Cursed with an Alpha Soul | Werewolf Romance

Chapter VI - Familiar Faces

Ella laid cozy under her fluffy white sheets. The fan in the corner quietly hummed as it blew cold air across the room. The early morning birds could be heard chirping from outside her window. Ella’s eyes were closed, but she was wide awake. After that night in the hospital, it was difficult for Ella to sleep. She had not had any night experiences like she did there, but because of her hand and how real it all felt, falling asleep was a constant struggle. The hospital gave Ella a note to give to her school that would provide her with a few days off before returning. The doctor was only able to grant three at most since she did not have any severe injuries, but if she wanted more time, she could always schedule a follow-up appointment. The doctor had called Ella’s parents before her release, but Ben was the one to take her home. He had decided to stay with her at the house since Ella’s parents still had to work. They both loved Ben so having him spend the night and help Ella was no big deal. It had been two days since the hospital trip. Most of the time Ella slept in bed and watched TV when she was awake. Ben would make her food and keep her company whenever she needed it.

Ella turned her head, looking at Ben who was knocked out beside her. He had the sheets pulled up to his neck and one leg sticking out, falling off the side of the bed. He refused to wear any shirt to bed even though Ella had her room freezing cold at night. Ella watched as she slept, his nose whistled softly as she breathed. His hand was still wrapped around hers. Ella wasn’t a big cuddler but wanted to touch Ben in some way as they slept. Hand holding was usually the solution. Turning her head, Ella looked at her side table. The clock read 06:43 in the morning. Her family would have already left for the day, leaving just the two of them in the house. The small green light on Ella’s phone was flashing, indicating that she had an unread text. Ash had been spamming her with messages, checking up on her and asking how she was doing. Ash blamed herself for leaving Ella alone at the party. She felt that if she had stuck around her maybe none of it would have happened. Ella knew it wasn’t her fault. There was no way Ash could have stopped it from happening. It was better that she wasn’t around, but she couldn’t explain that to Ash. Ella told her she did not blame her and just needed some time to rest.

Slowly Ella moved her hand away from Ben’s, being careful not to wake him. Slowly Ella rose to her feet, hissing silently as her feet touched the cold floor. Lately, Ella had been waking up early and she didn’t like it. She didn’t know what to do with herself in the morning. She was used to morning being after ten when she didn’t have school. Ella slowly walked into her bathroom, staring at herself in the mirror. The large gauze pad was still wrapped around her head. She had one on her right forearm and the last one was around her left ankle. Besides the bandages, her skin was flawless. There were no bruises or scabs left over. Ella looked at her own reflection, remembering the last time she stared in a mirror. She looked at her eyes, spreading them open more with her fingers as she looked around. Nothing. Part of her felt it was all a dream. Maybe somehow, she was drugged during the party that gave her strange dreams and she saw things. But the more she tried to tell herself that, it didn’t explain her burned hand. She couldn’t find anything to explain it, instead Ella chose not to think about it the past few days. She would try to distract herself with movies and tv shows to keep her brain occupied.

Sighing, Ella slowly tore off the tape on her head wrap and began to unravel it. The dressing circled her head many times, creating a long cloth that touched the ground before she was done. Ella could see blood stains beginning to appear as she unwrapped, she was getting closer to her skin. She was nervous about having a large row of stitches across her forehead. She didn’t know exactly where the cut was. Looking down, Ella unwrapped that last roll of bandage from her head. She didn’t look up; she was too nervous. She held the cloth in her hands, seeing the dark red, almost black, blood on the cloth. It was a lot of blood, which made Ella worried she would have a large scar.

