A Golden Friend

THALIA

I woke up with a heavy bang on my head; it felt as if my brain had been pricked by a thousand pins.

A slight groan escaped my lips as I tried to stretch myself and realized how my body was shivering from the cold. I opened my eyes slowly, and I had fallen asleep on the floor in the corner of my room.

I sat up, taking in the mess of a room I had, and memories of yesterday flickered in my head. I remembered everything… I remembered how I had taken the decision of wanting to end my life and Mael showing up out of the blue, stopping me.

"So, you think killing yourself is a ticket free from all the evil you've done? Trust me, Thalia, even in the afterlife, I will find you and make your life a living piece of shit!" He growled with a hardened gaze before snatching the pocket knife out of my hand.

A peal of bitter laughter erupted out of my mouth, and I struggled to get on my feet, looking around me.

What was the use anyway?

What use would killing myself accomplish? I've been dealing with this shit for eleven good years, a few months is all I need, and I would be gone from this pack for good.

Soon, I will clock eighteen and have my mate, and he will love me. I really hope I'm not being delusional at this moment.

My body felt light as I took a step forward, the body aches and pain I'd been dealing with yesterday wasn't in the picture anymore, and I didn't put my mind to it to find out why.

I bent to pick up one of the broken mirrors on the floor and straightened myself. I looked at my face with the small glass in my hand, and a loud gasp escaped my lips.

I blink in seconds, bringing the broken part of the mirror close to my face.

Wh-what happened…

I was expecting to see the mess of an ugly face I had, red and swollen from all the tears I'd been having nonstop.

What happened to the burns on my face? I thought loudly, catching a glimpse of the smoothest skin I'd ever dream of having for once in my life.

The scalded burns as a result of the hot tea Mother poured on me were no longer there.

I lowered the glass to my chest area, tugging the hem of my dress aside, and there was no burnt mark on my chest either.

No!

What's going on with me?

Had the marks suddenly disappeared overnight?

I raised my hand a bit higher to check my face once more to make sure I wasn't dreaming when I saw a strange color of gold hair among my black hair at the front.

The glass fell from my hand, making a shattering sound and breaking into tiny pieces.

What?

I swallowed. My head thumped wildly as I tried to take control of the situation.

Calm down, Thalia!

Calm down. I told myself.

I drew in a sharp breath and exhaled. I need a bigger mirror to confirm what I'm seeing, and I don't have that in this room.

I rushed out of my room, heading discreetly to one of the guestrooms in the pack's mansion. I managed to get into one of the rooms and headed straight to the large dressing mirror on the wall.

Another loud, shocking gasp left my lips as my eyes widened.

My skin was as smooth and spotless as those models' faces I'd seen in magazines in Ryder's room when I went there to clean.

My hair!

My hair?! What the hell had happened to my hair? Had someone dyed the front part gold while I was asleep?

My hair is pitch black like a raven, and now I'm staring at one section of my hair that was golden in color to the roots.

My back?

Had the wounds on my back disappeared too? I'd be grateful if it did since the doctor said I will most likely be ending up with scars for the rest of my life.

I pulled my dress off without a second thought at least there is no one in the room. I turned my back to the mirror, having just plain black pants on. I tried to turn my head over my shoulder to look at my reflection in the mirror.

Not a single mark was there!

Oh, moon goodness! What the hell had happened to me? I tried to look again once more, and nothing was there. It was as if I hadn't been whipped at all in the first place.

I turned my front to the mirror, dropping the dress in my hand to the floor, and took time to look at myself.

Is this real?

I'm not dreaming?

I stared at my round full breast, wide hips… I wasn't exactly that bad.

I looked at my face, my green eyes sparking warmly, and I raised my hand to my face, trailing my fingers on my skin. I pinched myself hard on the cheek, and the pain shot through my system, making me realize I wasn't in any way dreaming.

This was real.

"Girl! You really do love hurting yourself," I heard an unknown voice say behind me, and I jolted.

I scrambled gathering my dress from the floor to cover my breasts and turned around.

"Who is there?" I demanded and became confused when I saw no one.

"I did a load of work on your body, and now you are pinching yourself despite everything," The voice came with a loud groan, and I glanced around, my heart thumping wildly.

My body?

There is no one here.

"Who are you?" I demanded, my heart skipping a beat or two.

Am I hearing voices now?

"My bad… how rude of me not to make an introduction," the voice came again, it was sounding vividly in my head.

"I'm Riven, your wolf," she introduced, and I gasped.

My wolf.

"It's so nice to meet you," she giggled, and I was stunned.

I had gotten my wolf, but I haven't clocked eighteen yet. Usually, everyone in the pack encounters their wolves when they clock eighteen only those deemed to be strong or special get their wolf earlier.

I swallowed.

"Nice to meet you too, Riven," I muttered.

"You are welcome, Thalia," she said cheerfully.

"You know my name?" I asked quite amused.

"Of course, the moon goddess had a lot to say about you, and also you are a very special one," she uttered.

Special?

"I don't understand… but I'm yet to clock eighteen, is there anything I should know?" I asked her curiously.

"Yes! That's why I said you are a very special one… I'm Selene's close companion, and she sent me to you. How lucky you are!" She cooed, and I blinked my eyes.

Selene, the moon goddess, had sent her close companion to me? Did I sleep wrong on the cold floor in my room?

"Why?" I questioned.

"Why me?" I asked again.

"Huh?" Riven mewled.

"I-I don't deserve to have you," my voice cracked.

"Selene is never wrong, and you will understand soon enough, but first you need to say thank you for me treating and healing every wound in your body and in your system, I even found wolfsbane in your blood. That was hectic, and it drained a lot of my power cleaning you up," she guffawed, and my eyes beamed with tears.

"Thank you, Riven, I wish I could see you right now and give you a proper hug," I said to her, and a golden light flickered through the mirror. It was shining so bright that I almost went blind.

I squinted my eyes, trying to look at the golden light reflecting from the mirror.

"Here I am," she spoke, and when I looked at her, my jaw dropped.

She was the most gorgeous wolf I'd ever set eyes on. She had golden furs with white streaks at the end, piercing bluish-green eyes.

She was screaming royalty.

"You are so beautiful," I was stunned.

"Thank you!"

"And you are a golden wolf," I muttered almost speechless.

Golden wolves are rare, and now I have one?

"Yes, I am, with strong healing abilities," she grinned at me.

I was so happy and overwhelmed at the same time. It seems the moon goddess has finally started to see me after all my sufferings, and she's kind enough to grant me a golden wolf.

"I can't believe this is happening—" The door opened all of a sudden, and I snapped my face in the direction.

A shocking gasp left my lips as a stunning man I had no idea of walked in.

He was cladded in a navy-blue shirt that hugged his biceps and black trousers, his light green eyes fell on me, and he paused in his track, taking me in slowly until his gaze met mine.

My chest heaved with a rising fall.

His auburn hair fell over his strikingly handsome face as he tilted his head at me, his eyes raking my exposed body.

His lips twitched, amusingly, his eyes settling on my face, a perfect brow raised at me. "Excuse me, who are you?"