Chapter 4

MAEVE

"I WISH TO RETURN TO THE HUMAN REALM, TO RETURN TO MY PACK" I shouted again after nothing happened the first time.

I could feel something trying to keep me here. Their invisible hands holding onto my arms, stopping my spirit from leaving this place.

'FIGHT BACK' Freyja shouted at me.

I tried to free my arms, I tried to pull away from them, I wailed my arms around trying to get free and kicked my legs out hoping to connect with something.

'How?!' I reached out to Freyja. 'How am I meant to fight something I can't see?'

I could feel her trying to will herself forward, to take over.

Freyja reached out to me. 'You're going to have to shift Maeve, I know you probably wanted your first shift to be on the ceremonial pack run but we need to shift now!'

With Freyja's help I forced myself to shift for the first time. It was painful, I'd been told first shifts always are. I refused to cry out, I would show Freyja how strong I could be for her. Every inch of my body was contorting, my bones cracking to make way for her.

After what seemed like a lifetime of agony the pain stopped, everything was different now. It was like I was looking through someone else's eyes, Freyja's eyes. My senses were stronger, I could smell the foul air surrounding me. I could finally see the creatures that were keeping us here.

They were wolves of sort, but not like any wolf I had ever seen before. Their faces and bodies had been contorted into an evil form, they looked, smelt, and acted foul. I tried not to show my fear as their dead eyes stared me down.

I couldn't help but wonder what had happened to these creatures to make them this way. Were they wolves once like Freyja, and the other pack wolves? Or had they always been these repulsive beasts?

Freyja pounced into action, snapping and snarling at them. Their paws were more like deformed hands, I could see now that their claws, had been digging into us. She managed to bite down on one of their claws and then turn to kick it in the muzzle with her hind legs.

Another one leapt forward directing its mangled jaws at our neck. They were no longer trying to keep us from leaving. They were trying to kill us. Freyja ducked down, narrowly avoiding the beast that had leapt at us.

He flew straight over her. She turned onto her back, dragging her claws along his under belly. The beast let out a wretched scream, his guts spewed out onto us. I held back the urge to vomit at the smell of rancid organs.

They were obviously just as repulsive internally as they were externally.

I could see through Freyja's eyes, that more and more of these beasts were appearing from the shadows.

'There's too many of them Freyja. We'll never make it!' I informed her in a panic.

I began to feel a surge of power radiating from Freyja, the aura coming off her was making the air around us shine.

'We need to use our strength Maeve, we are stronger together. I chose you because you are capable of more than you know. Tap into your true potential.' Was her response.

I wondered if maybe she had made a mistake, I wasn't special. I was a young girl who had lived a perfect, sheltered life. I didn't know how to win a battle. I decided to trust her, she was right. She must have picked me for a reason, right?

I didn't know what I was trying to tap into, but I channelled my inner strength. I had to try and help her, I had to keep us both safe. I don't know why I said the words I did, they just came to me like I'd known what to do all along.

'I give my strength to you Freyja, I give you all that I have.'

I felt the strength drain from me, but not in a way that it was gone. I still felt strong, stronger than ever. But my power was being channelled, through Freyja.

She let out an almighty growl, making the spirit realm quake beneath our paws. I could feel a power force of such, leave our body in visible waves as they travelled through the spirit realm. Searing the skin from the beast's bones as they tried to lunge towards us, banishing them back to the shadows.

It was astounding to watch. I had never seen anything like it. Iridescent waves crashed through the realm. Wave after wave. Like almighty ocean waves, crushing everything in their wake.

It took a lot out of both of, us giving that strength away and I could feel my consciousness fading.

'We did it Maeve, I knew we could' I heard Freyja's soft voice in my head.

A soft smile graced my lips, knowing we'd manage to defeat these awful creatures. Not long after everything went black. The last thing I heard before my vision was engulfed in darkness was the voice of Freyja.

'The worst is yet to come, Maeve. Rest now. We need all of our strength to prepare us for our journey ahead.'