Chapter Six
1273 Words
My first impression of the Lycanologist is that this must be a crude joke. She looks ancient enough to be my ancestor.
"Kneel before the elder" My mother whispered to me, lifting her eyes to smile warmly at the ancient woman. She curtseyed in respect "Good evening, Ms. Wavelength".
I let my knee kiss the hard floor before I sat grudgingly on the seat my mother discreetly gestured to. A large scowl appeared on my face.
We had driven all the way to the heart of Belcaris Town to see a withered, shriveled up crone who looked like she might collapse anytime soon.
It was a good thing my mom and I had come alone. I wouldn't want to imagine the triumphant mockery that would have emerged on Solene's face if she had come with us.
Ms. Wavelength didn't return my mother's smile.
She simply watched me.
Clinically.
Like I was a puzzle she'd been waiting a very long time to solve.
Her eyes were the strangest shade of silver I'd ever seen. Not the bright silver of a wolf's coat, but dull, weathered silver, like moonlight trapped beneath old ice.
"Stand," she said finally. I jolted. Her voice had a sudden airiness and vigour.
"That's it?" I muttered. "You haven't even asked my name."
"I know your name. Sia Thorne. Heiress of the House of Thorne."
A small chill crawled across my arms.
She knew it without my mother introducing it. She stood up to reveal an impressive straight height. She didn't lean on a stick or anything.
She didn't touch me.
She only observed.
My eyes. My hands. My breathing. Even the way I stood.
Finally she stopped in front of me.
"Nineteen."
"Yes."
"No first shift."
"Yes." My voice was flat.
"Recurring dreams?"
I frowned. "No."
"Hearing voices?"
"No."
"Heightened senses?"
"No."
She hummed quietly to herself. "Interesting. Well, you have good posture and a hunter's athleticism. " She added rather emphatically "You are going to need much more than just that if you are going to lead a pack of Jade Claw warriors and the Belcaris Command. Have you begun your military lessons yet?"
My mother replied almost apologetically "She will begin this weekend. We are just letting her settle into the first week of school before ensuring she does."
Ms. Wavelength waved a dismissive shrivelled up veiny hand "Ensure that she does. " She stared at me flatly "She will also need her wolf".
Mother leaned forward eagerly in her chair. "Can you help her?"
Ms. Wavelength didn't answer immediately.
Instead, she lifted one wrinkled hand toward me. "May I?"
I hesitated before placing my hand in hers.
Her skin was paper-thin.
But the instant our palms touched...
Something cold rushed through my arms.
A full minutes passed before the old woman finally released my hand.
Her expression was unreadable.
"Interesting," she murmured again.
Mother leaned forward. "What did you find?"
Ms. Wavelength ignored the question.
"Tell me, Sia." Her silver eyes settled on mine. "Do you believe your wolf has abandoned you?"
I smiled bitterly. "What else am I supposed to believe?"
She walked slowly toward a towering bookshelf packed with weathered journals and scrolls.
"The greatest misconception young wolves have," she began, tracing a finger along the spine of an ancient volume, "is believing that a wolf is something you force into existence."
She turned back to face me.
"You do not drag a wolf into the light."
She tapped her own chest. "You give it a reason to come."
I frowned "I don't understand."
"Of course you don't. You're nineteen." She smiled faintly.
"For thirty-seven years I have studied delayed shifts. Do you know how many were cured by herbs?"
I shook my head.
"Very few."
"How many by rituals?"
Another shake.
"Fewer still."
She folded her hands behind her back.
"The wolf is not merely muscle and fang, child. It is memory. Instinct. Identity. Fear. Grief. Hope."
Her gaze sharpened.
"When those things are tangled, the wolf sometimes chooses silence."
I said quietly "You're saying this is... psychological?"
"I am saying," Ms. Wavelength corrected gently, "that the mind and the wolf speak the same language. If one is wounded, the other often refuses to answer."
Mother's hopeful expression slowly faded into concern. "Then... can she still shift?"
"Yes." The certainty in Vera's voice startled both of us. She crossed the room and sat once more. "Belcaris Academy employs an excellent therapist, does it not?"
Mother nodded slowly. "Dr. Ismelda Sullivan"
"Good." Ms. Wavelength nodded. "Arrange weekly sessions."
I stared at her, livid "You want me to see a therapist?"
"I want you," she replied calmly, "to stop searching only for the wolf."
Her silver eyes seemed to see through me. "I want us to search for the girl the wolf has been waiting for."
________________________________
"I am not attending Dr. Sullivan's classes" I said decidedly to my mother as we made our way back to the waiting car, away from that dreadful little office "Do you know how ridiculous that sounds?"
My face burns. I cannot even begin to imagine the outrageous taunts and howls that would follow me when it leaks out to the entire school that I'm attending therapy as a way to channel my inner stupidly dormant wolf.
The rain had begun. Raindrops kissed our hair, our coats as we walked on, quickening our steps.
Mother pulled her coat tighter around herself, shielding the folder Ms. Wavelength had handed her from the rain. "No one said you had to announce it to the entire academy."
"People always find out."
"Then let them find out " My mother snapped "Public opinion shouldn't be the bread you lean on.
I stopped walking.
"Mother, I'm already the girl without a wolf." My laugh came out hollow. "Now you want me to become the crazy girl seeing the school therapist?"
She turned to face me fully. "Therapy isn't madness, Sia."
"Tell Belcaris that." I scoffed.
She stepped closer and brushed a damp strand of hair from my face.
"Don't refuse help because you're afraid people will add one more rumor to an already existing pile."
"What if she's wrong?"
"Then we'll keep searching."
"And if she's right?" Mother's eyes glistened.
"Then perhaps your wolf has never been your enemy."
I didn't answer.
Somewhere in the distance, thunder rolled across Belcaris.
Mother unlocked the car and opened the passenger door for me.
"Dr. Sullivan only sees students on Wednesdays ." she said as casually as if discussing homework. "I'll speak to the academy tomorrow."
I swallowed my torrent of protests. God. My life was already f****d.
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