Chapter 5 Syndra

Remi and I sat in the clearing for I am not sure how long, each lost in our own thoughts. Suddenly a bright light, almost like a spotlight straight from the moon, landed on the ground not too far from where we were sitting. The figure of a woman appeared before us. She is almost invisible but outlined in dimly lit stars.  

“Hello my children. I am Selune, a daughter of the moon. I have come to tell you of your destiny. As you have already figured out, you two are special wolves.” 

Remi nods his head as she talks. I open my mouth to ask all the questions that are running through my head, but Selune holds up her hand to stop me. I close my mouth, then nod my head to signal for her to continue.  

“I know you have questions, and I will try to answer them as best I can. For starters, let’s discuss your lycans.” Selune pauses as she looks at us. It is as if she knows I will try to ask those questions. “Dyna and Helios are twin souls that have always been destined for you. Since you two are not just twins, but alpha-blooded twins, they were the perfect choice for you.” 

I feel Dyna stir and, in my head, I see her lift her head towards the moon. Earlier, while we were by the lake, I noticed her eyes were white with a ring of silver on the outer rim. Remi’s wolf, Helios’s eyes are silver with a ring of white on the outer rim. Our lycans are beautiful. 

“I read that white and silver wolves are rare in lycans. That they also have special powers.” Remi says quietly beside me. 

“Will our lycan forms match our wolf forms?” I ask aloud before thinking to stop myself.  

As lycans, we get our wolf forms at eighteen and our Lycan form at twenty. Lycans have three forms that we can take after that. The human form we predominantly walk around in so we can blend in with humans. Our wolf form that we get at eighteen. Then our full Lycan form at twenty. 

That is the upright, on two legs form that most movies depict as werewolves. Most humans get it wrong. They don’t know the truth, and we like it that way. If they knew, we would be hunted down and killed because they fear us. They are wrong to fear us. 

Selune chuckles. “The answer to all three is yes. Silver and white wolves are very rare in lycans and werewolves. They are so rare that only one is normally alive once every five hundred years or more. Their powers vary and depend on the soul to which they are bound to. They also won’t manifest until they hit full maturity at twenty-five. I can’t tell you what those powers will be for either of you, but they will be strong.” 

“What kind of powers have others like us had?” Remi asks. 

“Healing, mind reading, reading the future, and sometimes the past. There are powers of mental and physical strength. I can tell you that healing powers are just as rare as your wolves are.” 

She fades out for a moment, then returns.  

“I must leave you two. When you turn twenty-five, I will return to guide you further. One thing I will tell you before I go. Because both you and your lycans are twins, you will be able to mind link each other no matter where or how far apart you go from each other. I will see you two in a few years.” 

With that she was gone, and the light faded, leaving us in the dark. I look at Remi, who smiles at me. We get up, then race behind trees to shift back into our wolves. Dyna and Helios lift their nuzzles to the moon, then howl loudly.  

Race you home, Syn. Remi says, in my mind. 

I huff out a breath, then take off running. Helios growls, then chases after me. I can hear Dyna laughing in my head as we run like the wind through the trees. Her happiness is contagious, which makes me laugh too.  

All too soon we reached the edge of the treeline and the large house beyond. Our family doesn’t live in the pack house like most pack’s ranked members do. The beta and gamma families live there along with all the unmated warriors.  

Our home is a large, French colonial, two-story. It has a wrap-around porch with large columns at even intervals to support the balconies on the upper levels. Each bedroom has a balcony, and mine is one of my favorite places to paint.  

Come on, let’s shift back, then sneak up to our rooms. Remi whispers through our link. 

What are we going to tell mom and dad? Should we tell them in the morning or wait until our birthday? 

His steps falter after I ask this question. He turns to look at me with his head cocked to the side. I can tell he is thinking about how our parents are going to react to us getting our wolves earlier than expected. 

Then there is the fact that our wolves are rare. 

I think we should tell them. Father will notice we are keeping something from him. You know how he is, Syn.  

Remi has a very valid point.  

I don’t know why, but I feel we shouldn’t tell them all of what Selune told us. We should keep the part about the special powers to ourselves. Just a gut feeling I have, Remi, I whisper the last part as Dyna growls.  

Let’s shift and then we can talk more, Remi says as he trots to a nearby tree to shift. 

I do as he requests and go behind a different tree to shift back to my human form. I found a pair of shorts and a T-shirt hidden in a trunk behind the tree and changed quickly. When I walk out fully dressed, I find Remi waiting for me, sitting on a boulder at the edge of our property.  

“I’m scared, Remi. What will happen when people find out about our wolves? Everyone knows the legends. Will people want to use us for these gifts that will come years from now?” 

He gives me a look that lets me know he had the exact same thought. “Mom and dad won’t let that happen, Syn. They will ...” His eyes cloud over as if someone is mind-linking him. 

I take a seat next to him and wait. 

You do not have to fear, Syndra. My brother and I can hide our true forms and our powerful auras. Dyna tells me with a soft chuckle. 

Wait. What? You can hide what you are from the outside world at will? 

Yes. It is a camouflage of sorts until you are twenty-five and come into your abilities. Until your birthdays, you both will smell just like you did earlier today. On that day, you will shift as expected, but it will not be the wolves we showed you tonight. You two will be hidden in plain sight until you are of age. Fear not. Dyna lowers her head, then recedes to the back of my mind. 

