Page 30 of The Wolf Moon

Something had changed. There were howls of despair and also of utter joy; anger and ecstasy. The wildlife within the trees responded, awakened, aware, and agitated by the change in the environment. I felt a sudden tug within me, a whisper of Roman beginning to step towards my direction, and I bolted in the opposite direction in reaction.

I stepped over a collection of rocks and limbs, turned a corner, and stopped sharply. In the small clearing, a form stood looking at the full moon unmoving. Her blood red hair made it easy for me to identify her, but the sight of tears in her eyes unnerved and silenced me. She turned at my presence, lifting her hand to wipe the tears away quickly.

“I saw you at the bonfire,” Cate stated quietly, obviously trying to cover any emotion she had been revealing when thought alone, “I thought tonight the Crone would be taking you.” I was struck by the idea that Cate was declaring the reason for her tears was for me. We barely knew each other.

“I’m okay, I think,” I tried to reassure her, looking down at my own hands uncertainly. I lifted my touch to my neck where Roman’s mark had somehow healed into a rather sensitive scar than the previous raw wound from before. “Yes. I think I’m okay.”

Cate tilted her head in response to my dazed comment.

“You sound as though you’re in shock. Did you shift?” I shook my head quickly, looking down at my hands quickly as though they would form into claws at any moment once again. I felt that tug again, the one that reminded me that Roman was in this forest with me and that he could no doubt feel me as clearly as I could feel him. I immediately responded by aiming to run away, but Cate abruptly blocked my path and gripped my upper arms curiously.

“I’m okay, I think,” I told her again.

“You’re panicking,” Cate confirmed shortly. She lifted my hair from the mark on my neck briefly before nodding with understanding. “You marked him. You shifted, at least a little bit.”

“I’m not a wolf,” I shook my head firmly, over and over and over. But then I added in whispers, “I’m not human. I’m not human.”

Cate abruptly pinched my arms roughly, making me yelp with sudden pain. I ripped myself from her grip and glared at her.

“What’s wrong with you?” I demanded in anger.

“Nothing. I’m pretty much flawless,” Cate teased, shrugging and suddenly at ease with herself. I stared at her with suspicion, recalling all the spooky things the wolves were saying about her before the match. I looked around briefly for her lance and found it leaning against a nearby tree.

“Before the match, people were saying…,” I began slowly.

Cate swiftly interrupted, “I wouldn’t take any gossip here seriously especially now that you’ll be the Queen Luna. People like to talk.”

“Apparently not you,” I continued, ignoring the Queen Luna comment pointedly as the mere mention brought on a sudden wave of anxiety throughout me. “They said you were a mute. And that you gave up your voice to the Goddesses in return for the lance… laced in silver?” I expected her to be shifty and hesitant, but Cate remained unmoved and at ease.

“Silver hurts lycans,” Cate informed me easily, moving to her lance slowly before lifting it from its spot and twirling it carefully in her grip. “Silver is an antiquity metal said to have come from the moon itself, created by the Mother and given to mortals as a form of protection against any dangerous lycans that would wish to harm them. The King Alpha worked hard to ensure humans would forget about that weakness.”

“How can you touch it then? If you’re a lycan?” I hesitated, recalling how I had lifted it myself during the match to win our fight. “And how can I… if I’m…”

“It’s not really laced with silver, obviously. I just don’t want anyone to touch my lance,” Cate teased me lightly, reaching forward to rub my head fondly. She paused just after, pulling her hand away and frowning. “I guess I shouldn’t be so informal to the King Alpha’s mate anymore. Appearances and all.”

Another wave of anxiety rushed through me, but it was halted by the sudden appearance of another lycanthrope, who rushed into the clearing with utter confusion written among his face. He looked from me to Cate, lifting his hands with submission.

“Something’s happened. The Mother’s blessing has returned to us,” The man said briefly. He seemed to be waiting for a response, but I wasn’t sure what he meant and Cate had turned into stony silence in the presence of someone other than myself. The lycan apparently sensed this and began muttering to himself, “The Mother’s blessing has returned…” And he continued to wander through the forest in a daze.

I looked from his receding presence to Cate with my own confusion.

“Is it normal for the forest to be so… alive like this on a full moon?” I asked her, listening to that symphony of the wild echoing throughout the trees. I hesitated a moment and then began to step towards the sounds of the wolves in the distance. Cate immediately held out her arm in front of me to block my path.

“If he spoke the truth, you don’t want to go in that direction,” Cate warned me carefully, lowering her arm to tighten her grip on her lance. “You know what the Mother’s blessing is, right?”

“Mates,” I replied faintly, turning to look at her tense form. “Why is that bad?”

“It’s been decades since the Mother took away her blessing. Lycans have been wandering as humans do, searching for their soulmates themselves. Many have bonded in their own ways, hoping that deep down they are truly mates,” Cate explained patiently, pausing to listen before continuing, “Imagine it. You’re with someone for ten years. Then suddenly the Mother’s blessing comes and that person isn’t your mate. Maybe someone else is. Maybe you have no mate in this pack, but the one you love has found theirs. It’s a blessing, sure, but initially it can be a curse. If he spoke the truth, there will be a lot of confusion and anger before we can find the joy in it.”

I understood now why the symphony of the night was so confused. If the Mother’s blessing was back, the wolves were finally able to discern their mates. Some were joyous at finding each other without a doubt, but some would be losing someone they loved.

“Your Alpha will be busy breaking up fights tonight. He will have to put his pack above you for now. You can relax,” Cate informed me before turning to glance at me. I had widened my eyes in response, wondering how she knew I was feeling for his presence nearby. I was waiting to run if he was too close in case that unnatural urge to shift came over me again. “We should hide out until the moon falls, just in case a stray pup decides to pick a fight with us.”

I felt with Cate’s history that would be a mistake on the other lycan’s part than hers.

“Okay,” I agreed hesitantly.

I let Cate lead me further into the forest, away from the Trinity village and the howls that echoed through the darkness. She eventually stopped at a large tree, gesturing for me to climb it as I had done plenty of times before. When I reached high enough, she followed and soon we were both perched easily among the branches unseen by those below.

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