Call of the Goddess

The birds were missing this morning. They always waited for me outside our family’s hut, then flew just overhead as I walked the mile and a half to the Starborne Pack high school every morning. This morning I walked alone, and I’m on edge. Despite the fact that my wolf’s instincts are supposed to encourage unity between my fellow pack members and myself, I‘ve always felt more of a connection to other animals than to my peers. Mom thinks that will change after I’ve found my mate, but that won’t happen for at least a few more weeks, after I’ve turned 18. I can’t even imagine feeling that kind of bond with another person. Those birds, however, I am very attached to, and I know they wouldn't just abandon me for no reason. Something is wrong, I can feel it. The others at school haven’t seemed to notice, as they wander the halls, chatting with friends, business as usual. It’s a bit jarring to see so many people go on about their daily lives as if nothing is happening when you’re so sure that something is off. “You seem gloomier than usual, Sutton,” says Polly Dane, the only person who takes much interest in me in this school and the closest thing I have to a friend. I’m at my locker grabbing my books for my first few classes, and apparently not doing a good job of hiding my concern. “I might be going crazy,” I say despite being pretty confident that I was not. “But something is wrong. I didn’t see the birds this morning.” “You’re so not crazy! I know those birds mean a lot to you. It’s a little weird that they insist on walking you to school every day, but I totally get why you’re worried about them. My cat got out once, we couldn’t find her for hours. So scary. I really hope the little things are alright.” “Yeah I’m worried about the birds, but I think this may be some sort of warning sign. Like they know something is about to happen.” Polly’s expression shifts from sympathy to confusion. “Okay, maybe you are crazy.” “The same 2 birds have been walking me to school every day for over a year now. Suddenly they just stop.” “You’re hurting for your little friends, I get that. But maybe your anxiety is getting the better of you? They’re wild animals, Sutton. Anything could have happened. Everything doesn’t have to be a dark omen, even if you insist on dressing like one.” “Maybe you’re right, I’m just being paranoid.” I don’t believe what I’m saying, but it’s clear there’s no convincing Polly. “And an all-black wardrobe is very practical. Everything matches.” “You could wear blue jeans with literally any shirt and have yourself an acceptable outfit.” I roll my eyes, close my locker door, and set off in the direction of my first class. Black is my aesthetic, it matches my hair, and anyway, I have bigger concerns than what’s hanging in my closet. In fact, I’m so stuck inside my own head that I round a corner at full speed without looking, walk right into a group of people chatting in the hallway, and knock at least one person over. My mouth falls open as I realize what I’ve done. I feel my face turn red with embarrassment and I start to sweat as I try to stammer out an apology. “Oops,” seems to be all I can manage for now. So many eyes are now on me and all I want to do is run. “Did she just say ‘oops?’” One girl asks as the girl I knocked over is helped to her feet, her eyes staring daggers into my soul. “That’s what I heard,” another girl confirms. This one's voice is familiar. The group parts dramatically to reveal Elsie Claire, daughter of Alpha Jarod Claire, the pack leader. Despite her being a year younger than me, there’s no one else in this school I’m more intimidated by. And that’s saying a lot. “What’s your name, Omega?” “Um, Sutton.” “Your full name, Omega,” insists the exasperated tone of Elsie’s future mate, Dalton Evers, son of the pack Beta. Although wolves are initially unable to pick their mates, 2 wolves who have rejected their goddess-selected mates may then choose each other. Dalton has not found his mate yet, and Elsie isn’t old enough to find hers yet, but they intend to mate with each other when the time comes. Alpha Jarod has insisted on it to keep his bloodline strong, and as it means that Dalton will eventually be the new pack Alpha, there were no objections from him. So now I guess the future Alpha and Luna of the pack hate me for knocking their friend over. Which is cool. “Sutton Sanders. Sir.” “I think you owe my friend a proper apology, Sutton Sanders,” Elsie says. My ears feel hot and my breathing quickens. “I’m so sorry.” “That’s better. Get out of here, Omega, and learn to watch where you’re going,” Dalton says, his dark brown eyes stern. “And to have some manners,” Elsie adds as she flips her long, blonde hair over her shoulder. “You’re lucky Dalton is here, I might not have let you off the hook that easily.” “Of course, thank you,” I mutter as I book it the rest of the way to class, paying more attention to my surroundings this time. “Honestly, Dalton, you’re so soft sometimes,” I hear Elsie say as I rush off. __________________________________________________________________________________________________ “You are having a seriously off day,” Polly says, stating the obvious as I join her and her friend group at their usual lunch table. Her friends are pretty nice to me and don’t seem to mind my presence, even if they don’t take as much of an interest in me and my generally quiet demeanor as the notoriously-nosy Polly. Today, however, all eyes are on me as I take my typical seat at the edge of their posse. “I heard what happened,” says a girl named June from across the table. “What was it like seeing Dalton’s wrath up close?” “Traumatizing,” I say as I take a bite of mashed potatoes. “I kind of wish Dalton would order me around,” a girl named Rachel says with a wink. Some of the other girls giggle. “Come on, guys, Sutton’s a little shaken up about this. Nobody wants to start their day by pissing off a future Alpha and Luna,” Polly says. “But once you’ve calmed down a bit I’m definitely going to need the details. I can’t believe I missed the whole thing.” “Oh it’s fine, Sutton. They’re going to forget all about it, that group barely spares a second thought for Omegas like us,” Rachel says. The other girls quickly agree, trying to make me feel better. But, of course, making a fool of myself in front of the pack’s future leadership isn’t the only thing on my mind today. “Yeah, you’re probably right,” I say with a half-hearted smile. My mind drifts back to the birds as I eat in silence while the rest of the group daydreams about running their hands through