She loved her freedom. That feeling of the wind in her face as she ran, was incomparable to anything in the world. And ever since she came back from the demon realm the need to engage in that freedom has grown stronger with every passing day. And just like the past days this one was no different. The urge to run had woken her up so early in the morning, that the sun wasn't even up yet. But that didn't stop her. No, quite the opposite. The darkness made the feeling of freedom even more complete. One would think after spending such a long time in a place filled with darkness she would try to stay away from it, but she couldn't.
No, instead she was outside, running through the woods as though her life depended on it. Occasionally she stopped, listening to her surroundings, taking it all in. And every now and then she could hear owls singing into the night. Owls, once again she thought back to the red sticky substance she had woken up in. She understood that they were trying to help her, but did they have to pour it into her locker? Oh no, she would definitely make sure the guys were paying for it, big time. She just had yet to figure out a good revenge plan. And in the meantime Lilith wanted nothing more than to enjoy her freedom, so she started running again, being one with her surroundings.
What she didn't know though, was that she wasn't alone after all. There was a set of silver eyes curiously following her around. At first she had caught his attention because of the fast, yet silent movement. And after following her around for a while the sign above her eye was all he could see. She was the one. After traveling around and searching for her for decades, no even centuries, she was finally here. It took every ounce of self control, not to run up to her and dragging her with him to his den, to his pack. No, instead he had to proceed carefully.
His mind was set on following her around until he found out about her hideout. If he knew where she was living, he could easily return, even with the others help. So he ran after her, carefully staying hidden in shadows and behind trees. Even when the sun went up she didn't notice him at all. But it wasn't exactly a surprise to him, since had always been known by his kind for his stealth. He could get in anywhere without anybody noticing him. How many places had he already robbed blank like that, throughout the years?
But this situation wasn't about robbing anything. He followed that girl until they got to an old looking house. And the moment they got any close to it, the smell hit his nose. It was a very distinct and unique smell he would recognize anywhere. No, he had never smelled it before, but it was clear that it belonged to another pack. This girl wasn't just a lonely wolf, living in a house in the woods. She belonged to a pack and this was their den.
This meant he had to tread extra careful. One wrong move and this would mean a war. He and his wolves had moved to a place, close to another packs territory which meant, that a war might not be avoidable. But there was no rush for that. For now he knew her face and he knew where she lived. That would be enough information to bring to his alpha. Taking one last look at the girl he finally turned around and made his way home.
It was only that moment, that Lillith felt as though she was watched. For some reason she just knew there were eyes set on her, but as soon as she turned around, the feeling was gone. And where there had been two silvery eyes, now there was nothing but trees and birds enjoying the morning sun.
*****
Hushed voices everywhere, people waiting to see their loved ones, all over a typical hospital atmosphere. She hated it. She had always hated hospitals ever since the death of her daughter. But now Vera was here and she had no intention of leaving right now. The voices died down as she walked down the hallway, the clacking of her heels the only sound now filling the room. With steady steps she got closer to her destination and as she opened the door, relief washed over her. Vera had already known that the girl was alive and unharmed. After all the detective had told her so, but seeing it with her own eyes was just reassuring.
"Chancellor." The girl stuttered as she sat up. "I did not expect you to come here." It was a surprise indeed. This was not the first time a student of her university ended up in a hospital, but it surely was the first time she had decided to visit said hurt student. "Well, I care highly about the students of my school" She said briefly, still standing in the open door. The look in her eyes serious. But when the girl on the bed nodded in understanding, she relaxed. "How are you feeling?" Even less than seeing the Chancellor of her university, she expected her to ask that question as sincere as she did.
Vera was in fact the first person who asked about the girls well being. She didn't want to know about what happened, didn't try to press for information regarding the culprit. No, she simply asked, how Susan was dealing with the situation, wether or not she was hurt and how she felt. Not even her family seemed emphathic for her in any way. They just cared about wether or not the time she missed out of school would affect her grades. And then there was the police, who were constantly asking her questions, trying to find who did this, at any cost.
But she couldn't help them. No, she couldn't help anybody. The image of a limb body came to her mind and she couldn't help but shiver. Vera noticed and within seconds stood by her side, touching her shoulder lightly. She knew the look on the girls face, those haunted, empty eyes. Oh Vera knew it all too well with all those many times she had seen it in the mirror, reflection of her own lost mind. "You're ok now, it's ok. Nobody will hurt you here."
Those were just the words she needed, even though it didn't look like it. That being said, Susan lost it. Immediately tears started streaming down her face as she clung to the older woman for support. Somehow Vera ended up sitting on the bed, holding the girl as she cried her eyes out. It was a rather heartfelt scene and if anybody was watching they would think it was a mother holding her daughter. But this moment wasn't meant to last.
Just when Veras own eyes started tearing up, the girl in her arms got all stiff, so she quickly gave her some space. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get so close into your comfort zone." She really did feel bad. It washer maternal instinct that had led her to do this. But she knew it wasn't right. After all, Vera was the school chancellor. This girl was a student and not her daughter. There was a reason why Vera had spend such a long time on separating her emotions from her work and yet, here she was succumbing to them.
"No, it's ok. I'm just..." The girls voice had changed. Less quiet and broken, more steady. "It's just a lot to handle I guess. Thank you, Chancellor." The girl wiped her tears away and Vera was glad that she hadn't really started crying yet.
"Ok. I guess you need some space, some quiet. I'll leave you to it." She knew from her own experience how important it was to have some space. Being crowded by people who wanted to get something out of a shitty situation could be overwhelming and quite frankly even more damaging that what had happened in the first place. "But, you know where my office is. If you need to talk..." Well, not everything could be said with words, that she knew as well. So she quickly added: "Or if you just want to have company in silence. My door will be open for you."
No, this was definitely not normal Vera-Stone-behaviour. This was all because of those damn wolves. The effect they had on her was... It was changing her. Wether to the better or worse she could not say. But she couldn't help but smile a little at the thought of a certain wolf. Bringing her thoughts back to the current situation she gave the girl on the bed a reassuring smile, before making her way towards the door that she had come from. "Thank you. I really mean it." The girl added, before the older woman had disappeared. Leaving the girl alone with her thoughts and memories she had yet to process.