A Duet of Wolves and Sparrows

Chapter Twelve

Hazel went up to the small library on the second floor of her home. She didn't know what to make of any of this, of anything that was happening. She took her mug of hot chocolate, leaving Luna's on the kitchen counter. She didn't know what to do with it or if Luna would even be back that night. It could always be reheated. 

Hazel looked over the bookshelves, perusing them for something that might be able to tell her more about Moon Wolves. She knew now that Luna was one of them and desperately wanted to know more about that side of her girlfriend. 

Girlfriend... that word would never stop making her feel giddy. 

Hazel shook her head at her own thoughts and focused her attention back to searching the bookshelves. She at least wanted to find something while Luna was gone and she figured that with the necklace she now wore all the time, her grandmother must have had at lease some knowledge of the Moon Wolves herself. 

Finding nothing in front of her, Hazel moved to the next set of shelves. There was a lot to go through, and it wasn't really in any kind of alphabetical order to speak of, the books weren't even categorised by genre or common themes. It was akin to looking for a needle in a hay stack. 

When she finally found what she was looking for, at least half an hour had passed. It was a thick journal that she found, rather than a printed book and her grandmother's name was written on the inside of the front cover in her unique, swirling handwriting. 

Hazel opened up the journal and immediately a sketch greeted her beside a new set of words. It was an ink drawing of a large, elegant wolf that seemed to have been drawn using a dip or fountain pen, the same ink that wrote the journal's entries. Lining the drawing and the adjacent page were detailed little annotations and descriptions.

Hazel, instantly drawn in by her curiosity, sat in her little reading nook by the window and started scanning the information on the pages. 

As she read and took everything in, admiring her grandmother's sketches as she went, Hazel found that her grandmother had definitely been more than aware of the Moon Wolves that inhabited Bleydh Forest and that she had been far more than simply familiar with them. She had been married to one of them.

Hazel couldn't quite believe her eyes as she looked at the small ink illustration of a big wolf standing next to a portrait that was unmistakably a young version of her grandfather. 

She trailed her fingers over the page, gently stroking over the image, lighter than a feather as she didn't want to disturb the page but still needed to prove to herself that it was all real and tangible. 

Did that mean that she herself was part Moon Wolf? That she had them in her DNA? Was that the reason for her strange dreams of forest clearings and howling melodies? Was that the reason for the inexplicable pull that she felt in her chest every time she though about the forest, about being in nature? Was it all because of the fact that she had something wild running through her veins? Something supernatural?

Hazel felt like she needed a moment then, that the happenings of the night and her new revelation were all too much at once. She didn't know what to think or what to feel and it was all too much, too overwhelming. It was quiet and loud and battering and stilling and everything all at once and she just wished that it could all stop for just a moment so that she could focus again and think clearly about all of that new information blending in with what she had already known or had hunches about.

"Oh boy... come on Hazel, steady now." She tried to verbally comfort herself and it seemed to work at least a little bit to hear the sound of her own voice out loud instead of the spiralling, spinning mess that she had gong on internally. 

She wished that she had Luna with her in that moment, to comfort her and explain everything to her properly in a way that she would be able to understand. She knew what was going on now in the most loose sense, but she was missing so many important details and she couldn't ever find them out without her girlfriend telling her properly about what was happening. 

Hazel always felt more light-hearted and calm when Luna was with her, like no matter what happened, she would be able to take it in stride and deal with it with peace and clarity. However, Luna wasn't with her and she was confused and overwhelmed by everything she had learned in such a short amount of time, mixed up with everything that she didn't understand at all. 

Usually she would at least have Floss with her, but the fluffy Samoyed was probably curled up in her bed in the attic room. Hazel couldn't blame her either. A part of her wished that she could do the same, just curl up in bed, hide under the blankets and hope for everything to have been some strangely realistic dream.

She knew though, that it wasn't a dream, that it couldn't be.

Hazel took a deep breath, longing to go outside and get some fresh air in her lungs, but knowing that until Luna returned, she should assume that it was still too dangerous to venture beyond the safety of her house.

She was still reeling at the fact that Luna was her wolf all this time, the one that had always appeared to her in her dreams. Perhaps they had always meant to end up together, perhaps that was why her heart and her instincts had lead her to Bleydh Forest and to Fernwood, and why she was even in so many of her dreams in the first place. 

Maybe... if she calmed herself and had herself think it all over a bit more reasonably, maybe this was actually finally making sense, clicking into place inside her head the more she thought about it. She wasn't going to waste time in denial over the existence of the supernatural, despite it having come as such a shock to her. She knew there had been so many signs blaring at her that all pointed towards this reality, so many things had happened that alluded to this truth... and yet, it was still just as surprising to her.

