Chapter 73
LEAH Food with Dani and Lucy was what the doctor ordered. Having a homemade meal from someone who knows what I like was lovely. After food, we walked into the lounge and talked about what they had been up to since the last time I had seen them. Lucy mentioned what she had gotten up to in school and even mentioned a party she went to. I felt slightly gutted about not going, but it couldn’t have helped. Knowing my father was here, he would have made it his mission to know who was there and if there was an adult close by. I listened to everything they both said, but it was hard for me to tell them about being chased by rogues or watching some shift into a wolf. It made me sound more crazy, and I have been acting more than normal. “So, do you have to return to the house, or can we watch a film?” Lucy asked, pulling me from my thoughts. I smiled at her. “Sure,” I said, moving up in the comfy chair I was sitting in. “What do you have in mind?” Lucy moved from the sofa and headed over to her collection of films. Normally, she would have had a film in mind, but tonight seemed to be on a whim when it came to this. “What are you thinking?” she asked, looking over her shoulder. “I don’t know,” I muttered with a shrug. “You pick. I don’t know what my uncle and Josh will do or if they will come here to get me, so let’s make it count.” Lucy stared at me briefly but said nothing. By the look on her face, I knew she wanted to ask me more about them, too. I revealed little to them about Lucian and Josh, only what they were to me and my mother. Neither Dani nor Lucy asked about my mother, for which I was grateful. I don’t know how to feel or even say about her. There is so much that I needed to know about the whole dynamic of our family. Every part of me wanted answers, but the mere thought of talking to her made my stomach twist into knots. I know I will have to talk to her when I return, but I wanted to clear my mind about her and what is back there. Lucy went back to the film collection while I looked over to where Dani was standing. She was looking out the window at my house. Since we entered the lounge, she perched close to the window. Her eyes moved around, and there was a sense of fear and confusion from her. Something Dani shouldn’t be feeling. Shaking my thoughts away, I looked back to check in on Tala. Tala was close by the entire evening. We were with Dani and Lucy, but she said nothing. She laughed at some things being said, and I knew she was listening to what was being said. “You okay?” I asked her, which made me look at myself. There was something written on her face that concerned me. “What?” Tala looked at me and cocked her head to the side. “You can’t feel it, can you?” I stared at her, confused. What was I supposed to be feeling? Then, a shooting pain hit my back, which made me flinch slightly. It felt like my body had broken something, even though I hadn’t moved from where I was sitting. “What was that?” I asked her, looking back at her. Tala stared at me for a moment before she spoke again. “I think we may be—” “Leah!” Lucy called, which pulled me back to her. Her eyes were on me, her face full of concern. “Are you okay?” I gave her a nod but felt slightly off. Pain radiated into my back again, which made me pull a face. “You’re not alright?” Dani said, moving toward me. Her hand went to my head and pressed against it. “Jesus, Leah,” she said, pulling her hand back. “You seem to have a fever.” “I feel—” I said, but pain rippled through me, which made me scream out. “Ah!” My body slipped off the chair, and I landed on my butt on the floor. Where was this pain coming from? “Tala!” I called out in my head. “What’s going on with us?” “We are about to shift!” she murmured. “We need to get out of here. Your friends can’t see this happening.” Another ripple of pain struck me again, which made me fall to the side. Lucy and Dani moved toward me, but I shook my head. “No, don’t!” I gritted. Knowing I had to leave, I slowly stumbled toward the door. “I need to see my uncle,” I murmured. “He’s got medicine for me.” I walked outside toward the front door without bothering to look back at them. I could hear Dani and Lucy call my name while I stumbled away. My head spun, and the pain got worse. I needed to get to my house. Fear rippled through me. I didn’t know what to expect. “I got you,” Tala murmured in my head. “Go to Josh.” It was taking all my strength to get back to the house. Pushing open the door, I stumbled into the living area, only to fall on my knees and scream. My body felt on fire, but it broke in two. I hear movement, but my body breaks into bits. I dart to the kitchen to see a concerned Josh and Lucian staring back at me. “Leah!” Josh called, moving toward me. “You’re shifting,” he said, placing his hand in mine. Another snap came, which made me scream out again. “I can’t—” I gritted. “I don’t want to.” “You have to,” Josh murmured, coming close to me. My body landed on the floor to the side while Josh moved toward me and knelt beside me. “Listen to Tala,” he said. “Listen to her. She will help you get through it.” I try to listen to Tala, but there is nothing. “Tala!” I screamed loudly. Another snap, another body part broke. “I’m here!” she said, coming closer to me. “Look at me, Leah. Look at me.” I did as she asked and looked back at her. She is close. “Close your eyes, Leah,” she said. “Let me take over. Let me become what we are supposed to be. Let us become one.” I scream again when another snap floods out, but I feel a squeeze on my hand, and my eyes dart back to see Josh looking down at me with a smile. “You got this, Leah,” he said. “Let Tala come out. She is ready to be part of you.” Letting his words sink in and listening to what Tala said, I let myself go. Tala moved closer, but I felt I was being forced back out of nowhere. The pain in my body subsided. I felt like I wasn’t in my body anymore. After a few moments, I felt weird, like I was flooding the air. Where the hell was I?