Sisters of the Solstice

A Holiday spent together....

SISTERS OF THE SOLSTICE 

A Sisters of Shadows & Moonlight Holiday Novella 

By Maren Meriel McCaffrey 

CHAPTER ONE 

CANDLEMAS MORNING

A shadow of the woman she had once been, her bare feet made no sound as she drifted across the cold freedom of the sandy beach; she was an ethereal image of poised sadness and lonely introspect. Against the heavy, blackening clouds and struggling rays of dawn, her hair flew like a copper banner in the salt laden winds. She gave no sign that the storm raging on the coast caused her any concern. To those who might have seen her in passing, she would seem to be a figure of artistic melancholy; a study in shades of black and greys with pale skin and distant gaze. 

In her mind, she felt as though the raging king tides and foaming breakers were the physical manifestation of the building storm within her very soul. Her blood rushed in time to the ebb and flow of the waves even as her heartbeat synchronized to the pounding surf that hammered at the stolid shore. She wondered if any storm on earth could ever rival the primal chaos-taking place within her at that moment in time. 

She had buried her fears and hidden all signs of her pain. In the fury of this darkest hour, she wondered where the light had gone...If it had slipped through her fingers or if she'd just, all-unknowing, banished it from her life. She'd been asked to make sacrifices that she'd never dreamed of making. She'd known in those past moments of chaos that she'd been more alive than she had ever been. Her needs at the time had dictated that pain be shrouded by pride. Without denying her loss of faith in humanity and her scarred regrets, she had made those choices so that those she loved might avoid that same pain...it seemed now that these choices would be a lifetime of destiny. 

Mistral had been alive in her moments of dying, had heard the angels calling her name and the demons scream that same name in rage and despair. In this moment of clarity, she felt...untouchable. As they ever did in her moments of solitude, Mist's thoughts turned to Judas, the way they'd touched in trembling need; lover's promises whispered in the dark like prayers rising on each exhale of pleasure. There was so much there that she didn't understand. Fine, winding tendrils of deception had strangled her heart and frozen her dreams right along with their new-born love almost before it had had the chance to draw breath. 

However, here...on this storm torn seashore she could embrace the sadness and the weakness that had made her so vulnerable to him; the one who'd braved the poison of her words and actions. Here, at the dawn rise of this Season Turn she could finally make the attempt to find peace with the events of the preceding months.  

Back at the club, she knew that Allie would be making her peace in her own ways; with ritual and sacred rites, she would cleanse herself and look to her own rebirth from the darkness. The brother wolves would be running the wilds of the woods surrounding the Sound and preparing themselves for the New Year to come. However, what of Judas and Shine; would they join in the heralding in of sun's unending journey? If so, would she be able to reconcile the misdirection and sins of omission with what they'd both risked to save the sisters? Would she be able to stay firm behind the walls she'd erected around herself to stay true to her resolutions of leaving Shine alone though she couldn't seem to let him go? After all, you couldn't take back what you never had could you? How could she explain that it was hopeless to wish for forgiveness when every declaration of love just sounded like a lie? Mist had thrown Shine right out of her world and barred him from ever entering into it again. This too was a choice she would have to embrace before she could release the doubts and wishes that had plagued her nights ever since.