The Unwanted Wolf

We all sat around the table after eating breakfast. I filled everyone in on the night before. Silence filled the air as everyone processed the information.

“This is very interesting,” Ginger said. “This might make your powers more inconsistent. They will be affected by the cycle of the moon. They may not be very strong during the day, at least initially.”

My ears perked at this. “So I might be able to use them during the day eventually?”

“You have before, right?” she asked. I nodded. “That’s what I thought. With intense emotions, you’ll be able to use your powers, and with enough training, it’ll be easier to use them during the day, but that will likely take time to accomplish.”

“So we should make sure our fight with Theron happens at night,” Rie concluded.

“On a full moon,” Ginger added.

“Which means we will have to make sure we are the ones to initiate the fight,” I said. “When’s the next full moon?”

Ginger got up and started rummaging through everything. Finally she pulled out a calendar that showed the phases of the moon. “One week from today is the next full moon.”

“Looks like we have a week to figure out our plan and prepare,” Mark said. He turned to me and grabbed my hand, squeezing it as reassurance. “We’ve got this.”

I smiled back, feeling much better than I had before. I then turned to Ginger. “Do you have any suggestions on how we’ll be able to find Theron?”

Ginger blinked at me a few times. “You already know the answer to that.”

I squinted my eyes at her. “I do?”

She nodded. “How did Theron find you?”

I thought about that for a moment. “Well, I guess he used our familial bonds to find me, but I don’t know how to do that.”

She smiled at me. “It’s the same technique that magic uses. I’ll go over it in more detail later, but you’ll be able to do it. I suggest you don’t start searching until you’re ready, though. He’ll be able to sense you when you are pulling at him like that.”

“Got it,” I said. I didn’t want him to find me before we were ready, and we still needed more time to prepare.

“I have things to get done, children. Don’t mess up my house,” Ginger said, standing up. “Adira, I expect to see you when the moon rises tonight. Don’t be late.” She left the room and quickly disappeared.

The rest of us stayed around the table discussing the best way to go about the actual fight. The conversation was mostly Mark and Rie discussing the best plan, since they had warrior and battle training. Daniel was able to input his thoughts based on books he read, but I mostly just sat there listening and nodding. I never had proper training growing up, and I really wished I had pushed my parents to let me train more. I always thought there would be time for that later, but now it felt too late.

Mark suggested reaching out to as many werewolves as possible to see who was willing to aid in the actual fight. We knew Scythe would be there for us, and Mark was sure his other pack members would be able to help us out. We were pretty sure Jori would forbid any of his pack from helping out, which limited our numbers. I really hoped Theron didn’t have any other numbers on his side, or that would put us at a big disadvantage.

After what felt like hours, we agreed to take a break from planning. We agreed to take a break and take some time to relax, knowing there was a lot of work to be done in the upcoming days.

Rie and Daniel were the first ones to leave the table, but I stayed there for a moment. The lack of sleep was really starting to get to me, and my eyes felt heavy.

Mark offered his hand to me and helped me up.

“You look tired,” he said. “How much sleep did you end up getting last night.”

I wrapped my arms around his waist and rested my head on his chest. “A few hours, maybe. I don’t know for sure.”

Mark kissed the top of my head. “You should take a nap, so you’re prepared for later. You have training with Ginger later.”

I nodded against him. “I know. I don’t want to leave you though. I feel safest when I’m in your arms.”

Mark suddenly picked me up bridal style. “Then I will just have to rest with you.”

“Mark! I can walk myself,” I giggled. I didn’t want to admit it, but I liked when Mark held me like that. I was so used to taking care of myself for years that it felt nice to let someone take care of me for once.

“You said you feel safest in my arms, so I’m just ensuring you feel safe.” He smiled down at me as he carried me to the bedroom.

I rolled my eyes. “You’re too much, you know that?”

“You love it,” he said confidently.

I stuck my tongue out at him, knowing I couldn’t argue against him. When we got to the bedroom, he crawled into the bed, keeping me in his arms. I closed my eyes, and let myself relax in bed. My body felt heavier now, but my mind was still racing. I couldn’t stop thinking about the upcoming battle.

