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Griffin awoke with a groan and a terrible headache. Her body ached all over, and her eyelids felt heavy. Still, she couldn't help but open her eyes. What she saw next had her petrified.
Her five children laid scattered on the forest floor. Their bodies were torn and bloodied. Dreadful, Griffin rushed up to her children's seemingly lifeless bodies. Searching frantically for a heartbeat, she found none.
Her heart skipped a beat as she let go of her only daughter, Margot, realizing that the people that she loved the most were gone. Margot's right wrist was yet occupied by her beloved daisy bracelet. The white petals had been painted red.
Griffin sunk to her knees, tears building up in the corners of her eyes as she watched her lifeless children whom she'd sworn to over and over again that she's protect them.
She failed to do so.
Her ear twitched backwards at the sound of footsteps slowly creeping closer from behind.
"Hello, mom."
Griffin's body tensed up at the sound of the young human child's voice. She didn't exactly sound ecstatic.
Slowly turning around, Griffin was met with a sharp knife, threateningly pointed in her direction. Her family's blood coated the weapon and Griffin shuddered at the sight.
"Did you really believe that I'd leave you off the hook?" the young child hissed with nothing but rage evident in her voice.
"I-I'm sorry..." Griffin attempted an apology, but she knew it was useless.
"You should return to your family. Not that they'd miss you either way," Mikayla spat, slowly getting close to the miserable wolf.
Griffin didn't move from her spot on the ground, knowing that there was no use trying to survive anymore. She lost. She sacrified her children and her husband for her own gain. There was nothing left for her anymore. Griffin wasn't afraid of death anymore. She was anticipating it. Maybe she would be able to reunite with her beloved family again, in another life. At least she hoped so.
She looked up at the child in front of her, wearing a cruel grin on her face as she readied herself to end the wolf's life once and for all.
"Goodbye, mom."
Griffin's eyes flew open as she sat up in her head. Her airways were closing up on her, and she reached for her chest to feel her heart racing inside of her. She gasped for air, fighting to keep herself from drowning in her own memories.
She didn't waste any time to let herself calm down from her nightmare, instead seeking her children in desperation to make sure that they were alive and safe. She swung open door after door, her heart calming down each time she heard her children's peaceful breaths and felt their pulse under her fingertips as they laid in their beds, oblivious to their mother's frantic state.
There were no blood or torn up bodies. No death or misery. They were safe. They were all safe.
Griffin entered her bathroom, locking the door despite knowing that nobody would enter. She turned on the faucet and splashed the water onto her face before she dared looking in the mirror.
She hadn't changed much in five years. She'd grown a few grey hairs and her features had hardened over time, trying to keep all of her emotions under control. Yet, she didn't see that much had changed. It was her biggest fear. That despite how many years had gone since it happened, she hadn't changed at all from the predator she had been raised to become. She'd convinced herself that she would act differently if she ever reunited with the human child that she took in five years ago. But what if history would only repeat itself?
Taking a deep, shuddery breath, Griffin looked away from the mirror. She returned to her bedroom and got back into her bed. She could see strays of sunshine behind the horizon, telling her that it was early morning.
She closed her eyes and attempted to get some more sleep, praying that she wouldn't experience any nightmares.
She knew that it was only her own imagination, but she couldn't help but shudder when a familiar voice whispered into her ear as she fell back into the darkness.
"Goodnight, mom."