called looking back before swerving away from a fire hydrant and speeding towards Blackstone's cabin.
". . . Mom, is that you?" she mumbled, her voice cracked as if she were being pressed under an immense weight, straining for a release.
"Open your eyes baby," Luke called to her, praying to the Moon that she could hear his constant plea and open her eyes, "Wake up."
"How?" she groaned, "It hurts so much . . ."
~***~
As the woman approached, she split the fog and a heavenly glow surrounded her figure, giving her an angelic aura.
"Yo- you- you're not my mother . . ." she whispered, disappointment dousing her like a cold shower.
"No I am not," the women answered, the voice finally claiming a body.
"Who are you?" Sophia asked. Her eyes squinted to fully see the figure standing before her. "You said I knew you?"
The woman standing before Sophia was beautiful. Her long, dark wisps of curls fell about her shoulders and cradled her face. Her skin was tan, a dusty brown, giving her the look those "Abercrombie" girls longed to obtain. Her eyes were a warm hazel with specks of gold, brown, blue and green permeating the iris, and radiating an innocent intensity. Her eyelashes were as dark as a moonless sky, and long enough so that they looked as though they were straining to touch her eyelids. Her lips were the color of rose petals, standing out without the enhancement of lipstick or gloss. Her cheekbones were high on her bronzed skin, making no need for blush seeing as her skin already held that healthy pink undertone.
Her limbs were long and golden brown. Her feminine muscles were well defined as they rippled beneath the thin layer of skin, effectively camouflaging her super-human strength. She was wearing a long white dress, made of a very flimsy material that looked as if it were made from cutting up strips. It was striking how the material draped over her body like another skin, letting her move comfortably and still look gorgeous. Her feet were bare as she stood on the dusty floor and greeted Sophia.
"Who are you?" Sophia repeated, so dead struck on the woman's beauty that she didn't realize the intangible restraints had been removed and she was standing up cautiously to gaze at this woman.
"Names are not important . . ." the woman replied.
"But you said I know you," Sophia insisted, her eyes wide as she gazed into the woman's face, something familiar surrounding her.
"You do, you have known me all of your life. You have known me before you were born. You have known me before you existed. I have been a part of you always . . ."
"What does that mean? I don't want any riddles, I want an exact answer!" she fumed.
"Those answers I cannot answer, but I can tell you this: I am you, and you are me. We cannot exist without one another."
~***~
". . . Sophia, Sophia," he urged, his arms around her limp frame, still coaxing her to awaken.
Suddenly, she began to convulse beneath him. The writhing of her body intensified until she was thrashing wildly, with inaudible words emitting from her frowning lips.
"Sophia!" he screamed. "Wake up!" he panicked.
~***~
At that exact moment, Donner burst through Blackstone's door, probably breaking the hinges, but that was the least of his problems.
Heading straight for the bedroom, he was surprised to find Luke, Sean and Blackstone struggling to get Sophia's limbs tied into metal restraints as she jerked around as if possessed by the devil.
"What the hell's going on here?" he yelled, barely aware that it was he who spoke those words.
"Help us," Blackstone ordered, ignoring the question. Matt may have left the pack twenty years ago, but he'd seen enough flips to understand what was going on.
Immediately Matt was at her other arm, straining to place it within the manacle, ensuring she wouldn't involuntarily hurt herself. He didn't look at her face and ignored her agonizing cries as he wrestled her into place. He couldn't stand to see her back arch off the bed, and hear the earsplitting scream as she felt another wave of pain engulf her scorching hot body.
When they'd finally gotten her clasped down, they stood in the doorway and watched intently as she struggled with herself to Change.
"Can't you give her something?" Luke groaned, his insides ripping to shreds as he watched her body contort as if trying to break free of her own skin. "A shot of whiskey or something? Something to dull the pain?"
Blackstone shook his head, "It will dull the pain and her response. It would slow down the process, and she could be struggling for days, unless it-"
"Don't you dare fuckin' say it!" Donner warned, his eyes flickered dangerously.
