The Wolf Girl

Chapter Forty Three

Alex's POV

Molly weakly lifts her head, and I exhale when I see her eyes. They aren't sparkling, but they are still their normal, dark chocolate color.

"Alex," she forces out. "Your... your side... what happened?"

"That doesn't matter." I squirm away from Nikki and stumble to the ground in front of her. We sit there for a moment, breathing heavily from our pain. "What matters," I continue slowly, "is that you're alive."

"Alex," she whimpers.

I gently hush her before reluctantly telling her about everything that has happened, including what happened to her mother.

By the time I've finished, tears are streaming down her cheeks. "I have to heal you," she grunts as she forces herself to sit up.

"Wait!" I exclaim, despite what Nikki said. "If you do, you won't have your full power anymore. You won't be able to get it back, either, and you'll be weaker than you sh-"

"I know," she murmurs. "I'm doing... this for Mom."

"Don't forget that Adrianna is going to be able to help," I tell her softly as she scoots over to me. "Don't go crazy."

"I know," she repeats.

  She lightly places her shaky hands in my wound, and I wince. "Sorry," she whispers. I nod to show that it's okay, and she closes her eyes, breathing shakily. A soft white glow flows from her hands, and it only takes a moment for the spell to seemingly leech pain from my body. After a few minutes, she pulls her hands away, collapsing on the floor next to me.

  "Molly!" I exclaim, lunging over to her. I gently lift her head and rest it in my lap, and she stares up at me.

  "I feel... so weak..." she whispers softly.

  "I know," I murmur, reaching down and brushing the hair from her pale face.

  "So, who is that man?" I ask quietly.

  "It's her father," Nikki says from behind me. I look back at her. "Right, Molly?" she asks.

  "Yes," Molly replies.

  The patter of urgent footsteps rings in my ears, and I whip around, scanning the area. My eyes land on several people, and relief flows through me.

"You're back," I manage.

Wes, Morte, Bella, and Adrianna stand with a few other people. "We've found some refugees," Wes says. "Eric, Hillary, and Phantom." A boy with dirty blond hair and eyes almost as dark as Molly's, a young woman with piercing blue eyes and fiery red hair, and a small, gray wolf with the same blue eyes as the girl.

  I look over at Bella, and I can instantly tell that she's been crying.

  "Hillary and Phantom? The ones who went missing recently?" Molly inquires. The girl, who must be Hillary, nods.

"Zack took me away," she explains calmly. "Eric went missing before you got to camp for the same reason."

I ball my hands into fists. "Don't worry," I mutter. "He'll be asleep for the next five years."

She smiles warmly, and Phantom wags her tail. Unlike Thunder and Starlight, Phantom is a huge wolf; her head reaches Hillary's stomach.

Adrianna heals me fully before stepping back again. "What now?" she asks.

"I want you all to stay here," Nikki says calmly. "I want to speak with Alec and Molly alone."

I nod and gently slip an arm under Molly's legs. I lift her up and stand up, following Nikki out of the room and back through the hallway we used to enter.

When we are very far away from the room, she turns to us. "I want to tell you about myself," she whispers. Tears fill her violet eyes, and she looks down at the ground. "I am a Runic Emperian. Not only that, but I'm Purple Blooded, which means I am from the highest class of my kind. I'm the only Purple Blood left. Wes said he was a Red Blood. That's one of the highest rankings. Molly, that's why I got upset when he said that. Anyways, I have a sixth sense; I can see people's souls. I can normally get a basic idea of what race they are." She takes a deep breath, looking up at us. "My home was destroyed when I was little. A few refugee children, including myself, fled through a portal that led to this world. I was a princess, and I lost everything I knew that day. Back then, I was crushed. I still am, but I've accepted it." She makes eye contact with Molly. "Now, if I could, I'd like to speak privately with Molly," she says. "Perhaps you could sit or lean against a wall while we talked."

  "I can try," Molly murmurs. I hesitantly and carefully let her out of my arms, and her knees seem to buckle beneath her. I gasp and hurry to catch her before she topples to the ground. I carefully help her into a sitting position, and she leans her back against the stiff wall. Nikki sits across from her.

  "Nikki, than you for sharing this with me," I whisper. She looks up at me and gives a grateful smile.

  "Thank you for listening."

  Molly's POV

  When Alex leaves, I weakly turn my head to Nikki. She stares down at her lap.

  "Wes is one of my kind, as I said," she murmurs. "I feel a link between us. I really do. He instantly seemed to take a liking to me, and I..." She smiles softly. "Now, I-I don't know what I think of him. Do you... know w-what love feels like?"

  I am taken aback by the question, but I grasp one thought in my foggy mind. "I don't know," I whisper. "But if I had to explain it, love is beautiful. When you love someone, you feel like you can admit anything to them. You love being around them, but they can annoy you to the point that you want to hurt them." I smile a little. "They normally look past your flaws and see the true you. You can look through their flaws, too. It feels like you could do anything with them. Be with them forever, and be fine with it. You could laugh with them, cry with them, feel their pain..." I trail off, a certain face materializing in my mind.

"Have you finally figured it out and accepted it?" she asks softly.

My eyes widen a bit. "I'm in love with Alex," I whisper. "I really am."

Nikki grins, blushing. "And I'm in a little in love with Wes," she admits with a giggle. I laugh, even though it hurts a little.

"I'm sorry about your mask, by the way," I sigh. "I saw what happened."

"It wasn't your fault," she says. She smiles even wider.

"Now, let's get you to camp and home."

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Oh my gosh. The next chapter may be the last one before the epilogue.

Oh my gods.

The final chapter may be shorter than normal; it may be longer. He epilogue will probably be shorter.

If you want a throwback, read the first chapter of this book. I was impressed because I had, like, 900 reads. Psh. All of my chapters have at least 1000 now.

I finally brought Hillary, Phantom, and Eric in! Woo hoo!

Once again, thank you all for reading, and stay heavenly.

~Mabel