Hazel stayed sitting in the library room, by the window that looked out the front of the house and looked out, with her own messy thoughts circulating in her mind as she waited and watched out for Luna to return, wondering if when she did she would be in her wolf form. 

She didn't know which one she would prefer. Both Luna herself and the wolf both brought her more comfort than she could fathom and she longed for her girlfriend, no matter which form she might take when she eventually arrived.

Hazel was still watching her drive way for any signs of her wolf, forehead resting against the glass pane of the windows as she peered out into the darkness when Luna finally arrived back at the cottage. She was indeed still in her wolf form and she seemed tired, panting from having run back to see her.

Hazel, straight away, felt her spirits lift at the sight. She threw herself off of the seat and made her way hurriedly down the stairs to fling open the front door with all of her enthusiasm. 

"Luna." She greeted breathlessly. "You're back."

The wolf that she had come to accept was one and the same with her lovely honey-blonde girlfriend approached her with a somewhat apologetic look in her eyes. Looking into them then seemed to have it dawn on Hazel that she had the same eyes in and out of her wolf form. It was strikingly obvious now that she was so close, peering up at her with those crystal-like green orbs. They held so much clarity, and yet so much mystery at the same time.

When Luna was stood close enough, Hazel reached up a little hesitantly and places a hand on her head, slowly relaxing and feeling the soft fur between her fingers. Luna closed her eyes contently for a moment, but opened them again when she heard the sound of Hazel humming their song, the one that the made a duet of in their dreams.

Hazel thought that she seemed surprised, like she hadn't expected to hear the tune out loud and in person, outside in reality. 

"You can change back now, my wolf. I think that there is a bit of explaining to do." Hazel said, casting Luna a side glance and a half smile as she turned around, allowing her girlfriend to shift back into her human form with a little privacy.

"Thank you, Hazel... to be honest, I'm surprised... you seem to be taking all this rather well." Luna said once she was fully human again, following Hazel inside to the living room sofa.

"Well, I had a sort of feeling like you might be linked to the wolf I kept seeing... I just didn't know that you were one and the same. I still don't know many details or what is going on tonight, or why I feel this pull to you and this forest. There's a lot I don't know and a lot that I don't understand. I'm hoping that you'll be able to fill in some blanks." Hazel explained and looked to Luna somewhat expectantly.

"You really want to know everything right now?" Luna asked, tone light, but tired.

"I know you're probably very tired right now, but yes. I won't be able to sleep until at least some of this is cleared up." Hazel insisted. "You did tell me that you would explain."

"No, you're right, I did say that I would... Well, first of all, as you've likely gathered, I am a Moon Wolf. Moon Wolves are native to Bleydh Forest, we've been here for generations upon generations. There are several variants of the story of how we came to be, but the most common one that is taught to us is that our ancestors were companions to the wolves, and that as a result of their strong bond, they were blessed by the goddess of the Moon and the Goddess of the Forest to become one pack, human and wolf together. We became something completely different from what we once were." Luna summarized. 

"Okay, well I suppose I have three main questions for the moment and then I think we both need some sleep. Firstly, what on earth happened earlier with that wolf in the woods? Secondly, is there a reason why we shared dreams with that song and what does it all mean? Thirdly, I found out from my grandmother's journal that she knew of Moon Wolves, that my grandfather was a Moon Wolf. Does that make me one, or part of one? All of this has me feeling really confused." Hazel asked, even feeling willing to accept something vague in response as long as it was the truth. She was tired of being in the dark and worried about the earlier events of the night.

"That's a lot..." Luna replied, not having expected Hazel to know about old Mr Sparrow.

"Yeah, I know, but I really do need answers, even if it's just short for now." Hazel replied, still frustrated at how little she knew about this world and it's workings. She felt weird, too, having to ask someone who wasn't part of her own family about her grandparents. 

"Well, to answer the first one, it turned out to be Alex's Moon showing up, having been attacked by three wolves from a neighbouring pack. He ended up having to fight them off to keep his fated mate safe and alive. They're together recovering now. His mate was badly injured during the altercation though. He was a rogue Alpha before coming here. His name is Sovereign... you'll probably end up meeting him once he's recovered." Luna responded, a concerned look passing over her features as she remembered everything that had happened before she left the farm.

"Oh my goodness! Will they be okay? Is there anything we can do?" Hazel asked immediately.

"Well, Sovereign will have to go to the hospital in the morning to have a cast put on his broken leg and probably get some bandages changed. He was in pretty bad shape when Alex brought him back. There's nothing that we can do at the moment though, not until after they visit the hospital. It's quite a trek from here, which is why they're waiting... I don't think it'd be entirely safe to try and move Sovereign in his state." Luna answered, brows slightly furrowed. "What's most important for them now is to stay as close as possible with a bond so fresh and sudden. He'll be okay though... one of the neat benefits of being a Moon Wolf is slightly accelerated healing and metabolism." 

