Shadow Bite || WATTYS 2017

Chapter Twenty-Four

Saturday evening rolls around in the bat of an eye, and Asher's weird reaction from last night has been annoying my brain all day.

I help Mum rid the table in a comfortable silence, but my discovery of my Caster gene lays covered underneath it in a bundle of tension. I don't know what she plans to do, but whatever it is, she doesn't seem too lenient to tell me.

After I came home last night, Mum and Dad both bombarded me with questions about the game, but mostly scolded me again for being home late. Yes, they thought I had been killed too. And yes, I forgot to text them, AGAIN, like the stupid person I am.

"So, umm-" I begin, fishing around for the right words as I hand Mum the plates and place the leftovers in the fridge. "Christmas holidays are coming up soon, and umm-" She turns around with an arched eyebrow and a hand on her hip, watching me expectantly. She sends me a pointed look when I take to long to complete the sentence.

"Umm?" She mimics. "You're spending Christmas with us Camilla, so don't even try anything." She adds hastily, watching my courage drop a little. I shake my head hurriedly.

"No, no, it's not that."

-Then what?

-CanIgotowithEmmaonatripintheholidaysafterchristmas?" I blurt, nervousness tingling through me when I see her annoyed expression. Oh no, I'll have to repeat.

"Repeat please?" She insists, waving a dirty fork with an impatient hand.

-Can. I. Go. With. Emma. On. A. Trip. In. The. Holidays. After. Christmas?" I'm already dreading the answer.

-No.

-Mum!

-You're not going, and that's final." She says with determination. I think I can detect a hint of worry underneath that coldness.

-Please?" She shakes her head. "Dad!"

-David!" She yells at the same time, earning no reply back. She groans and looks at me with sympathetic eyes. "I'm sorry Cami, but with the killings and- you're just not going, that's all."

-This is about me being a Caster isn't it? It has nothing to do with the murder at all." I fill in with a quiet sadness, my own reluctance filling me. I'm not surprised when I see a tear stray from her eye and she wipes it away quickly, embarrassed. I engulf her in a hug and bury my head against her shoulder, feeling her shake slightly against me.

"I'm so sorry Camilla, but sweetheart, I just don't want you to go back to those horrible times. I don't want you to be gone if your powers take over your sanity. I'm sorry, but as your mother, I forbid you to go." She pulls away and offers me a tight smile, and hastily walks away, leaving me with a submissive sigh. She's just looking out for me; all of this has been hard, and she doesn't want me to be without help if anything happens to me. Little does she know that I would be surrounded by a pack of werewolves, but there's no way that I'm telling her that.

I finish up the dishes and make my way to my bedroom, a single nervous thought raking my brain. I'll have to make something up to tell Asher that I won't be staying at the cabin at all, something that won't make him want to move in here. That's probably how far his possessiveness would go. My Dad would go buy a gun if he heard that I had a - what is he even? A boyfriend?

And to add onto that, I'm not sure which one would survive if he ever threatened the Alpha werewolf male with a gun.

°°°°

It feels like any other Sunday morning when I wake up. Dread for tomorrow. At least it'll be the last week of school before Christmas break.