Howl In The Night (DNF)

Chapter 68: Home

Dream POV.

I slammed the door shut behind me as I walked into the house before making a beeline upstairs to my bedroom. Right now I was in no mood to talk with any member of my family, regardless of whether it was my parents, or my sister, or my grandparents. None of them would be able to help me at all.

When I was about halfway up the stairs I heard my mother calling out. “Dream?” She called out from the kitchen. “Is that you back honey?” I didn’t respond. I was in no mood to talk with her at the moment. But when there was no response she called back again. “Dream? Are you home? Can I talk to you?”

I didn’t move from my spot, allowing her to come and find me. When she saw me she pulled me into a hug. “I’m so grateful that you are home.” She smiled. “Are you alright sweetheart?” Before I could come up with any verbal response I began sobbing. “Dream?” She asked as she embraced me. “Are you alright?”

“I’m sorry.” I muttered while my fingers clawed at the fabric of her shirt. “I am so sorry for leaving without saying anything Mom. I shouldn’t have left you.”
“That’s alright Dream, but what’s wrong? Surely that isn’t the only reason that you are upset. Is there anything else?”

After taking a few deep breaths I nodded. “George was attacked.” I told her. “He was attacked by two wolves in the forest and now he has to be flown to a hospital in another town because we don’t have the medical equipment to look after him here and it is all my fault.” I rambled without pausing for a breath once. “My soulmate could die.”

Okay so the doctor never said that he could die, but he was still in a really bad condition and I feared the worst for the love of my life. “I wasn’t able to protect him and so I am a terrible soulmate and a terrible alpha.” I sobbed.

"You are not a terrible alpha." She reassured me. "You did nothing wrong, Dream. Now, how about I make you something to eat and drink and you just go to your room to calm down." My mother offered, motioning for me to go upstairs.

I was about to turn and leave when I saw a flash of movement in the living room, causing my eyes to narrow in suspicion. "Dream, sweetheart." My mother tried getting my attention again. "How about you go upstairs? I am sure you'll feel better in your nest." The movement suddenly happened again.

My mother went to prompt me upstairs again but I ignored her, hurrying back down the stairs instead and into the living room. There sat my grandparents, neither of them were talking however they were both focusing on me. Several bruises were covering their faces and arms and my grandmother had a long scar down her face.

Nobody said anything, instead I just stared at the pair of them, attempting not to smirk. It made me feel proud. I wasn't able to protect George, but at the very least I avenged his injuries. They both knew it too, they knew exactly how I was feeling even if they weren't able to see my physical reaction.

Sitting opposite them was my father, his expression was as stone cold as my grandparents were. His gaze was moving between me and my grandparents, seemingly making the connection however he didn't say anything. Without a word I simply turned and went upstairs, planning on disappearing into my bedroom.

Much to my surprise Drista was sitting at the top of the stairs, hidden from view and just staring at the wall opposite her. "Dream!" She exclaimed, standing up. "You're back! I thought that I heard your voice." She noticed my expression and hers fell. "What's wrong?"
"George got attacked by two wolves. Wolves that just so happen to be downstairs."

"You mean Grandma and Grandpa?" She asked, her eyes widening. "Did they attack George? They came home injured but I didn't think they'd have gotten into a fight."
"He's in really bad shape." I told her, tears pricking at my eyes. "He has to be taken to a hospital in another town. I'm so scared for him."

"Oh… I'm sorry." She responded in a mutter, moving her eyes down. She didn’t say anything and so after a moment I continued walking to my room. Without moving my eyes away from the ground once I went into my nest and collapsed down amongst the blankets, clothes, pillows, and other soft things I had put there.

I didn’t deserve any of it though. I did not deserve to be able to feel the warmth of the soft fabrics around me. If anything, I should be getting punished for not being able to save the love of my life from danger.

Maybe I was being punished. George ended up hurt because of me leaving him alone in the forest. I managed to fight off his attackers without any injury coming upon myself. I should have at least ended up with a scar on me somewhere but I took none of the damage, and George took all of the damage.

The nest was imperfect. As I laid enveloped by all the clothing I was met with the disgusting smell of myself. It would be much better if there was anything else mixed in here, something that smelt less like me and more like George. The fact that I couldn’t even be comforted by his scent was another sign that I was in some purgatory.

All that I did have of George’s in the nest was a shirt he’d left ages ago, one which had next to no smell of its owner on it. There was a faint mixture of the two of us together. The sweet smell of the brunette mixed with my own was enough to make my head fuzzy on a good day. Today wasn’t a good day though.

Without a second thought I shifted into a wolf and buried myself in the pile of my clothes, since a failed alpha like myself should be surrounded by the smell of failure. When I was completely hidden from the outside world I curled into myself, wanting to be as small as possible as if that would make me and my problems all disappear.

From somewhere far away I could hear the sound of a helicopter, but it was moving further and further away. It had probably arrived and collected George while I was distracted and now it was taking him further and further away. My heart ached at the thought, since if he doesn’t get better then this could be the last time I ever see him.

Before the sound was completely gone it was swallowed up by a much closer sound: the sound of a door opening, followed by footsteps, followed by another door opening. The second door was the door to my closet. Whoever had entered the room would be able to see me in my pathetic state.

Who would be unfortunate enough to witness this? Would it be my sister, the person I was supposed to be a role model for. Perhaps my mother, who always claimed that I was the bravest person that she knew. Maybe my father, the man who I was meant to take the role of alpha from.

The smell of cologne showed me that it was the third one. My father’s footsteps kept approaching, until he was possibly only two feet in front of me. I expected him to be mad about what I did, mainly to his parents but perhaps it was about failing to protect George. Much to my shock there was no hate, nor was there yelling.

He pulled the blanket that had been draped over me away and I didn’t react. For a few moments we just looked into each other’s eyes. His expression was unreadable. Was he feeling sad? Pity? Anger? Who honestly knew.

Then he moved his fingers to brush through my fur, a way of bringing us both comfort. Without saying anything I relaxed into the touch, a small whine falling past my lips. Tears pricked at my eyes at the thought of George but I still didn’t say anything, and neither did my father. Slowly but surely, the stress mingling with the comfort was enough to draw me into a dreamless sleep.
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