The Bone Chapel

Chicken and Egg

I rarely saw Everett over the next couple of days. He was either avoiding me or was neck deep dealing with the investigation and the elders. I heard bits and pieces from Luc, but I could tell she'd been instructed to keep me out of the details. All I knew was that they were sweeping the woods for the hunters. Unfortunately, despite the talents of their finest trackers, nothing of value had been found. A few holes, that were presumed to be hideouts for the humans, had been located, however, they were always abandoned by the time the scouts got there. Luc said the hunters' ability to be one step ahead of the scouts was impressive. That, however, did little to quell the fear behind her eyes.

So she never said much more than that and instead focused her energies into intensifying the pack's training during the day.

Not that any of it matter to me. I was kept on a short leash after my flagrant disregard of the lockdown. I was escorted to and from the manor, only being allowed to visit the pack hall during the day to help with meals. I was no longer allowed to make home deliveries, so once meal prep was done, I was sent back home to waste away in the library. Thankfully, the day of Will's conversion ceremony had arrived and we would be having quite a feast that night.

"Hey, you okay?" Octavia's sweet, motherly voice only found my ears because she accompanied the concern with a soft hand upon my shoulder. Her touch pulled me from my thoughts and my body lurched as it rebooted itself.

"Yes, sorry." I muttered the words before checking over my work on the large tubs of pork chops and dry rub sitting before me. I was supposed to be dredging the chops in the rub and then transferring them to another tub to sit for a couple hours before they'd be grilled to perfection for dinner. However, given the state of the pork chop in my hand, I'd instead been massaging the raw meat into what resembled a frayed piece of meaty fabric.

"I'm sorry," I repeated before glancing around for a trash can, "I think I ruined this one." I shuffled off down the table and tossed the mangled meat before returning to Octavia's side with my head down.

"Don't worry. I'm far more concerned about you than a single pork chop. Actually, just so you know, I'll always care more about you than all of the pork chops." She smiled and rubbed my back while baby Izzy cooed from her spot bundled against her mother's chest.

"Thanks." I gave her a fragile smile and looked back to my work. "Still, I'm slowing things down. I've got a lot on my mind. None of which I can do anything about."

"That's understandable. You've been through a lot, and that's just counting what's happened recently. If we talk about everything that's happened to you since you came to Whisper Valley, I think it would be fair to say you deserve a year straight in bed to recover."

"I've already done plenty of that." I shook my head at my own memory of my days spent becoming one with Damien's bed. With a groan of self-loathing, I went back to work with coating chops in the spicy rub. "That didn't get me anywhere. So I'd rather keep myself busy and maybe that will get me out of this fog. Despite all that's happening, I'm hoping I can forget everything tonight and just have a good time celebrating Will's conversion."

"I think we'd all like that. I just hope my idiot brother doesn't ruin things for you tonight."

"I know Everett and I have been all over the place recently, but I'm sure he won't..."

"No," she said with a loud laugh that caused Izzy to squirm with disapproval and several of the other wolves in the kitchen to stop what they were doing to see what the fuss was about. "Oh no, no, not that idiot brother, the other one. You know the young one with a loud mouth."

It took me a second more than it should have to realize who she meant. "Ugh, I totally forgot about Damien and his persistent taunting."

"Sorry for reminding you." Again she patted my back, which had hunched over the tubs in my despair.

"I gave him his room back. When will he forgive me and let up?"

"I'm not sure this is all about his room," she answered with a sigh. "What I do know, though, is that we all must accept our wolves at our own pace. You shouldn't force it. If you're not ready, you're not ready."

"What about those who get bitten against their will?" I asked, picking up another chop and proceeding with my work. "You know, those that may have been pinned down by a rabid wolf and then nearly had their head bitten off? What about those people?"

"That seems oddly specific." Her lips twisted with amusement as I shared a playful smirk with her. "But, sadly those situations do happen. However, it does cause me to wonder sometimes."

"Yeah? Wonder about what?"

"About what came first?"

"What do you mean?" My hands slowed their progress as I looked over at Octavia to assess her hidden meaning.

"What's the human expression? Something about chickens and eggs?"

"Yeah, that we don't which came first, the chicken or the egg. The chicken lays the egg, but that chicken had to have come from somewhere, so how was it..." My words trailed as I caught her meaning. I looked at her for a moment and the corners of her mouth rose.

"How did the first wolves come into being, I wonder." She tapped her finger against her chin in mock deliberation. "If a wolf is made by bite or by birth, then how did the first wolf come to be?"

"Well, Clementine told me that wolves, and all shifters really, are just there. That by nature, certain humans simply carry this connection to an animal spirit. So maybe..." I groaned with thought and shook my head. "I don't know."

"Hmm, it does make one wonder if we truly need the bite to be who we've always been." She then looked down at her baby girl. Izzy tugged at a few strands of hair that curtained Octavia's gentle face. "No matter who or what we are, we all deserve time to find ourselves. So give yourself space to do that, okay?" She looked back up at me with a soft smile on her full lips.

"Yeah, okay, I will. For now though, I'm going to focus on getting these chops done."

"Sounds good to me." She licked her lips before scanning the kitchen. "We could all use a big, hearty meal with family tonight. This lockdown is killing everyone's morale."

"Then, we'll just have to make tonight a good one so we can get through the days ahead."

"That we will!"

And with our goal set before us, I got to work dredging chops and she went on her way to check in at other stations.

***

It's the day of Will's conversion. Will Del enjoy a peaceful night of celebration or will Damien challenge her yet again?

Told you this one would be short. I have a feeling the next one will not be. Whatever their hopes may be, there is quite a night ahead of them. How do you think the conversion will go? And what do you think came first? The bite or the wolf?