Lycanthropy (Lycan Series: #1)

Twenty Two

© 2014 SilverStream22. All Rights Reserved

Varien & SirensCeol - Moonlight (feat. Aloma Steele) [Monstercat Release]

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~STARK~

I laid on the floor, watching the sun as it made it's trek across the sky. It felt like hours until I heard the cries.

My heightened ears picked up on the tone before I could fully register whose voice it belonged to.

"Mom!"

Iris.

I stilled for a full second, unbelieving as to what I heard. No. Iris was dead. She was preserved in the glass coffin, kept in Incubation thanks to Kendra. She wasn't alive- she couldn't be. There was no scenario that I've thought of other than Alric's power to bring her back, and even with that, Iris' would be monotone, not full of emotion.

It wasn't until Castor flew by me, heading straight for the patch of woods that Lorena sat with Iris in her coffin that I knew it was no trick. Iris was alive.

I trailed behind him as a human, my speed just barely catching Castor before he lunged at Iris, the both of them rolling together on the earthy floor. His exhilirating howl echoed through the dense almond trees.

Lorena laughed, tears streaming down her rosy cheeks. I took slow and hesitant steps forward until I reached Lorena before I shook my head, "How?"

She looked up at me with a cheeky grin. "You wouldn't believe me even if I told you."

"Try me." I moved my eyes to the girl I saw as my little sister, her rusty red flank shimmering as she ran with Castor as a wolf.

"The Moon Goddess." she answered, sitting down and leaning back on her palms. "She's part of Iris. A vessel. Since Iris had her life force stolen from her, the Moon Goddess...she took pity. Now, Iris gets to live through her eternal life force."

I swallowed, "And when she leaves? What will happen to Iris?"

She faltered. "I'm assuming she'll die again."

I gritted my teeth, but once her wolf eyes found mine, I forced a smile. "For how long? Until she gets possessed again?"

"Stark, I don't know." she sighed. "I'm just really, really glad that my daughter is alive again. That's more than I can ask for."

"I am, too." I whispered as Iris padded over to me, her muzzle brushing against my hand. I crouched down, running my hands across her shiny flank.

Her tongue dragged across my palm as Castor brushed up against her, resting his head above her own.

"Please tell me I'm not hallucinating." Alric exclaimed.

Iris yipped, moving from me and Castor to Alric, tackling him a fierce hug. Draver and Jazz appeared from the left side of the forest, opposite where Alric came out of, with a rabbit in their jaws. The moment they picked up on Iris' scent, the two of them ditched the rabbits, bounding over to Alric. Sandwiching Iris, they rubbed their muzzles along her flank, all of them howling.

"We need to talk." Lorena insisted, pulling me away from the touching scene.

Making our way to the back of Kendra's cottage, right next to Katya's room, she gestured for me to sit.

Sighing when I refused, she paced up and down with her fingers intertwined in her hair before she collapsed on the tree trunk stump. "Erebus is on Orion's side."