"I won't," he breathed, looking away.
His eyes were seeing the little girl who'd raced down the park and skinned her knee. They were remembering the time that she and Luke had found the frog in Wolf Lake and hid it in Ruby and Amanda's room, then lied about it when it was time to fess up. He saw the way her face screwed up when she was about to cry, and pictured every tear that had ever run down her face. Although Sophia wasn't his biological daughter, he'd always seen her as the little girl he'd helped raise.
"What can we do?" Sean muttered.
"Wait, she's got to do this on her own. It's all up to her now."
Luke looked down at her, his heart praying that she'd make the right decision.
~***~
"So, I've got a decision to make?"
"A very important decision."
"So what do I have to choose between?" she asked pushing her damp hair away from her eyes.
Turning her back to Sophia, the woman opened her arms as if to reintroduce Sophia to the warehouse.
"For centuries a form of 'werewolf' - as the Ungulates called them - have roamed the face of the earth. In all the books of old, they were described as shape shifting creatures called 'loup-garou*.' They were powerful, beautiful creatures that hunted with the gracefulness of a wolf, ran as swiftly as the cheetah and sang as sweetly as a nightingale.
"These mystical creatures roamed along side the humans for hundreds of years, sometimes taking on human appearances. But no matter how long they lived in 'harmony' the 'loup-garou' and humans still rivaled. The 'loup-garou' believed the humans were not good enough to associate with them. And the humans felt that the 'werewolves' were dangerous.
"For the few couples that actually made it together, their offspring were too weak to handle the Change, and did not survive. There have only been two hybrids to survive the Change in our history, and you, Sophia, can be the third.
"When your father was about your age, he had everything going for him. He was the future Alpha of the pack, he was a star football player - thanks to his Skinwalker genes - and he was in love with Vivian Adams, the Alpha female. He was an exceptional youth with so many prospects. Everything in his life was perfect until the day that Marie Del Greco walked through the halls of Wolf Lake High for the first time.
"The first day he saw her was the first time that the seed of uncertainty was planted into his mind. For a whole year after, he debated whether he should risk his relationship and status in the pack by pursuing a relationship with Marie. Then one day of his junior year, he and Vivian quarreled, and they parted. The next week Matt asked out Marie, despite the ramifications.
"Soon, the fate of the pack was ruined. Nobody was sure what would happen. The Alpha couple had divided, leaving two irreparable pieces and the male had strayed into the land of taboo- an Ungulate.
"Vivian and Matt tried many times to mend their friendship, but they always ended up fighting. Finally their last and most horrible argument happened just three months before Matt eloped with Marie. During the argument he told Vivian that he was leaving the pack. And she basically told him if he did, everything that ever sprouted from their union would be tainted.
"When your father came back to Wolf Lake with his bride three years later, he found Vivian married to Willard Cates. He later learned that the twin girls- Ruby and Amanda- he'd been led to believe were conceived through their passion were from Willard's previous marriage. When they saw each other, they realized that no matter if they were together or not, they needed each other. So they made a pact, to work together in order help keep the pack safe.
"On one October night, Marie came home and announced that she was pregnant. Matt had sensed it, but dreaded its reality; he wasn't sure how Vivian would take that news. He knew that Vivian was also pregnant, but this was Marie- an Ungulate pregnant with a hybrid- that he had to announce to the whole world.
"When he did, Vivian didn't speak to him for a few weeks, but realized there was nothing she could do about it.
"The one thing that Matt didn't know was that in Vivian's fit of rage, she was right. Their children would be different. You are different. Throughout the entire pregnancy Marie was plagued with bizarre dreams that scared the hell out of her; they were vivid and painful. Although she knew those dreams were because of the baby, she never told Matt, for fear that she'd have to lose the baby.
"When you were born, you often woke your parents late at night with those dreams. Every night of your infancy you were haunted by a white wolf. They never understood what made you so scared of the darkness; that fear lived beneath your skin all your life, dormant. As you got older the dreams subsided, only revealing itself in times of great emotional turmoil, like when your mother was murdered. And then a little over three months ago, those dreams began again at full force, signifying your inevitable Change.
