Chapter Nine

Regina woke up in front of her house. It was late and nobody was outside. The first thing she realised was that she was wearing a different shirt. Her blood stained shirt was replaced with a coffee brown long sleeve shirt that was larger than her. She looked clean, and the wolf was gone. She stood up quickly and ran to the door. She banged on it, "Mother!Father! Open the door!". Her parents rushed to the door and opened it. "Regina, what happened? Where have you been?", Mrs asked, worried. Regina hugged her tightly. "Mother!!!!", she screamed. Her parents took her inside, to the living room. Amanda joined them in the living room, "Gina, what happened?". Slowly, Regina narrated her ordeal to them. They found it hard to believe her. "Are you sure it wasn't a dream, dear? Maybe you fainted", Mrs Tina muttered. "I'm sure, Mum. It wasn't a dream", Regina insisted. "Maybe it was a dream, Gina. You looked pale earlier, go inside and rest", her father said. She nodded and went to her room.

In her room, Regina was sure the wolf-rescue incident was not a dream. But nobody believed her. And she didn't blame them. Who would believe that she was saved from rapists by a huge wolf, and the wolf didn't eat her up. Why did the wolf even save her? She remembered the look the wolf gave her. It was strange. She couldn't place it, but there was something about that wolf that seemed strange.... She decided the best thing to do was to sleep, but no matter how she tried sleep wouldn't come. It took thirty minutes of tossing on the bed before she finally fell asleep.

The Next Day

At school, Regina told her two friends about the incident. They didn't really believe her. "Gina, are you sure you weren't hallucinating or dreaming? A wolf saving you, seriously?", Favour asked. "Maybe you're reading too much fantasy novels", Emily offered. Regina sighed, "I knew no one would believe me". Favour and Emily exchanged glances before looking at her. "You don't need to feel bad, Gina. I always have weird dreams, remember when I dreamt I was trapped in a giant bowl filled with strawberry smoothie?", Emily said. Regina shook her head, "Really? Now you're comparing my experience with your weird food dreams? And do I have to point, dear Emily, that you have weird food dreams because you're a foodie?". Emily faked a pout, "Now that's just a polite way of calling me a glutton". Favour patted her shoulder softly, "Don't mind Regina, Emily. We all have our weaknesses. You have a great liking for food, I have a weakness for hot guys, Gina is in a complicated relationship with a-". "Favour Michael, I dare you to complete that sentence", Regina said with a glare. Favour smiled coyly, "You know how I feel about dares, but I'll let it slide for peace to reign". Regina sighed heavily. "You're over reacting, Gina. Calm down. So what if you don't understand it, just let it go. Even if it's not a dream, think of it as a divine intervention or something", Emily spoke calmly. Regina nodded, "You're right, let's forget about it". They were under a mango tree as they chatted. It was during break. Xander was walking along the corridor of their class, trying to avoid Silvia, who was looking for an opportunity to talk to him. She was inside the classroom. Xander walked quickly away from the classroom so she wouldn't see him. He noticed Regina and her friends under the tree and went to meet them. "Hey, girls" he muttered. Favour eyed him. "Hi, Xander", Emily cheerfully replied. Emily and Favour didn't miss the predator-like eyes and his strange aura. They couldn't help feeling like preys in front of him. His presence intrigued them and frightened them at the same time. "Xander", Regina greeted coolly with a smile. She found him more alluring and less scary, but she would never admit that to his face. Speaking of face, Regina studied his face and was surprised. His dark blue eyes were the same eyes the white wolf had. Many possibilities came to her mind, but she dismissed them. When she saw the smug look on his face, she realised she was staring. Nope, she had gone past staring and was now openly gawking. "Like what you see?", he teased. He laughed when heat spread to her cheeks. Emily and Favour joined in. She glared at her friends, they were supposed to be on her team. "Are you done?", she asked irritatedly when they stopped laughing. Then Xander's expression turned to worry. "Gina, are you okay?", he asked softly. "Of course I'm okay, did you expect me to be hurt?", Regina murmured under her breath. Xander frowned, "I heard that". She shot him a look. "Why do you always have to be so grumpy?", he asked with a small smile. "I'm not being..You know what, never mind. As you can see, I'm fine. Now you can leave", she said. "Regina, don't be rude to Xander", Favour scolded. Regina bit her lower lip. Yup, her friends had definitely joined Team Xander. Xander seemed to be enjoying himself. "Let me remind you, Gina, that rule number two is do not disrespect me". Regina scoffed, "I don't even know what rules you're talking about". Xander smiled, "You know the rules I'm talking about, but you want to pretend you don't". "It doesn't matter. I have no intention of following any of those rules", she muttered.