The world went quiet when I disappeared. My body beneath my feet was covered in the red blood of the Ghost. To the Wolf People Clan, the Ghost is a nightmare screaming out into the void of tomorrow. I was severed from my human form; the decoy I created would be called witchcraft by the humans and a rite of passage by my father, Chief Wolfpaw. That's how it is in the mountains, we fly, and we soar, and still, we have no place left to call home. My human form will be returned to me after I have regained enough energy to continue my journey into the Luna Mountains.
My best friend Lucia Perez, my gods, I wish she didn't have to find out about me. The night she followed me, I had the yellowing in my eyes, and I almost drifted into hunter mode and ended her: her life force, a timeline in my claws. I always admired Lucia, but I never wanted to drag her into the life of the wolf. The Wolf People Clans corrupt everything they touch, or at least we have the potential. We don't pollute the earth or each other, but we tend to corrupt everything, human or man-made. When Chief Wolfpaw, my father, took Lucia in, I was less than enthused. I didn't want the responsibility of protecting her from vampires, ghouls, and the other mystical beasts that lay beyond the forests of the Saint Maria woods. But, on the other hand, it's all too good to be true. When our lips touched, I didn't expect Lucia to kiss me back and feel something. But she did; she felt what I felt—the great pull between us. Humans call that an attraction. The Wolf People Clan would call it the love of the luna lovers. It is the role I have always envisioned Lucis playing in my life, but I never thought it would become a reality. And now I find myself off on a crazy crusade in the Luna mountains, searching for the oldest and rarest flower in the world, the luna lily flowers of myth. I never meant to abandon Lucia and leave her alone in the woods. But I can't return to my physical body. The decoy I created made the humans start an investigation, and unfortunately, Lucia was caught in the middle. I know she has more than likely been blamed for my demise. But I couldn't risk the humans learning about an old Wolf People Clan trick that not even my father, the Great Chief Wolfpaw, can perform. After performing the spell, I didn't want to expose Lucia for what she was. She is a Wolf Clan member now, my mate for life. We haven't mated yet, but under the moon of the goddess Luna, I swore my vows. I vowed to love her until the day I died. It's a strong bond between Lucia and me, and the day I am allowed to be inside her is the day a great reckoning will break through. The Ghost and the legends of old will be after us until my time as Chief ends. It's the way of things. The townspeople say that the Ghost is a science experiment that was let loose on the town to consume children in their sleep.I have followed the Ghost for many moons now. I can't say for sure what her intention is, but her hunger for female humans and wolves is starting to worry me. The wolves call her my precious Luna. If she gets to Lucia, then my life is over. I have to make love to her beneath the moon on the peaks of the Luna Mountains before the goddess of the moon. It will seal our bonds, complete the ritual, and end the war between the humans and the Wolf People Clan. Lucia is a brave soul but terrified of the eye yellowing. She hasn't mentioned the yellowing of the eyes scaring her, for she doesn't have to. This is why I have taken it upon myself to find the rare luna lily flower. I will eat the flowers and bed her. I will feel myself thrust into her and impregnate her.The scent of my Luna lives within my memories. I am a coward for leaving her to the humans. She is likely the number one suspect in my murder, which is no murder at all, but my getaway. My getaway from responsibility, from my Chieftain title, and a means to my escape. I want to make love to Lucia as a human man. She wants to be a wolf and desires to become one herself. I could do it. I could drink the blood from her wrists and make her human nature disappear. She would be ugly to me then. Her human scent drives me to insanity. It's this insanity that makes me want to enter her and makes me want to be with her.Her breasts are small, but they will soon be mine. I just have to locate my physical body and regain my strength for that to happen. It is out there somewhere, stolen by that damned jokester, the Ghost. If I were to guess her name, I would call her an ancestor. The Ghost must be the wife of the last Chieftain of the wolf clan. Her soul was never laid to rest.The pine tree needles prick my feet as my wolf form vanishes beneath the sun. It's exhausting to go back and forth between forms. My strength has almost entirely returned, and