Lunar wolves: The Dream Catcher (Book 4)

Chapter 5

Radagast was a waste of time! That little wimp couldn’t even kill his own father when it came down to the wire, and then he wasn’t even able to keep one of the girls under control!

Sullivan grabs the jug and pours himself a glass of rum, mumbling to himself.

These abominations, so-called Alpha girls are making his life difficult and all he wants is to take out his brother and set things right! He has sent witches after them, and wizards, beasts, and even tried to convince a bloodsucker or two, but they didn’t bite.

He laughs. “They didn’t bite.”

He flops down on the old couch and puts his feet up on the beat-up coffee table. How is he going to get rid of the Lunar pack Alpha’s, so he can take over the pack?

***

Circe holds her breath and watches the rabbit moving through the forest. Under normal circumstances, she and Leloo would be buying meat from the city, but they don’t have her father’s card so… It’s bunny for dinner! The rabbit sits upright, sniffing the air, then returns its attention to whatever it’s eating.

Circe double checks that the wind is blowing in the right direction before she slowly makes her way towards the rabbit. Her paws carefully touched the ground so as not to scare it off.

“Hey! Do no harm!” Ariel’s voice pops up on the other side of the rabbit, and Circe watches as it promptly hops away.

“Dude! Seriously! I was going to eat that!”

“I know. That’s why I did it.” She walks over to Circe, who takes the cloak Ariel is holding for her. She has been getting better and better at shifting again, but she hasn’t regained her power to shift with her clothes on.

Ariel seems to think that it has something to do with her magical powers and that the witch poison might have something to do with that. She’s also not been able to call on her witch powers as strong as she once used to.

“Besides,” She looks at Ariel, who is carrying a basket filled with fruit. “Do no harm is a medical thing. By harming none is a witch thing, I thought you of all people would know that.” She teases Ariel.

“I do, I was testing you.” She winks at Circe, and they hook their arms in together and walk home.

“You remember that I’m a wolf and I need meat. I need protein or I won’t heal.”

Ariel holds up a nut and Circe rolls her eyes.

“That’s not meat!”

“But it’s protein.” Ariel grins at her, making Circe roll her eyes again.

“Talking about protein, do you remember anything about your mysterious man? Any recognizable features? I know I’ve asked you this a million times already, but sometimes you might not think of it the first time.”

Circe sighs as they step onto the porch and walk into the house.

“No, his face is always covered in a hood.”

“Does he make you feel uneasy or threatened?”

“No, it’s the strangest thing. It’s not like he is doing anything in the background. Do you know what I mean? He’s just there… Watching me.” She suddenly shivers at the thought of someone watching her.

That’s the last thing she requires right now! She has to be more careful when she goes into town. She can’t afford for anyone to know that she’s there. They get the rabbit food ready, and she looks at Ariel when they sit down, lifting one eyebrow, then pops a nut into her mouth.

“I’m not allowed to eat the rabbit, but I’m allowed to eat its food.”

“Don’t be a smarta*s!” Ariel reprimands her, but Circe can see the laughter sparkling in Ariel’s eyes. She wonders again what would have sent this woman into the forest. What could have been so bad that she preferred living alone and away from people, making them think that she is this huge grouch that can’t stand people and is going to put a hex on them.

“This is a really nice bowl you got me for Yule, thank you, Circe. Are you planning on attending the new year’s celebrations?”

“The what now?”

Ariel tilts her head to one side and frowns, then asks if Circe had never heard of the human world celebrating the new year after Yule and how it caught on all over the world. She explains that it’s the start of the new calendar year.

“Oh, don’t tell me that your backwater pack has never heard of a calendar!” Circe can’t hold it in any longer, and she bursts out laughing. She tells Ariel that, of course, she’s heard of the celebration, but that they never celebrated it at the pack.

“My father always said that between the pack events and witch holidays, we already had enough to celebrate, so why waste time on something none of us believed in.” She shrugged and picks up their plates to clean up.

“Has your father never heard about any excuse to have a party?!” Ariel winks at Circe, but Circe doesn’t feel so good anymore. She sits down abruptly, feeling her butt bone hit the wooden chair with a thump.

“Are you okay?” Ariel rushes over and presses her palm up against Circe’s forehead. “You don’t seem to have a fever.”

“I’m fine.” She swats Ariel’s hand away, feeling agitated, and gets up to wash the dishes, feeling much better. She overheard the nanny mentioning that the children would be playing outside with their parents for the next couple of days.

