Chapter 6 - The girl and the wolf

“Aayla..open you eyes my child.”
The voice calling to me is unknown, but I do not feel threatened. I feel safe. I slowly open my eyes. The surrounding light is pleasant. I let my eyes wander, trying to locate myself. There is green soft grass under my feet, clear blue sky above my head and a thick forest with trees and bushes all around me. My memory feels fuzzy. How did I end up here? I try to remember the last thing i did before I fell a sleep and I feel how my heart rate increases. My hand goes up to the crock of my neck where the wolf’s canines tore my flesh, but I feel nothing but smooth skin.
“You are not here, Aayla, your body is still on the sand by the river.” I hear the unknown voice say. I turn and see a young, beautiful woman.
Her long blonde hair is straight and clean. I have never seen hair so clean. Her skin is smooth and has never been damaged by the sun. Her eyes are blue, no green, no violet? I frown, not able to see the color of her eyes.
“Am I dead? Did the wolf kill me?” I ask, referring to my body being left behind.
“No Aayla, you are not dead my child.” She answers.
“Who are you?” Even though I feel safe, I do not know this woman.
She smiles at me.
“I’m surprised you dont know me, you have been screaming and cursing at me for days.” She says in the softest voice.
Realization hits me.
“Heaven.” I whisper, feeling a lump form in my throat.
“You are Heaven.” I say again in a stronger voice, tears building up in my eyes.
“I am a part of heaven, yes” she starts, watching me before she goes on.
“We are many parts of heaven my child, and I have many names. Some call me Artemis, others, Selene”
“Many parts?” I ask.
“Yes! Several! I am the Mother of Canidae.” She says with a proud look on her face.
“Canidae?” “I dont understand.” I really don’t understand what she is saying.
She looks at me, compassion in her eyes. She sits down, patting on the soft grass beside her for me to join, and I do. She takes my hands in hers. “You may know them as wolves, foxes or coyotes. They come in many shapes my children.” A sad look on her face.
“I will tell you a story.”

*"A long time ago, one of my sons, a lone wolf, the most beautiful and the strongest of his kind, came close to a human village. He knew better than to approach the people, because of the risk of being hunted and killed. As he was turning to leave, he caught the most wonderful scent. It filled his nose, heart and senses, and he had to find its source. He waited in the woods, watching the humans, and when the night came, he roamed the village, looking for the hidden glory. But he couldn’t find it. Night after night he searched for it. Every night, the trace disappeared outside one of the houses. One day, the people left for an offering to the Heaven and the village was empty. My son returned to the house and walked in. The scent was there but it was weak. As he left the house and village behind him and returned to the woods, his heart was heavy. He lay down on the forest floor, never wanted to stand again when it rattled in the bushes in front of him. He lifted his nose in the air but the wind wasn’t right for him to detect the source of the noise. Then, a little human steps out. He recognizes the human as a female pup, and knowing she is no threat to him., he closes his eyes once more. The scent hit him hard as tiny fists grab his fur and he opens his eyes to stare into the most beautiful green wells he has ever seen.
They spent the rest of the day in the forest together. The pup running around tripping, falling, giggle, laughing and crying. My son chasing her, catch her, licking her tears and scratched knees. As the sun is setting, the pup falls asleep snuggling in the fur of her new-found friend, his nose buried in her hair, inhaling the scent he thought was lost to him. As he watches her sleep, he understands she can’t stay with him. She needs to go back to her own pack. He nudges her awake and makes her climb onto his back to take her back to the village. At the edge of the forest, she slides back down and turns to face him. Small arms around his neck as she hugs him, tiny wet lips on his nose as she kisses him goodbye before she scamper away thru the village, as he see her go, he knows he will never leave her."*

Selene becomes quiet, her eyes far away in a distant memory.
“My mother loved wolves.” I say, remembering my mother’s love for the creatures, the stars in her eyes and the smile on her face each time she heard a howl in the distance, her heavy heart as the sun burned the land and chased them away.
“I know she did.” Selene answer me, a sad look on her beautiful face.
“What happened to the wolf? To your son?” I asked, squeezing her hand for comfort, urging her to go on.

*"The wolf stayed in the forest around the village. He could not bring himself to leave the little pup. Every day she came to him. Every day, they explored the forest together. The years passed, and the pup grew up to be a beautiful young woman.
One day the young woman came to the forest crying. With her arms around his neck and her face buried in his fur, she told the wolf that their time together was over and that the day had come when she would be given away to a man.
My son came to me. His heart was in a thousand pieces and the light of his soul fading. He asked me to help him or to atleast end his suffering."*

Selene stood up and walked over to a bush of red roses. She took a flower, buried her nose in it, and inhaled deeply before continuing.

*"I went to my brother, the father of humans, and asked for his help.
He refused at first, not wanting to deny one of his own sons his right to the woman promised to him. But I know how to handle my brother, so in the end I got my way.
But not before I had agreed to certain conditions. He demanded rules.
He would give my son a chance at human life. He would also give him the chance to love and be loved by a human woman, but only one. He wasn’t allowed to hide his true self from the woman and for her heart to know only him, he would have to mark her soul. If the woman he chose did not accept him, or if she couldnt love him with all of her heart, his human body would reject his wolf’s soul and he would die. I accepted my brother’s terms.
As my son returned to the forest, he found her waiting for him. Her eyes red from crying. He licked her face and inhaled her scent before turning to sit with his back to her. As he closed his eyes, his fur fell to the ground around him, his beautiful tail weathered away. Bones and muscles stretching and rearranging. For the first time he could feel the air around him caress his skin. Everything was still, and he did not dare to turn around.
Shaking hands are touching his back, trembling fingers tracing the lines of his muscles and then a body pressed against him and arms around him. Unfamiliar to his new body, he fell to the ground, taking her with him. They stayed in each others arms, touching, sniffing and kissing. He tried to speak, and she laughed, he tried to walk and she would catch him and laugh again. He was a quick learner thou, and at the end of the day they were walking hand in hand through the forest."*
The smile on Selene’s face was full of love.
“So she accepted him? They got to be together?” I asked, consumed by the love story of the girl and the wolf.
Selene sat back beside be.
“Its been along day my child, and even a soul need its rest” Selene said and motioned for me to put my head on her lap. As she stroked my hair my eyes got heavy.
“I will tell you the rest tomorrow” she whispered as I fell asleep.


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*Author Note: Thank you for reading!
This is my first book and English is not my native language so please leave a kind ccomment to point out mistakes.
* Make sure to like the chapter if you enjoyed it!
* Se ya tomorrow!