Chapter 8: Chapter 7

Swiping the bowl with a soapy sponge, I wiped it clean of any residue. Then, placed it into the nearby dish basket, trying hard not to let it clatter against the others. It wouldn’t be good if I garnered attention from anyone this morning.

The kitchen was only a few meters away from the current meeting between Dane and other respected elders of the pack. Grant was actually present as well, since she couldn’t shut up about it all morning. While I was hidden from my place by the sink, they were still vaguely aware of my presence, which meant it was that top-secret of a discussion anyway.

I scoffed. What was Dane trying to fool? It was clear he only wanted to appease his precious granddaughter, whom he sweetly, sickeningly spoiled. Grant should’ve known better; Dane had no intention of passing down his position on to her anytime soon.

“...concerned that Beartown has been eerily silent recently,” the aged voice of one of the older advisors rumbled.

“Yes, there has been little to no suspicious activity on their part….which is alarming in of itself,”

Ah, the topic was a well-known one indeed. Not that it wasn’t important. The meeting was probably to review any updates on it.

“The recent reconnaissance team reported nothing amiss. Could they be turning over a new leaf?”

A boom shook the house, like a mighty fist slamming upon a table. “Nonsense!” This was Dane. “That conniving Sigmund has something up his sleeve for sure. And I’ll be damned if we don’t sniff it out before it happens.”

Silence filled the room for a few moments. I noticed Grant was relatively quiet up until now. Maybe she realized this was out of her league.

Speak of the devil. “Well, one of our best men, Clive, mentioned that there was an uncanny number of rogues around. Not only running wild, but also asking for shelter at neighboring packs. I wonder if this could be related to Beartown? Perhaps they’re spies or something.”

A moment quiet passed, before Dane spoke. “That certainly is an interesting theory, darling. I suppose we’ll look into it. I want any teams going out to be on high alert, and try to get as close to Beartown as possible to get intel without getting caught.”

I shook my head, feeling second-hand embarrassment from Dane’s quick dismissal of Grant’s words. Honestly, it wasn’t so bad of a hypothesis. But rogues had never been anything new. And if things truly were amiss, Clive would have went to the council right away, right?

The meeting moved on, but I was no longer interested. Putting away the last mug, I dried my hands and crept out of the kitchen and around the corner to the hall. I wanted to slip away like a ghost because I had an appointment with my best friend. She’d invited me over to her place on her day off.

Running up to my room, I grabbed my backpack and packed what I needed: glass bottles, some tiny satchels of various herbs, a set of mixing utensils, a couple of empty vials and containers. After doing most of my chores this morning, I had most of the day free….so long as I left before anyone could notice me and throw something else into my to-do list.

Ready, I hoisted the bag and padded down the ladder, down the main staircase, flying soundlessly to the back door. Sometimes my lighter frame really came in handy, I thought shutting the door behind me.

Thelma was wrapped up in her bed, among a plethora of pillows when I walked in.

I raised an eyebrow at her. “Late morning?”

She yawned, “No, would never miss breakfast. Sausage and pancakes today.” I had to admit that sounded delicious enough to wake anyone out of slumber. “But my bed just called out to me. Just catching up on some reading.”

I then noticed the book in her hands. A bulky, handsome man his his arms wrapped around the waist of a beautiful woman with long blonde hair billowing in the winds. A beach setting peeked behind them.

“Islands of Passion,” I read the garish looking title, shaking my head as I moved to her desk - thankfully, it was empty from the mess of papers on it last time. “What a wonderful start to the day.”

Chuckling, Thelma said, “Daren was just about to lean in for a kiss after saving our heroine from the stormy waves. Thanks for the interruption.”

I rolled my eyes, taking out my supplies one at a time and setting them on the mahogany wood. Then, reaching over to her bookshelf, I grabbed a leather-bound book that leaned on its own, away from the rest of the books. Opening it, I reveled in the familiar scent of its pages. It was my mother’s journal, where she gathered a lifetime’s worth of healing recipes, tinctures, elixirs, and balms, as well as lists of herbs and their uses. I flipped to a page for a balm that healed soreness when externally applied to the skin, and another tagged page for a tincture for pain numbness. The ingredients for both were laid out on the table: cat’s claw, ginger, a sprig of nettle, dried willow bark, a vial of witch hazel, eucalyptus, and lavender essential oils. I kept most of my tools and the book at Thelma’s because if Dane saw me practicing his daughter’s dear hobby, he would blow a gasket.

I heard shifting on the bed behind me, then movement. Thelma’s scent of gardenia flowers washed over me, her pointy chin peeking over my shoulder. “Whatcha making this time?”

Focused on trimming the nettle, I replied, “Just something to help me get through my transformation.” My tone was light but a well of anxiety simmered in my belly.

