Page 13 of The Wolf Moon

“Where did you get this food from? The King Alpha sent me here to starve to death,” I narrowed my eyes bitterly at the thought of such a sentence. It served him right that there were people living under his nose ruining his plans.

“This temple has always had a preserve of food in the basement, meant to survive quite some time in case of food shortages. I’m certain Alpha Roman was in such a hurry to shut the place down that he completely failed to recall this fact,” Cynthia stated before adding carefully, “Or… he knew of it and hoped you would find it.”

“Why would he hope that?” I asked, appalled. “He has done nothing but repeatedly attack me and sentence me to crazy punishments for existing!”

“I do not wish to pretend I understand the Alpha’s thoughts. But regardless, he is the reason you are here. Because of his actions, the Moon Goddesses have chosen you,” Cynthia explained further. I gaped at her, my mouth opened in disbelief. And then I closed my mouth and scoffed.

“They made a poor choice. Once I get out of here, I’m going straight back home.”

“You would risk the life of all of human kind for this?”

“I would- well, I would risk my life. I’m not sure how all of human kind is at risk because of this, I mean-” I sputtered over my words, confusion and frustration motivating me. I immediately reached for my glass, downing the drink quickly in anxiety.

“I’m here to warn you, Mila Young. The path Alpha Roman is taking is one of destruction. It spells an end to both the humans and the wolves. The werewolves have already lost the blessings of the Goddesses. If he continues on this path, it means extinction… for everyone,” Cynthia had leaned forward, her hands gripping the table firmly and her words strained with intense sincerity. I had no doubt suddenly that she was speaking the truth. In fact, I felt a chill shudder through me, tasting the truth of her words.

“What does that have to do with me? I can’t do anything. I’m just… a girl,” I asked, exasperated. However, I thought of my family. If she spoke the truth, the King Alpha would end all of them as well. My mother and father, my little brother, and everyone I knew and loved.

Cynthia suddenly reached out for my hand. I hesitated, but lifted mine as well. She looked at my left hand, palm up, and peered at the birth mark on my hand openly. And then she lifted her other hand to place a blade and its sheath in my hand. It was the same one my little brother had given to me when I was chosen as a sacrifice; the same one I had left buried in some woman’s head. As for the sheath, I thought it taken from me after the hunt. I almost dropped it, but Cynthia kept a hold of my hand to prevent me from doing so.

“We are all just something. I am just an Oracle wolf. You are just a girl. The Alpha is just a man with hatred in his heart. But you must find a way to stop him,” She tightened her grip, looking up briefly with a far-away look in her eyes. “The Wolf Moon has passed. If nothing has changed by the night of the Hunter’s Moon, both the humans and lycans will fall.”

I widened my eyes. The Hunter’s Moon, also known as the Dying Moon, was in October. It was the month of my eighteenth birthday. What was I supposed to do? And did I really believe the sake of all of humanity was at stake? What if this woman was just crazy and wanted me to risk my life so that she could stop living in hiding?

But something in her words just felt true. I looked from her to the symbol once again. Sitting within the abandoned temple, it felt as though the Moon Goddesses were there watching me. I could feel their eyes and their expectations, demanding me to help their wolves despite the fact I was only human myself.

It felt unfair.

“Fine,” I submitted bitterly, “I’ll… I’ll see what I can do. But not because of you or your deities. I’m doing this for my kind; for the humans.”

“We have always known you represent the humans, Mila. But you have felt that connection to the wolves and to Alpha Roman himself. In the end, you’ll find you want to change this path for them as well,” Cynthia said to me wisely, a secret behind her eyes that I wasn’t privy to. She looked away, sadness creeping into her form. “Both the humans and the wolves have suffered so much for so long now.”

I wanted to disagree. In fact, the wolves seemed quite content chasing me around to kill me for no reason. But then I recalled their faces of anger as they peered at the temple, and the King Alpha’s rage as he looked into the moon. I recalled Beta Caleb’s discomfort, his distancing from me, and the fact that he hadn’t hunted me. I thought of Cate, who had spotted me but didn’t attack me herself. Something told me not all the wolves agreed with the King Alpha’s tactics.

“Let’s get some rest. When we awake, I’ll show you the secret passage. If you do decide to stay with the pack, you may visit me whenever you wish. But be careful,” Cynthia stood slowly, looking around her adoringly, “I’m not supposed to be here.”

I felt I wasn’t supposed to be here, either.

Seven

Chapter 6

Iwas stirred awake sometime in the night by Cynthia, who hovered over me quiet as a ghost with a candle in one hand. She offered me her other hand and I took it without thinking, something about her presence comforting to me. With quiet determination, she began to lead me through the temple.

I had rested in what appeared to be a housing area on the top floor of the temple across from Cynthia’s room. She led me back down to the main level of the temple, where wolves had no doubt previously come to worship the Goddesses and make offerings for their blessings. Now it was forever silent, removed from their culture.

Cynthia led me further down a more secretive set of stairs until we were walking through storage units. I spotted shelves of canned foods and preserves, but wasn’t given enough time to see exactly how extensive the food storage was. I was pulled to a rather dusty cupboard and led through the cobwebs until Cynthia stopped to quietly lift an overhead latch.

She climbed the steps that would lead outside first and I looked up after her. I could see the night sky, stars studding it quietly and the waning moon resting among them. As I looked at it, my immediate thought was Cynthia’s words whispering about the Crone and her oracles. I followed Cynthia up the steps, looking around briefly.

The exit wasn’t too far from the back of the temple, but well into the woods so that there was plenty of cover. The buildings of the lycan village were dark with sleep, though many lights flickered in the distance for those who were restless in the night. I stared only a moment before looking into the woods uncertainly.

“If you wish to return to your village, you’ll want to go that direction,” Cynthia lifted her candle towards the woods, pointing south with determination before turning those wise eyes on me, “You’ll walk straight into a creek. If you follow it east, it will lead to a river. Follow the flow of the river and you will find your village.”

I looked from her to the direction she pointed once again, every cell in my body demanding that I abandon my position and return back to my family immediately. How long would it even be before the King Alpha went to check on me at the temple, if ever? If he didn’t find me, wouldn’t he just assume I died in a wall somewhere? I could hide every Wolf Moon among my people until eventually this entire situation was a bad, distant dream.

But if Cynthia was right… if the Goddesses told her the truth, my people would be facing a horrible doom in the future. They would perish by the month of my birth this year. I would no doubt go down with them. I reached for the blade, now firmly strapped around my leg once again familiarly.

“And if I wish to follow a different path?” I asked Cynthia, turning my head just enough to look at her with determination. She had been watching me the entire time, waiting for me to make a decision, and satisfaction crossed her features briefly.

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