Silver Moon (Colors of the Moon #3)

Chapter 4

I kept my eyes glued to the undergrowth beneath my feet, to make sure I wouldn't slip on the morning dew. Forests had never been my thing, however, because the entire castle was surrounded with nothing but miles of trees I had nothing else to choose from.

I could have joined Judy, Rob and Zara as they went off to meet Zara's parents, but that sounded even more awkward than my stroll through the forest. A first meeting between future in-laws was better left to the parents—something which Vivian agreed with me.

While the trio left for the surrounding pack, Vivian and I had stayed behind in the castle. The said girl immediately after their departure pulled out her book, leaving me to my own devices. And because the inside of the massive castle was too cold for me, I decided to take a stroll through the surrounding forest. A decision I regretted not even ten minutes into the walk. 

I had never been one for exercise, which included pointless strolls through nature. There was no reason for me to strain my muscles when my magic had usually accomplished what needed to be done. However, because I was now to all appearances a human, I couldn't use my powers. Not even a simple portal to get me back inside the castle.

Fifteen minutes deep into the forest, I gave up. I dug my heels into the damp earth and came to a final stop. Countless trees surrounded me from all directions, making the monotonous sight even more boring.

On my right side, a flat rock the size of my butt begged me to choose it and without another thought, I sat down. My leg muscles groaned in relief as I took the strain off them. It was too much. Fifteen minutes of walking had been too much for my poor legs.

I rested my elbows on my tights and allowed my lungs the much-needed break to fill up with oxygen. The usual bundle of necklaces around my neck rattled against my chest until I wrapped my fingers around one of them. Instead of the small flask, this time I grabbed a nut-shaped blue stone connected to a similar black string. The stone was the size of a quarter of my palm and it was what my kind called a portal stone. As its name suggested, it created a portal to any part of the world you wished.

It was a necessary item for creating portals for witches and wizards of six out of our seven covens. The only ones who could create a portal without a portal stone were the witches and wizards belonging to the coven of Time witches.

Five years ago I would have used the stone without blinking, creating a portal to take me anywhere my heart desired. However, since the moment I became a wanted witch, using magic had become a rarity rather than an extended part of me.

I swirled the portal stone between my fingers, regretting my inability to use it. While opening a portal with the help of the stone wouldn't stop the potion masking me as a human from working, it came with its own set of dangers. The biggest one being that someone might see me either open the portal or exit one. Something I couldn't risk happening.

My thoughts were pulled back to reality by a sharp snap of a branch. I blinked and twisted my head around to see if any kind of danger was approaching.

Not even fifteen feet to my right stood a pitch-black wolf with surprisingly light eyes. It wasn't growling or doing anything threatening, only staring unblinkingly at me. 

The moment our eyes met the animal began to slowly edge closer and closer toward me. I, on the other hand, remained nailed to my spot. Instead of a rush of adrenaline, I relaxed at the sight of the wolf. It wasn't anything dangerous after all.

Without a shadow of a doubt I knew the animal was a werewolf in its wolf form. I just had no idea who it was.

The wolf stopped not even half a step away from me and cocked its head to the side.