Shadow Wolves: Rise of the Phoenix (Book 7)

Chapter 6 - Quiet Strength.

Sitting around the campfire, everyone was fairly quiet when they heard Erik coming through the forest. He shifted and walked into the light wearing only his shorts. It must have been some run because his pants had a tear on one side, and he looked like he hadn’t bathed in a week.

“All raged out?” Ant asked him, not really looking his way.

“Yes, Alpha. I’m sorry for my behaviour. Lykos will not act like that again.” He walked over and looked as if he was about to say something to Christiaan and Blake when Ant stopped him.

“Before you say anything, maybe you should first sit down and listen.” Ant sighed and Erik nodded and took a seat. “We brought you boys here, so we could teach you about honour and working together as a pack. We learned to do that on the streets because we had no other choice but to trust each other. We had nobody else. You boys have us and the entire pack, yet you bicker like girls.” Christiaan and Blake were about to start up again, and Ant silenced them.

Erik took a seat next to his dad, and Chris and Harold were each sitting on either side of Luc. They thought it'd better to keep Blake and Christiaan next to Ant to keep them in check until Erik returned. There was a serious decision to make for boys so young, and they, as their dads, discussed it while they prepared dinner.

“You two didn’t cut it today. You split up your pack. You two over there were just as bad.” He pointed at Chris and Harold, who aimed to protest, and Luc smacked them both upside the head. “The only one that kept his head on straight, was Erik.”

“But I’m still Alpha, he didn’t challenge me.” Christiaan chirped, looking furious.

“But you lost the fight!! That is what makes me so angry with you! You think you are so entitled! What happened? Ever since the reveal, you have changed, dude.” Blake interjected.

“I didn’t!” Christiaan jumped up to defend himself.

“Yes, you did.” Erik said. Ant growled, and they all kept quiet.

“That is beside the point. We were all looking at you two bickering, and none of us saw the quiet strength inside Erik. We, as your trainers, have decided that even though there was no official challenge, Erik won the fight and you, my son, did submit to the challenge. Erik will be my successor.” He growled softly, emphasizing that his decision was final when the other two aimed to start up their protest again.

“Alpha, if I may?” Erik asked, his voice wavering.

“No, you may not. You will learn that jumping into the middle of that fight carries responsibility with it, Lykos.” Ant immediately put him in his place. Silence fell over the campsite, and Luc looked up at the stars. This was certainly not how they saw things going tonight, but that was his mother-in-law for you. It wouldn’t surprise him if Star had a hand in it as well.

“Well, that’s enough excitement for me for one day. I’m off to bed.” Luc got up, stretched, and pretended to yawn.

“Oh, no you don’t!! You’re not going anywhere. I want to keep an eye on you.” Matt laughed at him.

“Frack!!” Luc didn’t even try to deny that he was about to try and escape. All the boys burst out in fits of laughter.

“Another nice lesson. Always, always stick by your friend in need.” Ant grinned at Luc, and he felt like punching both of them.

“I wasn’t going anywhere else but bed.” Luc decided to defend himself, after all.

“Yeah, but Rudi might have had other plans. You stay, gamma!” Matt, still laughing, pointed at the open seat. His words made the boys giggle, and Luc just rolled his eyes. The tension in the circle was broken by his poor attempt at trying to escape.

AFTER EVERYONE LEFT, Sarah called a taxi to take her to the office to collect her bag, files, and her car. The office was dead quiet this time of the night, but at least it was a different view than her flat, which now made her feel as though she was living in a cemetery!! Maybe Meg was right. But what would she do with all that stuff?

She was only going to be there for another couple of weeks, then she was going to move to the next city and the next assignment. Sitting back in her chair, she closed her eyes for a second.

“Life isn’t as complicated as you are trying to make it, sweetheart,” Moon frightened Sarah with her sudden appearance even though her voice was smooth and motherly. Sarah nearly jumped out of her skin and on top of her chair at the sound of the sudden voice in her office. When she opened her eyes, a woman was sitting in front of her with her hands calmly folded on her lap. A kind smile on her face and something in her eyes drew Sarah in.

“Who are you?! How did you? What?” Sarah shook her head, trying to calm her racing heart.

“Hi, Sarah, I’m the moon goddess, but you can call me Moon. Everyone does.” Her beautiful face looked nothing like Sarah imagined!

“Uhm… Okay, how do you know my name?” Sarah thought the moon goddess only looked after werewolves!

“I know everyone’s name. Hence, the goddess part…” She smiled and Sarah picked up her chair after throwing it over in her attempt to escape this strange woman who appeared out of thin air and sat down again.

“What are you doing here?” She felt really confused. Was she like a fairy godmother? She was dressed in a blue dress… Moon laughed, and it sounded like soft fairy bells ringing. Sarah started looking around the room to see if she was missing any other guests in her office.

“No, I’m not a fairy godmother. I’m the one who takes care of all the supernatural creatures. I’m frankly stunned that you haven’t heard about me yet. It is my job to make sure that all of you find your way to love and happiness.” She actually read Sarah’s mind!

“Oh, but wait… I’m not supernatural. I’m just human.” Sarah frowned.

“Well, that’s not entirely true, but we’ll get to that part later.” The fairy godmother type person laughed, making Sarah feel really silly. What the hell was she saying?!

“I’m not a werewolf, am I?” Sarah gasped, shocked at the mere thought that she could be one and never knew.

“No, you aren’t a werewolf, but we are getting off track. I’m here tonight because I understand that you want to leave the pack. Is that right?” For a moment Sarah looked confused. If she was not a werewolf, then what was she?