Staring at the bandage, she noticed something. Ella picked up a small red string that was hanging onto the white gauze bandage. It was a small red thread, smaller than an inch. The thread was thick, it wasn’t like shirt string. Looking closer at the bandage, Ella realized there were multiple red strings across the bandage that stood out against the dark, dried blood. Ella slowly looked towards the mirror. She could see a stain of blood across her left forehead that ran into her hair line. There were also a few red threads on her skin. Confused, she leaned closer to the mirror. Her hand reached up, peeling the red string from her skin. Ella then realized that these were her stitches. Dropping the bandage, Ella turned on the water, scrubbing the hot water against her skin where the blood was. She watched as the water in the bowl turned red and kept scrubbing until she couldn’t feel the dried blood anymore. Grabbing a towel, Ella held it against her forehead, staring at herself in the mirror. Slowly she pulled away the towel. It was gone... there was no cut, there was no blood, there were no stitches. Her skin was untouched. Ella then began to unwrap her other bandages; they were just like her head. There was no sign of an injury. After she washed away the blood, it was all gone.

Ella could feel her heart rate rising, her breathing started to get faster. She was scared. How could it all be gone in two days? There are no marks. There is nothing. Ella put her hands on the counter trying to calm herself down, she didn’t want to send herself into a panic attack. Taking deep breaths, Ella looked into the mirror once more. She stared at herself, took a deep breath, and slowly released it. She watched as her green eyes slowly turned black and began to fade into the bright red she saw on the night of the party. “Ella?” A groggy voice called from the bedroom. Ella quickly threw her body against the door to prevent Ben from walking in. “Y-yeah? What is it?” she asked, looking at herself in the mirror, trying to get her eyes back. “Everything okay? I woke up and you were gone.” Ben spoke, placing his hand on the doorknob. Ella could hear his hand on the knob trying to open the door. “Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just going to take a shower. How about you go make breakfast?” Ella asked, pushing on the door so he couldn’t open it. “Are you sure? What if you fall or-?” “Ben. I’m okay, please? I’m hungry.” Ella said, trying to convince him to leave. “Okay sure.” Ben said, releasing the knob and turning to walk downstairs. Ella closely listened to his feet, hearing him change from the wooden floor to the tile downstairs.

Sighing a breath of relief, Ella closed her eyes, taking a deep breath in and out before opening them again. Her eyes were back to the normal emerald green as before. It worked at least this time. Ella stuffed all the dirty bandages into the trash and stepped out into her room. Looking around, Ella just felt she needed to get out and get some alone time. Her spot. Ella instantly thought. She knew she couldn’t go out the back or front door because that would require walking down the stairs and she would run into Ben. Ella quickly threw on Ben’s orange hoodie and a pair of yoga pants before looking out of the window. It was her only way out without being seen. She undid the latch and pulled the usually sticky window up without ease. She glanced out, staring straight down at the grass ground below her. Slowly she climbed out, sitting on the windowsill. Taking a few deep breaths, not knowing if she would hurt herself, she pushed off without a second thought, closing her eyes as she fell. Her feet landed flat on the ground, followed by her hands. Ella peaked out, seeing that she was now in her back yard. She looked at her window high above her, shocked that she had made it without hurting herself or falling on her face.

Ella looked at the woods and quickly began walking there. She didn’t want to risk being seen by Ben, so she moved quickly. Shoving through the thick bushes and forest, Ella took her familiar path. She listened to the clear sounds of the forest animals. She stopped in place, looking around. She could see the animals from distances she couldn’t before, she could hear a woodpecker beating it’s beak on the tree, or a squirrel nibbling on a nut. She laughed in astonishment; she could smell the pine from the trees and fresh water from the small brook that ran through the forest. The beauty was more than she could put into words. The rays of the sun that shined through the treetops glistened off the fresh rain drops that rolled off bush leaves. Ella gasped as she felt something cold on her feet. Looking down, she realized she had stepped into the brook. She hadn’t put any shoes on before she left, but not till now did she even notice. It hadn’t bothered her to walk through the forest floor of branches, fallen pine, and dirt. Smiling, Ella wiggled her toes in the water, feeling the cool liquid run between them. The woods had always been a place she could relax and separate herself from all other things, but this was different. She felt as though she was part of the forest, much like the animals who lived in it. It felt natural.

