'Two sisters
Black and red
Child of a demon
Child of a saint
Cursed to cause suffering
Cursed to cause pain
Cursed to kill the other
All over again'

Twas a dark night, sky covered by clouds. Only a couple times the moon managed to shine through, but never for long. And then there was the cold. A chilly wind tearing right through her clothes and sending violent shivers down her spine, as she walked down a road that seemed to lead nowhere. The rim of her dress was all wet muddy from the snowy leftovers on the road. Her eyes fixed on something hiding in the shadows, right in front of her.

And as she kept following that path, her hands moved down to her belly in a protective way. Wishing she could keep the baby save that was growing inside of her. But every fiber of her being was screaming for her to get somewhere safe. To make sure that her baby would have a safe place to live, once it came to see this world, even if she might not be there anymore. Why did she think, that the child could possibly have to grow up without her? She could not say for it was just a feeling, a dread forming deep within her unconscious mind.

Another chilly breeze made her stop in her tracks, as the shadows started moving towards her, taking on different shapes until suddenly they turned into two blazing flames. One of them flickering in the brightest red whilst the other one turned pitch black. And before she had time to even think about running away, the flames engulfed the pregnant woman, tearing heart shattering screams from her throat.

Screams, but whose screams were they really? The strange woman from her dreams or her own? It must have been the latter, or at least the burning feeling in her throat, still lingering there long after the sound had died, was indeed an indication that it was her own screams that had awoken her this night... Again.

Ever since she had lost her magic, every night Vera was haunted by those dreams. She surely was no stranger to nightmares. After all, her whole life seemed to be one sometimes. With everything she had endured so far it was actually a miracle she hadn't lost her mind yet.

But no these dreams were different, with that strange woman as a key element in all of them. Every time she closed her eyes, there was this face she'd never seen before. Vera rarely ever forgot a face, so she was certain she didn't know her.

Figuring out her dreams wasn't always that hard. Usually it was quite simple. Every dream element based on something she had experienced and all in all, this most recent dream wasn't that complicated.

There was a pregnancy, the need to protect her baby in a quite unsettling, dangerous surrounding.

'My baby' Vera thought to herself.

And the flames were no surprise either, since she already knew first hand what it felt like to be set on fire. An experience that she was hoping to never having to endure again.

What she didn't quite understand was the woman. Something about her felt oddly familiar but at the same time completely out of place. Was it her raven hair with that one ginger lock framing her face? Or maybe her eyes, like pools of crystal clear water, mesmerizing and hypnotizing.

Well, whatever it was, she couldn't let herself get rattled by a dream that probably meant nothing at all.

So after her breath finally went back to normal, Vera decided to get up and start her daily routine. After all, there was no going back to sleep now. Once awake, the day would start.

Although ever since she had lost her magic, her morning routine had changed, or rather it still was changing. It was quite a struggle, figuring out where she stood in life, now that she was without the one thing, that kept her going the past years. And without her magic to numb the pain, the reality of her condition finally hit her. The magically caused cancer eating away on her inside. She could feel it coming, her end, lurking in the rather close future

So in an attempt to prolong her suffering, holding on to her life as long as possible, some minor changes in her habits had been made.

"Well, this is rather barbaric." She whispered to herself as her eyes darted back and forth between the cup of tea in her hands and the coffee machine on her kitchen counter.

"Stupid wolf." She muttered again, as she did so many times before in these past weeks. 'Healthy lifestyle' he said. 'No coffee, no alcohol, no working overtime till late in the night' he said. 'And no more starving yourself because you're too busy to eat' He said. Vera had never been able to eat three meals a day, get more than 5 hours of sleep or drink enough water. Now her bad habits were going to change thanks to him.

And despite how she hated his guts for taking coffee away from her, the thought of him made her genuinly smile. A kind of smile that not many people have ever seen on her.

Well, speak of the devil. Just as she turned around to focus on something else than her lack of caffeine, the doorbell rang. And she didn't need her magic to know who it was, waiting for her to open the door. That was actually one of the changes in her life, that she genuinely enjoyed.

'It's ok to let someone care about you.' his words still echoed in her head while she made her way to let him in.

As soon as the door was open his mouth turned into a goofy smile, as he took in the picture in front of him. "Good morning." Two words... Two words and his damn smile was all it took for Vera to blush slightly, so she quickly turned around again, walking back to the living room. But before she could reach the couch, two arms wrapped around her waist from behind, pulling her a step backwards.

"I missed you." Whispered words against her ear sent shivers down her spine. "We just saw each other yesterday. And the day before that and the one before that." Vera tried to reply as casual as possible, but he could hear her heart beat just a little faster. Super hearing - one of the perks of being a werewolf. "Well, I always miss you whenever we're apart." At those words she leaned back against him, which again caused him to wrap his arms a little tighter around her.

"Tihs isn't going to end well." Vera didn't mean to say these words but they were out before she could stop herself. Immediate regret settled in, but he didn't say anything. For a minute they just stood there, both knowing exactly where her words had come from but neither wanting to say it out loud.

It wasn't that they never talked about it. After praxis had stopped and disappeared they both had talked about it a lot. Veras magical cancer, the danger of them being involved with each other. What could happen if they ever were caught. It was an unpleasant but absolutely needed conversation which ended with both of them just holding each other, crying in silence.

"So, anything special going to happen today?" That was exactly the question needed to break the moment. Vera stepped out of his embrace, her hands still clutching the cup of tea. And after she took a sip just slightly shook her head. "Today I will be mainly focusing on my job as chancellor. Nothing magical planned, no rituals, hopefully no cover up for a students fuck up needed." Again his face was plastered by a smile. Why exactly she didn't know. Of course he would never tell her how he secretly loved it whenever she cursed.

Vera decided to ignore his grin, not asking any questions as to why. Instead she sat down on the couch, taking another sip of her tea. It actually tasted quite nice. Of course she had never been against tea in any way. It just never was on top of her list of beverages to start the day. But somehow she was getting used to it. Not that she ever would admit it to her secret werewolf boyfriend.

"Ok, well I guess I'll see you at the university then. Any wishes for food you want me to bring over in your break?" He didn't have to see it, to know she was rolling her eyes at that question. "I don't know. I guess anything will do. Maybe something with a salad?" He nodded at that. Their morning meetings were always quite short, since the other wolves, mainly Randall, already suspected something. He didn't want to stir up the rumors any further.

Still, before he went to leave, he quickly leaned down and captured her lips with his own for a heated kiss. "Lavender, nice choice. Love that flavor." He whispered against her lips once they broke apart. "Hmmm... me too" Was all she could say. Scared that if any other words left her mouth, he could decide to stay. And no matter how much she wanted him to, they had to be careful. Especially with her magic gone. "See you later then." And with that he was gone, Leaving Vera alone with her thoughts.

And while she kept sipping her tea, a face came back to her mind, fueling her curiosity once again. Whoever that woman was, maybe she should try and find out.