To the Wolves

Chapter 43

Epilogue

8 months later

The sun glared brightly in the clear sky, making the environment hotter than usual. The chatter of college was loud as the students strayed from one class to another. A section of the students was loading up on coffee, another preferred silence due to their hangover; while the rest shamelessly skipped classes.

Outside the college building, the events of the day took place as the annual fest had begun.

Olivia, Natalie, and Kaden sat on one of the benches as the blades of grass tickled their legs. Olivia sat in the middle with Kaden and Natalie on either side, all looking at the hustle of the festival. Olivia's college was busy with organizing and executing the events while students of other universities participated as guests. Natalie and Kaden had joined the semester after traveling, and they were now guests at Olivia's college.

"I'm glad we are attending this semester," Natalie said looking at Kaden. "College is fun! Especially when I'm free from my parents."

Kaden nodded while laughing. "Some freedom that is."

Olivia looked at Natalie and asked, "what exactly happened on your trip?"

Natalie sighed. "Both my parents were doing unholy things, just not with each other. They can play pretend all they want, but I've decided that I'm not gonna be a part of it. I'm not gonna let them ruin my life anymore." She said. "I finally feel good! Let's not ruin it by talking about them."

"I'm happy that you're happy," Olivia said, smiling brightly. "I saw your pictures on social media from the trip and girl, you look hot."

"Aww, thanks," Natalie grinned. "I've been working out. I'm gonna put all that exercise to use." Subtly pointing out a guy in the crowd, she said, "see him? I've been noticing him looking at me for a while. He's cute."

Kaden rolled his eyes. "Here we go again."

Natalie's focus from the guy shifted when she heard the noise of an argument. Their heads turned to the couple who were fighting publically and breaking up on the spot.

Natalie cringed. "That's nasty. Break-ups suck." Looking at Olivia as she asked, "how are things with Ethan?"

Olivia's expression morphed into a sad look upon hearing his name. She thought about him and recounted a memory from a month ago. It was the day of her last exam when all her friends were going out to celebrate but she chose to stay in her room, pretending to be sick, when in reality she missed him to a point that it started hurting. She hadn't seen him since she left the town, and the only way she heard about him was through emails. Calls were rare since he traveled to locations mostly with little to no reception. He developed a habit of writing emails to her, which would only reach her once he was within range.

When her classmates were busy celebrating their temporary freedom, she was locked in her room. She opened her email to check if there were any updates. No new emails. She missed him so much that her only resort was re-reading the old emails that he sent to her.

"It's been two weeks since I haven't seen you. I wish you were here. I am climbing these mountains and finally, I managed to track my father. He's not what I expected him to be like at all. He's much better than I expected. He's funny, kind, healthy, and, surprisingly, full of life. I've spent a couple of days with him and I still haven't gathered the courage to tell him that I'm his son. What if he rejects me? I watch him click pictures and shoot nature videos all day. He's a photographer, and also runs a magazine and a photography school.

He thinks I'm a lost traveler. That's what I told him anyway. Two of his interns are here too. They are a good bunch of people. The conversations go on past midnight, from topics like outer space to something as simple as breathing.

I'm sitting on the edge of a cliff as I write this to you. Can't stop thinking about how much you would love the view right now- blue sky, huge green trees, a plethora of birds, and waterfalls.

I miss you."


"I told him. We were climbing down from the mountain when I told him that he is my father. He went through a spectrum of emotions and it was hard for him to believe it. That was before I told him who my mother was. He instantly admitted to knowing her. They had met during one of his photography trips to the hills. He was lost. She found and saved him. They fell in love shortly, but she disappeared one day and he never saw her again.

My father stared at me for too long before recognizing her features on my face. He says I have her lips, and almost broke down when he embraced me. I cannot describe in words how I felt.

He talked about my mother the rest of the way and told me everything he knew about her. Of course, he didn't know she was a werewolf.

He married someone else a few years after meeting my mother and has a daughter, which means I have a half-sister somewhere. It's too much to grasp."

"I'm in my dad's house and it looks expensive. I met his daughter and wife. My half-sister is 11. It's been few days since I've known Maize but I already love her. I told her all about you and our adventures. She keeps it a secret.

My father's wife, Lisa, on the other hand, is a little cold, though she doesn't stop Maize from spending time with me, although, I think I'm making progress with Lisa. She's warming up with each passing day."

Olivia heard a knock on the door. She ignored it and continued reading, but she heard the knock again. Giving up, she answered the door. Shocked and surprised, she looked at Ethan standing on the other side of the threshold.

She stared at him, smiling before she jumped into his arms and wrapped her legs around him. He held her with his arms as he laughed while taking a step back due to the force.

"I thought you were at your father's house!" She said looking into his eyes.

"I was! Until I missed you so much that I had to see you." He said moving into her room and closing the door with his foot.

They spent the entire night in each other's arms, talking about every little detail that the other missed during those months. But when the morning came, Olivia grew sad.

"You're gonna leave again," she said looking up at him. They lay beside each other with their legs and arms entangled.

"Why do you think that?" He asked.

"You are, aren't you? I.. I thought you are happy with your father and his family. It sure seemed that way from the emails you wrote. I thought you might want to live with them."

"Look at me," he said. "I like my father and his family, but I only wanted to be on good terms with them, and for him to know that I exist." Her face softened a little. He continued, "I moved a lot when I was little, to a point where I believed that I wouldn't call any place home. That changed when you started living with me. Now I don't want to call any place home if you're not in it."


"What happened next?" Natalie asked after carefully listening to Olivia.

"He left!" Olivia threw her hands in the air. "He had taken up an assignment at his father's magazine. He had to leave to finish it. He said he'll be back as soon as he's done but I hate waiting! I miss him so much every day."

"Aww, sweetheart." Natalie placed her arm around Olivia's shoulder. "Good things take time. I know it must be hard for you but he'll be back soon," she said comfortingly. "You have other things to distract you till then."

Kaden jumped in and said, "we're here to entertain you for a couple of days."

Natalie nodded. "And the club you joined! Don't you have an event tonight?"

"Yeah," Olivia said holding the piece of paper in her hand. "First years hardly get in as members. But thanks to my literature knowledge I got in on my first try, and I'm giving the opening speech! You wanna hear it?" She held the paper and read the first line which was a quote by Mary Wollstonecraft, "the most perfect type of education is one that encourages the individual to attain habits of virtue that will render him or her independent."

Natalie closed her eyes and plugged her ears with her fingers.

"No, I don't wanna hear it." When she opened her eyes she saw the boy from earlier again. "I can't take it anymore. I'm gonna give him my number."

Olivia snickered "Some things never change, do they? I guess there's some silver lining."

Natalie got up from the bench. "Life goes on, Olivia. You found the love of your life but some of us still need to keep looking and savor the moment while we can," she said before fleeing.

"Don't savor too much!" Olivia shouted after her.

Laughing and shaking his head, Kaden whispered, "life goes on."



~The End~