“Oh, Meg called you, huh? It’s not that I want to leave. I feel bad for what I said, but I have a life, and she was pushing me to do what I’m… Oh hell, I don’t know. I’m just trying to get this case wrapped up, and then those damn green eyes walked into my life, and now everything is one big mess!!” She actually felt like crying for the first time in years. The fairy godmother got up, put her arms around Sarah’s shoulders, sat on the armrest of her chair as if she weighed nothing!

“Oh, honey. It’s all going to be okay. No matter what you choose. Life does go on, and we do find our own happiness in our own way.”

“So, what are you telling me?” Should I leave?” Sarah slapped her hand down on the desk.

“No, that’s not what I’m saying. Look, it’s not my place to tell you what to do. But it is my place to give you options. Good ones and bad ones.” Moon shrugged.

“What kind of fairy goddess are you?” Sarah lifted her arms in the air, feeling even more confused.

“Let’s do it this way. You have two choices, right?” Moon laughed and walked back to her seat, sitting down. Sarah nodded, wanting to first see how much this wannabe goddess really knew. Maybe she was asleep, and this woman was a figment of her imagination.

“Oh, sweetheart, I’m not a figment of your imagination that I can promise you. On the one side is the unknown and on the other is your safe zone. Am I still on track?” Moon looked amused.

“That’s obvious.” Sarah folded her arms and sat back in her chair, wondering if “Moon” was now going to tell her that her future held a tall, dark, and handsome man that would be the love of her life.

“No, honey, your present has a blond, green-eyed man who is already madly in love with you. He is your unknown. Him with everything that comes with staying. This is where I’m not allowed to influence your decision. See, I can’t tell you which side is the good option and which is the bad one. You have to decide that for yourself. I simply put them there for you.” Moon laughed at her again, and she frowned.

“I’m still lost.” Sarah threw her hands in the air, getting ready to grab her stuff and go back home, but for some reason, she couldn’t get up off the chair.

“Okay, this is a very important one!!!” Moon looked up at the ceiling, and Sarah started looking for some way to escape.

“This woman is crazy, and she is going to kill me, and Meg will find me murdered in my office in the morning!!!!” Sarah thought to herself.

“You know the rules.” A male voice came out of nowhere…

“Yes, but you know I don’t follow them when it’s this important!” Moon frowned.

“I know.” Sarah started looking around her office for the ghost that was talking. This was definitely a nightmare… Pinch yourself!!!! She pinched her leg. “OW!!! Nope, that didn’t wake me up.”

“You can stop faffing now. You aren’t going mad, and this is not a nightmare. This is going to hurt. Sorry.” Moon looked down from the ceiling at Sarah. The last thing Sarah saw was the gun Moon pulled on her before everything went dark. She knew it!!!

Waking up on something that felt soft, Sarah realized it was daylight, and she was not dead!! She was also not in her office or someone’s basement. When she lifted her head, it hurt as if someone drugged her with an elephant tranquilizer or something.

“Slowly! The first time is always the worst.” Moon sighed.

“Well, you didn’t have to shoot her, you know.” Ravli grumbled.

“It was all I could think of doing quickly. Give her the medicine and go.” Sarah opened her eyes slightly, and she could swear she was seeing an elf!!!

“Oh, sweetie!” Moon laughed, “He isn’t an elf. This is Ravli. He is a dwarf.”

“Hi, Sarah, pleased to meet you. Here, drink this. It will take away the headache.” She took the glass of purple liquid from him and smelled it first. Ah, well, what could happen? Drinking it, she actually liked it. It tasted like grapes, and within a couple of seconds her headache disappeared, and she could sit up completely.

“Thank you.” Sarah looked around her and noticed that she was sitting on a bed of different shades of pink feathers. They were in a grass clearing.

“I think you should leave us to talk.” Moon raised an eyebrow and the dwarf huffed, nodded and disappeared.

“Where are we?” Sarah frowned.

“In my home city. The gardens are everywhere. I love coming here with new people because it’s so peaceful.” Moon took a deep breath, then looked at Sarah again. “Sarah, you are special. You are one of a kind, and I had to bring you here to show you where I could keep you safe. I gave you two options for your life to choose from one good and one bad one.”

“Not this again.” Sarah sighed deeply, rolling her eyes.

“Please, just listen.” Moon sounded sincere, and Sarah nodded, looking at the feathers which she noticed were actually part of a dress she was wearing.

“I never tell people which is the good one and which is the bad one, because they need the freedom to choose for themselves what they want in life. That is the rule. There is so much to tell you that you missed out on, but we will get to it over time. For now, I want you to know that staying would be your good choice. I know that every fiber of your being is shouting for you to run, but don’t. In time, everything will become clearer. Just give the pack and especially Luc a chance. Accept the job. You can always change your mind later and then leave.” Moon shrugged as if it was an easy choice.

“What if…” Sarah started.

“Every choice in life has what if. Even the ones you think you control. You can get onto that plane, but what if it falls out of the sky? You can take that new case, but what if that is your last one? Or you can stay and what if this is where you belong?” After the roller coaster of feelings that Sarah had just been through for the last, what felt like twenty-four hours, she nodded.

“Okay, I can’t make any promises, but I won’t make any plans to leave yet.” She sighed and looked at the strange place and then at the feathers again. “Just one… No two questions. How do I get back home and what’s with the feathers?” Moon laughed, the fairy bell laugh, and Sarah couldn’t help but blush.