Lonely Lovers

Favour’s heart hadn’t stopped racing since that night in the garage.

Her father hadn’t spoken to her since catching them together Ibrahim’s lips still burned on her memory like a curse. The moment she closed her eyes, she saw her father’s rage, his clenched fists, and the silence that followed. Silence that cut deeper than any slap could.

Days turned to weeks, and the distance between them grew. But Ibrahim didn’t stay away. He called. He texted. He waited. Every night, his car would be parked down the street, headlights dimmed, just enough for her to know he was still there.

Tonight was no different. Favour slipped out of her house in a hoodie, her breath misting in the cold air. She could hear the faint hum of his engine before she even reached the gate.

When she opened the passenger door, Ibrahim smiled weakly, his eyes dark with exhaustion.

“You shouldn’t be out here,” she whispered, sliding into the seat.

He didn’t answer right away. He just stared ahead, hands gripping the steering wheel. “You haven’t replied to my texts in three days.”

“I couldn’t. My dad confiscated my phone,” she said quietly. “He doesn’t want me seeing you.”

“I figured.” His jaw tightened. “He’s not wrong to hate me. But he’s wrong about why.”

She frowned. “What do you mean?”

Ibrahim hesitated. “Favour… there’s something I haven’t told you.”

Her stomach dropped. “Don’t do that. Don’t talk like you’re hiding something again.”

“I’m not hiding anything bad,” he said quickly. “But it’s something your father already knows something that’s making him keep you away from me.”

He reached into the glove compartment and pulled out a folded document. Favour’s hand trembled as she opened it. It was a faded paper, stamped with a government seal. Her eyes darted across the page birth registration, two names under “parents.” Her father’s name wasn’t there.

“What… is this?” she whispered.

“My father gave it to me last week,” Ibrahim said. “It’s your real birth record. Your father adopted you when you were just a year old.”

Her breath hitched. The world around her blurred.

“No,” she said, shaking her head, “that can’t be true. My mom she told me”

“She didn’t lie,” Ibrahim cut in softly. “She just never told you everything.”

The silence that followed was suffocating. Favour’s heartbeat pounded so loud she could hear it echo in her ears.

She had spent her whole life trying to earn her father’s love, to be the perfect daughter, to obey every rule he made. And now… none of it made sense.

Tears welled in her eyes. “So he’s not my father.”

Ibrahim reached over, taking her hand. “He is, Favour. Maybe not by blood, but by choice. But I think he’s been hiding this from you because he’s scared scared of losing control over you. Scared of what you might find out about where you really come from.”

“Where I come from?” she whispered. “You mean… there’s more?”

Ibrahim hesitated again. “That’s the part I’m still figuring out. My dad mentioned something strange. He said your biological family disappeared years ago during one of those unexplained attacks outside the city.”

Her head snapped up. “Attacks?”

He nodded. “Wolves, Favour. Real ones. But not normal ones. There were rumors… about a bloodline. A girl who could sense danger before it came. A girl who wasn’t meant to survive.”

Favour’s hand slipped from his. The air in the car grew heavy, the temperature dropping with every breath she took.

“Ibrahim, stop,” she whispered. “You’re scaring me.”

“I’m not trying to scare you. I’m trying to protect you. Because if what my dad said is true…” He looked at her, eyes glowing faintly just for a second, like a reflection of moonlight. “Then you’re not just anyone, Favour. You’re one of them.”

Favour jerked back, her pulse racing. “One of who?”

Before he could answer, the car’s lights flickered once, twice then died completely. Darkness swallowed them. Ibrahim cursed under his breath, turning the ignition, but the engine refused to start.

Outside, a low growl echoed through the night.

Favour froze. “Did you hear that?”

Ibrahim’s expression hardened. “Stay in the car.”

“No, Ibrahim”

“Stay!” he barked, stepping out into the cold. His voice was sharp, commanding almost not human.

Favour’s breath came out shaky as she watched him disappear into the dark. The sound came again closer this time. It wasn’t just one growl; it was several, overlapping, circling.

Then silence.

Favour’s hand reached for the door handle, trembling. “Ibrahim?” she called out. No response. Her heart pounded against her ribs as she slowly opened the door, stepping out into the misty street.

And that’s when she saw it a faint trail of glowing blue light leading into the trees behind the road. It pulsed like a heartbeat, vanishing and reappearing.

She took one cautious step forward. Then another.

The ground beneath her vibrated softly, like something was moving underneath.

Her eyes widened, and before she could scream, a hand warm, strong, familiar grabbed her wrist from behind.

“I told you to stay in the car,” Ibrahim’s voice growled, but his eyes his eyes were glowing fully now, bright and wolfish under the moonlight.

Favour’s breath hitched. “Ibrahim… what are you?”

He looked away for a long moment, then back at her.

“Not the one you should be afraid of,” he said quietly. “They’ve found you, Favour.”

And before she could ask who they were, the air filled with howls dozens of them coming from the darkness beyond the trees.