Circe decided not to go into town, and completely avoid the possibility that she could be seen by Tabatha for the next couple of days. She is planning on hanging around the forest, hunting perhaps. That is, if Ariel will stop interfering! Maybe explore the area a little and find out how far away she is from the pack grounds.

She wonders if she could take the chance to go near the pack grounds and check in with her family without her knowing she was there. They probably will find her scent eventually, so if she decides to go there, she will have to hide her scent. Should she ask Ariel to help her? She will have to take Ariel into her confidence, and she doesn’t know if she’s ready for that yet.

However, she feels really weak at the moment and decides to take a nap rather than leave the house. Ariel looks a little concerned that Circe would take a nap when she wouldn’t normally do so, but Circe notices that she doesn’t say much about it.

When she wakes up, she realizes that she didn’t dream for once. She was simply dead to the world, but she feels a lot better and decides to go for a run.

***

When Harro doesn’t see her in town for a second day, he starts to worry. He has also not seen her in her dreams. Could something have happened to her? Why is he worrying about a girl he doesn’t even know?! He kept an eye on the time this time because he can’t be late for his next client and kicks a rock in the road on his way home.

What is it about this girl that intrigues him so much?

He finds the old woman waiting in front of his hut and sincerely apologizes for being late, even though he knows that he is in fact early. She isn’t angry at all and tells him that she hasn’t been waiting long, which makes him smile. She seems to be pretty nice, but she is a new client, and he wants to impress her, so she will come back.

Letting her into the house, he shows her through to the meditation room, asking what he can do for her, but she seems to be a little hard of hearing, and he has to repeat himself, speaking a little louder. This time, she smiles at him and takes a seat. He almost feels a little uncomfortable, watching her as she studies him from head to toe.

“You, my boy, are a dream walker.” He can’t stop the adrenaline rushing through his veins! How did she know that? He has been so careful not to be found out!

“I assure you I am not. I am a simple herbalist and a healer.”

She looks around the room swiftly and in front of his eyes shifts into a beautiful woman. If he had to guess her age, she would be in her mid-thirties, and he takes a step back, preparing to knock her out with one of his powders if she even so much as thinks of stepping any closer.

“No, you are a dream walker. I have a friend who saw you in her dreams, and you were wearing that cloak.” She points to the cloak, and he feels all the colour drain from his face. Who could have seen him in their dreams?!

The girl!! Who is she to this woman?

“What do you want from me?” He barks.

“You can relax. I’m not here to harm you. In fact, I’m here to help you. It seems you are hell-bent on getting yourself killed, and it would be a terrible shame to lose the last dream walker in the entire world. I’m here to help you, Harro.”

How does she even know his name? He aims to pick up the powder, but with one swift move of her hand, it flies through the air and the powder goes everywhere. He takes his time to watch every move she makes. She is clearly pretty strong and can move fast. What could she possibly do for him?

“Look, I need your help with my friend. The one whose dreams you’ve been entering. She’s sick, and I can’t find out how to help her because there are things, she won’t tell me. I don’t want to know all her secrets, but I do need to know how to help her, and in return, I will help you. No strings and I can promise you I will keep your secrets. I am the witch, Ariel.”

His eyes grow wide. This can’t be! He has always thought of her to be a myth! Stories of the witch are well known all over the world. If she is true to her word, it’s also true that she really is the only one that can help him…

“What do you need me to do?” He sits down so he will look calm. There is no harm in hearing the woman out.

She takes her seat and explains what has been going on, and suddenly a lot starts to make sense. How could one girl go through all of that and still survive? The witch poison alone should have killed her! Where is her family? He doesn’t ask too many questions and lets the witch tell him as much information as possible. He found over the years that letting people talk naturally is the best way to get the information he needs.

She explains that the girl is careful, and overly so. They will have to be careful about how they are going to approach her.

***

Circe crawls down the border, careful to avoid the patrols. She asked Ariel for some potion, which she could use to hide her scent with. It took some time to find her way there, but their hut is closer than she expected.

“So close, yet so far.” She sighs, then she sees Glinda and Gareth chasing each other through the forest. Her heart aches to just jump up and tell them it’s her. That she’s there, and she’s alive, but she can’t. She turns around and makes her way back into the dark forest away from the pack grounds.

Just staying there would weaken her more, and she will give in to her need to see her family. Deciding she’s had her fill; she closes her eyes to get the tears out of the way and runs back to the hut as fast as she can. This was a horrible idea! She should have never come here!