Before my eyes shut fully for the night, they open once more quickly to look at Caesar. "You won't transform and kill me, will you?" A laugh follows my question, but the thought does cross my mind.

His shoulders fall with another exhale. "Why do you constantly question me killing you, Doll? Get some sleep, I beg."

My body eventually gives into the exhaustion, a dream flooding into my mind. This time, however, it is not the forest that comes.

I'm at home.

Standing on the outside in front of my house, a woman walks out the front door.

"Mom?"

It can't be. She looks... young. Her eyes beam with happiness and love, a smile unfurling on her pink lips. A blood-red dress drapes off her figure, flowing with the autumn breeze and strappy brown sandals to match peeking beneath. Her hickory-colored hair loosely dangles in a braid, swaying down her back.

No. It's not her.

"Abria!" the woman shouts with glee. A little girl runs out from behind me. A bright green top hiding beneath dirt-covered overalls, white shoes even more muddied, and pigtails flopping against her shoulders.

"Mommy!" the girl runs into the woman's arms. Into grandma's arms. "I saw my friend! He came to me again!"

A breath catches inside of my throat. That's her. My mother.

She's so innocent. Pure. Happy... Sane. Something I haven't seen in her for so long.

They don't take any notice of me as they continue talking. "Oh, did he now?"

"He told me stories," Abria shouts with child-free delight. She can't be more than five or six years old. "About the wolves and how in the sun they look like us!" Energy beams with her every word.

"Just be careful, darling," skepticism flows with grandma as she speaks, drawing this out to possible childish imagination. Little does she realize...

The dream around me ripples, changing.

The setting around me flashes forward, the scene around me aging as if the world was put on accelerating speeds before shifting altogether. The house vanishes followed by mom and grandma, changing until I stand at the treeline of the woods.

This time, a girl my age runs towards the edge between the open space and the dense trees, stopping only a few feet from me. With a red flannel hugging her waist, matched with snow colored shorts and a gray top to match. So easily and naturally beautiful.

"Aryce," she shouts out. It's her again, mom. Only older this time. She's calling for my father.

A boy materializes deep beyond in the woods to where we stand. Green eyes overflowing with worry as he races to my mother.

"Abria," he wraps her into his arms. Though time has sped up, both have such a youthful glow in their presence. They can't be much older than me here. "What's happened?"

My mother's eyes flicker with love as he sets her down and her teeth radiate with her smile. "I'm pregnant," her hands cover her small stomach as the words pass her lips in an exhilarating whisper.

As soon as he registers the words, my father matches my mother's smile, his lips touching both ears as he picks her up in his arms. The two of them twirl in joy before he sets her down and places a gentle but passionate kiss on her lips. When did everything change? Grandma said he had left the day after, what happened?

Before they can say anything further, the scene once more changes. But this time, I'm alone. Rain cascades around me, striking my skin yet somehow I remain absolutely dry. I'm in a much more secluded and foggy part deep in the forest. Only the sound of rain pummeling the tree's leaves can be heard.

Taking a single step, my foot splashes amongst a puddle, shallow enough that I can continue forward. Venturing to be able to figure out where I am, all that is around me is casted in darkness. Step after step until I try running, the puddle remains endless.

The water splashes high around me when I concede in defeat, finding my reflection in the mirrored water along my knees. Yet it is not my reflection that I see. Or at least, not fully.

Half of my face conveys as normal in the reflection, human. Even my eye glares its green color again. But the other half... I'm a wolf.

With its sun-shining eye that glows in the inky waters, a brown wolf makes up what should be the other half of my face. The water begins to move, waves wading as if a force was stomping along it. Then the water stops, freezing at once until it begins to crack along my reflection. Pieces of me sinking inside the boundless puddle, chipping away until there's nothing left.

A gasp hauls out of my lungs as the water pulls me under, submerging me down below where I'm unable to move. Water leaks into my body, drowning me from the inside.

Deep below, only a pure blue filling the space around. I can feel the force of my legs attempting to kick below me, straining against the water's crushing control. The sound of the blood being pumped in my heart's chest begins to ease, soon to stop completely.

Then, there's peace. Even in a moment so terrifying, knowing I am about to die, I find peace.

Bubbles form around me as I give my final breaths. The fight within me ceases as my legs stop in their attempts to swim upwards. I allow the wintry waters to sink my body lower in this chasm of water, a readiness for what comes next washing over me.

Closing my eyes, I allow myself to die.

"Serelia!"

My body thrusts forward as an arduous breath fills my lungs. Taking in the air as fast as a hungry person dines at a buffet. Even after, my breathing comes unsteady and I draw my hand up from my chest to my dampened face.

"Serelia," Caesar rushes to my side, pressing his hand against my back and helping to lift me up. "What did you see?"

I try to steady my words, but can barely let out a tensing breath without choking. "My mother..." the words retch out in a struggle. "Her memories..."

My body trembles beneath Caesar's touch, tears spill unwillingly from my eyes as I peer into his. The world around me slows as the rapidness of my heart batters inside of my chest. I attempt to swallow down the rising flood in my throat, my body still drowning despite me now being awake. My lungs are burning for fresh air, but with each inhale enters another surge of the water as if I was still underwater.