"And now there is a decision to make . . .
"There was no coincidence that you and Luke were born a few months apart. It was not by chance that you two were best friends in you youth or that you grew up together. Since the day your names entered the 'Book of Life', yours have been linked together.
"But you are unlike any other Skinwalker. When pureblood Skinwalkers come of age, they have no choice. They must Change, and if they survive, their lives are already decided. But the blood of man runs through your veins. You have a choice."
Suddenly she turned around and four figures appeared beneath the lights. Beneath the first light were two figures she'd known since her birth. They were as big a piece of her as she was of them. It was Luke and the white wolf that haunted her dreams.
Luke's green eyes gazed at her expectantly. It was as if he believed there was no choice. He looked so sure that she would choose life in pelt. She didn't want to disappoint him, but she didn't want to make this decision solely on him. He wasn't what dictated her life.
In the second light stood her mother and father. She'd never seen her father look so distraught since the day her mother died. He looked so old and worn. His face was creased with age and pain. His eyes, which used to be identical to hers, were dimmed by the trials of life. Bags weighed down the skin beneath his eyes, and his forehead was wrinkled with worry.
Her mother stood beside him, her face more lined than Sophia could remember. Her own blue eyes were twinkling with concern and hurt. Her mouth was twitching in an obvious attempt to hide the frown threatening to release itself. She looked as if she'd been up for hours, like a mother waiting for their child after curfew, imagining the worst. The disapproval was evident in both their eyes. They didn't want her to do this. They didn't want her to give in to the beast. They wanted her to remain as they had, human, normal, or what their world had thought of normal.
They'd had all these dreams planned for her, and if she'd chosen to accept, she'd be ruining everything that they'd worked for. She'd be letting them down if she went through with the Change. If she decided to choose the pelt over the life of an Ungulate, they'd never forgive her.
"Life is about choices," her voice reverberated through Sophia's thoughts, "One cannot truly live and be human without the gift of choice. Yours is simple yet very complicated. Whatever you choose will let down someone that you care deeply for."
"Choose what?"
"Choose between a life in pelt or a life in skin."
Her eyes widened as her fears were confirmed. She had to choose between the life she knew and the life she was destined to live.
"But how? How can I choose?"
"You must choose."
"But what if I can't?"
"Then you will die."
Disclaimer: I don't own Wolf Lake, and if I did . . .well, I'd be broke b/c those a**holes cancelled my show! Now I've got to go commit suicide b/c I have nothing to live for. Boo hoo! _,
. . . Sweet Dreams XIX:
"Sophia . . ."
Wave after wave of nausea crashed down over her subconscious, making her body ache as though bruised and beaten. A small voice kept reverberating in her ears, calling her through the liquid darkness of uncertainty. She yearned to grasp the unknown, but found herself immobile; her body searing in protest against her actions.
She wanted to find that voice. She wanted . . . no needed to know to whom it belonged. She didn't recognize it, but somewhere, deep within herself, she knew the voice belonged to someone she knew once upon a time.
"Sophia . . ."
"Who are you?" she asked, struggling to free from the intangible barriers holding her in place.
"Sophia . . ."
"Mom, is that you?" she wondered aloud.
"Sophia . . . you know who I am . . ." the voice replied softly.
"No I don't," she struggled against the ever-intensifying drowsiness threatening to consume her. ". . .Who are you?"
"You know me . . ." the voice insisted, ". . . you've always known me . . ."
"Mom, is that you? I can- I can't remember your voice. I kept trying . . ." she explained, the darkness of unconsciousness lurking just beneath her eyelids. ". . . I kept trying to hold on to it, but you were gone so long, and I was so little . . . I forgot . . . I can't remember it anymore . . . I almost forgot your face until I found your wedding albums in the attic . . . Dad hid everything . . . He's really afraid . . . I can't get him to understand . . ."
"Sophia . . ." the voice replied, its softness never leaving the grasp of the tone, " . . . You have a decision to make . . ."
