We're nearing the end.

Chapter 41 - The final battle part 1

It’s Thursday morning when things start happening. The pack is driving to school, Kai stopping at a red light, and Ara looks out of the passenger seat window, taking in the man who’s about to cross the road in front of them. He looks awfully familiar, but there is a hood drawn over his face, and Ara narrows her eyes to get a better look at him.

Her heart almost stops when she notices the familiar tattoos on the man’s hands as he pulls them out of his pockets, and she stops breathing when he turns his head just as he is in front of their car, his eyes meeting hers. And then Kai starts driving, hitting the man full force without stopping, and Ara screams.

“Ara!” Kai jumps in surprise and almost stops the car, but there’s slight traffic and the Honda behind him keeps honking its horn, so Kai has no choice but to continue driving while worriedly placing a hand on Ara’s shoulder. Ara realizes that there had in fact been no one in front of the car, but she could swear her father was there.

“What the hell happened?” Sehun is sitting behind Ara, and he leans forward in his seat, his heart beating fast as he takes in Ara’s terrified face. “Ara, what’s wrong? Why the hell did you scream-“

“I saw my dad,” Ara cries, frowning as she keeps staring ahead at the road, her hands clutching the seatbelt that's keeping her in place from jumping out of the car to check if he really was there or not. “You-you drove right through him, I swear, he was passing the road when we stopped at the red light, and he looked at me-“

“Ara, no one passed at the red light,” Chen says slowly, and Ara bites her lip, tears gathering in her eyes because it had looked so damn real, her father was right there in front of her and then he was hit by the car.

“I could’ve sworn he was there,” Ara whispers, and she shakes her head and pulls her knees up to her chest, hiding her face behind them.

Did it happen because of how much magic she has started using lately? Maybe it’s a side effect? Kai keeps his hand on her shoulder the rest of the ride to school, Sehun stays leaning forward in his seat, and the rest of the boys are all on guard until Kai parks the car.

Kai doesn’t leave first like he did yesterday, instead he interlaces his fingers with Ara’s and gently tugs her towards the school entrance. The pack ignores the whispers around them and make it to their first class.

Ara barely pays any attention, lost in her thoughts, and she keeps replaying the scene over and over again in her head. Why did it even happen in the first place? Why her father? What is going on?

The entire day passes like a blur, Mina is still not present in any of the classes because of the preparations for the Halloween party that's tomorrow, and Ara keeps zoning out, the boys all wearily keeping an eye on her. 

When the day is over, they gather in the hallway, waiting for Ara to put her books away in her locker when her phone buzzes. It’s her mother.

“Why the hell didn’t you come home yesterday, you ungrateful brat?” Ara hates her mother’s voice, she hates the tone her mother always uses to speak with her, and she suddenly realizes that she misses her dad.

She had barely caught a glimpse of him earlier, but it’s enough to have her missing him so much even the boys can feel her longing.

“I told you I had something import-“

“Sleeping with boys is more important than having dinner with your mother and her boyfriend?” Ara freezes, her eyes widening. Her mother laughs humourlessly and most definitely rolls her eyes. “I met some of the girls from your class in the bus yesterday, turns out I have a for a daughter.” Ara feels her heart breaking and a tear trickles down her cheek.

“It’s not like that, they’re my friends, you can’t just believe the rumours-“

“Oh, shut up,” her mother snaps, and Ara closes , biting her lip in anger. Her mother thinks she’s sleeping with the pack, just like the rest of the students.

Kai’s fingers find her free hand and he squeezes it reassuringly, and the rest of the boys step closer to project warmth and love, making Ara calm down slightly.

“I found out where you’ve been staying all this while, and if you don’t come straight home today, I’m gonna bring you home myself.”

“I’m eighteen, you can’t control my life anymore,” Ara manages to whisper, but she still feels a pang of panic when she thinks about the possibility of having to stay away from the pack. She can’t, they’re more of a family than her mother has been since her father's death.

“That’s right, but I’ll just call the cops then and tell them that they’re holding you there against your will. It’s your choice.” And then she hangs up, and Ara feels hopeless and angry and sad at the same time, she just wants to throw her phone away and cry, but then Kai is hugging her, pressing her close to him, and she sighs into his chest.

“She can’t take you away from us,” he says, and the determination in his voice makes Ara believe him instantly. “I’ll call my dad if she sends the police to the pack house, she’ll regret it.”

“Let’s just go home already,” Kyungsoo says, and that’s when they notice the students that have stopped to stare at them.

Kai angrily rolls his eyes and grabs Ara’s hand, pulling her away from the lockers and in the direction of the exit, and