LunaElara: Guardian of Spindale

CHAPTER 005

The change was impossible to ignore.

When I touched the shrine, something inside me changed; everything felt possible. This wasn’t a feeling that went away, or a tip of the scales; it was a power, primal and undeniable, that had burrowed itself into every inch of me. My chest burnt with a fire, fiercely and constantly, warming me but never consuming me.

I convinced myself that I could deal with it, that it would pass, as rivers do after storms. The fire grew stronger, wilder every day.

I didn’t know how my senses sharpened. The whisper of wind through the trees, the rustle of a fox moving through the underbrush in the dead of night, I could hear all of it. Scents crystallised before my eyes, deeply layered earthy pine with a sharp snap of air slipping into morning, that little metallic hint of rain in the distance. I felt somehow the world around me even brighter, more alive, as if I was seeing it for the first time.

It was exhilarating at times. More often than not, it terrified me.

Shortly after the night in the clearing, one evening provided a clear early test.

Laughing, they ran around the yard chasing each other; the girls played outside. It was a moment of peace in the chaos that had taken root in my chest; the sound made me smile. I was inside folding laundry when it happened.

…The wind shifted…

It was a small change, a small change in the air that most people wouldn’t notice. I could feel it right away, a ripple of unease that prickled my skin. I went to the window and looked out at the tree line. The forest was still; its shadows deepening, but the sun declined lower still.

My voice was steady, but unease was creeping into my chest, and I called out. “Time to come inside girls.”

They turned to me, Sophia looking up, her curls bouncing. “But it’s not dark yet!” she said it sharper than she meant to.

Something in my tone must have registered because they didn’t argue. Sophia grabbed their hand, and the three of them ran towards the house.

A flash of movement at the edge of the woods, I caught it as they passed through the door. It was quick, but blur, and it was enough to get my heart racing.

I closed the door, locked it, my breath shallow. “Is everything okay, Mama?” Lila searched my eyes with her wide eyes and asked.

I forced a smile. “It’s all good, sweetheart.” Just getting dark. “Go wash up for dinner,” he said.

Their footsteps retreated down the hall, but my pulse didn’t slow. I stayed by the window after they were gone, staring at the forest.

That night I dreamed of wolves again.

This time, it was different. I wasn’t running through the forest, nor was I watching from afar. I *was* the wolf, pounding the earth with paws, my muscles wound tight as if I was the most powerful thing I had ever been. The moon was light-years beyond that, the light of the star shining high above it as I walked with purpose.

The pack had been there, rising as one, all with howls as their eyes shone in the darkness. I didn’t hear them say anything, but I knew what they meant. They were waiting for me. Watching.

My hands shook, and my breath was ragged. I woke up. I felt like I might burst, and the fire in my chest burnt hotter than it ever had.

Over the next few days it became harder to ignore the power.

The simple tasks were then presented with new challenges. It was unpredictable, but I was strong; I shattered a glass in my hand without knowing how tightly I was holding it, and a simple tug on a stuck drawer tore it completely from its frame.

I tried to avoid the girls as often as I could, afraid if they saw the cracks in my control, they would take notice.

Sophia wasn’t easily fooled, though.

As I braided her hair one morning, she said, “You’re different, Mama.”

I made my hands keep going, but they failed. “What do you mean?”

She shrugged thoughtfully. “I don’t know. You just... seem stronger. Like you’re glowing.”

The sound of it, even to my own ears, was hollow laughter. “Sweet girl, you’re just imagining things.”

But she wasn’t imagining it. I could feel it too, the energy that was coming off of me, wild and impossible to ignore.

One afternoon I couldn’t take it anymore. I told the girls I needed some air and left the house, going deep into the forest.

The pull was now stronger, drawing me into something I’d never been before. Their branches let the sunlight through in soft, golden beams; the trees were denser than normal. I could feel the ground on my feet was alive; its pulse was mine.

I fell in the clearing to my knees, gasping for breath. “I didn’t ask for this!” I shouted, and my voice broke the stillness.

The forest didn’t respond, but the fire within me flared, wanting to be noticed.

I closed my eyes, trying to focus, trying to get some control back. The wolf was stirred, and it was very strong, very undeniable. It wasn’t just a part of me; it was me, as much as my hands or my heart.

What do you want from me? I thought the question echoed in my mind. It did not tell it in words, just a feeling, a realisation deep and unshakeable. The wolf wasn’t my enemy. It guided me, It taught me, It was my strength. It was, however, that strength at a cost.

When I got home, the girls were there, their faces full of worry.

“Where were you?” Lila asked, her voice trembling.

I knelt before them and pulled them into my arms. “I just needed to think,” I said, in my voice soft. “I’m sorry.”

Her eyes glistened at mine; Sophia pulled back. “Is it because of the dreams?”

I froze; my heart skipped a beat. “What dreams?” I asked carefully.

She said, “You talk in your sleep”. “You say things about wolves and other stuff”.

I closed my eyes, and the weight of the truth pressed down on me. I didn’t know if I had answers, but they deserved them.

I forced a smile and said finally, “Everything’s okay”. “I promise.”

But the promise felt hollow.

That night, I swore to myself, as I sat by the fire.

The fire in my chest burnt steady. I didn’t ask for this,I thought. But it’s mine now. Before it controls me, I have to figure out how to control it.

I didn’t know what that meant yet, but the pack needed me. I had to be strong, not just for them, but for my daughters also.

This power was of me now, whether I liked it or not. I would learn to wield it, and I would.