The Race
1809 Words
PEARL’S POV:
“Ahhh, to be free.”
The crisp air tickles Hekara’s nose as she sniffs the corner of the street for any signs of danger before stepping forward. Shaking her ears from side to side, she stretches her long brown legs while allowing the nightlight from above to shimmer across our glowing symbol of pride.
“Hekara,” I ask out of curiosity.
“Yes,” she asks, popping her neck from side to side. “This is going to feel amazing!”
“Hekara,” I snicker, knowing she is half-listening.
"Yes?"
"Wow! Is that... is... Oh, my God! I haven’t smelled that in ages! Two dogs are going at it... Ewww!”
“Ew, Hekara! Pay attention for a minute!” I laugh harder.
“I can’t help it! You don’t smell that?”
"Well, now, I do thanks to you, and they sound so pitiful! s**t!"
"Okay, now what was your question, Pearl?"
“Dammit. What the hell was my question!”
Hekara laughs, “Oh, I know it has only been a month, but I think we will get along just fine, Pearl!”
“I agree, Hekara! I feel like I have known you all my life.”
“Well, technically, we have. At least that is what the ancients say.” Hekara pauses, “Seriously, do you remember what the question was?” She stops prancing and sniffing around, giving me a moment to think. Instantly, the glowing light from our head cast down the streets, reminding me what I need to ask.
“Yes. I remember now. I just was curious if you knew if our symbol is the only one that glows? I don’t remember the Salaquin's forehead glowing like this. I mean, I can see ours reflecting through the street like a flashlight!”
Hekara shrugs her shoulders. "Hmm, I think it responds to our mood."
"Really?"
"Yes." she nods her head.
"Like what?" I ask curiously.
"Well, for example, I noticed that it was brighter when you were mating.”
“When I was mating with Charles? What do you mean but that?”
“Let’s just say,” she pauses again, watching two cars go by, “when you were at your peak with Charles, even I had to close my eyes, the light was so bright.”
“Damn!”
“Exactly!”
“Mmm, Charles was pretty good.”
Visions of that night prance through my head. “Okay, that makes more sense, but why is it glowing now?”
Before we have a chance to think it through, Pita flutters past us and squawks proudly across the night sky. His chest poked out a mile high, and his eyes filled with excitement. "There you are. I was wondering where you went."
Pita locks eyes with Hekara and squawks again. He circles a city light too close to our forehead, forcing us to duck and whips through the streets before returning once more.
Hekara raises her eyebrow and smirks, “Seriously?”
“What is it, Hekara? Did I miss something?”
Hekara exams the street, both ways, as if she weighs out some self-thoughts, “Oh, nothing much. It’s just that Pita just challenged me to race to the park.”
“Pita challenged... you? That’s the first.” We both watch Pita flutter by the pole, then to the sky again.
Hekara smirks, “I know. How strange.”
“And?” I dare, feeling the excitement rushing through my veins.
“And what?” Hekara asks as she pops her neck from side to side and stretches her long legs.
“Are you going to let Pita win?”
“Hell, no!” She roars through the air.
Off we dash through the streets, taking on the insane nighttime drivers who have no right to be out so late. The light shows no mercy, turning green as we were about to lunge forward. Hekara jumps onto a hood of the moving Ford pickup truck to catch up with Pita. The light from our forehead beams brightly, temporarily blinding the poor man. By the horrific expression and his mouth hanging wide open, it is obvious he is about s**t his pants. Hekara’s chest pokes out as she glares through the windshield. Her breathing is labored from running; it only intensifies how wicked she appears to the pale face man. He grips onto the steering wheel with his long skinny fingers and slams on his breaks, screaming, “Holy mother of God!”
Hekara grips her claws firmly into the hood. His small round baby-blue eyes tremble with fear when Hekara’s pearly white canines grow past the tips of her jawline. She growls when he reaches for his pocket, warning him not to make any pathetic moves.
“Be careful, Hekara! I don’t want you to get hurt!” I warn.
“The i***t should stay out of my way!” Hekara fusses.
“Hekara!”
“He smells like rotten eggs! He is bad, Pearl!” She snaps, getting more aggravated by the second.
“Hekara, this isn’t about him. Let him be, and let’s get to the park.”
“i***t driver!” She snarls her lips and jumps off the hood.
Typically, I smell everything that she does because the bond connects us. For some reason, this time I didn’t detect the man’s nasty odor, only the rubber tires screeching against the asphalt. Maybe it is because all I could think of is wanting to help calm Hekara down and become faster.
We look up and realize Pita is at least over a mile ahead of us. “Come back here, Pita! You little coward! Get back here! Do you hear me!” Hekara fusses.
“He had the open sky to himself. There were no buildings or vehicles to slow him down. It’s not your fault!”
“At this rate, we will not win, Pearl!” She fusses and runs as fast as she can.
We exit the city limits and run full speed past my old neighborhood. I feel so bad for Hekara. I want to fix her pain and make it better.
