To the Wolves

Chapter 35

Olivia nervously tapped her leg while sitting in front of the two male interviewers; one was in his 60s and the other must be in his 30s, she thought. She had answered all the academic questions correctly but it was the subjective questions that she was afraid of.

"Have you applied to any other university?" the younger interviewer asked.

"Yes... I applied to 5 others," Olivia replied.

"What will you do if you get accepted in those universities?" the man in his 60s asked.

Olivia hesitated a little before saying, "I have already been rejected from 4 of them, and still waiting to hear from the last one."

"If you get accepted in that last one, and we give you an admission too, then what will you do?" the interviewer in his 30s asked.

Olivia wanted to laugh. The interviewer had higher expectations of her than she had of herself. She could not think of a correct answer so she decided to be honest.

"I do not think I will get accepted in that university. So I would be very grateful if I get admission here," she said.

The old man laughed, surprised to hear a truthful answer after conducting so many interviews.

"Lastly, why do you think we should accept you?"

"Umm... It is because I know the true value of this; of studying here to build a future for myself. I will forever be grateful because I know what it is like to not have this opportunity. I know what it is like to fail and to be demotivated, but here I am, trying again and again. I am hardworking and persistent. I believe that I will be a good student and a fit for your institution."

"Okay, well, thank you for coming in today," he said.

"Thank you," Olivia said nervously while getting up to leave.

Just when she was about to walk out of the door, the younger interviewer asked, "why were you so nervous? We could have asked you tougher questions."

"And I could have cried," Olivia said with a dead face and then laughed at herself for saying that.

***


Suffering from the vicissitudes of her father's early demise, with hardships and despair, Aubrey forced herself to perch on the pile of rubble that once resembled her home. The wind blew the ashes off the ground but the werewolves who stood to listen to their new leader were too numb to feel the cold.

"The Alpha passed away in his sleep last night." She spoke to the people who were unfortunate enough to be left behind, alive and still breathing.

On the day of the attack, Alpha Auro had picked up the golden ring that had fallen on the ground, thinking that his friend might have lost it because it was exactly like the one that his dear friend wore. With good intentions of giving it back to its rightful owner, the Alpha had worn the ring; however, he realized the weight of it after he learned that the damages were irreversible. In the end, he was buried with the ring.

Aubrey remembered the moment when she was by her father's side as he took his last breath. It took all of her strength to project resilience for the sake of her pack members who needed her now more than ever.

"With my father gone, the duty falls upon me to take care of our pack, to restore it, and to bring justice to the monsters that trampled on us." Her hands balled into fists as she spoke with venous malice.

A man, whose clothes were partially torn, stepped forward and said in a harsh tone, "what are you going to do that will make any of this better? This!" He said pointing to the demolished houses. "Our homes are gone within the span of a night! Our families are either dead or fighting for their lives. There's nothing you can do to make any of this better. So don't stand there giving us false hope when you know you can do nothing to fix this!"