Unknown Wolf

Awakening

I woke up standing outside in the middle of the grounds. A mist hung down around me and over the extensive lawns. It smelled wet and fresh. A calming scent engulfing me with earthly tones. Even though I had been out here a thousand times before something felt different. I looked down, but instead of looking at my hands I was staring at a pair of white paws. I pushed them deeper into the wet ground in curiosity and dug my claws into the earth feeling it beneath me as if for the first time.

Excitement burned through my body and I begin to run in pure joy as if I was finally free after being caged for so long. Instinctively I threw my head back howling at the moon hanging above as if to announce my release, and continued to bolt towards the treeline ahead.

I stopped as I came to a small clearing in the dense trees of the forest. My ears perked in alert, and I immediately knew something was wrong. Different scents I could not recognize hit me, and then from the darkness between the trees lurked a pack of wolves as they slowly came forward surrounding me. They growled and snarled at me baring their fangs in aggression. Fear washed over me now replacing my excitement and joy from earlier as I took in my new predicament.

Directly in front of me was an enormous black wolf like my father's, but I knew it wasn't him. This one seemed to be leading the others and he stepped closer to me growling in disapproval as I cowarded beneath him paralyzed in my fear. He continued by leering down at me with his sharp canines in triumph.

Suddenly a loud thud awoke me from this disturbing dream. I shifted and slowly got out of bed walking over to the balcony doors. A large blackbird must have accidentally flown into my window thankfully disturbing my slumber, but it had in turn snapped it's neck. I stared sadly at it laying motionless on the stone. I knew it was a bad omen. I raised my glaze up to take in the grounds from my dream and the mist still hung in the air slightly above them. It was clearly almost dawn as a soft light threatened at the tree tops in the distance.

I turned away and walked back towards my bed where I sat directing my attention to the side table. Someone had the forethought to leave some headache medicine and a glass of water for me after my fainting incident during dinner. I gladly took it and slowly drank the water. Briefly, I wondered if that had all been just a dream as well, but I knew deep down it wasn't. I knew what my father had told me was the truth, and that afterwards he had shifted into his wolf to prove it to me.

I set the empty glass back down upon the table next to the only picture that adorned it. Stopping to linger upon the photograph framed within. My mother smiled up to me from it with complete happiness written on her face. Her arms tightly wrapped around me hugging me to her chest. I couldn't have been more than four, and a huge smile lit up my face stretched from ear to ear. We did look extremely similar with our large green eyes shining out towards the photographer.

Also in the picture was my father. He looked completely different with a softness to him as he seemed content and full of joy. His jet black hair windblown and flowing no white streak in it yet. His large arms engulfed my mother and I as he gently kissed her upon her head. The picture always seemed unreal to me as if from a different life. I can't ever remember feeling that kind of joy it had been so long ago. Now I'm constantly filled with this emptiness inside with a purposeless feeling about myself almost lost in the world.

I got up to get dressed, and ready for the day seeing as I was already awake. Dressing casually I ran a brush through my hair, and brushed my teeth in a daze. Later I followed the empty halls down to the stairs, and into the dining room around around 7am. To my surprise it was not empty as I found my aunt already sitting at the table in her place from last night. She stood when I entered also dressed more casually from our dinner last night in light grey slacks and a long sleeved midnight blue blouse. Her hair flowing down past her shoulders.

"Good morning Lucy," She calmly smiled at me waiting to sit again only when I took my sit.

"Morning Aunt Rose," I awkwardly replied. My father wasn't with us. I wondered if he had already left again on business leaving me alone with my newly found Aunt.

She curiously directed all her attention to me as our breakfast was brought out to us. I knew she was trying to assess the situation to see how I was taking the information from last night. It seemed she didn't know how to take me just as I didn't know quite how to react to her presence.

"I'm sorry Lucy. I can't imagine what is running through your mind with all this. Finding out now at seventeen what you truly are, and having it all thrust upon you like that. I wish your mother was still here to help me with all this. I hadn't seen her since she left us to be with your father after finding out they were connected by the mate bond. I was just a young teenager myself, but I knew your father was her everything and she was happy. My parents were afraid when it was discovered she was connected with such a high ranked wolf, but my sister seemed to take her position with grace and ease. I miss her strength," she sighed thinking of all the daunting tasks that lay before her.

"Let's finish breakfast before I start explaining everything to you," she said softly and I nodded. We ate in a comfortable silence just enjoying eachothers company for the time being.