my ability to temporarily appear human with it. For Lucia, I want to look like this young man she is familiar with. As a human, I am lean and tall and easily kissed. I have dark brown eyes and dark brown hair, but as a wolf, that all vanishes. My fur is dark, my claws are mean, and the eye yellowing becomes brighter the louder when Lucia breaths.During our mighty howls together, Lucia sang. When she sang, her voice was carried on the clouds, and she was but a siren to my soul, pushing me over the abyss. When she sang the first night of the howling, I knew I would love her forever and that she would be my forever mate. I knew we were destined to be luna lovers. That's why Chief Wolfpaw took her in. I informed her that she had nowhere left to go and no family to return to. Her grandmother had died, and she had no siblings or living heirs to call home. But she did have me.My father knew I loved her. My tail twitched when I spoke of her, and the orbs of my eyes grew wider. The moon reflects on a wolf's eye when they are in love or have found their luna lover. The people of the wolf clan fear my love of a human. It hasn't happened in a thousand years. There's an unresting hatred between our worlds. But I believe we can change their minds and fall in love. Lucia wouldn't have kissed me back if she didn't feel the same.I take out my wolf pipe and light it against the fire. I dance around the fire as a prayer to the goddess Luna to let me see my love, my Lucia, one more time before the sun sets in my eyes. I sense my death is near, and before my death is final, I want to feel my body inside the woman I love.THE PAST (Six years earlier): "Cody, help me. I need to pick out a pet for my grandma. She hates birds. Want to head to the pet store with me," I ask? My grandmother's birthday is around the corner. She's wanted a pet for as long as I can remember. I've never had a pet. I am pretty sure Cody has owned a few pets. "Yeah, we can go there. Want to walk to the mall," Cody asks while eating the last chocolate chip cookie? That's just like Cody to eat the last of my grandmother's cookies. He likes my grandmother and she makes him cookies regularly to keep him around. She knows he's my only close friend. We may not see eye to eye, but at least we have the love of my grandmother in common. Cody is more outgoing than I am, and my shyness is why we are close. I keep him grounded and he keeps me on edge. Two best friends, keeping each other equally balanced. Cody tears the cookie in half and gives me a bite."Sure. My grandmother needs a pet. Her birthday is coming up and I want to surpris
Chief Wolfpaw leaps onto a nearby cliff. The rocks slide down toward our camp. A rock rolls on the campfire and puts it out. Chief Wolfpaw sniffs the air like a dog. He was once the mighty alpha of the Wolf People Clan. His youth is still visible against the wrinkles in his nose. I bet he was handsome in his youth. It's clear where Cody gets his good looks from. I am surprised a great chief like Wolfpaw didn't choose immortality. Chief Wolfpaw jumps onto a nearby pine tree branch and shakes the ground when he does. Pine needles fall out of the tree like hair dander. The forest floor is blanketed with brown dead pine needles. The earth resembles a damp bird nest in springtime. The dirt beneath me gives off a wet muddy odor that means the waterfalls are nearby. "Hello, Lucia. I've caught breakfast for you," Chief Wolfpaw says as he points at the other fire he built. A cooked rabbit is waiting for me and some blueberries. Not my favorite meal, but these are hard times we are in. We are
Being a Chief is a huge responsibility. When my son takes the throne, he will call the shots. He will tell us where to fish, how to hunt, and where to live. The laws of the Wolf People Clan are sacred. Cody is still learning the traditions of our people. When I was a boy, my father, Chief Bearpaw, took me on a hunting trip. Cody and I never had a chance to share our own hunting trip. If we had, I would have taught him that elk is a better meat. When my son marries I expect to pass down my role as Chief to him. As an elder of the clan, I will guide him and give him counsel on how things are politically run. But I will have no say, for it will be his time to make the final decisions for our people. Lucia is a noble companion as far as human females go. Her defiance with the Ghost is almost unforgivable though. I warned her about the Ghost. The Ghost is my father's former lover, a crazy woman who is power-hungry even in death.My father, warned me about the restless of the Ghost of the
