The Silver Siren

Chapter 6

Allie

It was time. As we made our way further into the dense woodland, I heard a voice in my head.

“Hello, Allie”

It was my wolf. “I am Lana. I am your wolf.” I smiled.

Instinctively, I responded, “Good to meet you Lana. Ready to come out and see the world?”

“You bet!” she said.

Melissa walked silently beside me. We walked for a few more minutes and then she stopped. “This looks like a good spot,” she said.

I took a deep breath, “So, how does this work?” I asked, nervously.

“Well, firstly you need to connect with your wolf. Is she with you yet?” Melissa asked.

“Yes,” I replied.

“Excellent. She will know what to do. You and your wolf are one now, she is the other half of you. But you are the one who controls when she comes out and shifting will become instinctive,” she explains.

I nodded. “Ok,” I said shakily.

“And don’t forget your clothes,” she added.

I started to remove my clothes. In the secluded area of the forest I would be protected from view. Once I had removed my clothes and left them in a neat pile next to Melissa, she asked “Ready?”

“Yes,” I said quietly.

“Remember Allie, you will feel every inch of the shift at first. But once it is complete and your wolf takes over, you will feel no more pain. The more you shift in the future, the easier it will be.”

I sometimes forget that Melissa is human and not a werewolf. She has extensive knowledge about most supernatural things and has made sure I have grown up fully embracing being a werewolf. I took another deep breath and spoke to Lena.

“Are you ready, Lana?”

“More than you know. Let’s do it!” she said energetically.

I breathed out slowly and felt Lena take control. A burning sensation started in my lower back. At first it just felt uncomfortable, but as it travelled up my spine, it turned into pain. I kept my breathing controlled as I felt it get more intense. After a few minutes, the pain was so bad it had me doubled over and I dropped to my hands and knees. On all fours, I looked down at my hands spread out on the grass. My fingers were elongating into claws and pale grey fur started to sprout over the back of my hands. By this point the pain was excruciating and I thought I might pass out as my vision started to blur so I laid down on the grass. The sound of my bones popping out of their sockets brought me back to the present. My body stretched and twisted slowly, and soft fur covered every inch. And finally, the pain started to subside and, after what felt like an eternity, my shift was complete. I slowly stood up on all fours and turned to face Melissa. Her face was pale, and she looked nervous. I padded towards her, slightly wobbly, and she smiled.

“How do you feel?” she asked. I answered her by nuzzling my head into her body and purred, glad that the pain had gone now.

“Run, run! Let’s go for a run!” Lana said, excitedly. She howled and we took off running. Our speed surprised me, but it felt incredible. The cool air rippled through my fur and the forest had never smelled so sweet. We ran for a few minutes and found a small lake in a secluded clearing. It was beautiful. At the water’s edge, the lake was almost glowing in the moonlight, casting shadows of the willow trees that lazily hung over the water. The grassy bank felt soft under my paws, and I approached the water’s edge. Looking down into the water, I saw my wolf staring back at me. Light grey fur covered my body, and in the moonlight, it almost looked silver, shimmering amongst the shadows. My eyes were the most brilliant shade of purple, a few shades lighter than amethyst. My wolf was beautiful, and I could feel her power. All of my senses seemed heightened. I could hear the scurrying of small animals in the undergrowth, the gentle flapping of an owl’s wings and I could see all the way across the lake. I sat at the water’s edge for a while listening quietly and feeling peaceful. Soon, Lana wanted to run again, so we set off and returned to Melissa.

I arrived back to Melissa to find her with a strange expression on her face. I couldn’t make out what it was, and it confused me. I was expecting her to look a little happier that I had just completed my first shift without any problems. But she didn’t look happy. I told Lana it was time to shift back and concentrated to complete the process. I shifted back to human easily, put my clothes back on quickly and looked at her.

“What is it?” I questioned.

“We need to talk, Allie,” she said quietly.

“What about?” I asked, getting more and more worried.

“Let’s go back to the house,” she said as she started to make her way back before I had a chance to question her further. All I could do was follow her as she bustled quickly and quietly back to the house, my excitement over completing my first shift and the excitement of a wonderful birthday ebbing away with each step. By the time we reached the house, I felt empty. Something was wrong, and panic rose in my chest.

Melissa silently opened the door and went inside the cottage. I followed her inside and, as I entered the lounge said “What’s going on? Is everything ok?”

She sat down on the sofa calmly and her hand landed in her lap. “Sit down, sweetie. There are some things I need to tell you, and it’s quite a long story,” she said. She took a deep breath and exhaled it shakily. I sat down on the sofa, my heart thumping in my chest.

“As you already know, your parents died when you were just a baby.” I nodded.

“But what you don’t know is the whole story.” I looked at her confused. The whole story? What else was there to know?

“What do you mean? It was an accident,” I said softly.

She took a deep breath. Then she dropped the bomb. “They didn’t die in a car accident, sweetie. They were murdered.”

“What!”, I croaked. My mouth felt dry, and my chest felt heavy. Who would want to hurt my parents? I held my breath and closed my eyes, hoping I would wake up from a terrible dream. It just didn’t make sense! I squeezed my eyes shut harder, but I had to face reality. I was an adult now, and I had to act like one. I took some deep breaths in and out to calm my thoughts and opened my eyes.

Melissa’s anguished eyes met mine. I could see her pain. “Your parents were special, Allie. They weren’t like other werewolves,” she said. None of this made any sense. There was only one kind of werewolf. Just ordinary werewolf!!

As if she sensed my confusion she said, “Have you ever heard of Sirens?”

