Chapter 3

Renae POV

It was twilight. Eagerly, I fixed on my sneakers and walked into the cold evening. My hands were tucked into the pockets of my faded jeans while the loop of the hoodie of my hooded sweatshirt was fastened around my neck.

 Slowly, I walked along the creek that led to my secret hideout in the woods. 

The earrings June gave me whispered in my ears, tinkling with a clear sound. They were silver metal hoops with a half-moon and a string of stars hanging from them. 

The two moons on either side could be joined to form one, with the letters R and J engraved on their backs, symbolizing that we are always together. I truly loved my sunshine lady.

Finally, I caught the pleasant scent of Wild Lilac. I knew I had reached my secret hideout. 

The spot has been my refuge over the years. The first time I found it, I was on the brink of death.  

I had taken a lethal poison made from cobra venom and without the antidote, death was nigh.

Was it the scent of the wild lilac? How I survived remains a mystery.

The lilac had bloomed, making its fragrance strong. I inhaled the scent noisily and bending over, I cupped the full-bloomed petals in my hands.

Just then, an unusual sensation spread through my body. I lifted my torso and the petals I had claimed fell off my hold.

At first, I felt numb then a great pain tethered through my body and I felt as if my muscles and tendons were being ripped apart

Loud snapping noises reverberated through the woods as my bones altered and fixed themselves repeatedly to gain a different skeletal structure. 

I screamed out loud as my body attained a different shape. 

"Noooo! Yes! Yes!! Yes!!!" I yelled in ecstasy as I landed on my four limbs. 

"Yes!" I tried to speak but a loud howl tore out of my mouth whilst my human voice sounded in my head.

It was a new feeling, it felt like I was embodied in a different entity. 

My wolf was beautiful and I called her Ryn. Her fur was golden just like the color of my hair and her eyes were cyan.

She howled as she pranced down the woods. Magically, I could feel all that she felt and she understood my feelings as well. 

 All my senses were piqued. I marveled at my sight, it was powerful, nothing compared to the human sight. And my sense of smell? I could detect every scent mixed up in the air that I breathed.

 My wolf exuded strength and agility. Her fragrance was like the lily of the valley tinted by mimosa and pastel, the very essence of wild lilac. Little wonder I was drawn to the plant. 

I pranced around in the woods enjoying my shift- one of the reasons why I chose my hideout. I need no company, it was my first shift and I needed to experience all that there is to know.

While I strutted through the woods, a strange smell different from the freshness of the woods hit me hard. It was the smell of blood.

"It is over there," Ryn said and I stopped in my tracks. Slowly, I willed myself towards the direction of the scent, following Ryn's senses.

My eyes shone wide at the sight revealed before me. I found a wounded wolf.

Ryn whimpered and ran around the wolf in circles. It was a large brown wolf. It had lost a substantial amount of blood and it laid weakly on the ground grunting in pain.

While I decided on what to do, my ears tingled as Ryn caught the sound and smell of someone else in the woods. Soon I caught sight of a torch from a distance. 

Alas! We are not alone. There was an intruder, no not one nor two, it was a crowd of people, I took a look as the light from their torches flickered.

Are they friends or foes? Are they here to capture him? Who are they? Who is he and what did they want from him?

I did not have time to think as the painful grunts of the wounded wolf filled my ears.

Quickly, I dragged him to a nearby cave.

 Still in my wolf form, I used my mouth to break off a twig from a lilac tree. I held it tightly with my fangs, sweeping it on the ground in a large circle.

The smell of wild lilac wafted into the air, making every other scent undetectable.

Quickly, I walked into the cave and transformed into my human form. I had thought I would have a problem transforming back to my human form but it was easy. Immediately after I had conceived the Idea, the transformation began and it wasn't as painful as I had thought.

When I had completely transformed, I hovered over the wounded wolf and pressed my full hands against his mouth- his groaning was loud and he could get us caught.

Slowly, the crowd approached the cave, their torches casting shadows on the nearby rocky walls and hills. It was all spooky.

Their angry murmurs broke the tranquility and from their aggression, I realized that they were up for no good.

They searched frantically for their prey and when they couldn't find him, they dived angrily into the deeper parts of the woods.

Once the coast was clear, I paid attention to the wolf. I jumped as I realized what I had done, I had closed his mouth and nostrils for too long and he was suffocating.

Quickly, I removed my hand and dragged him out of the hidden corner that I hurled him in. With enough ventilation, color returned to his golden eyes.

Upon examination, I realized that he had numerous cuts and one of the wounds was from a poisoned arrow. Although he wasn't bleeding heavily some of his cuts were still dripping blood and I wondered what the hell happened to him. 

His eyes fluttered randomly and he whimpered, it was obvious that he was in pain. 

"You will be fine," I muttered and crept out of the cave to get some yarrow leaves. I had noticed them previously in the woods.

Despite the darkness, I navigated easily through the woods, my wolf sight enhanced my sight and in no time, I returned with the leaves.

I squeezed them hard and placed them on his cuts. As the juice touched his open cuts, he groaned in pain. Well, yarrow leaves have a painful effect but they are effective. His bleeding stopped immediately, and I smiled.

Having stopped his bleeding, I squatted beside him all through the night working on him. If he will survive, I must get the poison out of him.