The hecate

Willow I moved my fingers against my holed gloves, hovering against the candle. “ What useless leather,” I muttered, taking it off. I threw my black hood on the floor, stepping on it as I looked at my sister's hand-sewn portrait, my slim figure casting a shadow on her bright face. My hand spiked a sting, shifting my attention. A girl's hand is supposed to be soft, inviting, and warm enough to hold a loved one__ but it's rather hard for a female wolf who smuggles humans for a living. It should be healed by now. My blistered hand traced her rough-surfaced cheek. My insides, turning. A hard knock in my heart like it was begging me to let go of the ache. “ I took on every weight for you.” Out of the blue, my mom blew into the room, without a sound. Standing eerily behind me. “ It's been two years y'know?” My heart sank, and I rolled my eyes. “ We're trying, Mom… I'm trying.” I hit my chest. “ I thought we would've found her by now!! We should've.” The fire flickered as she raised her hand. “ If you had just stayed with her!!” “ Wow, I didn't realize I was busy running the wild when she went against the rules.” “ It is your responsibility as the older sister.” Her tone increased, casting a brief silence between us. I faced her, close enough to inhale her flaming breath. “ And it's your responsibility as the mother__ the Luna, to discipline your obnoxious daughter.” The silence lingered. She put down her head, avoiding my eyes. Her voice was shaking. “ I never thought that our rules could drive her away. It's my fault for allowing your father to imbue so much fear into her.” I scoffed in disbelief. “ Are you being serious with me right now?” I shook my head. “ Those rules are to protect us. We kidnap these people to sustain our pack. If we turn them, it'll cause nothing but trouble. Dad was right, and you're wrong!!” She kept her gaze fixed on the portrait. The portrait she made herself. To do that you have to have mastered every curve, every bit on someone's face__ and it was very easy for her.“ You're your father's daughter indeed.” “ Yes. Yes, I am!” My voice softened like a broken flute__ but it never goes unheard. “ Maybe one day you'll realize your fault in her actions.” I bowed my head to show respect and walked away. Just two steps forward and a loud pealing thunder struck our ship. Flames hissed to life in the rain, and the whole vessel shuddered under the violent blow, as if the sea itself had flinched. I turned back for my mother. “ Mom!! Get Dad and hide in the captain's quarters!” She looked pale, her transformation to her wolf now fluctuating. “ But-but the storm” “ Now!!!” I yelled. And she ran in the blink of an eye. My knocking heart stopped, like it knew something that could stop it had arrived. I blew to the deck, I could feel my hands healed and once again __ hardened. Not warm, but healed and strong. The wind howled like a beast sending jolts of darkness to every inch of my skin. Then the rain came down in sheets creating a deafening roar. The monstrous wave crashed over the decks. An unforeseen storm never reaps good seeds. Our pack groaned under the strain. A crewmate grabbed onto my hand, groaning in pain. “ Willow!!! The storm__ it's too strong.” My body was drenched. Trying to see within the stone-cold raindrops. “Locate where the storm damage has opened the hull.” I looked around. “ And I'll shift the weight.” “ Yes ma'am.” Before he could leave I clenched his hand, studying the blood on his abdomen. “ It'll be okay.” He gave a faint smile and hurried off, standing tall. The heavens can't kill us now. The sky was a canvas of dark, churning clouds, illuminated by flashes of lightning. Without hesitation. I steered the ship, straining every bit of muscle I had causing blisters in my hand. The ship pitches and rolls violently, tossed from side to side and up and down. The mast sways precariously, threatening to snap. The crew is tossed about as well, struggling to maintain their footing and perform their duties. The ship seems to be fighting for its life against the relentless onslaught of the storm. My skin coarses torn between my wolf and myself. The storm was over before it even started. The sound of rushing waves becomes louder and more intense as it tumbles over the ship. The pack howls and cries for help. In the blink of an eye My family, my pack. I've failed them all. My eyes closed. My whole body surrendered, throwing me into the ocean along with my ship. The sound of my ship's struggle faded away__ so did the howls of my pack. Replaced by the quiet of the ocean depths and darkness. Unaware of the time that had passed, my eyes flew open, as if I was being controlled. I caught sight of a surreal-looking tree with roots as veiny as a varicocele and dark, luminous shadows all around it, like a dress. One moment it had the face of a woman, which seemed unparalleled__ then in another, it transformed into an ethereal and ghostlike wolf made entirely of swirling white light and mist. With a fur more like moonlit clouds than anything earthly__ roaring at me. Its eyes, sorrowful, burning, found hers. Its voice called out. “You are not lost, Willow. You are chosen.” The words splintered the vision. Water surged back in. Her body tumbled, then struck against the sand. I choked, gasped, and air rushed into my lungs as the storm’s rage thinned into silence. ****** I awakened slowly, realizing that I could breathe. My head felt like it was on a cotton-like sheet, and I felt fresh, new, like a newly born. And warm. Warm? My eyes bolted open. I was in a hut made with rocks__ muddy brown rocks? I swiftly sighted the hot towels, the furnace, and the stacks of cotton blankets. I threw away the blanket I was covered with and stood still. I feel like myself, but different. Warmer. Quicker. Where am I? I took the dagger that was fiercely displayed on the rocky walls, unlike the wooded ones at home. Wherever this is. It is nothing like home. On the spur of the moment, entered was a striking young man with long, thick dreadlocks that tumbled past his shoulders, each lock catching the light with a subtle sheen. Before he could look at me, I jumped, using one of the blankets to bring him down by his neck. “ Hey. Woah__ easy there water wolf.” He hissed, not fighting back. My eyebrows furrowed. “ How do you already know what I am?” I tightened the blanket. “ Speak!” “ Because you were floating on the sea, unconscious.” “ So I was the only one you found.” “ There was no trace of any other thing.” My grip softened. “ Let me go now.” What happened to them? I freed him, standing straight with my chin up. “ Why am I here?” I asked. “ You're a coastal wolf huh?” He ignored my question. “ I'm Connor, the alpha of Valley.” He held out his hand. “ Willow.” At this moment I knew that my life had begun to transform.