Davina And The Dire Wolf

The Dolorous Stone

Meanwhile in Green River, Harold was anticipating seeing his mate again. His friend Paul already knew about him finding his mate, but kept it quiet. Paul would rather have Harold by his side training the younger generation of warriors than some of the other men because they had been friends for longer. Paul knew Harald well. They fought side by side in battle together several times. Harald was a formidable warrior to say the least. Paul wanted to see Harold happy. They had been through so much together in the past years.

Harald woke up smiling knowing that he would see his beautiful mate again today. Harold and Paul met up for lunch before heading to the Black Creek training grounds once again. They stopped at their favorite little Mexican restaurant and chatted about their plans for the evening’s training while they ate. Paul changed the subject saying, “Have you decided what you’re going to do about the situation with your mate?” Harold looked up from his food at Paul and said, “Well.. I know where she lives. I saw her at the falls and followed her. But I don’t yet know how I’m going to break the ice if that’s what you mean.”

Paul thought about it for a minute. “Hmm. I have an idea. Let’s send home some reading material with the trainees. Write your phone number on one of the inside pages and leave a little note. Make sure she gets that specific copy.” said Paul. Harold looked at Paul with surprise and said, “That’s not a bad idea. It’s subtle and confidential. I like it.”

During school Davina’s stomach was in knots as she impatiently waited for the last class of the day to be over. The more she wanted it to end the longer it seemed to take. Mr. Stogner was discussing the origins of the Dolorous Stone as Davina day dreamed about seeing Harold. Mr. Stogner called Davina’s name much to Davina’s surprise, “Davina, can you tell me where Werewolves and the Dolorous Stone originated? Why do we guard the Dolorous Stone and keep it locked away?” said Mr. Stogner.

Luckily, Davina knew one half of the answer, but unfortunately she did not know the other half for certain. She nervously said, “Werewolves were created in ancient Egypt when the Pharaoh Ahmet attempted to serve our God the flesh of a peasant child to see if he was truly omniscient. In turn, our God cursed Pharaoh Ahmet and made him a wolf, as well as all of his descendants that would come to be. Our God shed a tear for the peasant child who was murdered, and that tear was red to symbolize the blood of the innocent that was spilled on that day. The tear turned to stone upon touching the ground, and that is how the Dolorous Stone came to be. The reason we protect and guard it is because..” Davina trailed off.

Mr. Stogner finished the sentence for her, “-because it is said to contain the power of God himself. The Dolorous Stone holds unprecedented power as well as vengeance and rage. Vengeance like that belongs to God and only to God. No one can survive coming into contact with that kind of rage. No one except for the Crimson Wolf of the prophesies. He and he alone is the only one who will survive touching the Dolorous Stone. And even so, he will be defeated by the chosen Dire Wolf. Upon the Crimson Wolf’s defeat, the Dire Wolf will place the stone upon the pedestal on Mount Vermillion where our God will return to destroy it.” said Mr. Stogner. For once, the class was silent as they listened intently to the prophecy of old. Finally, the bell rang and the atmosphere reverberated with sighs of relief.

Davina was also relieved to get out of class, especially after being put on the spot so suddenly by Mr. Stogner. Davina waved goodbye to Lena and said, “See you later!” And Lena smiled and winked at Davina as she waved back. Davina was super nervous about whatever Lena had planned for her this evening. She was also excited about seeing Harold, though.

When she got home she took special care to make sure that her hair was in place, or as in place as curly hair like hers could possibly be. She tamed and groomed herself meticulously. She heard a car horn beeping outside and rushed to the door, nearly tripping as she hurried out the door. Lena sped off down the driveway with Davina. In no time, they arrived at the training fields. Davina trembled as she took a deep breath and stepped out of the car.

“Don’t stress yourself, you worry too much! I can smell your fear..” Lena said as they walked to the training grounds together. Lena continued, “Pull yourself together or others will smell that too!” Davina knew she was right and instead tried very hard to focus on slowing her own heart rate. “There, that’s a little better.” said Lena. “My parents hired a royal tutor to teach me how to control my scent when I was afraid or nervous like that. Try breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth and think of someone or something who makes you really angry. It will make you omit more of a dominant scent instead.” said Lena.

Davina immediately thought of Richard. She used to be afraid of him when she was little, but now she just hated him. For Davina, this tactic worked really well as Lena said, “What in the world did you just think about??? Good grief take it down a notch or three!” Davina giggled and said, “Oops, my bad.” They joined the rest of the trainees just as the three instructors walked onto the training field and called everyone to attention.