Listen by Anaya Phoenix (best books to read in life txt) 📕

my heart breaks for him. He’s right, I had been so concerned over what happened to me I was so angry at him for not coming to save me. He was young too, he went through things too.
“And sometimes, sometimes I wish none of this happened, I would have my mother and you would have actually had a childhood” he says feebly.
“I- I’m really s-“
“Apologies mean nothing to me, especially coming from you. I would think that you would love me just as much as I love and miss you, but your so fucking stuck up that you only focus on what happened to you! None of my pack is here I left them all for you, my mother was the only living relative that I had but she died because of you! But yet you walk around like nothing is wrong with me, it’s just what’s wrong with you! I understand,” he pokes himself in the chest for emphasis “I understand you were raped and beaten and bad things happened, but bad things happened over here. I’m not trying to sound shallow or conceited, but stuff happened to me too” he finishes. He looks at my mother who has tears in her eyes,
“I’m done” is all he says then he walks out of the woods, away from the conversation and away from me.
I stand there, mute and shocked, I didn’t know that. I wish I had known that, it would have made life so much easier. All my anger and brattiness has been so messed up. I shouldn’t be upset. He should be, he’s been through a lot too,
“He’s right, ya know?” my mother says through tears,
“We’ve been so stuck on what happened to us, we didn’t care what they went through” she sobs. Tears fall out my eyes and I walk the direction he walked. I don’t have to walk for long, I hear sniffling above me and I see he’s perching on a limb his head in his knees and his shoulders shaking. I look to the tree next to him and climb it, making sure not to bump my stomach, I perch on the limb closest to his and scooch as close as I can without the limb breaking. I let his shoulders shake a couple more times before I speak,
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I ask softly, and he chuckles, a sad chuckle
“When, when you were telling me your story, when you didn’t give me a chance to tell you I love you? Please tell me when you gave me the chance” his voice is not warm and loving anymore, it’s cold and hard. And it’s my fault
“Your right, I shouldn’t have been so concerned about what happened to me. I should have asked what happened here. I’m sorry” he’s quiet for a while, then he nods. He puts his head back in his knees, he takes a long breath then he hops off the tree limb. He’s about to walk away,
“W-wait your not gonna help me down?” I say in my most helpless voice, he stops takes a breath then turns with a sly grin. He holds out his arms,
“Hop in” is all he says, his voice is returning,
“Hop in, as in jump into your arms? Really?”
“Yeah pretty much” I stand up,
“Ok” I say cautiously. I jump down and for a minute I think, he’s not gonna catch me he’s not gonna catch me, but I land in his firm arms. There isn’t any pain but I still yelp, he puts me on my feet and braces my arms in his hands,
“Are you ok?” he asks his voice panicked. I nod then I put my hands on his cheeks
“Are you?”
“I wasn’t but now that I’ve told you everything I’m fine” he gives me a smile, it’s small but it’s there and that’s all that counts.
“Did you really mean what you said, about not wanting the twins?” my voice cracks a little and he holds me.
“Of course not baby, but” he pulls away and his face is lit up with a mischievous grin “that was a hell of a punch you gave me”
“Well” I rub my nose “I guess my skills are pretty good. Remember that next time you almost piss me off ok?” I say in all sincerity and he laughs. He pecks my cheek
“Will do” he grabs my hand softly and we start to walk back,
“Mom! You can stop crying we’ve worked things out!” I don’t hear anything, just the wind, I stop instantly. Why can’t I hear her, I sniff, I can’t smell her either.
“Elizabeth?” I hear Micah’s voice ask but I can’t hear him, I run back to where my mom was supposed to be. She’s not there, there is only a piece of paper under a rock. I pick it up and drop to my knees:
Hello sprite of Helen,
Unfortunately since we could not stop your birth, and we do truly apologize that you have had to deal with the burden of sharing your body with an animal, we have to stop the birth of your two whelps. Unfortunately we know that you would not cooperate with us voluntarily we have had to take extreme measures. And since the last time we sent sprites to come and retrieve you for us failed, we have sent one of the council. We understand that in a matter of days you will give birth, and when you do we look forward to meeting you. Of course it will be under sad measures, but no need to worry we will spare your life.
Sincerely,
The council of flickenhammer.
Ok, a whole bunch of stuff in this letter pisses my wolf off, but for now I remain emotionless and still. Our whelps, a burden to have a mighty wolf to share your body with, extreme measures? She yells in my mind and I internally cringe, I’ll give them extreme measures when I kick their floating fairy asses! Hey, I snap at her, sprites are not fairies, we are completely different things! She shrinks away muttering something along the lines of stupid flying sprites, just a little more colorful.
“Elizabeth?” Micah’s voice asks from behind me
“They took her, and they won’t give her back unless I- I give up the twins” tears float down my face and come into a pool at the base of my neck. It itches but I can’t move anything except my eyes and my lips.
“What do you mean ‘give up the twins’?” I hear him come closer and he snatches the paper from my hands. I remain still even as he curses and stomps around the clearing. I let him get it out because there’s not really anything I can do, he kneels beside me and puts me in his lap. I lean my head on his shoulder and cry, I let out a mournful howl and he lets out a roar that would shake mountains. Somewhere I hear daddies howl, It comes closer and closer as it goes on and I think I can hear him burst through the clearing. But I can’t see. I can’t see anything but the pain, and now I know what Micah felt like. This pain, can’t see anything or hear anything. I don’t feel anything but pain. What do I do, do I save the lives of my children or do I save my mother? I’m sure micah asked himself this when he decided to wait for me instead of protecting his mother from any harm. I don’t know what to do and I feel my body being lifted up, the tears still fall like a tumbling waterfall and I’m barely able to breath. I hear a howl, that seems to be on another world but I know it can’t be farther than 3 yards away. It’s loud and ear screeching but comforting, I howl too but it’s full of sorrow and pain, I relax in Micah’s arms as he carries me back to the den. I sob out words as I hear the whole pack howling and whining, I don’t know why everything has to fall down on me. No, I don’t know why things have to fall down on us, it’s me and Micah now. Me, Micah, daddy and the pack against a whole council of hateful sprites. This should be easy.

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Publication Date: 12-30-2011

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