Caesar wraps my body within his own, a tight embrace bringing me up to the surface. His warmth acts as a shield against the darkness that tries to consume me, a stillness washing over and calming my breathing. His chest slows and a faint shush surrounds the air around me, reassuring whispers brushing against my forehead.

"I'm here, you're safe, Doll. Feel my breaths. I promise, I won't let you fall."

His words barely reach my ears before I drift off engulfed in his serene warmth that starts to melt the remaining darkness within.

-

The creaking of a door opening startles me awake, my eyes opening to a dimly lit room and specks of dust floating over my head.

"Finally. I spent an hour trying to wake you. Did you know you snore, Doll?"

"I don't," I protest, swinging my legs over the bed and sitting up at the edge. Caesar moves further into the bedroom, tossing a plastic bag onto the mattress beside me. My eyes scan over the bag before looking back to Caesar, my eyebrow raising in question.

"Lunch time," he says, opening the bag and pulling out a plastic container, the clear lid revealing a stack of pancakes and eggs. "We still have a bit of ways before we reach the forest, gather your strength before we leave."

My head tilts towards the pancakes, my eyebrow still raised inquiring where the food had come from. It's not like this old apartment has free food services. "Where-"

His hand raises, stopping me from finishing my question. "Let's just say some sap may be a tad pissed off when his order isn't there for pickup."

"But whe-" I begin to start again, but pause before I can say anymore. "Nevermind, I don't care."

My body flops back down onto the mattress beneath me, tugging my sweater under my head, pressing it against my face in hopes of more sleep.

"No, no," footsteps draw near before my sweater is pried from my hands. "We can't waste anymore daylight. I already let you sleep in, but nothing about this journey will be easy should we wait until nightfall."

With a fussing groan, I force my body back upwards, a muttering of complaints objecting under my breath. Picking up one of my duffel bags from the doorway and setting it on top of the bed, I take out a few fresh clothes to change into.

Sensing Caesar's presence remaining behind, I twirl my head around to catch sight of him. "A little privacy?"

"If you insist," a smirk plays upon his face as he walks out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

Changing out of my worn clothes and into the fresh ones, I peer into the spotty mirror in the corner of the room. Ugh, what I would give for a shower. My eyes flickering between some of the grimier spots along the glass.

Everything is about to change. It already has in a single night. What else is going to happen when we get to the forest? My father—will I even be able to face him? Hell, seeing my father is going to be the least of my concerns when we get there.

How the hell am I going to do this?

A knock at the door snaps me from the anxiety that is building within. "Serelia, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," pulling away from the mirror and opening the door to Caesar standing on the other side. "What are we waiting for? Let's go."

After 'checking-out' of our little stay, basically sneaking back through the boarded window we had come through in the first place, Caesar and I headed back towards the main road. Continuing our travels towards the forest, the streets now awaken with the dawn's light.

People going out to breakfasts at the diners, others making their way for a day of work. Children filling in school buses on their way to school, a few individuals strolling in a morning jog.

"Serelia?" A voice startles from behind, quickening steps nearing behind Caesar and me. No one can know that I'm leaving or why. As their steps draw closer to me, I whip my body around to catch sight of the caller only a few feet from where I stand.

"Finn? Why are you-"

"What?" He interrupts, his head trailing across my face and down to my duffel bag before moving to Caesar. "What are you doing here? Who is this?"

"It's none of your business, Finn," I reply, attempting to make my voice as carefree to avoid suspicions. "Just leave me alone, please."

"No," Finn declares, still glancing back and forth between Caesar and me. "Are you okay, Serelia? Who is this?" His voice grows more demanding, concern lining along as he speaks.

"The guy from her dreams," Caesar chirps before I have a chance to respond, his playful smirk now smug and teasing as he glares at Finn. My elbow nudges into his side as I take note of Finn's uneasy reaction, a grunt following as I make contact with his ribs.

"Serelia, can we talk? Alone." Finn urges, his hand reaching out for mine which I avoid.

"There's nothing to discuss, Finn."

"Serelia, it's time we go," Caesar's voice drops into a firm tone, a silent reminder of the gravity of what we have to do. What we're here for in the first place.

"Don't, Serelia. I can help you, just talk to me," his hand this time wraps around my arm, tugging slightly to pull me away from Caesar.

Jerking my arm out of Finn's clasp, I scowl. "I said there's nothing to talk about, Finn. Seriously, leave me alone." I emphasize those last words before turning my back on him, trudging forward with Caesar striding next to me.

"It's clear there's some history there," Caesar attempts to lighten the tension as we saunter away. "What was that about?"

"Nothing important," I murmur.

As the edge of the woods comes into view, I gaze over to the side. The vision of my mother and father replaying out in front of me as if they were still there.

"Are you ready, Doll? You know there's no going back once we reach the forest."

This is it. Once I cross these borders, the life I knew will never be the same. Nothing ever will be again. I may not even come out. The future and how fast it's coming is so unclear, but it's a risk I have no choice but to take. The person I am, who I was, she will be gone. For good.

"For as bright as the moon shines, right?" I say, proceeding to the forest for what may be the last time. Never looking back at the city behind me and what may be my last few moments in the human world.

***

Until then,

Xxx