Chief Wolfpaw uses magic to make a flame in his claws. He holds it like a tiny heartbeat, precious and guiding us along the green gem pathway. The cave has cave paintings of human and werewolf battles. There are other cave paintings of Wolf Clan hunts, weddings, and other ceremonies in honor of their great people. A living history living among the walls like a timeline of chalk art. I touch the art on the wall. It's chalky and powdery to the touch. It's very primitive and beautiful in its art style. I want to explore each drawing, and know it by name. Who are the names of the people in the wedding? Are they much different than Cody and I? "This is the history of my people. I've never seen it before. My father spoke of a place with our living history painted on the walls. He must have meant this place." Chief Wolfpaw removes my hand from the walls. I do it out of respect for him. I hope I didn't disrespect him by touching the walls in the first place. But it's history pulled me in,
The stalactites cling to the roof of the cave. But no matter how much they cling they are meant to fall down. As the cave walls continue to crack and fall, the stalactites break and descend upon us like little spears being thrown at an extinct Mammoth. The cave paintings break and the timeline of the Wolf People Clan demolishes before our eyes as we hurry along the corridor. A piece of the cave painting falls at my feet, I quickly pick it up and tuck it into my green cloak for safe keeping. Chief Wolfpaw looks at me briefly with his wolf eyes, by saving that piece of his history I hope I will gain some respect back. I haven't been following his orders, the way most Wolf People Clan members would. But I am not a clan member by birth, I am human and that's a fact. Being a human among wolves and seeing our years of hatred on the cave walls makes me question all of this. Our journey to get Cody, our efforts to get the luna lily flowers, is it all for nothing? Is our desire to unite our
The light at the end of the tunnel is near. The entrance to the cave shakes the earth. The staircase shifts as we travel pass the Great Grizzly. Although all living beings are frozen in time for us to escape, the inorganic materials like rocks are still moving about freely. The rocks drop on the staircase chipping away at the ground little by little. The stairs fall into a deep chasm within the Luna mountain. Rosemary spots us toward the entrance of the cave, she reaches her hands out toward us as if she is ready to consume our souls as we run. I chant in elder speech and raise up my hands toward the cave entrance. Chief Wolfpaw zips past me in time, as I collapse the entrance to the cavern. The force of the cave in pushes Chief Wolfpaw and I toward the ground, knocking us over. The Ghost smiles at our dramatic entrance, and takes on her human form. "Won't you join me, Chief Wolfpaw? I want to look into the eyes of the man who is the son of my former lover." Chief Wolfpaw returns
The sight of Lucia and my father, Chief Wolfpaw, is a strange one indeed. My father looks like he's been in a bar fight with a young drunk human man. I can tell they have been through a lot of turmoil and obstacles just to find me again. I was starting to think that Lucia had given up on me, and that perhaps she really did believe me to be dead. The touch of my father's hand on my shoulder is enough reassurance to let me know he is both happy to see me and is exhausted. His walking stick is proof enough that he is getting older, a lot faster than I anticipated. It means I will become Chieftain soon. It's a role I was born to play, but was never asked if I wanted to play it. I suppose they never ask. They just keep going until the bloodline ceases to exist. If I don't produce an heir with Lucia after we wed, then my bloodline dies with me. I can think of worse things to happen than a bloodline ending, due to a lack of child rearing. Does Lucia even want children, it's a question we h
The sun rises through the trees with a pink and orange tint. The dew sparkles against the bushes and twinkles when it does. Morning doves coo as Chief Wolfpaw continues to snore, and Cody rolls over. The Ghost reveals her eyes to me through the covering of the trees. I walk toward her, and know that I am being summoned again. I dare not disobey this inner voice that is pulling me toward her. "Hello, Lucia. I see you have been reunited with Cody. Is it true has he found the Luna lily flowers," Rosemary, the Ghost asks? The twist in her voice and deception in her eyes makes me question her motives. But if I don't obey I fear I will have to surrender the soul of my first born child, despite being successful on our mission to retrieve a soul for the Ghost. We held up our end of the bargain, but I no longer believe the Ghost will keep her word. My first born might be in trouble after all, if I don't find and surrender the luna lily flowers to Rosemary. "I don't know what he's found, Ro