Chapter 2
1496 Words
When Circe was young, she felt the pressure build in the pack each time it was announced that her mother was pregnant. Then the announcement came that another sister was born, and even though everyone was happy about the healthy addition to the pack, Circe felt more and more pressure to take over the role to protect their pack.
As the years went by, she accepted the responsibility of being the example without her parents ever having to ask. She pushed herself to be the best student, the best athlete, the best warrior, and the best witch she could be.
Then the first of her sisters found her mate, and she was unable to protect Isobel and her unborn baby from being killed by that same mate! She couldn’t stop her sister Willow from betraying them, and she couldn’t protect her parents from the agony they suffered through it all.
Her baby sister found a mate and for once one of them had found happiness, but then when Tabatha was announced super-Queen, Circe’s conviction about her position in the pack started to waver. She made peace with the fact that she was not going to find a mate, and she realized that no matter how hard she tried, she would never be the Alpha the Lunar pack needed.
She sighs, thinking to herself, as she fills the bucket with water from the river.
Her past has been haunting her every single second of every day since she left the pack grounds. She is lucky they haven’t caught up to her yet. Her father might even be angry enough to kill her… They think she wanted to kill the crone and probably worse.
She trips over the step, in front of the porch and spills some water, making her swear.
“Were you planning on bringing that bucket inside?” Ariel laughs, and her head pops around the door frame.
“I tripped, okay?” She glares at Ariel, then can’t help but smile. She has grown used to Ariel’s strange sense of humor.
“Are you daydreaming about your mysterious dream walker again?”
Circe’s jaw nearly thumps as it hits the floor.
“How did you?”
“You talk in your sleep.” Ariel laughs, waving her index finger at Circe, who scowls at herself. Why did she have to be so damned human sometimes?
“No, I was thinking about my family.”
“I’ve told you that I can take you to see them, you know?”
“And I’ve told you, I would rather not.”
They’ve had this same discussion so many times that she has stopped counting, but appreciates what Ariel is trying to do. She just feels that it’s her punishment for letting them down.
***
Ariel waits for Circe to fall asleep before she leaves their hut. She has to go to the city, but she has to be incredibly careful if she is going to get any information on the dream walker. If the wrong person hears her asking questions, it will put the dream walker in danger, and that’s the last thing she wants.
But she has to find out why he is searching for Circe.
***
Harro puts his hand behind his head as he stares up at the stars and chews on a blade of grass. Her face comes to mind, and he wonders what her story is. Even though her dreams are clearly filled with pain, and the longing for someone, they aren’t clear enough to know who or what happened to her, and without her permission, he is unable to do more than simply watch.
He closes his eyes for just a moment, but that moment leads him right to where she is running through the forest. It’s the same dream every night. She is following a hooded figure, then when she catches up to this figure, she brutally attacks.
She is somehow poisoned, and he can see her pain, but unlike normal, he can’t feel her pain. The only explanation is that due to the severity of it, her mind probably blocked out the pain.
He tries to look at her dream from a different standpoint, but it keeps playing over in her mind until she disappears, which can only mean… she woke up.
“How can anyone survive on so little sleep?” He sits up, spitting the blade of grass to one side, and slides down the side of his hut. He needs a lavender tea, or he is not going to sleep at all tonight.
While making his tea, his mind wanders to the upcoming Yule celebrations. Life was simpler when he was young. Yule was a time of happiness for him and his family. His parents would pack up their wagon, and they would travel for two days to visit his grandparents.
Their clan would meet up on the night, and they would have a huge feast and a bonfire. Early the next morning, he would wake up and find a new wooden carved animal next to his pillow.
The colorful decorations would be taken down and packed away for the next year… until the next year didn’t come.
***
Circe steps out onto the porch and looks out at the stars. He was there again. Hiding in the shadows where she couldn’t see his face, but he was there.
She notices a bright star in the sky, and a silly song comes to mind, from her childhood, making her wonder if her parents are looking up at the sky, at the same star, and thinking about her. Then she remembers when they found her in the crone’s room attacking the high priestess, and her heartaches.
There is no going back. Just like she made peace with not finding her mate, she will have to make peace with not seeing her family again. That’s when she hears the rustle of the bushes.
“What are you doing up at this time of the morning?” She hears Ariel before her form becomes clearer.
Her wolf senses haven’t all healed properly yet, and she still has problems seeing in the dark.
“I could ask you the same thing, old woman. You shouldn’t be prancing around out there all on your own. It’s not safe.”
“I’ve been prancing around, as you call it,” She lifts an eyebrow, “on my own since before your great-grandparents were even born, young lady. You should be in bed, resting.”
Circe rolls her eyes. She has tried to figure out how old Ariel really is, but Ariel is not giving anything away. It’s become like this game between them.
“I can’t sleep.” She huffs and flops down on the chair next to their little table in the middle of the room.
“Hey! And that table is older than your grandparents. Treat it with some respect.” Ariel groans and makes Circe laugh. She brews a funny-smelling tea and hands it to Circe, who is thankfully taking it.
“You know, this tastes like your great-grandmother’s socks.” She jokes.
“I know, but it works, doesn’t it?” Ariel laughs.
Whatever is in the tea, usually doesn’t take long to knock Circe out for a good couple of hours without having any dreams, but she can’t take it more than once every couple of days. Ariel hasn’t explained why, and it’s yet another question she is avoiding answering.
“You know, one of these days, you are going to tell me all of your secrets.” Circe feels her entire body turn to lead as the tea flows through her, and she points her index finger at Ariel who just laughs at her then tells her to go to bed before she strains herself.
Luckily, her bed is just a couple of steps from the chair, or she might have had to sleep on the floor!
Hearing Ariel’s laugh as her eyes slowly close, Circe thanks the moon goddess for sending the old hag her way. She doesn’t know what would have become of her if Ariel didn’t find her and save her from the witch's poison.
Pulling her blanket up against her chin she yawns and within seconds complete oblivion takes over as the world around her disappears. It’s a place free of thought, and feelings. A place where her mind can just rest from everything that is haunting her.
***
This time, when Harro closes his eyes, she isn’t there. He wonders if she is awake and what she’s doing. She has to be awake… Surely…
Wonder where she goes every day after she leaves the city before he flops down on his soft mattress. He still hasn’t figured out how she disappears. She has to be some kind of shifter because she is often in a wolf form in her dreams.
This time, his dreams are filled with images of her.
- Writer
