My Beautiful Stranger

~Aurora’s Point of View~

“Stop moving or you’ll get stabbed,” Elena shouts, as she puts the finishing touches on my dress.

My eyes fall down over the ball of white fluff, so big I can’t even see my feet. Today is my sister’s wedding and mating ceremony, and it should fill me with nothing but joy and happiness. 

My sister Brenna has struggled to raise me since our parents abandoned us, and while I want to say she’s done her best… she hasn’t. I’ll always believe she could have done better. That she could still mend her ways and change. She’s ten years older than me though more like the eleven year old in this relationship.

The best thing we both have going for us is Beta Matthew, her fiance. He’s not well to do by any means, but he makes sure we both have what we need. Though it’s rarely enough for Brenna.

“There, now it’s perfect. Go fetch your basket of flowers and head outside,” Elena says, tapping my backside. I sigh but know that it's time to get moving.

She’s Matthew’s aunt, and the female who raised him. His family is far from perfect like mine, but they’re good people. Extremely good. Every cell of my body hopes and prays the wedding and then the mating ceremony go off well. 

The Midnight Protectors pack welcomed my sister and I with open arms, no questions asked. It’s all I’ve ever wanted: to belong. To have a larger family to love.The pack is spread out over several different locations though Beta Matthew calls this remote island home. There are fewer than a hundred wolves that live here and I already know my dear sister won’t be able to stomach it. We’ve barely been here a week, leaving the mainland part of the pack after being there for about two months.

The moment I step outside, a cold chill hits me, nearly shocking my system. It’s been a sunny day, easily over 90 degrees. There shouldn’t be a single thing cold about the air. It’s merely minutes after dusk though the ambience remains thick with warmth and the smell of the ocean. It’s one of the many things I find comforting about this pack; I feel safe. I feel like nothing can get me here.

Living on the mainland my entire life has been nothing short of exhausting. Being a rogue, has been nothing I’d wish on anyone. Though that’s been my life for three years now. Fighting for survival, fighting to prove my worth and my place in the world. But that’s over now. Beta Matthew saved us. We’ll be in a real pack at long last.

While the feeling of safety is a welcome to me, it's a prison to Brenna. It means she’s stuck here with the same people, with the same life day in and day out. I welcome the rhythm of it, the familiarity of a predictable pack life. I have so few memories of it now. For too long my life has been nothing but unknowns. I know that strictly being in survival mode is not normal for a pup my age, but it's the hand I’ve been dealt.

Since the pack believes that having the wedding and ceremony at midnight will bring the new couple luck, we’re having dinner before the actual ceremony. I find a safe place to tuck my flowers and make my way to the seating area.

Toasts are made, and it's obvious Matthew couldn’t be more happy. When he looks at Brenna, there’s nothing but love in his eyes. But from her? Am I the only one who sees how fake her responses are? She’s barely said two words all night, only given forced smiles. It makes me incredibly uneasy and nervous.

I tell myself once they’re mated, once we’re officially accepted in the pack, everything will be okay. She’ll come around. She’ll get pregnant and we’ll be happy. There will be only good times ahead, and love to look forward to. 

We’d just finished with dinner when the chill hit me again, nearly making me drop my glass. I’m still seated, but most of the adults are dancing or talking to others.

“Did anyone feel that,” I ask, to the table of other pups near my age. There are only eight between five and seventeen living away from the mainland, but in just a short time we’ve already grown close.

“Feel what,” Sara asks.

“Oh no, it’s not a raindrop is it,” Xavier questions, looking into the brilliant clear sky. 

Though it’s night, there are torches lit all over the party, giving off plenty of light.

It’s a full moon, and there isn’t a cloud to be seen. A chill races up my spine, making me shiver visibly. A hand lands on mine.

“It’s not something with the food is it,” Sara presses.

The sudden urge to walk hits me but the last thing I want is to make a scene. Tonight is too special, too important. I force a smile and shake my head. Someone announces that there will be a group shift, just after the ceremony. Brenna rarely wants to and we fight about it constantly. It isn’t at all fair to her wolf. 

My eyes meet Sara’s and I realize she’s still waiting for me to answer.