Ella could feel the warm sun against her skin as she soaked it in. Closing her eyes, Ella smiled, enjoying her moment. A moment she didn’t want to end, one she didn’t want to walk away from. She wanted to stay there, worried that if she left, she would never be able to feel like this again. As if as soon as she stepped out of the tree line, everything would somehow go back to how it was before. Ella heard a branch snap; she froze in place. Slowly she opened her eyes and began to look around, not seeing anything that could have caused the sound. Her next breath she smelled something familiar. A cold chill ran down her spine, the hair on the back of her neck stood tall. Ella continued to look around, she couldn’t see them, but she knew they were there. They could see her. The same person from that night at the party. The scent was like a birthmark to the person, there was no smell quite like it and she recognized it instantly.

“It’s you.” Ella spoke softly as her eyes continued to search the forest around her. “Who are you?” Again, she was met with silence. No one answered, but she knew they were still there. “Did you do this to me?” She asked. But now Ella knew that the person would not answer her, but if she kept talking maybe they would stick around long enough until she could find them. “You don’t want me to find you, do you?” She asked. Although no one spoke, it was a feeling she got. As if she could communicate with them without needing any verbal confirmation. It was vague, yes and no answers she could sense, but anything more than that was like trying to talk to someone in a very loud crowd. “You know me, don’t you?” They did. They knew Ella before all of this. From somewhere. “You can’t hide from me forever” Ella warned. She could feel they didn’t like that answer. She felt they didn’t want her to know who they were, but she didn’t understand why. Wouldn’t you want someone to try to figure this out with? Someone who may be the only person in the world who understands what you’re going through?

Perhaps it was a moment of weakness or a distraction, but Ella found them. Her eyes locked onto theirs. The same maroon eyes that she saw that night, they were just far enough where Ella couldn’t make out their face. Gotcha! Ella thought. “Hey!” Ella shouted as they turned away from her and began to walk away. “Stop!” She yelled and began running after them. As Ella took off, so did they, running throughout the forest. Ella didn’t want to lose them. She didn’t know if they would return or if next time if they would be more cautious about her finding them. Ella dodged trees as she ran, ones that before she would run straight into. They ran over hills and jumped over logs, the person would make sharp turns and jumps trying to lose Ella. She could tell they were faster than her, but she wasn’t going to let them get away without a fight. “No, you don’t” Ella grunted. She focused on running faster, pushing off against the ground with every step. Dirt and leaves kicked up behind her as she chased them down. She could feel herself being faster, getting stronger. Her eyes shifted as she took off, closing the distance between her and the person.

The individual looked over their shoulders, shocked to see her closing the gap. Trying to lose her, they ran towards a cliff that was at least fifty feet high. Without hesitation, the person jumped, gliding through the air effortlessly and landing on their feet below before taking off. Ella watched as the person disappeared over the edge. She stopped at the edge, looking down at the large drop off. She could see the individual take off into the tree line. Without giving herself time to think, Ella backed up and ran towards the ledge, leaping off with all her strength. She felt like she was flying, weightless in the air. As she came to the ground, Ella lost some of her focus, causing her to land wrong and roll a few feet. Pine needles stuck into her hair and the dirt stained Ben’s jacket. Glancing up, Ella quickly took off again in the direction that she saw them run. Knowing the woods, Ella took a different route, guessing where the person would run to. In a matter of minutes, she saw them again walking along a trail. “Got you” Ella said. The person was shocked to see her. They began running, attempting to lose her again, but she was too close. Ella had realized that the person was wearing the sports team jacket from her high school. They definitely knew her and possibly Ella knew them too. Ella was within feet of them. She reached her hand out to grasp onto the jacket of the person in front of her. “No. You. Don’t!” she yelled; her hand grasped onto the collar of the jacket tightly.

