Chapter 5 - The Dawn of the Wolf
Six months later.
The California sun was different from the Texas sun.
It didn't burn.
It embraced.
I sat on the deck of the Malibu house, watching the waves crash against the rocks.
My hair was starting to grow back.
My scars had faded to thin, silver lines—badges of a war I had won.
I was wearing a sundress.
I felt beautiful.
I felt whole.
Julian walked out onto the deck, carrying two plates of grilled fish.
He had traded his tactical gear for linen pants.
He looked younger.
"News from Texas," he said, setting a plate in front of me.
"Garrick took a plea deal."
"Fifteen years."
"He tried to blame Miriam, but the judge wasn't having it."
I took a bite of the fish.
It tasted like salt and freedom.
"And Miriam?"
Julian sat down and opened a beer.
"She’s working at a diner in a small town outside of Lubbock."
"She’s on her feet twelve hours a day."
"I hear the manager is a real taskmaster."
"He doesn't tolerate 'idle minds'."
I looked at the horizon.
I thought about the woman on the bathroom floor.
She felt like a stranger.
She felt like someone I had read about in a tragic book.
"Do you ever regret it?" I asked.
"Calling me?"
Julian shook his head.
"I regret that I let him take you away for so long."
"I regret that I wasn't there to pull that cord for you."
I reached across the table and squeezed his hand.
"You were there when it mattered."
"You showed me that God doesn't just send angels."
"Sometimes, He sends wolves."
Julian raised his glass.
"To the wolves," he said.
I raised my water glass.
"To the pack," I replied.
The sun began to set, painting the sky in shades of violet and gold.
For the first time in my life, I didn't worry about the morning.
I didn't worry about the rules.
I didn't worry about being "humbled."
I was Elena.
I was a survivor.
And I was finally home.
The phone in the vanity was long gone.
May you like
But the brother who answered it was right beside me.
And that was all the medicine I would ever need.
