Wolf Girl (Book 1) REWRITING

Chapter 7: Carys

Carys' POV

I don't know what to feel, everything is a mess. When we got here, things started getting better. I was getting better. I had one slip-up with the Morwal, but even that turned out for the better. First, some crazy scientist shows up on a hunt for Jana and his friends, then he poisons the wild pack against my father and they brutally attack him, my father might have been affected by the serum too, and now the wild pack have been taken. Jana and the others are devastated, my dad is still unconscious and there's nothing I can do to help anyone. I've never felt so useless.

We've been in Stoneybridge for two weeks; how could things get this screwed up?

I sit with my dad, holding his hand and talking to him, "Dad, I don't know if you can hear me, but you need to wake up and get better, I need you. And I know that's completely selfish but it's true. I can't lose you too. Please wake up and get better for me. Please?" He remains silent and still, there's more colour in him, but he still looks so unwell.

I kiss his hand and go to my room. Jana is curled up in a ball on the bed, in tears. I climb into bed next to her and hold her tight, "It's gonna be okay. We'll find your pack, you said yourself you've defeated him before, and you will again. We will." Suddenly the roles have reversed and I'm the one comforting her. She just sobs. "I'm here now."

She turns to face me and I wipe her tears away, "How is he?" She asks.

We both have the habit of focusing on the other when each of us are feeling such intense pain.

"A little better, there's more colour in his cheeks but he still looks awful," we sit up, "At least we know he'll be okay eventually. But if the serum has got to him and he loses himself like the wolf pack, I don't know what I'd do."

At that moment, a loud clatter comes from the kitchen. We run out and my dad is awake and wolfing out. Emma and Daniel growl at him, trying to get him to back down. He turns to face them and growls back. His wolf is bug with dark fur resembling a grizzly bear, and Maddy's parents lose their wolf and back away like cubs, terrified. I look over to Maddy and Rhydian who are cowering in the corner.

I've faced him like this before, countless times when the Morwal has taken over in the weeks following mums death. I've always managed to calm him down but if this is the serum, I'm not so sure I can this time. Still, I approach him slowly, hoping that I'll be able to reach him.

"Carys don't!" Rhydian warns me.

"He's woken up surrounded by strangers, he's bound to be freaked out," I defend my actions as I step closer, "Dad?" He growls at me too, it's like he doesn't recognise me. "It's me." He bares his teeth and howls.

Jana pulls me back, "Let him go, Carys, he needs to cool off," Jana says.

He runs out of the garden door and off into the distance. I try to run after him, but Jana and Rhydian won't let me. He disappears from my view without taking a moment to look back. I give up fighting my way out of Jana's hold, instead, I turn to hug her. I've run out of tears now.

"He's never been that bad. He didn't know me. If that wasn't the Morwal, Kincaid must have gotten to him," my blood boils, my fists clench and I struggle to keep my wolf at bay, "If we leave him out there Kincaid will hunt him down," I say, pulling away from Jana, "I have to go after him."

"No, Carys," Jana grabs my hand, "Serum or Moral, it'll wear off. We can't risk any more of us getting hurt or captured out there," she says.

I can tell Jana hates the brutal truth as much as I do, but she's right. I'm no good to anyone if I'm dead. Actually, I think no good for anyone anyway. Everything got out of hand as soon as got here.