Dancing with Shadows ✔

Shattered Bonds

Dancing with Shadows

Chapter 15

Emma's return from the werewolf world had been a whirlwind of confusion and tension. A month had passed since she had returned, her broken limbs were almost healed, but the weight of her new reality was heavier than ever. At three months pregnant, her stomach had just begun to show a small bump, though it wasn't noticeable to others. But she felt it every day, a constant reminder of the world she had left behind and the life growing inside her.

As summer began to wane, the dread of returning to school loomed large in her mind. She knew she couldn't hide forever, but the idea of facing her classmates, her teachers, and the endless questions they would have, filled her with anxiety. How could she explain what had happened to her when she wasn't even sure how to make sense of it herself?

Her pregnancy had brought unexpected changes, particularly in her eating habits. One evening, her mother had prepared steak for dinner, cooked to a perfect medium as she always liked it. But when Emma took a bite, she found herself grimacing. "Mom, can I have this rare instead?" she had asked, surprising herself as much as her mother. The request had earned her a strange look, but her mother complied without comment.

Then there was the matter of her appetite. She was eating four times the amount of food she used to, and her hunger was insatiable. Her mother had started making extra servings at every meal, but even then, it sometimes wasn't enough. And it wasn't just the quantity; it was the quality. Raw food had become an odd craving, something she had never enjoyed before. It was as if her body was adapting to something primal, something not entirely human.

Her father must have shared her secret with her mother and brothers, because they had started to ask questions, probing her for the truth. At first, they had been subtle, but their doubts quickly became apparent. "Emma, are you sure you're not just trying to cover up something?" Nick had asked one evening, his tone laced with suspicion.

"Cover up what?" she had snapped, her patience wearing thin.

"Maybe you don't know who the father is," Matthew had suggested, not unkindly, but the words stung all the same.

The accusation had cut deep, and the anger that flared in response was enough to make her avoid them for weeks. She refused to engage, leaving the room whenever they entered, giving them the cold shoulder until they finally apologized. It was only after they saw the strange things she was eating—raw eggs, uncooked steak, even raw fish—that they seemed to believe her. It was as if those strange cravings were the proof they needed to finally accept the truth of what she had been through.

But even with their apology, the tension lingered. The bond she had once shared with her family felt frayed, weakened by the doubts and disbelief. She couldn't help but wonder if things would ever be the same again, or if this new reality would forever mark a divide between her and the people she loved most.

Emma found herself retreating more and more into her own thoughts, the weight of her secret, her pregnancy, and the werewolf world pressing down on her. The house felt stifling, the walls too close, and the memories too sharp. She longed for the peace of the forest, the quiet of the clearing by the waterfall, but she knew she could never go back.

She was trapped in this world now, with all its normalcy that no longer felt normal to her. And as her due date inched closer, the questions only multiplied. What kind of life would her child have? Would they be like her, or like their father? And most frightening of all, how would she ever protect them from the truth?

The answers felt as elusive as the werewolf world itself, just out of reach, hidden in the shadows.