Dalton’s thick, chestnut-brown hair. Suddenly, the emergency alarm sounds and my heart drops into my stomach. Each deep, resounding tone leaves me more and more sure that the danger I’ve been worrying about has finally arrived. And it’s too late to do anything about it, even if I knew what ‘it’ was. Confusion sets in across the cafeteria as people rise from their seats. I hear someone ask if this is a drill, but we all know they never do emergency drills in the middle of a lunch hour. This was real. Chills set in as I glanced over to Polly, knowing that she was the only person who could even guess at what I was thinking. “Forget about the birds! Don’t worry,” she says as June and a girl named Grace pull her off in the direction of their homeroom. That’s where we were all supposed to go in case of an emergency if we weren’t already in a classroom. I ignore Polly’s advice as I follow Rachel out of the cafeteria and down the hall to our homeroom. Our teacher, Mrs. Lake, is busily taking a headcount as everyone enters her classroom. Students are huddled on the floor in a corner away from the windows as they whisper to each other, wondering what’s going on. Several people are texting their friends to see if anyone else has any insight. As I sit down among my classmates, I hear that rumors have already started. One person suggests that we’re under siege from an enemy pack. Someone else thinks it’s a wolf gone rogue. Nobody seems to actually know anything. “Okay, everyone is present and accounted for,” Mrs. Lake says as she finishes checking off names on her clipboard. She closes the door and locks it. “Can I get a few young, energetic wolves to help me move desks in front of the door? How about Dalton, Victor, and… Sutton, you three, let’s move quickly. The rest of you stay quiet! Nobody panic, we are all safe here, I’m sure this is all just a precaution.” My heart skips a beat as my name is called to assist along with the one and only Dalton Evers. It’s like the universe is forcing my visibility today, insisting that I make a fool of myself in front of our future Alpha. I glance over at Rachel, my eyes wide. She shrugs. I get up, deciding that my strategy is to stay out of Dalton’s way as much as possible. My arms are barely long enough for me to get a good grip around one of the desks, and I waddle awkwardly as I try to make my way over to the door. Then the weight in my arms suddenly disappears and for a moment it feels like the desk is floating before I realize that Dalton’s hand is supporting it. His eyes lock onto mine for a moment before he grabs the desk with his other hand too, and gently pulls it away from me. His gaze seems more relaxed now then it did this morning. Kinder, almost. I let go of the desk but I don’t look away. I can’t remember the last time I’ve maintained eye contact with someone for this long. Or maybe it just feels like a long time. “Get the chairs. Sutton,” he says finally. He walks off with the desk, and I take a second for my racing heart to recover. The girls at the lunch table were right. Dalton has nice hair. Mrs. Lake’s voice snaps me back to reality as she reminds us that our task is somewhat time-sensitive, so I quickly start grabbing chairs and adding them to the barricade. By the time I’ve returned to the dark corner with my other classmates, it’s Rachel’s turn to look at me with wide eyes. I shrug. __________________________________________________________________________________________________ About an hour passes in complete silence. I’m starting to get sore from sitting on the cold, hard floor for so long. There’s still no word on what’s actually going on. As time passes, I’m simultaneously getting more concerned and more bored. Mrs. Lake passed out some snacks and water bottles from the emergency supply a while ago, but most of us have barely touched them. I’ve received a few texts from Polly, who evidently heard from Rachel about my latest encounter with Dalton. I still don’t know what to make of that. It probably wasn’t nearly as intense as it seemed in my head. The real fascinating thing was that, unlike this morning, he actually used my name. Maybe he doesn’t actually hate me. “Ahh!” I’m instantly pulled out of my thoughts as the long silence is broken by a guy named Frederick. My head snaps around to look at him as he calls out before spitting onto the floor. Disgusted students scoot away as they look back at him in horror. The spot where he spat has a splatter of what appears to be mud, and he’s looking at his water bottle, gripped in his right hand, with confusion and revulsion. More students start examining their own water bottles, and I follow suit. It had contained water earlier, I know it had. I’d taken a sip when Mrs. Lake first passed them out. Now, however, the bottle’s contents have transformed into thick, brown, earthy mud. Victor opened a package of what should have been crackers, but only managed to pour a pile of sand into his outstretched palm, the grains slipping between his fingers with ease. Nobody seems to know what to say. I don’t even know what to think. I get another text from Polly. “Your dark omen has arrived.” And so it has. __________________________________________________________________________________________________ The school releases us early that day. We’re all told to go straight home, making no stops, taking the fastest routes possible, and walking in groups if we can. I don’t really have anyone to walk with, especially because my usual escorts were a no-show today, but I follow the rest of the administration’s advice and hurry back to my family hut as quickly as possible. Mom is waiting for me on the porch, making sure I get home safely. I hug her tightly and let a few tears loose, finally letting my emotions out now that I’m in a safe space. “The birds were gone this morning, Mom. They knew something was wrong.” Mom just runs a soothing hand through my hair, saying nothing. I know she wishes I would make more wolfish friends, but knows this isn’t the time to bring that up. After a minute or so, she ushers me inside and we meet up with my dad in the living room. “What’s going on?” I ask. “No one would tell us anything at school.” My parents exchange glances, seemingly unsure of how to tell me. “The pack was attacked today,” my dad says finally. So it was an attack. “Which pack was it?” “It wasn’t a pack, sweetie,” my mom says. I frown, not understanding. Who else would attack us? Who else could attack a wolf pack and have a prayer of being successful. “It was the Witches of the Bubbling Oasis. We’ve been cursed.”