Dreaming of the grassy hills….

  The deer got away from me as I bounded across the forest floor. The sun was high in the sky, so the deer would be harder to catch in direct sunlight. I trotted back to the stream in the hopes I might scent another animal to eat when I heard the ruffling of leaves ahead. Slowing to a crawl, I inched forward making myself as small as I could. The breeze shifted and the scent of my prey filled my nose. My mouth began to water from the delicious smell of rabbit. A rabbit wasn’t a lot of meat but it would be something to fill our bellies. The brown fluffy tail came into view, and my tail wagged a little in excitement. Food!

  I edged toward the rabbit quietly, waiting for my prey to look away. Each moment felt like time froze until the rabbit’s head looked away. I pounced on the unsuspecting creature, gripping its throat in between my teeth. It fought back for a moment until I crushed its neck, causing its blood to spill into my mouth and down my muzzle. The blood was the sweet taste of victory. Not wasting a moment, I headed near the den. My pack must be hungry.

  Carrying my prize toward the den took little time. When I arrived, I plopped supper down on the ground, and I ate enough to fill my growling stomach. Alpha wolves eat first then the pups and mid-ranked wolves eat. Before my aunts went to the supper, they greeted me and thanked me for the food by nuzzling my muzzle and neck. My aunts proceeded to scoot the pups out of the way, so they could have their fill. Luckily, there were only two pups to feed. They will reach maturity in a few weeks, so my two little brothers will either stay with me or find a new pack. Maybe, I will take them hunting with me next time. They need to hone their skills over the next few weeks to survive out here.

  By sunset, the rabbit carcass was nothing but bone. Scavengers had come to carry most of the bones away. It was about time for a run. I needed to clear my mind and check the perimeter before settling in for the night. I already had my territory stolen from me once, and I won’t let that happen again. I charge off into the forest, allowing my stress to melt away into the ground that I ran across. My eyes and ears stay vigilant as I explore the perimeter of my small territory. Thankfully, I was still close to the lake where the deer and elk flock to drink from. My view wasn’t as nice as before, and my pack was closer to the humans than I cared to be. The humans took my litter mates from me, so it’s safe to say I consider them a threat. Although humans aren’t the scariest things living around this lake…

  I felt myself disconnect from the black wolf once more. My dreams keep connecting us for some reason, but watching her life gives me perspective on mine. Light tickled my eyelids, and I heard someone calling me to wake up. Slowly, I let the light in, but I swear the lights nearly burned my eyeballs. Everything seemed brighter than the last time I opened my eyes. I just wanted to keep my eyes closed at this point. A voice called to me, asking me to wake up again. I wanted to ignore the person.

  “Korinne, come on. We need to talk. You need to eat.” I heard the voice nearly yell in my ear. I curled up further under the blanket of the bed.

  A second person entered the room with a mouthwatering scent that made my stomach roar to life. Shit. I do need to eat. I want that delicious food. Opening my eyes just a little under the blanket seems to be okay, so I allow them to open fully. I can hear the two people shuffling and stomping around the room. It’s almost like I have a horrible hangover from a late-night party. All of the information was making my head hurt, which made me begin to feel anxious about everything. My stomach churned from sensory overload.

  “Kori, are you awake under there?” I heard a familiar voice say loudly. I think it’s Felicity, but she sounds different to me now for some reason. “Hiding under a blanket isn’t going to fix your rumbling stomach.”

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  My stomach growled in agreement with her. “Okay, I will come out if you shut off the big lights.”

  The next thing I heard was a confused okay as the two people turned off the overhead light in exchange for a soft lamp. Once I saw the big lights off, I started pulling the blanket down. My head peaked out from the blanket to let my eyes adjust to the low light and intense difference of all the objects in the room. Fe looked different too. I blinked my eyes at her trying to make sense of the details I was seeing.

  “What's wrong?” Fe questioned as she observed my odd behavior.

  I covered my ears to minimize the volume of her voice. “The closest thing I can compare it to is a horrible hangover. All of my senses are being overloaded with information that I had never taken in before. My brain is struggling to keep up with all of it.”

  Healer Min observed me like the audience of a play trying to understand what the hell the audience was there to see. “You're squinting and messing with your nose. I would say this is another sign that Selene’s magic is transforming you into a werewolf. All of your senses are being enhanced with magic, restoring your family's true nature.”

  “How long will this ‘enhancing’ thing take? Because I can’t stay like this. I will go insane or become a damn hermit.” Fe gave me a concerned look at my words, but I wasn’t about to hold my tongue. Sure, this magic has healed a good chunk of my body already since I got this book, but it feels like I am trading one problem for another. My stomach began to rumble as the smell of grilled chicken filled my nose. I was trying to wait for Healer Min to speak, but I could feel the drool pulling at the corner of my mouth.

  Healer Min chewed on her lip unsure of how to answer me. “A few days maybe? I don’t know. You are the first werewolf that I have ever met, let alone treated. Your anatomy is mostly human, but the magic is changing things.”

  “Ugh. Can I have the plate, please? My stomach won’t let me think from all the grumbling.” Fe handed me the plate, which had sat on the edge of a table on the other side of the room. I didn’t bother using the fork as I just shoveled chicken into my mouth.

  “Well, at least you are hungry,” Selene greeted as she walked into the bedroom. She was in a soft lavender, ancient Greek-styled dress, and her hair was in long tight curls that bounced as she walked toward me. “Korinne, are you still in the same clothes as before? It’s been four days since you took the book, child. What have you been doing?”

  I looked up from my clean plate. Moon Grandma was dangerously close to crossing a line. “Healing my wounds from your stupid trial, Selene. Duh!” I could feel my frustration brewing like a monster, trying to break out of its shackles. “What is this? Why are these damn emotions so intense?” I felt myself wanting to punch Selene with every ounce of strength in my body. Normally, I have decent control over my emotions, but I felt tears begin to stream down my face involuntarily.

  “That’s your hormones aiding in the changing of your body. Your body is in a state of metamorphosis while healing itself at the same time. If normal humans could see your biology, they would be stunned. They wouldn’t understand a single thing about it.” Healer Min giggled at her joke.

  “This is worse than puberty!” I exclaimed as I wiped away the tears. “Only a few days like this…right?”

  Selene walked toward the bed. “Korinne, the process of turning you into a werewolf is nowhere near complete. Your trial has only begun-”

  “Wait. You are telling me that I am going to be stuck like this for a long time?” I interjected.

  Selene shook her head. “No, child. You will only be stuck in the metamorphosis stage until you bond with your wolf spirit.”

  “Wolf spirit? What the heck is that?” Fe asked before I could.

  Selene raised an eyebrow at Felicity but chose not to say anything to her. “Every werewolf is a human that lives symbiotically with a wolf spirit in their body. The body draws traits from both sides with the aid of mythical magic that allows the body to switch from one form to another.” Selene explained to me. “Until your body holds both a human and a wolf spirit you will be stuck in this in-between state.”

  Do I want a wolf spirit? I would have to share my body with it I guess. That could be messy. No one would want to do this, but I don’t have the option to say no at this point. “Would I even be able to communicate with the wolf spirit? Where would I get a wolf spirit?” I asked Selene.

  “I am so glad you asked,” Selene grinned as she sat down on the bed next to me. “Tell me. Have you been seeing a wolf in your dreams?”