Without a Wolf

13

Everyone who has ever lived in the werewolf world knew of The Five. Of course, one of the five is more famous than the others- The Moon Goddess herself.

For millennia, the legend has echoed through the ages. The magical tale has been whispered around campfires, where the amber glow of embers cast shadows on eager listeners. It's been passed down from the old and wise wolves to the wide-eyed and juvenile young pups.

The tale is like a tapestry woven through time, binding each generation to the one before. It's a story that lives in the hearts of those who hear it, an important reminder of the power of unity and the magic that lies within the natural world.

Once upon a time, under the cloak of summer darkness, five extraordinary young witches gathered in a secret, sacred place. Their power was immense, and their abilities unparalleled.

The human world was shadowed in the presence of their great energy, and the humans shunned them. The witches wanted to create a new world, one where magic could be free, again. These witches weren't ordinary; they were a force to be reckoned with. Their magic was deeply rooted in the elements that ruled the earth.

In a beautiful display of unity, the witches channeled their energies into a single, powerful force. Each drew upon the mystic strength of the natural wonders that surrounded them: the radiant moon, the blazing sun, the powerful wind, the ancient trees, and the wolves that ran in the wild around them.

Like celestial bodies in perfect alignment, their powers came together as one to form an unimaginable energy, weaving the very fabric of a new world.

In this world, their powers danced together and combined, giving way to the magic the werewolves now possess. This magic, a gift from the witches themselves, allowed the wolves to forge an unbreakable bond with our very souls.

Through this connection, we gained the ability to transform and transcend the limits of our physical forms, becoming one with the forces that first breathed life into our legend.

"She can't be," I said quietly, gazing at Emeric like he must be mistaken.

"She is," he corrected me, tilting his head as he continued observing me. "Which is how I know she will find your wolf. She will help you. Believe it," he continued, his eyes never wavering from mine. He tilted his head thoughtfully, as if appraising my reaction.

"She..." I hesitated, my voice barely a whisper, feeling the weight of the revelation. "She knows things about me."

Emeric's serious expression surprisingly gave way to a short chuckle. I looked up to him, watching as a flicker of amusement emerged in his eyes and his lips turned into a smile. The guilt that once faintly showed now faded, if only for a moment.

"I wouldn't doubt it," he admitted, a hint of nostalgia in his voice. "She knows things about everyone. Growing up under her watch was quite the experience. I could never get away with anything. She seemed to know what I was going to do wrong before I did it."

"You grew up with her?" I asked him, curious about his upbringing. I wasn't sure why I was curious. I shouldn't be curious. Like I had promised myself yesterday, I wouldn't be here for long.

"Yes," Emeric nodded, a wistful smile gracing his features. "It was a unique childhood, to say the least. But she was always there, guiding us and shaping us into who we are today. She has an uncanny ability to see beyond the surface, to uncover the hidden truths within each of us. That's why I trust her, and why you should too."

I took in his words as much as I was able to, but there was something blocking me from believing them like he seemed to.

"I'm scared," I told Emeric, and the smile that had lived on his lips died as soon as I said the words. He frowned, clearly upset at seeing me upset.

"Gemini..." The Alpha sighed my name. There was a sadness in his sigh that I couldn't quite recognize.

He reached out to me, seemingly without thinking. He took my hand into his. My hand felt tiny compared to his large one. His fingers grazed my skin for only a second, and just like when we had touched last night, I felt a dull chill on the edge of my spine.

Only a second later, Emeric quickly pulled his hand away from mine. As if the power of the mate bond had shocked him back into real life. He let out a breath, and he drew the hand that had just touched me into a tense fist.

"Is it hard?" I asked him, choosing my words carefully as I watched his sudden reaction. His jaw was tense now. I could see the strain of the muscles on his neck. He stepped back from me, seemingly so that we weren't at risk of touching again.

"Knowing that you're in danger? Yes. It's immensely hard," he sighed, a heavy sigh that I could feel being released into the air. "I've barely been able to think since you've arrived here. No, actually, I've barely been able to think since I came across you in that cafe."

"No," I shook my head at his words. "That wasn't what I meant. I meant to ask if it's hard for you to be around me?"

Emeric looked at me like he was struggling to decide whether he wanted to tell me the truth, or to lie to me.

He sighed deeply before answering, "Yes, it's hard for me to be around you. You have no idea what kind of effect you have on me, Gemini. The mate bond is a powerful thing, and I'm trying my best to keep it under control. It feels like I'm always trying to do the opposite of what my wolf is telling me to do. He wants me to touch you, and I know I can't. He wants me to spend time with you, but I know you don't want that."

"I don't want to make things difficult for you," I told him truthfully, my voice filling with concern. "I never asked for any of this, and I don't want to be a burden."

Emeric's eyes softened, his expression turning soft as he gently shook his head.

"You're not a burden. Not at all. The bond we share is a gift, even if for now, you don't feel it. I believe that Moon Goddess brought us together for a reason, and I'll do everything I can to help you find your wolf so that we can decide what that reason is," Emeric told me.

"There's a lot you don't know about me," I told him, the seriousness in his words causing me to feel guilty this time.

Sure, he could say that I'm not a burden, but only because he doesn't know. He doesn't know what's happened. He doesn't know what I've seen. He doesn't know what I've lived through.

"I figured," Emeric said, and a small smile crossed his lips again. "Is Gemini even your real name?"

I let out a small laugh, noticing the irony in which that was the only thing I had been telling the truth about. "You can call me Gem," I told him.

His smile grew bigger, just by a fraction. "Gem. That's a nice nickname. Who gave it to you?"

"My sister." I surprised myself by answering his question honestly, remembering the day that Astra had called me that. She had just lost her front two canines, and couldn't say my whole name without stuttering.

"Where's your sister now?" He asked me, causing a pit of grief to shoot through my heart.

It was then that I noticed the air around us had grown heavy, a palpable tension that seemed to coil and tighten with every passing second. A shiver raced down my spine, as if an icy finger had traced its path along my skin.

"Emeric," I whispered, my voice barely audible, as an uneasy feeling crept over me. "Do you feel that?"

His eyes, once filled with warmth and understanding, now held concern. "I do," he replied, his voice low and guarded. "Something's not right."

As though the foreboding feeling from the garden had followed me, a sudden and violent gust of wind pushed through the large window in Emeric's office. The glass splintered and shattered with an ear-splitting crash, sending an array of razor-sharp fragments flying through the air like a deadly crystalline rain.

Emeric's reflexes were nothing short of extraordinary; his movements swift and steady, a testament to the skill developed by years of Alpha training. In the blink of an eye, he had positioned himself between me and the flying glass. He used his powerful, muscular frame to shield me from any potential injury.

"We need to go," Emeric demanded, his voice ringing with urgency. The commanding tone of the Alpha asserting itself with authority. "We need to go, now."