Fight for Me

Layla’s POV

The last couple of days have actually been great, other than the cleaning.

I know I’m a big girl and I have learned how to take care of myself. But the house-cleaning bit is really out of my reach. I never cleaned a house in my life. As a kid, the maid always used to do that. And the last couple of years, I didn’t really have a home to clean.

Margret was literally on the brink of a bitch-fit meltdown when she saw me use window cleaner to wipe the counters. At that point I didn’t want to tell her that I already used it to wipe everything else. Most of the stuff look similar anyways. I just figured that as long as it cleans, it cleans.

I don’t know how old she is, but from my guess, she might be in her early fifties. But she really is strict, I can see why she runs things for Nick. She’s like Mrs. Umbridge from Harry Potter. But I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt. She hasn’t put me in some kind of detention, yet.

What has been great though are my training sessions. And not just the training, but my trainer too. His name is Cody, and he’s a warrior in the pack. He helps me train in the afternoons. We just clicked the moment we saw each other. He’s a real sweety and already a very funny and very needed friend. He’s just two years younger than me, but at eighteen he already towers over me like some WWE wrestler.

He’s already shown me some moves, but he’s more focused on helping me with my stamina and exercising for now. But at least I’m not a complete loss. Over the past few years I have learned a few moves and weak points on how to go for the ‘kill’. But he doesn’t need to know that.

But he is helping me understand more about pack life when we get to talking when we’re not training. And let me just say – wow. I’ve been to a bear-shifter pack before, and let me say it really is different. I did visit to a wolf-shifter pack before, but I was so young I barely remember much of it.

So apparently Nicholas is one of four brothers and the second oldest. And all his brothers are Alphas of their own packs and considered to be like princes of all wolves. I’m not going to lie, but that did impress me a bit. It would definitely explain the castle. There father was known as one of the strongest and feared Alphas of their time. His power grew by so much and so fast that many thought he would become the king of wolves. But that idea didn’t sit well with many other packs.

So, to avoid war, he handed over his title to all his sons, and split his lands into four portions for them as well. If you ask me, that’s a pretty smart move. Now no one can complain about how big their lands are, but these packs still form part of their legacy. Their family is basically still the strongest among the rest.

I would really like to meet this almost so-called king. I would like to pick his brain for some conversation.

But later that night, things did not go as great as I expected.

I was at the dining hall, eating dinner with the rest of the pack members. Cody introduced me to a few of his friends and family and conversation was going well. But from the corner of my eye, I saw it, again.

I never try to look at it directly, because something tells me it’s trying to hide from me. In the far corner of the room, I see that same dark and ominous shadow I’ve seen on and off for as long as I can remember. I always figured it’s following me, but it never approaches me. I didn’t understand it at first, and I realized that others can’t see it as I do either. Even when I told my parents about it when I was younger, they said that they couldn’t see what I was talking about. But I have seen it approach someone once. The only time it left the woman, was when she died later that day.

So ever since then, I recognized that shadow as death. I try to not pay much attention to it, as it hasn’t tried approaching me either. But I do get a bit worried when it latches itself onto people. But for now, it’s just observing, as it always does. But somewhere in the back of my mind, I have a feeling that it has something to do with my secret. I know it must. I just don’t know how to go about it.

“Hey Layla. You good? What you staring at?” Cody asks as he looks off into the hallway.

“Oh nothing.” I try to smile as I take a sip of my juice.

But as I do I notice a particular set of hazel eyes on the far side of the table looking at me. But even with me looking back at Nicholas, he doesn’t seem bothered to look away. Damn this man and his seriousness.

“I think I’ll go to bed now. It’s been a long day.” I say as I get up from the table.

Others have already left, so it shouldn’t be weird for me to leave either.

As I make my way to the hallway, I lower my head to not look directly at the shadow as I pass it. When I get to my room, and put on my new pajamas, I am relieved to find no shadow lurking somewhere in the room.

And yes, I put the lights off. I prefer to not see it than to know where it is, should it come here.

But now, all my worries are coming back again. All the memories of the past, where I had lost everything and everyone. And my only companion through it all seems to be this forsaken shadow.