Looking ahead, Ella realized they were coming up to a main town street. She could see a heavy truck coming up that they would run into if they kept going. Ella gripped hard and yanked on the jacket, ripping some of the inner satin liner and the tag of the jacket. Stopping herself, Ella fell to the ground, rolling a few feet before stopping on her stomach. She looked up to see the person continue. “No!” Ella yelled as they continued into the street. At the edge of the asphalt, they jumped over the hood of the truck and across to the woods on the other side. The truck slammed on its brakes, screeching down the road to a stop. Ella watched as the person kept running and didn’t stop to turn around. Eventually, Ella couldn’t see them anymore. Looking down at her hand, Ella saw the red satin liner on the jacket and the tag she had ripped off. Flipping it over, she saw 37 written on the tag. The sports teams were required to write their number on their sportsman jacket tags to distinguish between each other's. Ella got to her feet and stuffed the tag into her yoga pants waist band. She began to make her way back to her home, listening to the shouts from the driver who had almost hit the person. Whoever number 37 was, they couldn’t hide for long and they both knew it.

“Ella!” a voice shouted out, “Ella!” it came again. Ella could hear the calls as she got closer to her home. Although she had run through some of the woods she had never been through before, it was as if she had memorized it. Ella knew exactly how to get back. “Ella!” The voice sang out again. It was Ben. Ella could see him standing in the back yard looking around for her. Although she could clearly see him, he hadn’t seen her yet. Ella tried to brush off all the pine needles and dirt she could get from her clothes. “Ben stop screaming!” Ella yelled back, pushing out from the tree line. She couldn’t help but giggle slightly under her breath. “Ella what the hell!” Ben said as he ran towards her. “I made breakfast and you disappeared? What happened to you?” he asked as he saw the dirt and pines all over her. “I just wanted to go for a walk.” Ella shrugged as she took his hand and kept walking. Ben walked beside her, still in complete shock and confusion. “What walk did you take to look like that? You are covered in pine.” he stated. Ella shrugged, keeping her head down so he wouldn’t see she had removed her bandages. “I may have tripped, but I promise I am fine.” She said, walking towards the house.

Ben spun her towards him, hugging her tightly. “Next time just tell me, okay?” he asked, resting his cheek on the top of her head, “I don’t know what I’d do without you.” Ella’s heart ached as she listened to him. She couldn’t help but feel a little guilty for not telling him what she had just gone through. But how could she? What would she say? Oh, I went chasing a random guy through the woods, jumped off a cliff, and ripped his shirt off. See? Ella embraced him, hugging him tightly for a few seconds before she began walking with him back to the house. As Ben reheated breakfast, Ella took a real shower. She scrubbed off all the dirt from her skin and changed into a baggy shirt and joggers. She placed a large tan stick on bandages that the doctor provided her with over where her stitches would be so no one would question her.

Looking at the tag she had left on the counter, Ella took it to her nose, taking a long sniff. She could smell the person, the same scent from earlier. Glancing up, Ella realized her eyes had gone red. She took a deep breath and watched them fade back to the green. Ella took the tag and placed it in the back of her bedside drawer, somewhere Ben had no reason to look. She wanted to just throw it away, but part of her wanted to hold onto it. As weird as it sounded, she liked the smell and didn’t want to lose it. It almost calmed her in a way, “Ella. Breakfast!” Ben shouted as he came running up the stairs. Ella quickly closed the drawer and rushed to the door, standing just on the other side as he opened it. She smiled towards Ben, who gave her a goofy smile back. “Hungry?” he asked her, wrapping his arms around her. It was difficult for Ella to be affectionate in public, but in private it was different. Ben always understood and never pushed her to do more than she was comfortable with. “Starving,” Ella replied, wrapping her arms around his neck. They shared a short kiss before Ella rushed past him and down the stairs. Another thing about Ella since the accident is that she was always starving.