"I can't . . ." she struggled, the agonizing ache of her protesting muscles, paralyzing her senses.
"But you must," the voice insisted.
Suddenly, the liquid darkness dissipated, leaving a foggy haze in its wake.
Still struggling with the invisible restraints, Sophia noticed that she was lying on the floor of a dusty warehouse. A blaring light rained down on her, illuminating her figure. Studying her surroundings, she noticed two other spotlights, currently illuminating select pieces of floor.
She sensed movement amongst the shadows. She strained her eyes to discern what was causing the disruption, but all she could make out was a slim, cylindrical frame moving closer to her.
"Who are you?" she screamed, her body still protesting her struggles to be free.
"Sophia . . ." the voice replied, its source a mystery. " . . . This decision . . . This decision is going to change your life. Whichever you choose, your life will be different from the other. In both there will be things to regret . . . and things to cherish . . ."
"What are you talking about?" she called, sweat beading down her skin, "What decision?"
The figure kept moving towards her, and as moments passed, Sophia realized it was a person, maybe female . . .
~***~
"C'mon Sophia, wake up," he pleaded, gently wiping off the beads of perspiration with a cool towel.
As Luke sat in the back seat, trying to bring Sophia back to consciousness, Sean sped through the abandoned streets of Wolf Lake in the direction of a house that every Skinwalker had known since birth.
"Wake up babe," he cooed, pressing a soft kiss to her burning skin.
" . . .What are you talking about?" mumbled her limp frame. The small words that slipped her lips were almost inaudible as she struggled between the pain and the mystery of the soft voice.
"We're almost there," Sean called looking back before swerving away from a fire hydrant and speeding towards Blackstone's cabin.
". . . Mom, is that you?" she mumbled, her voice cracked as if she were being pressed under an immense weight, straining for a release.
"Open your eyes baby," Luke called to her, praying to the Moon that she could hear his constant plea and open her eyes, "Wake up."
"How?" she groaned, "It hurts so much . . ."
~***~
As the woman approached, she split the fog and a heavenly glow surrounded her figure, giving her an angelic aura.
"Yo- you- you're not my mother . . ." she whispered, disappointment dousing her like a cold shower.
"No I am not," the women answered, the voice finally claiming a body.
"Who are you?" Sophia asked. Her eyes squinted to fully see the figure standing before her. "You said I knew you?"
The woman standing before Sophia was beautiful. Her long, dark wisps of curls fell about her shoulders and cradled her face. Her skin was tan, a dusty brown, giving her the look those "Abercrombie" girls longed to obtain. Her eyes were a warm hazel with specks of gold, brown, blue and green permeating the iris, and radiating an innocent intensity. Her eyelashes were as dark as a moonless sky, and long enough so that they looked as though they were straining to touch her eyelids. Her lips were the color of rose petals, standing out without the enhancement of lipstick or gloss. Her cheekbones were high on her bronzed skin, making no need for blush seeing as her skin already held that healthy pink undertone.
Her limbs were long and golden brown. Her feminine muscles were well defined as they rippled beneath the thin layer of skin, effectively camouflaging her super-human strength. She was wearing a long white dress, made of a very flimsy material that looked as if it were made from cutting up strips. It was striking how the material draped over her body like another skin, letting her move comfortably and still look gorgeous. Her feet were bare as she stood on the dusty floor and greeted Sophia.
"Who are you?" Sophia repeated, so dead struck on the woman's beauty that she didn't realize the intangible restraints had been removed and she was standing up cautiously to gaze at this woman.
"Names are not important . . ." the woman replied.
"But you said I know you," Sophia insisted, her eyes wide as she gazed into the woman's face, something familiar surrounding her.
"You do, you have known me all of your life. You have known me before you were born. You have known me before you existed. I have been a part of you always . . ."
"What does that mean? I don't want any riddles, I want an exact answer!" she fumed.
"Those answers I cannot answer, but I can tell you this: I am you, and you are me. We cannot exist without one another."