“Mark,” I said, my voice groggy from fighting the urge to sleep.

“Hmm?”

“Can we go on a date before everything goes down with Theron? I want to make sure we have a really good memory before everything happens. Just in case. You know?”

I cracked my eyes open and saw Mark looking down at me with concern in his eyes.

“Don’t think like that, okay?” he said. “We are going to win this, and then we will get to live our happily ever after.”

“Can we still go on a date?” I wanted to believe Mark’s words, but the future was unpredictable. Just in case things went south, I wanted to make sure he had a good memory with me, especially after all of the drama with Jori.

Mark stroked my hair. “Of course. Anything you want.”

“Thank you,” I whispered, closing my eyes again.

Mark’s breathing was soothing, and I listened to his heartbeat.

“I wish we had a secret weapon, something to guarantee the outcome of the battle,” Mark said. I barely heard his voice, but I instantly knew he was more worried about the battle than he was letting on. We had both almost lost each other because of Theron, and he must have been as scared as I was.

Wait…

A secret weapon.

That gave me an idea.

–

I rushed outside to meet Ginger, knowing the moon was set to rise soon. I was excited to do more with the training, knowing the moon was the source of my powers. But it was more than that.

As I walked outside, I felt the wooden box in my pocket. Ginger had not arrived yet, but I was early this time. I pulled out the box Clara had given me and stroked the wood with my fingers. In the chaos of everything that happened, I had forgotten about this little box, but I had a feeling this would be the key to our success, if it was what I thought.

“What do you have there?” Ginger asked, suddenly appearing in front of me.

I shrieked when I saw her, not expecting her to just appear like that. I placed my hand over my heart as I tried to calm it down.

“Do sorcerers have something that affects them like wolfsbane affects werewolves?” I asked.

Ginger looked down at the box. Her eyes focused, and she looked more serious than normal. “It’s called belladonna. It’s extremely rare, and it’s frowned upon using it against other sorcerer’s.”

“Wolfsbane is the same. It’s considered a crime to use against another werewolf,” I said.

Ginger’s eyes snapped to mine, and for a moment she looked like a completely different person. Her eyes flashed dark, and her skin paled. “Clara gave that to you, didn’t she?”

I nodded slowly. “She didn’t tell me what it was, but I saw her use a similar syringe on Theron when he attacked her. It wasn’t hard to figure it out, but I wasn’t really sure.”

Ginger’s body grew tense, and the shadows of the night danced on her face, making her seem a little scary. “When Ned died, Clara begged me to help her get revenge. I refused at first. But Ned was my friend. His death wasn’t easy to handle, and seeing my friend in such pain… Soon I wanted revenge as well.”

She looked up at the moon, and her face twisted in the light. At first, I thought I saw anger in her wrinkles, but then I realized it was grief plaguing her face.Còntens bel0ngs to Nô(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

“I helped her make the belladonna into a poison to get her revenge. It stops a sorcerer’s powers, leaving them defense. It’s a cruel way to let them die. Imagine feeling so helpless.”

“Then why make it?” I asked. The box in my hands felt like a brick suddenly.

“Grief and anger makes people do stupid things,” Ginger said. “I decided not to give it to her in the end. I came to my senses, and I begged her to do the same. I didn’t want her to do anything she would regret. She didn’t want to listen, though. She took the serums and ran away. That was the last time we spoke.”

“How many did you make?” I asked.

Ginger finally looked back at me. “Two.”

I thought about the conversation I had had with Clara. “I don’t think she ever went through with it. She must have heard you on some level.”

Ginger’s expression softened, and I swore I saw the beginning of tears forming in her eyes. “Was she at peace when she died?”

I didn’t answer right away. I hadn’t been around Clara long enough to truly know, so I wasn’t sure if it was right for me to answer. Finally, I said, “I think so. She seemed happy, and she never forgot about you. I think she let go of that anger, too.”

Ginger nodded. “Good.”

Ginger motioned for me to hand the box over to her, and I quickly obliged. She opened up the contents and looked at it closely. After a moment, she handed the box back to me.

Ginger’s eyes hardened again. “Promise me you won’t use this if there is any possible way to avoid it.”