God, I hate feeling her like this. Her Alpha pride is feeling defeated. Her limbs are stretching and burning from pushing so hard. I want to shift and help, but what can I do? Not a damn thing.
Shit, this is bad! This race was supposed to be just for fun. Now, I feel like it is a full-on war between the two!
Hekara growls and chomps her teeth when I try to talk to her. “I got this, Pearl!”
"But, Hekara-"
“No!” she snaps.
What can I do to help? I have to do something!
Pita glances down at Hekara, but it is as if he is looking at me instead. I swear if I don’t know any better, he is smiling when he blinks at me twice. He isn’t doing it to tease or taunt; He is smiling to let me know I can help... and without her knowing.
Although he cannot see me, I nod and close my eyes. Knowing Hekara is not paying a lick of attention to me, I try my best to help.
Slow breaths at first. That is how I begin — listening to the sounds of the old Westlen’s wind chimes whips past me, a dog scratching at the bottom of his doghouse while he tries to settle in for the night, and a few mice scampering across a white picket fence.
It doesn’t take me long to filter through the useless sounds. I ignore Hekara’s rants and raves to focus and listen for something more valuable, something that I know we need. In the far distance, I hear it. It is faint at first. I think my mind is playing tricks on me.
Is that the wind?
It gets louder and more distinct, sounding more human than an element passing through the night.
No, that cannot be the wind.
I try to focus on what it could be. Almost as if the wind is whispering a secret to me.
“Hello?”
The sound becomes more audible, more like a woman who is trying to tell me something important. I cannot hear the words at first, just the syllables.
“Hello?” I whisper within, “Are you there?”
Hekara’s continues to race down the streets, oblivious to what I am experiencing. Her paws show no mercy against the asphalt. I don’t have to be her mate to know she is giving it all her worth. The voice becomes louder. Whoever it wants my attention. I want to call out, “Who is there,” but I don’t want to alert Hekara; she is already too far behind.
The wind and the whispering stops. A woman with a deep voice comes forth so clearly that it seems she is sitting inside of Hekara’s body too. Chills run down my spine.
“Peeearrrl,” she calls out.
“Hello? Who is this, and-and... where are you?”
“Pearrrrrl,” she says again, only louder this time.
"What the hell do you wa-"
I attempt to speak, but my mouth becomes so dry when I open it, no words form. I try again but my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. By the third, the woman, the phantom, chants two words that leave a frigid chill down my spine, “Evanescent yenoooos!”
“Did you say something, Pearl?” Hekara asks.
“I-”
She is my mate! If I cannot call out to her, then who?
“I-”
“Pearl?” Hekara asks with concern. “What’s wrong?”
In a panic, I look up towards the night sky, wondering if Pita is still around to help. Thankfully, Pita never left. He flutters his wings and winks as if he knows. A gust of wind whips around us, and in two blinks, Hekara and I are roaring through the streets so fast that Hekara can barely keep up with herself. Before I know it, the gates are just up ahead. Typically, it would have taken me at least twenty more minutes to arrive, but not today. Five minutes tops.
Hekara howls, feeling rejuvenated. Her aches and pains are all gone. The beam from our forehead is somewhere between bright yellow and bright purple. The locked, rusted gate opened on its own accord. Any other night that might seem strange, but tonight I embrace the odd and smile because I see Pita purposely giving Hekara a moment to fly through the gate.
Hekara runs in circles chanting, “I won! Did you see that, Pita! I won!”
Pita flies to a tree stump where I have sat many days pondering how I would pay my bills. He flutters his wings peacefully and lowers his legs and winks at me one more time before Hekara stops spinning and strutting around.
“Damn, that felt f*****g good!”
“Do you feel better now?” I tease.
“Don’t you, Pearl? I mean, we did beat Pita after all!” She brags with her chest poking out.
Once again, I want so badly to tell her what happened, but I can’t. Seeing her so proud is worth keeping a secret. I know I should never keep a secret from my wolf, but what is one little secret? It won’t hurt. It was for a good reason.
Instantly, Hekara stops prancing around her eyes shift towards Pita, “Pearl.”
“Yes?” I ask nervously.
“You were acting strange back there. Did something happen when I was racing?”
Shit!
“N-No? Why would you ask that?” My words, even to myself, were not very convincing. I will have to do better than this to keep that secret from Hekara.
“Hmmm, be careful, Pearl. Being the Hekate and the Alpha will come with many challenges.”
“I know that, Hekara,” I answer, feeling guilty already.
“Just remember that we are in this together, and be careful who you trust, okay?”
I feel so f*****g terrible.
“Okay, Hekara.”
“Hekara, are you okay?”
“Don’t worry about me right now. Ask your small friend why he wanted us here tonight so bad in the first place.”
Hekara looks at Pita. Her smile disappears as she fades away, leaving me to stand in the park alone, wondering the same thing, too.
- Writer