~***~
". . . Sophia, Sophia," he urged, his arms around her limp frame, still coaxing her to awaken.
Suddenly, she began to convulse beneath him. The writhing of her body intensified until she was thrashing wildly, with inaudible words emitting from her frowning lips.
"Sophia!" he screamed. "Wake up!" he panicked.
~***~
At that exact moment, Donner burst through Blackstone's door, probably breaking the hinges, but that was the least of his problems.
Heading straight for the bedroom, he was surprised to find Luke, Sean and Blackstone struggling to get Sophia's limbs tied into metal restraints as she jerked around as if possessed by the devil.
"What the hell's going on here?" he yelled, barely aware that it was he who spoke those words.
"Help us," Blackstone ordered, ignoring the question. Matt may have left the pack twenty years ago, but he'd seen enough flips to understand what was going on.
Immediately Matt was at her other arm, straining to place it within the manacle, ensuring she wouldn't involuntarily hurt herself. He didn't look at her face and ignored her agonizing cries as he wrestled her into place. He couldn't stand to see her back arch off the bed, and hear the earsplitting scream as she felt another wave of pain engulf her scorching hot body.
When they'd finally gotten her clasped down, they stood in the doorway and watched intently as she struggled with herself to Change.
"Can't you give her something?" Luke groaned, his insides ripping to shreds as he watched her body contort as if trying to break free of her own skin. "A shot of whiskey or something? Something to dull the pain?"
Blackstone shook his head, "It will dull the pain and her response. It would slow down the process, and she could be struggling for days, unless it-"
"Don't you dare fuckin' say it!" Donner warned, his eyes flickered dangerously.
"I won't," he breathed, looking away.
His eyes were seeing the little girl who'd raced down the park and skinned her knee. They were remembering the time that she and Luke had found the frog in Wolf Lake and hid it in Ruby and Amanda's room, then lied about it when it was time to fess up. He saw the way her face screwed up when she was about to cry, and pictured every tear that had ever run down her face. Although Sophia wasn't his biological daughter, he'd always seen her as the little girl he'd helped raise.
"What can we do?" Sean muttered.
"Wait, she's got to do this on her own. It's all up to her now."
Luke looked down at her, his heart praying that she'd make the right decision.
~***~
"So, I've got a decision to make?"
"A very important decision."
"So what do I have to choose between?" she asked pushing her damp hair away from her eyes.
Turning her back to Sophia, the woman opened her arms as if to reintroduce Sophia to the warehouse.
"For centuries a form of 'werewolf' - as the Ungulates called them - have roamed the face of the earth. In all the books of old, they were described as shape shifting creatures called 'loup-garou*.' They were powerful, beautiful creatures that hunted with the gracefulness of a wolf, ran as swiftly as the cheetah and sang as sweetly as a nightingale.
"These mystical creatures roamed along side the humans for hundreds of years, sometimes taking on human appearances. But no matter how long they lived in 'harmony' the 'loup-garou' and humans still rivaled. The 'loup-garou' believed the humans were not good enough to associate with them. And the humans felt that the 'werewolves' were dangerous.
"For the few couples that actually made it together, their offspring were too weak to handle the Change, and did not survive. There have only been two hybrids to survive the Change in our history, and you, Sophia, can be the third.
"When your father was about your age, he had everything going for him. He was the future Alpha of the pack, he was a star football player - thanks to his Skinwalker genes - and he was in love with Vivian Adams, the Alpha female. He was an exceptional youth with so many prospects. Everything in his life was perfect until the day that Marie Del Greco walked through the halls of Wolf Lake High for the first time.
"The first day he saw her was the first time that the seed of uncertainty was planted into his mind. For a whole year after, he debated whether he should risk his relationship and status in the pack by pursuing a relationship with Marie. Then one day of his junior year, he and Vivian quarreled, and they parted. The next week Matt asked out Marie, despite the ramifications.
"Soon, the fate of the pack was ruined. Nobody was sure what would happen. The Alpha couple had divided, leaving two irreparable pieces and the male had strayed into the land of taboo- an Ungulate.