"So you guys can heal faster than normal people? That's pretty convenient... and kind of cool." Hazel said.

"Yup, though with the extent of Sovereign's wounds, it might still take around a month for him to fully heal. If they keep the bond strong in the first couple of weeks though, that should help speed things up. We're always stronger in pairs." Luna elaborated. 

"So the whole having a 'Moon' thing... what's that all about? Is it like having a soulmate?" Hazel led the conversation into her next question. 

"Well, yeah actually, that's exactly what it is. Most Moon Wolves have a destined mate, someone they're fated to be with. We call them a Sol and a Moon. Their personalities decide which they are, rather than any other factor like gender or preferences. When we find our other half, we usually know instinctively which half we are and which half they are. Like how Alex knew he was a Sol and that Sovereign was his Moon...and... like how I know I'm your Sol and that you are my Moon." Luna explained, reaching out to place her hand on top of Hazel's.

"I'm... we're... you and me... we're... soulmates? Is that why we keeps meeting in our dreams? Why I always felt so drawn to this place?" Hazel asked, eyes sparkling with curiosity and excitement. Soulmates weren't something that she had thought were real for anyone, let alone that she would end up with one herself.

"Yes... that is why... I always had those dreams too. I would be running through the forest and hear singing. I would always follow it and end up at that clearing, where I would see you and I would feel compelled howl along with you as though I'd known the song my whole life despite never having heard it before." Luna recounted, unable to hold back a content smile as the memories of their shared dreams washed over her.

"Oh boy... this is all so surreal, but at the same time, it makes sense, you know? It feels right, I just never thought that I would experience anything like this. I'm glad though... I'm glad that you're my wolf, my... Sol." Hazel said, blushing as she bashfully avoided meeting Luna's eyes.

At that declaration, Luna released a shuddering sigh. It felt so good to hear those affirming words, to hear that Hazel accepted her for what and who she was, that she accepted her as her fated mate. It felt magical, like there was something light and glittery shimmering all throughout her. She looked at Hazel, finally catching her gaze and she knew that her Moon felt the same.

Hazel was still feeling so overwhelmed with everything, but she couldn't deny that it felt good to finally know at least some of what was going on and it meant a whole lot to her to be able to understand the depths of her relationship with Luna. 

Luna was her Sol, which made sense to her now that she thought about it. She always had thought that when she smiled it was as though the sun were shining from between her lips. She always smiled so freely and so fully, with all of the sincerity that came so easily to her every word and action. 

"As for your last question... I don't know how much information I'll really be able to give you. I didn't know your grandparents very well personally, but I do know that your grandfather was indeed a Moon Wolf and he loved your grandmother a whole lot. They were fated too, as far as I know. The Sparrows have always been one of the main families of our pack, until your mother left that is. All I know is that the two of them were really happy together and that you are technically 1/6 Moon Wolf by blood. However, that isn't enough for it to actually have an impact on you as far as I know." Luna spoke, running a thumb over the back of Hazel's hand, which she still held in her own. 

"Is there anyone in the village who might know more about them? I know I have my grandmother's journal, but there's no way that it can contain everything." Hazel asked.

"When things have settled down,  I would recommend that you ask Mrs Blackwood about them, Alex's mum. She wasn't particularly close with them, I don't think, but they were certainly friends on some level and if anyone can tell you more, it's her." Luna replied. 

"Thank you... I really appreciate you taking the time to explain and tell me these things. I really appreciate your honestly." Hazel said, giving Luna's hand a light squeeze.  "Your hot chocolate from earlier is in the fridge if you want to reheat it before bed by the way." she added.

"That honestly sounds amazing right now. It's turned out to be quite a long day today and I think that I would quite like to rest with you." Luna answered tiredly, stifling a yawn. She really was tired from all of the running and the excitement. 

Hazel, of course, waited in the kitchen with Luna while she reheated her mug of hot chocolate, then, as the mixed soft whispers with some comfortable silence and a little hand-holding, they made their way up the spiral staircase to the attic room.

Luna was a little in awe at how pretty the room was when she first peeked over the bannister, still in awe as she took a careful sip of her hot chocolate and sat down on the bed next to Hazel. The fairy lights that had been strung up along the walls looked even more magical when the main lights in the room were off.

Justas suspected, Floss was curled up in her dog bed, fast asleep with no trace left of her previous unease. They were both surprised and relieved at how easy it was to slip back into a feeling of calm and enjoyment of each other's company. Maybe it was the fact that they were fated mates, or maybe it was just because it was them, but there was something about being together that just made everything okay again, even after so much stress and uncertainty. 

As they cuddled up next to each other under the thick duvet, both clad in soft, cosy pyjamas, they thought of how lucky they were to have found each other and of  how they looked forward to having each other through whatever may come next.