Vindicator

Chapter 2

Karma's life hadn't always been like this. If you were to ask about her childhood, she would describe it as happy.

She was raised by her mother, Christina, in a small cottage. Christina was her entire world; taking on the role of her mother, teacher, trainer and best friend. Karma didn't know that her upbringing was any different than it should have been, so she relished in the time she got to spend with her mom each day.

Another unusual trait of Karma's upbringing was that she didn't know she was a werewolf until she was 9 years old. Unlike most werewolves, Christina's wolf, Faith never made an appearance in Karma's childhood. Usually wolves are keen to spend time with their pups, to help them learn and watch them grow. Unfortunately, Christina's wolf had become very weak and left the human unable to shift. She found it easier to not mention her wolf at all, than to disappoint her daughter with never meeting her.

At the age of 9, though, Karma was at risk of shifting into her own wolf for the first time. Wolves could shift for the first time between the ages of 9 and 16, and Christina didn't want to risk Karma being an early shifter. This was why educating her on wolves was imperative, and why the truth came out.

Although upset to learn that her mother's sickness was also impacting her wolf, Karma was consumed with the excitement of meeting her own wolf. It was another 4 years before her wolf appeared, though, at the age of 13.

Karma remembered her first shift fondly. The excitement had been enough to prompt her mother's first shift since before Karma had been born. Christina's joy at Karma meeting her own wolf for the first time was so momentous that she was able to shift into her chocolate brown wolf for a very brief 5 minute visit. It left her exhausted, and bed-ridden for an entire day...But the amount of happiness it brought the small family was beyond words.

Although unable to shift into her wolf form, Christina was still adamant that Karma be taught how to fight and defend herself in both human and wolf form. She took it upon herself to come up with creative ways to educate her daughter, and for two more years she watched her grow.

And then, when Karma turned 15, everything changed.

Something that had always cast shadows over her childhood memories were the bouts of excruciating pain her mother would experience. The pain would always hit hard and fast, but it would last varying periods of time. Despite its duration, it would never fail to leave Christina listless for hours even after the pain stopped. It was the cause of her wolf being so weak, and Karma felt helpless to ease her pain.

The night of her fifteenth birthday, Karma had been enjoying cake with her mother when another bout of pain had struck. Like always, Karma sat through it with her, holding her hand and stroking her hair as she cried. When it was over, she washed away the sweat that had coated her mother's skin, and tucked her into bed.

Before climbing into bed herself, she said a quiet prayer to the Moon Goddess. "Please, Moon Goddess, grant me this wish, or make it a birthday gift, I don't care how you do it...Just please help me to stop my mother's pain. Give me the power to help her."

She didn't expect an answer from the Goddess. In fact, she wasn't sure she believed there was a Goddess at all. In times of helplessness, though, there was comfort in believing a higher power was watching over her and her mother.

That night, she had a very vivid dream. In it, she found herself sitting at the edge of a lake with her feet dangling into the warm water. There was no moon in the inky black sky, but the twinkling lights of thousands of stars gave her a comforting feeling of being watched over and guided by wolves long past.

In the dream, there was a silence that would have been eerie if not for the peace she felt deep within her soul. The plush, cool grass cushioned her hands as she leaned back on them and tilted her face up to stare back at those twinkling eyes in the sky. And while it should have startled her, the musical giggle of a female from nearby just put her into a deeper state of serenity.