The Bite of Revenge

Chapter 5

I was walking through Yosemite National Park. It was a warm summer day, and just as I was walking into a clearing, a beautiful white wolf approached me. I backed up a few paces, but the wolf continued to walk towards me. "You have nothing to fear my child," said a kind voice in my head, "I'm Lupa, the wolf goddess, and I'm here to warn you."

"Warn me about what?" I asked as I realized the wolf had sat back on its haunches.

"Priscilla Argent has released the ancient ones," Lupa answered, "they're the hell hounds that never lived long enough to see their alpha."

"But why would Priscilla release such creatures?" I asked, "I thought the shadow wolves were rabid."

"They are," Lupa answered with a slight nod, "which makes them impossible to control, and once released they run wild. Their bite is also deadly to both humans and supernaturals and that includes hell hounds."

"How many of these ancient ones are there?"

"Eighteen and Priscilla released all of them."

"With all due respect," I said, as I started to pace, "I know Priscilla is an Argent and all, but why would she summon these creatures knowing that a single bite is a death sentence?"

"Because she's desperate," Lupa answered, rolling her yellow eyes, "she's only an Argent by marriage, which makes her the black sheep of the family and she thinks that if she can get rid of all supernaturals in one swoop, she'll earn the respect of the rest of the Argent family."

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked as I stopped pacing and turned to face Lupa, "what's all this have to do with me?"

"I sense great potential in you," she answered, "so I've chosen you as my protégé."

"But why me?" I asked, but instead of answering, Lupa turned into a beautiful, dark haired woman and touched her forehead to mine.

"I give you my blessing Anastasia, daughter of Azazel," she said, "I've chosen you not only as my protégé, but as my champion." Lupa then stepped back and smiled kindly. "You have a bright future ahead of you Anastasia, make me proud." I could only nod as Lupa, now a wolf again, turned to go. "What happened here stays between us," she said, turning back to look at me, "your friends must never know that I've contacted you."

"Of course Lupa," I said respectfully as everything started to blur in and out of focus, "I won't let you down." Eventually the clearing disappeared and I was falling down a tunnel of complete darkness, but this didn't bother me because I had a feeling that Lupa was watching over me and so with this thought in mind, I let my consciousness carry me back towards wakefulness.