The Woman With Antlers
802 Words
No one moved, the woman stood with moonlight on her back , Siler antlers braided into her hair as though she'd had grown them herself. Her black cloak stirred in a wind that didnt exist.
She smiled at Mortimer
"Oh dont look so frightened."
Mortimer fluffed his feathers
"I'm aggressively uncomfortable
Pip poked his tiny head out of Luciens shirt.
"Eep" he squeaked toward Mortimer
" Yes" mortimer answered "You can panic
Elara tightened her grip on her staff
"You broke my door "
the woman sighed dramatically
"It was already crooked"
"It was vintage"
"It was rotting"
"It had character" Elara said quietly
"It had termites"
Lucien glanced between them.
"Do you two know each other ?" he said looking confused
Elara answered first
"I avoid her'
the woman nodded.
"She does "
"Because you're impossible"
"Because I'm usually right"
Mortimer leaned toward Lucien then whispered loud enough for everyone to hear
"Theyre loke sisters if sisters occasionally tried to hex one another "
"I heard that " both women said in perfect unisom.
Lucien pinched the bridge of his nose
His ribs hurt
His wolf was restless
He was hungry
He still couldnt remember how or why he ended up in Elaras moongarden near death via his own pack members.
Mortimer has decided somewhere along the line that he belonged here now . it was shaping up to be a exhausting morning.
The woman finally looked at him
"So..."
"You're the Alpha"
Lucien straightened up
"I am. "
"Hm."
she walked a slow circle around him as though she was inspecting a horse for auction.
"Broader shoulders than your father , better manners too"
"You knew my father ?"
She let out a laugh
"Darling I jnow everyone worth knowing"
she stopped inches away
"and everyone worth fearing '
Her eyes moved to look at the silver scare on his side.
"They finally tried to kill you eh?
it wasn't a question
Elara's head snapped to him .
"Tried ?"
" You didnt tell me "
"I didn't think it mattered " she stared
"You were stabbed with silver"
"I noticed "
" By your own pack" she sounded hurt"
"Also notice"
"You left that part out"
"I was nearly unconscious when you found me "
"Well you conveniently woke up forgetting to mention it "
Mortimer coughed
"Relationship red flag"
"We arent in a relationship" Lucien and Elara said together.
The woman laughed
"Oh thats adorable "
Elara groaned
"Please dont encourage them"
"I wasnt encouraging" She smiled wider
"I was merely observing"
her gaze drifted between them
the air seemed to tighten
"You can feel it already can't you? "
Neither of them answered
She nodded anyway
"The bond "
Elar rolled her eyes
"There is no bond "
the woman's eyebrow lifted.
" and you? "
his wolf answered before he could.
A low rumble escaped his chest
Barely audible.
Entirely involuntary
Mortimer slapped one wing over his eyes
"Oh thats embarrassing."
Pip squeaked twice
"He says , big scary wolf has heart eyes"
"I do not" Lucien muttered
"You absolutely do" Elara replied
"You noticed?"
"You've been looking at me like I'm the last steak at the barbecue."
"Have not "
"You literally growled when Mortimer Sat next to me at breakfast"
"I did not"
Mortimer raised one claw
"You absolutely did"
Silence.
Lucien looked offended
and his wolf guilty
The woman smiled like she'd won a bet with the universe.
"There it is"
"What?"
"The oldest magic ine existence"
"Which Is ? " Elara asked
"Two stubborn idiots" the woman chucked.
she stepped back toward the door ..
"I didnt come to threaten you"
"Could've fooled me " Elara said glancing at her door a small smile on her face
" I came to warn you "
the smile faded and elara looked to her
"When the bloodmoon rises in 13 nights every wolf in the valley will hear your heartbeat"
A hugh fell over the cabin
even Mortimer and Pip quit arguing over the last oatmeal raisen cookie.
The words lingered long after she disappeared into the woods
no smoke , no flash of magic
Just.....
gone.
The Silence stretched then
Pip l crawled out from inside Luciens shirt. climbed onto his shoulder ans patted his cheek with one tiny wing.
"eep"
Mortimer sighed
"He says .." Another sigh escaped him " You're sleeping on the couch"
Lucien frowned
"I thought the couch bites"
" It does. "
"So where am I supposed to sleep then ?"
Elara walked past them to the shattered doorway.
Without looking back she said
"Guess you'll have to earn the bed "
for the first time since arriving in Briar Hollow
Lucien smiled
his wolf practically wagged
and somewhere deep in the woods something smiled back at them.
- Writer
