CHAPTER SIXTY-NINE
ALEX DAVALO
She’s more than I know!
What had I just seen? Watching Nadia bring a dead student back to life felt like those tales we only heard or saw in movies. I still couldn’t wrap my head around it, and a part of me wished Sandro had been there to witness it because telling him what happened wouldn’t do justice.
That morning had started like any other. I was in class, half-listening to Mr. McGrath drone on about some poem I couldn’t care less about. My thoughts were scattered from yesterday’s drama-the teasing, the mockery, the feeling of being invincible because of my status as one of the popular guys. But that feeling of superiority dissipated the moment I heard the commotion outside.
Curious about the noise, I decided to step outside. As I stepped into the hallway, I was met with a frantic surge of students running toward a particular classroom. My instinct kicked in, and I rushed to find out what was happening.
“Hey, what’s going on?” I asked one of the students who was running past, almost colliding with me.
“Someone just died in that classroom!” he shouted.
“What classroom is that?” I couldn’t help but ask, even though panic was already setting in.
“37!” he yelled out as he continued sprinting down the hall.
My heart dropped. Room 37 was Nadia’s classroom.
A thousand thoughts raced through my mind, gripping my stomach with fear. I couldn’t believe it. I quickly made my way toward her class, a silent prayer in my mind that she was okay-that she wasn’t the one who had died.
Isn’t it funny how things change so fast!?
When I finally reached the classroom, I found it packed with students. They pushed against the walls, trying to get a glimpse inside, while others were whispering frantically.
I managed to wiggle my way through the crowd, and as soon as I got inside, a wave of relief washed over me when I saw Nadia. She was standing there, alive and breathing. But my relief was short-lived when I noticed what she was trying to do. Her hands were hovering over a body on the floor, a student I didn’t recognize. That body was lifeless, and Nadia looked as if she was concentrating intensely, her brow furrowed, beads of sweat forming on her forehead.
“What the hell is she doing?” I thought to myself, disbelief and concern coursing through me. It looked like a stupid attempt, and a part of me just knew this was only going to get her more ridicule from the ever-watching students surrounding her.
But then something shifted in the atmosphere. I couldn’t tear my eyes away as my heart raced. I watched as Nadia cut her palm, blood trickling down her wrist, and dripping onto the lifeless student. I sucked in a sharp breath, my heart racing. Was she trying to perform some sort of miracle?
To my utter shock, as if by some unexplainable force, the dead student’s body began to jerk and shudder. He sneezed, and that was all it took. The classroom erupted into gasps, disbelief dripping from the walls.
“She’s a witch,” one of the students said
“What the fuck just happened!?,” another, as dumbfounded as most, asked.
I was frozen, unable to process what I was witnessing. I could hardly form words, my mind battling between logic and the impossible sight in front of me. I wanted to ask so many questions, but I didn’t even know where to begin. I stood there, mouth agape, while the mood shifted from panic to astonishment.
Suddenly, feeling overwhelmed, I turned on my heel and walked out. I needed air; I needed to breathe. My brain felt like it was overloaded, and I had to escape. I hurried to my car, the chaos of the classroom fading behind me, but my heart pounded wildly in my chest like a drum.
As I drove off, everything felt surreal. I couldn’t shake the image of Nadia’s blood falling onto that student’s skin, like something out of a fantastical dream.
I pulled over a short while later, gripping the steering wheel tightly, trying to steady my breathing.
Finally, I drove home, entering my room without even acknowledging Sandro as he casually lounged on the couch. My mind raced as the truth sunk in: Nadia was not just any wolf. She was unique, perhaps even special. I hated myself for the way Sandro and I had bullied her in the past. For so long, we had treated her as if she were beneath us, and now I could see this glaringly.
Moments later, Sandro wandered into my room, clearly concerned as it was visible in his face. “Alex, what’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
I sighed deeply, trying to collect my thoughts. Should I even tell him what had happened? I hesitated, but I knew I couldn’t hold it in. “You won’t believe what I just saw at school,” I started, shaking my head gently as I tried to make sense of it myself.
“What?” he asked, his brows knitting in confusion. “What did you see?”
I raked a hand through my hair, feeling slightly frantic. “Nadia…she brought a dead student back to life. Like, brought him back.” The words spilled out, and I watched Sandro’s reaction closely.
He stared at me, eyes wide, his mouth hanging open in disbelief. “What? Are you messing with me right now?”
“I swear I’m not! It’s the craziest thing I’ve ever seen,” I insisted, leaning forward. “This isn’t some joke. She performed-like, actual magic or something. I don’t even know how to explain it!”
Sandro took a moment to process the information, shaking his head slowly. “Bring a dead person back to life? Just like that?”
“Yes! She cut herself, and her blood… I don’t know, something happened. He sneezed, and he woke up!” I said, my voice rising with excitement and disbelief.
His expression shifted from skepticism to wonder. “I’m finding this hard to believe,” he muttered.
“I would have doubted too, but I saw it; “I saw her do it,” I replied.
“There must be something special about her blood…something different from other wolves,” he said.
“What if she could heal Mum?” The thought escaped me without hesitation.
I felt my heart lurch at that unexpected scenario. The idea had been buried deep inside my mind, one I never dared to vocalize until he talked about her blood.
“That’s not possible, and you know it,” Sandro said, grounding me back to reality.
“I know what I saw, Sandro,” I rebutted, glancing away momentarily, feeling the pull towards hope.
“Don’t let us get our hopes high, Alex. She can’t heal Mum.” There was a tone in his voice that I found hard to ignore.
“But she just did something extraordinary!” I pressed, leaning back in frustration. “What if she could help? We’ve looked everywhere, and nothing worked.”
Sandro’s features hardened slightly as reality kicked in. “I don’t want to get our hopes up,” he replied, his voice firmer now. “We’ve been through this before, Alex. Mum’s fate is sealed, and even Father, as tough as he is, has accepted it.”
“Yeah, but this is different!” I shot back. “She’s not just another wolf. There’s something unique about her.”
Sandro’s face softened, and for a moment, I could see he was contemplating the possibilities. “You think this is the answer?”
“I don’t know, but it’s worth considering.” I sat back down as I spoke. “If there’s even the slightest chance we can help Mum… we have to at least try to talk to her.”
“But how?” Sandro asked, crossing his arms defensively. As much as we wanted to believe in miracles, reality had its grip on us.
“We just have to approach Nadia. Maybe she’ll understand. But first, we have to give her some space after what just happened. I can’t imagine how overwhelming that must have been,” I voiced out.
“Alright,” Sandro mumbled. He looked hesitant but at the same time, he sounded intrigued. “If you’re convinced, then we should. But if she turns us down…”
“We just have to try. Besides, we’re mated to her, she might consider us.”
Our conversation lingered in the air, creating an unresolved tension, but even at that moment, it felt different. There was a sense of urgency building within me, a whisper of hope that maybe Nadia could be our last chance. And somehow, despite all of our past mistakes, I felt she was worth it.
If she could save my mother, I was willing to do anything.