Well, that answers some of my questions and gives me a sense of peace at the same time.  

“Raphael is looking for us. He says mom and dad are having a big fight about the gala coming up.” Remi tells me when he is done with the mind link. 

“I guess that means we need to sneak back into our rooms fast.” 

His smile doesn’t reach his eyes, and I know he is just as worried as I am. We didn’t say anything further and raced towards the house. Five minutes later I am in my room changing into a fresh pair of pajamas.  

I know my parents love each other, but sometimes I wonder why? They are so different from one another, and it is shown way too often. I also know that they both love their children fiercely and will do anything to protect them. 

Even if my mother doesn’t show it, I know she loves me.  

Tonight has been full of revelations, and sleep comes quickly after I get into bed. Tomorrow, I will worry about what my parents were fighting about. It is probably something small and trivial, like my mother is prone to cause fights over. 

(The next morning) 

As the sound of a loud knock on my door, I growl loudly for whoever is on the other side to go away. My mother’s voice makes me jolt upright, then cringe as she barges in without waiting for me to reply. That is my mother in a nutshell. 

She doesn’t respect boundaries or privacy and claims that because she is my mother that it gives her the right to be anywhere she needs to be at any time she wants.  

I hate it. 

“We have an appointment at the salon in an hour. I need you up, dressed, and downstairs in twenty minutes. If you are not, then I will force you. Do not make me force you to comply, Syndra.” She says from the now-open doorway. “Please wear something ... clean and presentable to the public. It is time that you dress like the Luna you will be one day soon.” 

With that, she walks out of my room and leaves the door open behind her.  

Your mother is a bitch. Dyna growls in my head.  

You don’t say. 

With an annoyed sigh, I throw the covers back and get out of bed. I take a quick shower, brush my teeth, then pull on a pair of black slacks with a navy-blue dress shirt. I grab a pair of black flats to complete the outfit, then run out of my room after grabbing my purse.  

I make it down to the foyer with five minutes to spare. From the look my mother gives me, I can tell she actually appreciates my outfit choice. Which, honestly, shocks me.  

“I see you took my advice to heart, even though you did nothing with your hair. That is fine since they will take care of that at the salon. Let’s go.” 

“Lisette,” my father calls from behind us. 

My mother’s face flushes with anger, and she spins around to look at him. “This needs to happen whether she likes it or not, Etienne. She needs to step up and get her head out of the clouds and grow up.” 

“There is no need to bend her to your will. I am not letting you treat our daughter like your living doll.” 

What in the world is going on here? Is this what they were fighting about last night? Me and my mother’s need to have everything a certain way? 

“She is turning eighteen and needs to act like the Luna she will be. You know it, and I know it. All I am doing is making her presentable to her future mate.” 

“There is nothing wrong with the way she looks or dresses, Lisette!” My father’s voice booms through the room, and for once, I see my mother’s face go pale in response to his rage. “Nettie and only Nettie will be going with Syndra to the salon. There, both girls will have whatever they want done, and you will NOT interfere. Do you understand me?” 

I felt the Alpha command in his voice, and for the first time in my life it had no effect on me. That startled me more than the fact that he had just used it on my mother. I stared at him in shock, but all he did was nod at me before turning around and walking away. 

“Well, I see you will be getting your way finally. Go now, find your omega friend and get on with it. I just hope you don’t come to regret your need for independence and having your own way all the time.” 

She spins on her ridiculously high heels and walks gracefully from the room with her head held high.  

What the heck just happened? She is the one who wants to have her way all the time, and I am the one who just wants to be left alone. How is that the same thing? 

Why are they fighting about me now?  

Something has shifted between them, and I am not sure what it is or if it is repairable. Until now, I thought my parents were madly in love with each other. From the looks of it, I may have been wrong. Could they have fooled us all this time? 

No, they are a love match, Syn. Your father is just doing what he knows is right for you. Dyna says with a soft sigh. 

Why now? I mean, I know he has always been my strongest advocate, but why stand up to her now? What happened between dinner last night and now? 

I don’t have time to ponder that thought further because Nettie comes barreling into me from behind. Her laughter is contagious, and I am smiling before I know it. That is just what I call the ‘Nettie Effect’. Her natural joy is always a blessing to be around. 

That is why I want her with me when I am forced to leave my home for that of my mate’s one day. I am happy that she wants to go just as much as I want her to go with me. She is more than my best friend; she is my confidante in almost everything.  

“Are you ready to go to the salon?” She asks as she slings her arm over my shoulder.  

“Yes, but I am curious about a few things. One being the reason why my father has you going with me instead of my mother. Not that I am not grateful, because I really am, I am just confused about the sudden change.” 

“I will tell you about it on the way to the salon. Your mom scares me, and I don’t want to talk about it here where she will overhear us.” Nettie shudders, then ushers me to the front doors. 

I clamp my mouth shut and allow her to lead me outside to the waiting car. Gus, my guard and driver, is waiting at the back passenger door. He opens it when he sees us walk out of the house.  

“Morning, Gus. How is Marie?”  

“She is due any day now and ready to meet our pup as soon as he is ready.” He answers with a huge smile on his face. Maire, his mate, is pregnant with their first pup, and they are both thrilled to be parents. 

I just hope that one day, if my mate is kind, that I will be just as thrilled to start a family as they are.