Melody

2:18

Melody and Alexander talked while eating their breakfast. Or Alexander finally spoke honestly about what he wanted in life. He wanted Melody, he wanted his family, and he wanted to do the right thing. To lead a wolf pack, that wasn't what he wanted. Breakfast done, they swept the crumbs away, ditching the dirty plates in the sink, getting hastily dressed for a walk in the woods. Alexander always felt more at ease in nature, and Melody had something she wanted to show him.

Melody subtly led Alexander to the dropped pin on her phone, towards the house she wanted them to renovate and move into. Once they were close, and the outline of long forgotten paths became evident, Alexander froze, unease seeping from his pores. "Melody? Why are we here?" He asked.

Melody didn't understand. "I wanted to show you something? I saw a house yesterday while I was setting the fake trails for you..." she said, trying to make sense of the fresh jumble of emotions rolling through the bond from him to her.

"This is the forgotten Village." he said, revernantly, like those words meant something to Melody. She had really done her best to get caught up on the general wolf lore, history and moon Goddess worship. It wasn't her fault that werewolves decided to keep more secrets than pyramids to themselves. There still wasn't a book for this. An irksome point, but writing had never been her art style of choice. Melody was more hands on, wanting to feel and manipulate textures in the the real word.

"I don't know what that means." This was a perfect spot for them." There's a beautiful house, that needs a little-" she nibbled on her lower lip, like she did every time she lied. Tried to lie. "Ok a lot of work, but look at where we are on the map? It's closer to the road to the city, close to the pack house and village..." Her eyes searched his, still trying to make sense. Wolves were practical, this was a perfect spot for more homes, why weren't they using it? "It felt like home Alexander." She said. Putting the feeling she had felt into the words. She had felt home when she saw it, like she never had before.

The way she said home was what forced him out of his own head. Melody didn't know the history. He knew she didn't know, because he hadn't told her. That his family took over this land after tragedy. Disease had swept through here almost two hundred years ago now. Decimating wolf and human populations without mercy. Officially history said that a human doctor came up with a miraculous cure to save his wolf love, and the two lived happily ever after. But soon after, the ruling alpha and luna stepped down, in favor of their second oldest son, Rowan, distraught from grief over the loss of their children during the run of the disease.

But, Alexander's family had taken stewardship of the land from, Rowan. Who had passed down an alternate story of events. Yes a cure was found, but only because Rowan's brother had sacrificed himself to demons to end the plague. Rowan lived out his life in the village he had been raised in, as everyone he knew moved on. Until his time passed and he went from this world to the next. Leaving Alexander's family as the only ones who knew the story Rowan refused to stop telling.

Alexander had loved the story growing up. A strong and heroic wolf giving up his life to demons to save his love, family and pack? It was the thing wolves sang songs to the moon for. But no one sang for Brydel, and his sacrifice. After Rowan had died, Alexander's family focused on their new, modern pack house. The growing wolf pack, and improving their quality of life, and the forgotten village was left to molder in the woods. Out of sight and out of mind. Aside from a few Teenagers were known to come here, tell ghost stories of wolves long gone, try drinking, and other more physical experiments. The heart of this village had stopped beating long ago.

Melody grabbed Alexander's hand. As she walked around a copse of trees, into the mostly clear yard. The large square house did look solid. Most of the window panes were even still intact. As were the storm windows protecting them. He could feel the serenity wash over Melody as she looked over the yard. The old growth trees edging the property, the remnants of former gardens, a well, and a small stone work barn that could hold chickens or maybe goats one day again.