When the Ravens Sing

Chapter 9

   

Nova sighed, stretching out over the soft cotton sheets. Burrowing her head deeper into the pillows let her believe for just a moment that she was back home, that the events from yesterday were just a dream. She hadn't been bitten; she hadn't turned into a wolf. Nova wanted to believe above all else that she would wake up to see Rose smiling at her, cracking jokes like they did every morning. For a split second, it worked. She could almost hear the easy bickering of her cousins and the coos of her aunts.

A ferocious snarl ripped her from her fantasy.

Her entire body tensed, springing from the comfortable mattress. The cool floorboards against her bare feet shocked her back to reality, allowing her to properly survey her room. It was just as bare as she remembered from the night before. After a quick inspection of the door, she let loose a relieved breath upon seeing it still locked tight. Satisfied that the alpha had kept her promise so far, Nova rolled her shoulders, trying to ease her tight muscles. The healing abilities of becoming a wolf were definitely something she could appreciate. She no longer had to rely on her mortal body's afflictions, nor did she have to track her grandmother down every other day to get back to tip-top shape.

Thinking of her grandmother brought about spasms of pain in her chest. The regret and the grief she felt were still prominent on her mind, the loss of identity was one thing, but to lose her family... it was unbearable. She knew there was no point in dwelling on what had happened, but she couldn't help it. There was no spell, no potion, to rewind time and take her back to when everything was right and balanced in their world. Nova wondered if this was a punishment or some cruel intervention from the gods. She had a path, a purpose much greater than most, and it was all torn away in one day.

Another snarl echoed around her, forcing her to come face to face with a small window she hadn't seen on her arrival. Creeping closer, she noticed she could see out towards the campground. Two large gray wolves were growling, circling a small group of children. Before panic overtook her, one wolf leaped forwards almost... playfully. The children all scampered away, giggling and hiding behind tents and other pack members. The gray wolves stalked, the children snipping at their heels and clothes, urging them to run again and again. They were actually playing; she realized.

The camp was alive and in full swing. People and wolves alike were going about their business, walking slow and talking fast. No one was fighting. Even the members who stayed in their wolf skins were meandering about peacefully. Nova had heard hundreds of stories about the pack being uncoordinated and dysfunctional. She had been told that inner fighting and bloodshed were constant among the pack. Those stories couldn't have been further from the truth.

Nova hadn't realized that she had been subconsciously moving closer to the window until her bare breasts were pressing against the wall. With a start, she realized she was naked. Sometime overnight she had changed back without even realizing it. She surveyed the empty room, knowing full well there were no clothes in the closet. The only thing within sight to cover up with were the rumpled sheets she'd slept in.

"Well, this is just great," Nova mumbled, wrapping the sheet around her torso. She grimaced, looking at her skin. Dry, caked-up mud was splattered over her arms and chest. Gods, she didn't even want to imagine what her hair looked like.

A rapping knock on the door startled her enough to make the sheet slip a couple of inches closer to the floor.

'Steady, Nova, you've come this far,' she reminded herself.