The Unseen Wolf

VIOLET

“I… can't… anymore…” I heaved, walking to the nearest fallen branch I could find.

I wondered for the tenth time since we started this trip why I decided to tag along. Me and my stupid need to do more than was required of me.

All the damned time.

“Vi, get off your ass.” My brother ordered, glaring at me.

He was in charge of this hunting party and yet he was stuck at the back, babysitting me. Being the only wolf in my pack who couldn't shift, I thought I could be useful by trudging along and doing most of the heavy lifting when they needed to shift.

It was a stupid idea.

We had been walking for miles, and the bag I had strapped to me was heavy, now carrying the fruits I had been picking along the way.

“But I can't anymore,” I whined, “How do you do all this? And so often too?” I pulled out the liter of water I had been nursing all the way, taking a greedy sip.

“Easily, Chico. I do not come along with a fruit bag.” He chuckled, sending a mocking look to my filled bag.

But it was impossible to ignore all the fruits I had seen, and the kids back at the pack would be excited when I returned with something for them.

“I hate you,” I replied, eyeing him. “It would…”

“Shhh…” He suddenly cut me off, his eyes going serious.

He walked away from me, audibly sniffed the air, then scanned the environment, his ears perked.

I tried to listen as well but I could hear nothing over the comforting rustle of the afternoon breeze.

There was suddenly a deafening roar and a huge brown bear broke through the foliage a few feet behind me, charging toward us.

I froze, the bottle falling from my hand, and my body paralyzed as the forest faded away around me, dimming into memories. I was thirteen again, and trembling in the woods.

“Violet!”

Hunter's voice was distant, muffled by the past.

“Violet! Move!” His hand gripped my shoulder, yanking me back to the present.

I was on my feet immediately, and making a run for it. The bears on this side were always nasty business, and running into any of them was purely a nightmare.

I knew more than others.

Hunter turned quickly, meeting the angry animal halfway while I ran fast to catch up with the hunting party.

My brother would not take the bear down alone but he could manage on his own before help arrived.

The party was not too far ahead and before I reached them, a dozen wolves had transformed and were racing past me to Hunter and the bear.

The fight was brief after that, the bear was defeated and torn apart in moments.

“You're never coming on a hunting trip after this,” Hunter warned in my head through our mind link as I passed out fresh clothes from my supply bag.

I ignored him until I got to him.

“Look at me, Violet,” he commanded, his voice hard.

There were three long and deep cuts on his right shoulder, oozing blood as the tissue slowly healed itself. In a few minutes, it would be fully healed. I forced my eyes away from the wounds to his eyes. As a non-shifter, I would never fully understand what it was to truly be one of them. I would always be the outsider looking in.

This was the closest I could get and Hunter would take that away too.

“Vi, I almost lost you today.” Hunter's bloody hand cupped my cheek, and burgundy eyes—so much like mine—softened at the sight of my tears. “I can't lose you, Vi, not you. Please, forgive me.”

In all honesty, I understood his reasoning and his fears, but he would have more faith in me if I could just shift.

“Okay,” I mumbled, forcing a smile.

“There you go, Chico.” He said, pressing a kiss to my forehead.

“Eww,” I muttered, wiping the kiss off and glaring at him. He laughed, ruffling a hand through my burgundy curls before turning away from me.

“Tonight, we feast on carnivore flesh! Bless the moon goddess for this mighty kill!” He announced in a loud voice.

The group broke out in a series of victorious howls and shouts. They praised the moon goddess, she may have been cruel to me, but she had been loving to them.

I turned away to hide my tears.

*****

“Are you still mad at Hunter?” Elizabeth asked as she waddled to me, her belly looked even bigger than last week. Any day now, and we would have a new addition to the pack.

I let loose the arrow I had drawn, and it easily found the center of the circular target. If I could not shift, I could sharpen my other skills, and I especially loved shooting arrows.

It had been a week since our hunting rendezvous, and things somehow became and remained tense with my brother.

Liz was Hunter's mate; they found each other last mating season, and now, they had a pup on the way. I was so jealous. She had everything; my brother loved her more than words could tell and she had had an easy time blending in with the pack because she was just so beautiful and lovable.

Jet-black hair stopped at her shoulders, and her amber eyes always carried warmth for everyone. She was slow to anger and slower to choose violence, and violence was a leading theme in our world.

She was the fabled oasis in our deserts, willing to fill the thirsty and comfort the weary.

Sighing, I put down my bow. “I'm not mad at him.”

“Our pup says you are,” she teased, rubbing a hand over her belly.

I rolled my eyes in a playful gesture, walking to her. Her belly was so big that I expected more than one pup, though she insisted that it would be just one.

I helped her to the only bench in the training area and we sat in silence for a few moments. Her, waiting for me to speak, and me gathering my thoughts.

“Am I to be useless because I cannot shift?” I asked, my words hollow.

“You know your brother doesn't think of you as useless.” She countered.

“He might not say it, but I know he thinks it.”

“Vi, stop,” she ordered, and with a hand on my chin, she pulled my face to hers. “You know he is doing his best to protect you.” Her words were both gentle and fierce with an appropriate dose of caution. “Hunter loves you and he does not see you as weak.”

“But I am weak,” I chuckled sadly, pulling my face away. “Might as well be human at this point.”

“The moon goddess sees all, Vi. She knows best.” Liz responded, straightening as well.

“She has abandoned me.” I huffed.

There was the sudden burning urge to break something. I gripped the edges of the wooden bench, wishing it would cave to the pressure of my fingers. It didn't.

Standing, I picked up my abandoned bow and getting into stance, I plucked another arrow from my quiver, nocking it with one eye closed before letting the wooden missile fly. It found its target, dead center again.

“Will you come home? Hunter misses you even if he won't admit it. I miss you as well.”

Liz was indeed the balance Hunter and I needed in our chaotic lives.

“Naomi doesn't think of me as a nuisance,” I said, shrugging as I let another arrow find home.

“The Luna will be sending you away soon, you consume too much food.” Liz laughed.

“No I don't,” I scoffed.

“Yes, you do,” she scoffed as well, rising to her feet. “Come home, Vi.”

Slowly, I nodded. I was tired of the pack house anyway, and I couldn't keep ignoring my brother.

“We also need to prepare you for the mating ceremony.” She added.

I turned to her with a blank look. I never attended those. I couldn't even find my wolf, how would I find my mate?

“I never attend those,” I murmured, closing an eye to focus once more.

“How would you find your mate then?“

Dropping my bow, I turned to her with crinkled eyebrows. “I won't, because I don't have one,” I said slowly as though it would make her understand better.

“Everyone has a mate, Vi. It's an event you shouldn't miss.”

“Everyone should also have a wolf, but guess who can't have one…?” I asked, a mocking lilt to my voice.

“Rid your voice of that tone.” She cautioned sharply.

I regretted it immediately. “I'm sorry,” I mumbled, forcing my eyes closed.

“Come home, we'll talk about it and make preparations.”

There was no arguing with her in this mood.

“Yes ma'am.” I yielded.

Nodding as though satisfied, she waddled back the same way she came, the light material of her voluminous gown making her look like an over-inflated balloon.

There was no way I would attend the ceremony, I never did because it was pointless anyway.

My heart suddenly missed a beat. What if…? I rebuked the idea immediately, I could not. And if I did, I never wanted to find them. I would only find rejection. Who would want a wolfless mate?

Even I wouldn't, and I was the damaged one.

Pushing away my dreary thoughts, I raised my bow again, letting another arrow fly.

The moon goddess was cruel but she wouldn't be that cruel to me.

Or so I thought.