I spent the entire journey back home mulling over the situation. Now she was no longer here with me. She was the only one I could confide in about my problems, my feelings, and my secrets. Even though I saw her name on that cold stone tombstone, it was hard for me to accept it. Furthermore, the appearance of her sister left me completely shocked. And that poor wolf... No one should be treated that way. There was also that strange silver necklace I kept safely tucked in my pants pocket; I couldn't understand the vixen's reaction when she saw it on the muddy ground of the cemetery.
I tried to hurry, as I didn't feel safe being so far from my neighborhood at night, and the threat of Lucia's sister calling the police was not something to be taken lightly. If she was capable of striking her butler like that in front of others, what wouldn't she do to get what she wanted? I'm sure she has good connections with the police, and they will quickly track me down.

***

I arrived home close to midnight. I didn't want to go inside because I knew my parents would be waiting to scold me for coming home so late. I hope one day they can understand me... I stayed for a while at the entrance, sitting on a step, trying to process the situation a bit so that I wouldn't enter the house in such an agitated state, but there was a fire burning inside me. A fire of anger, of rage. I decided not to postpone the confrontation any longer, so I stood up with such force that I almost lost my balance. I knocked on the door since they hadn't left me any keys. It seemed like they didn't care if I stayed out on the street for a night or two.
I heard my father's deep voice from the other side of the door, asking who the hell it was at that hour. I told him, as calmly as I could, that it was me. After hearing the sound of locks being undone, he opened the door slightly to make sure it was really me, and after giving me a quick look, he grabbed me tightly by the hoodie and dragged me inside the house, throwing me onto the old wooden floor.

My father was a bulky middle-aged black wolf with evident weight issues. He was backward-looking, foul-mouthed, a compulsive smoker, and a drunk. With his disheveled appearance, he had well-developed arms from his work as a laborer in construction. At that moment, he was unemployed and spent mornings and afternoons at the bar with his coworkers, drinking beer and smoking. When he came home, he took out his frustration on his family, but I was his favorite target for that kind of treatment. Then, he would sit on the worn-out sofa, smoking and watching television while consuming several cans of beer.

He slammed the door shut and quickly turned towards me, preparing the words he was going to use before implementing the physical punishment he had planned for bothering him. But when he menacingly looked into my eyes, he saw the flame devouring me from within. That hatred was erupting from my core with such intensity that I found it impossible to control. I had a furious gaze, furrowed brow, and my fur stood on end; my yellow eyes pierced his soul, and my fangs warned of danger. This must have frightened him, as his attitude towards me completely changed. He had never seen me like this, and I had no idea there was so much energy within me. So, he simply threatened me, saying that next time I wouldn't wish to have been born, and after hurling several insults, he sent me to my room and ordered me not to come out.
I straightened myself up, adjusting my clothes and ensuring the pendant was still in my pocket. Without uttering a word, I went to my room and closed the door. I sat on the bed and held the pendant, staring at it intently, intending to calm myself. I felt the same sensation I had when I took it out of the little blue box Lucia gave me. I was certain that the pendant could read my thoughts and feelings, vibrating in harmony with them, as if by resonance.
At that moment, I wanted to feel sorrow. I had lost my only friend, and I would never again be able to share those good times we spent in our corner of that dark café. But I felt immense anger. Despite having trusted her and confided my deepest feelings, she chose to lie to me and didn't tell me something as important as her illness. Moreover, she has now decided to abandon me. Just when I was beginning to believe that life could be bright, she leaves me to plunge back into darkness. The darkness that has always surrounded me and from which she helped me escape.
For a moment, I was on the verge of throwing the pendant out the window in a fit of accumulated rage. But as I tightly clenched the pendant in my hands, ready to toss it, a feeling of calm washed over me. I didn't know if it was the pendant, if Lucia was here with me, or if it was the exhaustion from the difficult day I had experienced. I lay down on the bed, holding the pendant firmly, and fell into a deep sleep.

***

I woke up around four in the morning, my hand aching from gripping the pendant. I sat up in bed and stared intently at the pendant with its strange inscriptions, and in that moment, I remembered the words Lucia had written to me: "From this moment on, you no longer need to depend on others. It's time for you to choose your own path." That cunning vixen was right. I was already an adult wolf, and there was nothing left for me in this city. My family didn't want me here, I had no friends, and now Lucia was gone. Plus, there was the threat from her sister. I felt completely alone.
As if I knew what I had to do, I grabbed my school backpack, emptied it of books, notebooks, and other school supplies, and packed some clean clothes, especially underwear and socks. I took hold of my old pig-shaped piggy bank dressed as a construction worker, carefully broke it open so that no one in the house would hear me, and retrieved the few savings I had kept.
I had no specific plan in mind, but I couldn't stay there any longer. I put the pendant around my neck, feeling its weight as a burden, and pulled the hood of my hoodie over my head. I carefully jumped out of the window without a specific direction to go, ready to walk in whatever direction destiny would guide me.

---

Chapter five of Zenith's story. A really tough story of this wolf who has just come of age. Thank you very much for your support and I hope you like it!

Chapters 1 - 4: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/52598222/