Chapter 2
I stomp up the porch steps and gently open the front door. The lights are off, so Grandma must have gone to bed. She tends to fall asleep early, which I expect. Slowly shutting the door behind me, making sure not to wake her up like several times before, and creeping up the wooden stairs, I slip into my bedroom. The walls are a light shade of blue, and the floors are medium wood, something natural and native looking. My bed sits in the middle of the room in between two windows that view the trees surrounding us like stone walls.
Moonlight shines through the glass and creates an eerie glow on the floor, almost lighting a path for me. I shrug off my coat and lay it on the back of my desk chair, which is another past work of my grandfather.
Too tired to change, I climb under the white duvet and shut my eyes. The only thing running through my mind is the stream. Its frigid, soft current flows through me as if something is telling me to venture on. This something is leaning down and whispering in my ear, “Go past. Go past.”
“I’m confused. What’s pushing me to cross the stream?” I mumble into the air of my empty bedroom.
“You must discover for yourself.” The angelic voice fills my cold, red-tipped ears.
Right away, I know it is the Moon Goddess. I trust she is in the room, and I no longer need to search for her. I imagine her long, flowing white dress and endless, silky hair that seems to float around her, not touching her unearthly, porcelain skin. To me, she is more magical than a goddess.
“I knew you would say something like that.” I sigh and curl further into the covers.
There it is, flowing right in front of me. All I have to do is step on the surfacing stones and cross it. I already lied to my grandmother about what I am doing, and now I don’t even have the guts to carry out my plan. “It’s not a big deal. Just see what’s on the other side.” My wolf pushes me.
“You’re right. It’s no big deal.” I lie to myself.
The taunting thoughts in my mind seem to believe that the quick action of hopping across is indeed a big deal. The Moon Goddess didn’t help me make my decision, as she decided to keep her opinion out of this. She tends to do that frequently. Most of the choices I make are based solely on my own ideas.
Reaching my foot out to the first stone, I shift my weight onto it, then the other, and I am now standing on the first rock. The first move is over with, but I still feel undecided. I was hoping the leap of faith would trigger something in my head. I back away and move off from the stone.
“Maybe we should do this another time.”
“It’s no big deal,” my wolf reminds me, sounding somewhat annoyed by my reluctance.
“Okay. Okay, I’m going.” I take a deep breath before stepping back onto the first stone.
Then onto the second, then the third.
“Now we’re going places,” my wolf comments, but I ignore her.
Now standing on the last rock, I begin to feel nervous. This is it. I am finally going to find out what is on the other side. Part of me believes that I am blowing this all out of proportion, but the other half is bothered by my bugging thoughts.
I carefully step off the stone and onto the brown, sponge-like dirt. I scan the area before taking another step. Seeming to be the only person out here, I shrug my shoulders before heading into the trees. I guess it is no big deal.
Birds sing up on branches, and forest animals scamper across the earth floor, not threatened by my presence today. I watch a squirrel dash towards a tree, flying up the bark like it does every day.
When I was younger, I begged Grandma to let me bring home a squirrel so I could keep it as a pet. Naturally, she said no, but it still broke my eight-year-old heart, as back then I was looking for anything to distract myself.
I do not remember a lot of my childhood, mostly just being with my grandmother. I do not remember my parents much, as I left them so young.
All I know is they brought me to Grandma’s to keep me safe because of the attack and possibly my ability, but that is my own theory.
Grandmother is not part of a pack. She is very independent. She tells me that you do not need a pack. All you need is a mate. She said this when I was around ten years old, so I did not understand the need for a mate. Evidently, I barely knew what one was.
The thought of having a soul mate frightens me a little, but then Grandmother used to tell me stories about her mate, my grandfather. He died fighting in some attack back when Grandmother was not yet a grandmother. She told me about their dates, when they first met, and a heap of other romantic things.
Attacks seem to drive many of us apart. She was quiet after he died. She was quiet for a while.
“Hey, what are you doing on Tate land!” An authoritative voice tears me from my thoughts.
My gaze swiftly shoots up only to be greeted by a man’s intense one. He is tall and muscular, built like a warrior of another time. His light blonde hair gently moves with the cool breeze of the afternoon air. The man’s skin is lightly tanned like he has spent days working in the sun. The man is not old, and if I have to guess, I’ll say he is about twenty-three.
Getting a powerful feeling from him, I believe him to be important.
“Hey, I’m talking to you!” He hollers at me again, becoming irked.
“What do I say?”
“I don’t know. Who is this guy? Why does he think he is so much stronger than us?” My wolf growls.