“Oh! Your 18th birthday is coming up! I totally didn’t forget, I was waiting for you to mention it,” Thelma sat in her desk chair, as I preferred to stay on my feet while working. I grinned as I began grinding willow bark and cat’s claw together. “But you know….I really doubt your recipes wll do much for when you turn….”

I paused, turning to look into her blue eyes. Her pale lashes blinked as she bit her lip, like she was wondering if she should tell me or not. I nudged her with my shoulder. “Why? Is it really that bad?” I didn’t mention that I had been worried sick about the shifting, mixing with my uncontrollable excitement about finally meeting my wolf.

Her eyes went to the ceiling as she considered the question. “Well….you could say that.”

I cocked my hip, planting a palm on the table as I turned fully towards her. “Thelma Gardiner, what the hell does that mean?”

Her index fingers touched each other she she leaned back in her chair, book on her lap. I realized she wore a purple bathrobe, her pajama pants had hearts spotted across. “How should I put this.... All your bones are broken and growing at the same time.”

The thought made me cringe. Honestly, thinking about my first shift was nerve-wracking. I didn’t know if my weak body could handle it. My teeth worried at my lip as I imagined what it’d be like: fur ripping through my pores, my muscles growing, my limbs shifting, my face disfiguring into a snout, claws ripping from my fingers....It didn’t sound pleasant. But then again, I’d survived plenty of broken bones and beatings, even while my bones were growing during my teenage years. I always got back up and kept going.

Wryly, I commented. “That’s not unfamiliar.”

Thelma dissolved into a fit of giggles as I mixed the ingredients together.

“Painful or not, we must have a party,” Thelma said with an excited gasp. “Oh my god, please, let stock up on food and drinks and have fun here before you change!”

I gave her a look. “Who’d come to my party?”

She ruffled my hair teasingly. “Me, of course. We can have a jolly time just us two!”

Unable to help the grin on my face, I bumped into her playfully, and she let out a “Hey!” when she nearly fell out of her chair.

No one spoke for a second while I grated the ginger to mix with witch hazel. I would need to boil some of the ingredients to process into the final product, but at least I’d gotten most of the work done. “So,” I began, wanting to bring up a certain topic for a while now. “It’s been a while since you first shifted. Any luck with finding, you know, the one?”

Mating was natural milestone for any werewolf. And while I was a realist when it came to this stuff, Thelma was a hopeless romantic - hence her love of novels with hunky Casanovas and whirlwind romance.

Pouting, she closed her book. “Nothing....”

She’d expected to find her mate by now; usually we were called to them by an inexplicable magnetism. The power of our inner wolf can sniff out the one connected to our soul. For the most part, they tended to be in the same pack, but there were exceptions.

“Well, don’t give up. You have your whole life ahead of you. Who knows, you might find your mate on an expedition.”

Wrinkling her nose, she said, “I hope not. He better be here in Mount Hunter or he have it coming to him. Let’s not talk about this - let’s go get snacks for your birthday party!”

Sealing each final ingredient into vials and containers, I laughed, “There’s still a week left, Thelma!”

“It never hurts to be prepared,” she said.

While Thelma could be funny sometimes, she was on to something. Being prepared was necessary as a werewolf, especially as someone like for whom things never worked out right. That’s why I was doing training with Clive.

Today’s training session found us at the edge of the training ground, a few meters away from the entrance to the forest of pine trees. It was secluded, which made made me feel calmer and freer. Clive faced me in battle stance, knees slightly bent, weight on his heels, head bowed and protected by fists raised to shoulder-level.

“So first,” he started in that velvety voice of his. “We’ll go over simple defense techniques. Before you can land a hit, you have to be able to handle one.”

“Right, makes sense,” I said breathily, heart thumping with nerves.

Sensing my uncertainty, Clive paused to regard me. “Don’t worry Vera, this will be basic stuff, and I’ll be here every step of the way.”

Warmth spread through my chest, and I can’t say butterfly wings didn’t flutter the slightest bit in my stomach. Positive I was blushing, I said softly, “Thanks, Clive. That helps a lot.” I meant it.

He sent me a buttery smooth smile, his golden eyes shimmering with kindness. “Of course. Now, what we″ll do is this: You come at me with a hit, it can be anything and with as much force as you want. I will demonstrate how the block it, plus an offensive technique to pair with it. That way, you protect yourself, and you can one-up your opponent. Then, I’ll help you practice it. Got it?”

I nodded affirmatively, readying my stance. Then I flew at him with a light punch. He grabbed my fist in his palm, twisting me around gently. He made me demonstrated the move on him until I could do as well.

After doing a few more practice spars with Clive, we stopped for a breather, drinking water from out cantines. I stared at Clive’s adam’s apple as he gulped down water, wondering what he was like as a wolf. He was probably amazingly strong and fluid and beautiful. With all the talk of my upcoming born day and my first shift, I had to admit I wanted to see what it was like up-close, from someone who didn’t hate me. Since my parents, I hadn’t had someone to guide me or tell me how things worked. I’d seen Thelma shift plenty of times, but I never paid enough attention to what it looked lke nor did I ever ask her how it felt. Along with that, I also just had a raging curiosity about what Clive transformed was like.

