Opposites Attract

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Two

Release

Hailey Jane Rexler

I let out an empty gasp as the wind whistled past my ears. I shut my eyes tight and waited for impact to the ground, only four stories below. I figured that I'd try to minimize the damage, and that whatever broke or bled would heal within the next few hours.

It was quick, that's for sure. I felt a large shock wave erupt through my body, my back went rigid. I groaned in pain.

'Oh my God!' I heard the voice that sends shivers down my spin shout out desperately. 'Are you okay?!?' I sucked in a deep ragged breath. I managed to drag myself towards the hedge against the wall, so that I was out of sight if Drew decided to look down and out the window. 'Hailey! Shit!' he said. 'Please tell me you're okay!' I stayed silent and wrapped my arms around my sides. Whether or not being a werewolf allowed me to heal at an inhumanly fast rate, it didn't rid me of the searing pain. 'Hailey! I'm coming out to get you! Don't move an inch!' he said. This sent my mind into a distraught spiral. My wolf took over, crunching through the searing pain, and shifting into it's true form. I dashed towards the woods in a full out sprint.I didn't even familiarise with myself with my surroundings. I just kept on going, the trees around me a blur, the light in the forest seeming to seep upwards out of the forest I was in. I pushed myself until I was deep in the forest. 

I curled up against a log. My furry back brushing against the wood, I panted as I fought for the strength to breath at normal pace again. Not having the mental focus to control both myself and my wolf any longer, I shifted back into my human body, and rested my shaky back against the log. What am I doing?

I looked around the forest. I bit it my lip. This was definitely not the North forest, I can rule that one out. I'd grown up in the North forest, the trees were nearly all deciduous, and leaves were crisp shades of green and yellow. The North forest smelt like a bouquet of flowers, and the air was alive with the songs of early birds and night flyers. The South forest wasn't far off. Although I hadn't been there long, I already knew this wasn't it. The South forest was basically the North forest, except the air of the place. The air was like a humid blanket that wrapped around you like a lingering breeze. The trees tended to be wider at the top, and there was more shade to sit under when the days got hot.

So basically, I had narrowed it down to the fact that I was neither in the North forest, nor the South forest. All the trees were dark and coniferous. The pine trees had needles that were sharp as pins and stuck out defensively in a menacing matter. The colours ranged from the darkest of dark green to almost a sickening blackish grey green. In between you could spot a few murky browns and fading brownish yellows, but they didn't even begin to brighten up where I was. The most frightening part? The claw marks on the knobby tree trunks, the reddish brown stains on the dry as hell forest floor, the empty breeze that seemed to echo. This was hardly a forest, it was a wasteland. 

I bit my lip and sighed. I was distraught and stubborn and not willing to even leave this horrid place if it meant that I'd have to face Drew again. I mean, how could I let him get so close to me!?!  I'm out of control. Now, my body is only a vessel for what my wolf wants and needs. And my wolf is passionate and bold, and has no restraints whatsoever. It's like living your life through your own eyes, but instead of viewing the world as your own, it's like a movie. You can't control what your body does or what your mouth says, you can only watch the outcome. But you see, the problem is that the people around you can't tell the difference. They don't know that you have no power to make your own decisions. They only see what they see. And how crazy would it be if were to say: Ahem, sorry bout' making out with you Drew. Sure it felt amazing and like hot lave was slowly melting over my insides, and even if I would totally kill to feel that again, I really don't like you and I don't want to kiss you or do anything else, okay? It's just my body. I don't want to.

If I said that, I'm pretty sure I could see padded white walls all around me in my immediate future.

It's not even that Drew was horrible. Sure, we've had our differences... a lot of them, but overall, he wasn't repulsive or cruel or anything of the sort. He was actually quite the opposite. He was attractive, and kind at most and was only difficult when provoked, and yes, I egged him on a lot. 

Really, I suppose that he was the sort of person you could learn to love if you didn't love them already. And me? I was the sort of person you had learn to love, or else you couldn't love them at all. I frowned. How dismal, stuck in a forest moping about my messed up life. Well if all this wasn't an indication that I needed to woman up and grow some lady-balls, then I don't know what is. 

It was decided. I would face Drew, head on. I'd just let bygones be bygones, let the cards fall where they may, see what happens in short. So if that meant giving in and I don't know... being with him. Then that was what was going to happen. I just had this feeling inside me like whatever happened was meant to happen. 

I pulled myself to my feet. I was ready to head back and see Drew again, I'd been out missing for who knows how long...? I was about to take a step when a bone-chilling wind whistled around me. It was so eerie and bitter that it sent shivers down my spine, and not the good ones, like the ones Drew gave me. Suddenly, there was a movement and a shift of light near the forest edge.

I gulped. Maybe it was just a figment of my overactive imagination. Yes, that's what it was. But my certainty was questioned when another shifty shadow darted past me, and soon after, another. Suddenly I was surrounded by shifty darting shadows all around me. When they stopped and retreated in one, I released the breath I didn't even know I was holding. 

Then, there was a silence. Not an eerie silence, or an awkward silence, more like... the calm before the storm. Then I heard that ominous laughing howl from oh so long ago, and it all went black.

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Oooooooooohhhh!!! Cliffhanger! OMG! Do you hate me or what?!? Ahahahah! I hope not! Or else I wouldn't write any more. And what do you think happened to Hailey?

Sorry about the late update, but I was on a week long vacation without computers and I forgot to warn you. So I hope this doesn't stop you from.... Reading! Commenting! And... Voting!!!

-naturalbeauty12345