"Vivian and Matt tried many times to mend their friendship, but they always ended up fighting. Finally their last and most horrible argument happened just three months before Matt eloped with Marie. During the argument he told Vivian that he was leaving the pack. And she basically told him if he did, everything that ever sprouted from their union would be tainted.
"When your father came back to Wolf Lake with his bride three years later, he found Vivian married to Willard Cates. He later learned that the twin girls- Ruby and Amanda- he'd been led to believe were conceived through their passion were from Willard's previous marriage. When they saw each other, they realized that no matter if they were together or not, they needed each other. So they made a pact, to work together in order help keep the pack safe.
"On one October night, Marie came home and announced that she was pregnant. Matt had sensed it, but dreaded its reality; he wasn't sure how Vivian would take that news. He knew that Vivian was also pregnant, but this was Marie- an Ungulate pregnant with a hybrid- that he had to announce to the whole world.
"When he did, Vivian didn't speak to him for a few weeks, but realized there was nothing she could do about it.
"The one thing that Matt didn't know was that in Vivian's fit of rage, she was right. Their children would be different. You are different. Throughout the entire pregnancy Marie was plagued with bizarre dreams that scared the hell out of her; they were vivid and painful. Although she knew those dreams were because of the baby, she never told Matt, for fear that she'd have to lose the baby.
"When you were born, you often woke your parents late at night with those dreams. Every night of your infancy you were haunted by a white wolf. They never understood what made you so scared of the darkness; that fear lived beneath your skin all your life, dormant. As you got older the dreams subsided, only revealing itself in times of great emotional turmoil, like when your mother was murdered. And then a little over three months ago, those dreams began again at full force, signifying your inevitable Change.
"And now there is a decision to make . . .
"There was no coincidence that you and Luke were born a few months apart. It was not by chance that you two were best friends in you youth or that you grew up together. Since the day your names entered the 'Book of Life', yours have been linked together.
"But you are unlike any other Skinwalker. When pureblood Skinwalkers come of age, they have no choice. They must Change, and if they survive, their lives are already decided. But the blood of man runs through your veins. You have a choice."
Suddenly she turned around and four figures appeared beneath the lights. Beneath the first light were two figures she'd known since her birth. They were as big a piece of her as she was of them. It was Luke and the white wolf that haunted her dreams.
Luke's green eyes gazed at her expectantly. It was as if he believed there was no choice. He looked so sure that she would choose life in pelt. She didn't want to disappoint him, but she didn't want to make this decision solely on him. He wasn't what dictated her life.
In the second light stood her mother and father. She'd never seen her father look so distraught since the day her mother died. He looked so old and worn. His face was creased with age and pain. His eyes, which used to be identical to hers, were dimmed by the trials of life. Bags weighed down the skin beneath his eyes, and his forehead was wrinkled with worry.
Her mother stood beside him, her face more lined than Sophia could remember. Her own blue eyes were twinkling with concern and hurt. Her mouth was twitching in an obvious attempt to hide the frown threatening to release itself. She looked as if she'd been up for hours, like a mother waiting for their child after curfew, imagining the worst. The disapproval was evident in both their eyes. They didn't want her to do this. They didn't want her to give in to the beast. They wanted her to remain as they had, human, normal, or what their world had thought of normal.
They'd had all these dreams planned for her, and if she'd chosen to accept, she'd be ruining everything that they'd worked for. She'd be letting them down if she went through with the Change. If she decided to choose the pelt over the life of an Ungulate, they'd never forgive her.
"Life is about choices," her voice reverberated through Sophia's thoughts, "One cannot truly live and be human without the gift of choice. Yours is simple yet very complicated. Whatever you choose will let down someone that you care deeply for."
"Choose what?"
"Choose between a life in pelt or a life in skin."
Her eyes widened as her fears were confirmed. She had to choose between the life she knew and the life she was destined to live.
"But how? How can I choose?"
"You must choose."
"But what if I can't?"
"Then you will die."