Speaking softly, I made my request. “Um, Clive. Can I...see you in your wolf form?”

Silence met me.

Clive

“Can I...see you in your wolf form?” she asked the question with such a timid voice, cheeks blooming pink. Her dark lashes created shadows as she looked down. Slightly surprised, but not put off by the question, my mouth fell open. I couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped my throat.

Her eyes fluttered open at my laugh, hurt in her hazel eyes and embarrassment clear in her expression. Bringing a fist to my lips, I coughed. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to laugh, it’s just... your request was unexpected.” I sent her a sheepish smile.

“You can just say no if you don’t want to.” Pouting, she turned away, nose pointed to the sky. Strands of her long hair rippled in the slight breeze, like painted ebony strands against a cerulean backdrop.

“No, no, I...I wouldn’t mind it at all actually,” I tried to fix my mistakes. Studying her, I realized that she was probably not someone used to making requests, much less demands, so my reaction was not the best. “Here, let’s go into the forest, and give me a moment to...change.”

Excitement lit her eyes, giving her slim, angular face more life, nodding eagerly. I headed into the over of the trees and motioned for her to stop a meter away from me. I lifted my brows at her, indicating I was about to start. Then, I took a deep breath and let the shift unfold.

At this point, it was a seamless experience, my bones and skin and muscles used to the originally weird feeling of getting torn apart and stitched together differently. I felt my thick coat of fur spring out across my body as I dove from two feet onto four paws. Fully transformed, I reached a height just above Vera’s waist. Her full lips were parted open, eyes sparkling in awe as she stared down at me. Stepping closer, her hand raised toward me slowly, shakily. I cautiously stepped forward, closer to her. Her hand met my head. t was a show of trust that I let her touch me with all my defenses down as a wolf - my wolf was eerily calm, even relaxed as she did this. Getting b wolves felt disgraced being headscratched like a dog. Getting bolder, she stroked my head gliding over to my ears.

“My 18th birthday is in a few days,” she whispered. “I wonder what it’s like to turn.” Her eyes seemed far away even as she lightly caressed my head, sinking her long, slender finger into the fur. A wry half-smile cracked her pale pink lips. “I’d never be able to tell you this if you were human. But I’m afraid, Clive. I fear I won’t be able to withstand it, that I’m not meant to be a werewolf.” Her words were very faint, able to be picked up only because of my attuned wolf ears.

After seeing how Reily and other pack members treated Vera, she had quickly slipped into my heart like a bullet, a soft, harmless bullet. At first, I merely pitied her, and I’d felt it was my responsibility to take care of her after her father saved my life. But now, I didn’t just see a vulnerable orphan girl standing before me. I saw a girl who had grown up too fast, who was nearly a young woman, who was dealt a bad hands and was stronger than she ever realized. She had gone through terrible things very few wolves in this pack could say they had survived. Yet she shouldered it like a lone warrior on a battle before her and the rest of the world. Never did she blame others or exact revenge for her mistreatment.

Very few people could easily enter my life and leave a mark. But Vera was different. A deep sense of respect sparked in me, and my wolf agreed.

I let the moment lengthen. Then, nudged her hand with my nose, gesturing to a tree behind me. She understood with a small smile, that made her somehow more beautiful. I turned around behind the tree, out of her sight, transforming back into my nude body. Putting on extra sweats from my pack, I stepped back out. Walking back to Vera, my eyes drank in the sight of her; she was small, her shoulder perpetually hunched in a protective way, her thing frame holding so, so much potential. When I was a foot away, I said solemnly, “If you weren’t meant to be a wrewolf, you wouldn’t have been born in this pack. Your wolf chose you even before you were born, when you wee just a soul. It knows you better than you know yourself, and just like me, she’s absolutely certain that you are stronger than you’ll ever know. You’ll withstand things impossible things, and your first shift will come naturally to you.”

Her wide eyes gleaned as she gazed up at me. I had the sudden urge to touch a thumb to her jaw, to stop the first tear in its track before it rolled down. But she didn’t cry. No, she beamed. And she didn’t reply to me, I could understand what her eyes tried to convey.

After a few seconds, I striked out with a jab to her abdomen, faster than I’d given her before. While she hesitated at the abrupt motion, her arm twitched lightning-fast, moving to black my fast before it landed. Then, I swung my other hand above, towards her throat. While her eyes looked worried, her brows furrowed in determination. Her body naturally took on a defensive stance, head ducking down. She was short enough to avoid my punch.

I stepped back, a wide uncontrollable grin on my face. “Amazing, Vera. You got it down quick.”

Realizing what she just did, she blinked. Then the most gorgeous laugh came from her mouth, filling my chest with something light and warm.