SIXTEEN: Attacked

THEY SAY WHEN you're about to die, your life flashes right before your eyes, you see all the small details that made you happy, the things that you regret the most, and you start to think about what you could have done differently.

However, Cornelia's only thought was that she was about to die. Other than that, her mind was completely blank, as if the thoughts had been frozen in her mind, and her brain couldn't function any longer.

"Please don't kill me." She whispered softly.

The bright red eyes of the wolf held her gaze. It stood at the same height as hers, and its eyes burned right into her soul.

It took a step closer towards her once more, but this time she had the mind to take a slow step back. She knew it wasn't possible to outrun a wolf. She knew there would be no chance for her to escape even if she tried.

She was holding her breath, anticipating the wolf's next move. It growled at her once more, then in lunged at her and his jaws were closed on the crook of her neck. A shrill scream that must have bellowed throughout the woods left her mouth, and she tried to break free from it.

The wolf trapped her body between his paws, and his teeth were just clenched around her skin. Cornelia was waiting for the moment he tore her neck off her body. Or, in case she was lucky, she waited for a piece of her flesh to be between its teeth.

Is that how I go? Miserable, alone, and bleeding to death after being attacked by a giant wolf?

She stopped struggling, lying still on the ground of the woods, and staring at the sky. Cornelia decided that the moon was beautiful, it looked so serene and calm. She told herself if that was the last thing to see, she was more than happy with it.

A silent tear cascaded down from her eyes, going down to the side of her head and wetting her hair slightly in the process. She had made peace with her death, perhaps in death she would finally be true to herself and to others. Perhaps in death Cornelia could finally find serenity and peace.

She closed her eyes, then she began to hear more sounds around her. It started with slow steps of paws again, followed by a loud growl. The wolf above her was torn off her, and she opened her clenched-shut eyes slowly and even with difficulty.

Swallowing the sob that wanted to wretch itself out of her chest, Cornelia found the wolf that had attacked her with it's rousette fur in an attacking stance before another wolf with black fur, they were both huge, but the black wolf somehow looked bigger.

She tried to sit up, the hot blood from her would poured out, and drenched the tips of her hair along with her white nightgown. She stared with wide eyes as the black wolf attacked the rousette one. A vicious fight as it seemed, with biting, nipping, growling, and scratching.

It was like she was watching some animal documentary, a live show of an animal documentary.

A dizzy spell hit her, and their movement was turning into an unclear blur before her eyes. And as her breathing shallowed, her head began to feel heavy on her shoulders.

Everything was spinning around her, then she fell unconscious.

...

The first thing she felt was warmth. Cornelia snuggled deeper into the warmth of the covers and the bed. The smell of the pillows she was sleeping wasn't similar to what she was used to. She then began to notice a silky texture beneath her fingertips as she touched the bed.

She tried to turn her head, but pain shot up from her neck down to her shoulders and up to her head. Something is wrong. She thought as she tried to open her eyes.

She was thirsty. That was the first thing she needed. Her mouth was extremely dry, as if it was filled with cotton. She didn't think she could even speak if she tried to.

She willed her eyes to open again, and when she did, she found herself in a dark room, which definitely wasn't hers. She sat up quickly, way too quickly, she told herself. She tried to take in the details of the room.

It was double the size of her own, simply furnished, but had a manly sense to it. She looked at the thick curtains covering the closed window, then she found tow armchairs that were facing each other with a small round table between them.

"Where am I? How did I get here?" She whispered to herself.

She wasn't home, but she didn't feel extremely frightened at being wherever she was. Trying to remember what happened through the night only caused her to hold her head in pain. Her hand descended down slightly, and she felt the bandage on her neck.

Before she could question it, there was a knock on the door then it was opened. A deep frown formed on her face when she saw Lucien Amarok standing before her with a concerned look on his face.

"Mr. Amarok... How come I'm here? Are we in your house? Why is it so dark? Where's dad?" She shot her questions one after the other, then a breath later she continued, "What happened to me?"