“Sorry I--”

The smell of saffron and cardamom fill my nostrils as my eyes dart all over the table. I only know those spices from the brief time Brenna and I lived in a human city. After my parents left we foolishly tried to find them, but it was pointless. And two young females running around alone with no money? Not a good plan.

“I just need a little walk,” I state, excusing myself. 

My mind blanks, though my feet move. My body seems to know where it wants to go, though I can’t seem to think or focus on any one thing but obeying it. There are a few people smiling at me as I pass but they don’t try to question or stop me. 

Many of the wolves here choose to live outside permanently, not wanting the confines of four walls. So there aren’t many houses here, though Matthew, Brenna and I will have a cabin. It’s likely going to be finished next week when they get some solar panels.

The smell only seems to intensify as I move and it surrounds me like a warm blanket. It almost seems to talk to me in the breeze.

“This is your home.”

“You belong here.”

“Keep going.”

I shake myself, wondering if I’m losing it. Was there a drug in my drink? While it makes no sense it’s all I can think about. While I know there is no voice literally speaking out loud, it is as if I hear it. Some things are just whispers, single words. Others are in some language I can’t understand.

But I’m not afraid, and that fact shocks me. I stop at a cabin and steal a small oil lantern, not even knowing why I need it. I should be going back, this is stupid. Reckless. What if the pack finds it disrespectful? What if they think I’m nosey, prying around their land without an escort?

I find myself outside a cave near the far end of the island, and realize I’ve been gone a long time. Easily over an hour. They’ll come looking for me if they haven’t already. Brenna will be furious that I’ve embarrassed her.

I stand before the large mountain wall with just an opening about the size of a normal door. There are few animals that aren’t shifters living on this island, and it’s why once a week many take a boat to the mainland to shift and hunt. Just hunting from the ocean alone will hardly satisfy a large wolf. They also need to get supplies.

I stare back into the dark hole, as it seems to taunt me.

Are there snakes? Are there … bats? Other things creeping around in the dark? I won’t yet have my wolf for years, she can’t help me now. She can’t check for heartbeats or scents. Warn me of danger.

Perhaps foolishly, I call out, “hello? Is anyone there?”

Of course there’s no verbal reply, but the smell from the opening wafts in my nose, dropping into my lungs and practically willing me forward. I think of saffron rice, the cardamom of desserts and pastries that lingered in the air outside a restaurant I enjoyed. Though I had no money, at night the owner would give me a box of leftovers. It was a flavor explosion unlike anything I’d ever experienced.

I turn back toward the woods, not even believing that I’m considering this. Maybe I should come back during the day? 

No, it’s now or never. I won’t be able to sleep unless I figure out what exactly the universe wants me to discover. Cave paintings maybe? Some sort of ancient artifact or trinket?

I stiffen my back and square my shoulders, as if any critters will fear me. I’m not easily scared or rattled, I can do this. Raising the lantern, I step inside. I’m instantly stunned to find… nothing. Just a big wall of mountain, the entire space being roughly like a large bedroom. Filled with cobwebs, sure, who knows what other bugs. 

“Why did you bring me here,” I ask, raising the light to every possible nook. I have no doubt that my body didn’t just happen upon this. Something made me come here.

There were no cave drawings, nothing special. I’m so frustrated and annoyed, now realizing I’ll have to head back and explain my long absence. Hardly the best way to start out with my new pack, just randomly running off and worrying everyone. 

I sigh and see a large rock jutting out from the wall, it’s right at about the height of my hips. Even though I know I’ll ruin my white dress, I can’t stop myself from sitting down. Suddenly, the earth moves, shaking like what I imagine an earthquake to be. I gasp and shoot up, ready to leap out of the cavern when the large wall begins to separate. It stops abruptly, only creating a gap inches wide.

Holding out the lantern, I can’t make out anything behind it. What if there’s a beast? Some violent and angry creature ready to eat me for a snack? Wouldn’t that just be great…

The intense aroma that my body now seems to crave intensifies and the voice tells me it’s okay. Nothing will hurt me. Blind trust is not at all something I should give, but I simply can’t help myself. 

My eyes dart back to the rock again, and I sit on it once more. But this time, when the earth shakes and the wall splits open, I stay still. Only when it stops do I rise, and shine the light inside.