I managed to shake my head slightly. Only very slightly though, because a headache had firmly lodged in there and was getting gradually worse by the minute. Feeling weak and tired, I slumped back against the sofa to listen to what Melissa said next.

“Many years ago, there was an extremely rare breed of werewolf in existence. They had exceptional powers of speed, strength and agility that far exceeded that of an ordinary werewolf. But they were also each blessed with a special power, a gift from the Moon Goddess. Both your mother and your father were sirens.”

Everything that I thought I knew about my parents was untrue. It felt like every part of my life was just turning on its head.

“Just before you were born, a ruthless Alpha of a pack near to us here desired himself to be the most powerful Alpha that ever was. He saw the sirens as a threat because of their extraordinary strength and power. He felt he could never be the most powerful Alpha if there were sirens on the earth more powerful than he was. So he ordered that all sirens were to be killed. Using dark magic to locate their scents, he sent hunters to track them, drug them, and kill them. For many months, his activities went undetected by the Elder council, and he stealthily wiped-out siren numbers. George and Suzanne because fearful that they would be found. So, Suzanne came to me for help.”

I looked up at her, my eyes widened. How could she have helped my parents? I pinched the bridge of my nose to try and stop the headache taking over completely. It hurt to think.

“But you’re human,” I said weakly, “What could you have done?” Lana was pacing around in my head too, reacting to my confusion and pain.

Melissa hung her head and her hands fidgeted in her lap.

Oh.

“I am a white witch, Allie,” she said softly. “I’m sorry I made you think I was human, but it was simpler for you to think I was human when you were small.”

“You’re a witch?!” I spat out, unable to contain my shock.

She nodded slightly. Everything had been a lie. My whole life had been a lie. My breathing became fast and erratic. Blood rushed in my ears.

“Your Mother asked me to write a spell to cover their scents and protect them. so I did. I tried so hard to write a good spell. But my power was only enough to mask one scent. I wasn’t strong enough to mask them both. I tried everything to protect them, making potion after potion,” she said, silent tears trickling down her face.

“It had never been recorded in our history that two sirens would be destined mates, simply because sirens are so rare. They decided to keep your existence hidden from the world. I was able to mask your scent because you were so small. We lived hidden in the woods, but one day the hunters found us. Suzanne ordered me to take you away, so I orbed out to the lake in the woods and left you hidden in a magical cradle. When I orbed back, George was protecting Suzanne from the hunters. I tried casting a spell of protection, but there were too many of them. George died trying to save Suzanne, and in the end, the hunters killed them both. I couldn’t save them.”

It suddenly dawned on me what she was trying to say. She was saying she was responsible for their deaths.

“Eventually, the Elder council discovered what the Alpha was doing and gathered enough evidence to strip him of his Alpha status and his pack, banishing him to rogue status. But by the time this happened, it was far too late. Only a few sirens survived, living secret lives in fear of him finding them, never to be seen in society again. No one is sure how many still exist, if any.”

My brain was desperately trying to keep up with everything that she said. But I couldn’t stop the trickles of anger that began to make their way through. Why did they have to die? How different my life could have been if they had lived? Why didn’t Melissa’s magic protect them both? A white witch? Seriously?! Is this even my life? Why me? Hot tears burned my eyes.

“There’s more.” Melissa’s voice lifted me out of my anger briefly.

“With both your parents being sirens, it means that you are also….” Her voice trailed off.

No! Absolutely not. She had to be wrong about this!

“I can’t be! I’m not!!” I spluttered in protest. “I don’t have any magical powers. My wolf is just normal. I am just normal!” I hadn’t realised that I was shouting now. This couldn’t be happening. I could have made my peace, eventually, with a f****d up Alpha hell bent on power and killing my parents. But believing that I’m some super rare special werewolf? No way. There was nothing special about me. I am just a normal 18-year-old werewolf who just shifted for the first time.

Melissa’s eyes met mine, and they instantly widened. “Allie, your eyes are glowing,” she said.

I ran over to the mirror. Looking back at me was a pair of luminous purple eyes. Oh my goodness. I snapped my head back to face her, fear rising in my throat. “What’s happening?”

“Your powers are connected to your emotions. Since you don’t know how to control them yet, your wolf is trying to take over. Try and calm her,” Melissa instructed.

I took a few steadying breaths. I could feel Lana trying to take over, but all I could feel was panic and anger. I had never been angry at Melissa before. But, as the magnitude of what she had revealed started to become real, I had nowhere to direct it but at her.

“You’ve lied to me my whole life,” I said, “And now you’re telling me I’ve got special powers?!” My voice sounded strange, and I knew I was losing control. The panic was overwhelming, making my chest ache and my hands shake.

“I know it’s a lot to take in, Allie, but I was trying to protect you. I failed your parents and I have to live with that every day. I couldn’t let the same thing happen to you. I’m sorry.” She sounded broken.

“I’m just a normal werewolf. I don’t want powers!” I screamed desperately. “I don’t want this. This can’t be happening!” I knew I was freaking out, but I couldn’t stop it. I had to get out of here. I ran for the door.

“Allie, wait! There’s more you need to know!” I heard Melissa call after me. She sounded distant. All I could hear now was the sound of the wind rushing past my ears and realised I was running. Before I knew it, I was in the forest. Lana was going crazy, jumping and howling in my head. Still running, I let her take over, wanting to escape. I leapt over a log and shifted into my wolf mid-air, leaving my clothes in tatters.

I couldn't escape the feeling that my life was also in tatters.