Chapter 6

Calla's Perspective

The café where Maya and I had agreed to meet for our post-shift debrief was unusually crowded for a Sunday morning. I attributed my hyper-awareness of every conversation, every clinking cup, every subtle shift in mood to my newly awakened senses rather than nerves, but I knew I was lying to myself. At least the busyness of the café allowed us to speak without being overheard—Maya had claimed our usual corner booth, tucked away from the main flow of traffic where the noise of other conversations would mask our own.

Maya was already there when I arrived, having armed herself with enough caffeine to fuel a small village. She looked up as I approached, and her face broke into a grin that was equal parts excited and slightly manic.

"Holy shit," Maya said without preamble, keeping her voice low. "You look..."

"Different?" I supplied, sliding into the opposite side of the booth.

"Alive. Like, really, truly alive for the first time ever." Maya leaned forward across the small table, studying my face with the intensity of a scientist examining a fascinating specimen. "How do you feel?"

I considered the question. My body felt the same, although sore. But also somehow more—and I could sense things about Maya I'd never noticed before. Her heartbeat, the subtle changes in her scent that spoke to emotions, even the way her energy seemed to vibrate at a slightly different frequency than everyone else around us.

"I feel like I've been living underwater my whole life and someone finally taught me how to breathe," I said. "Is that weird?"

"Considering you turned into a giant golden wolf last night? Not even close to the weirdest thing about this situation." Maya's expression grew more serious. "Cal, when you shifted... tell me everything."

"She cares deeply for us," Lyra observed approvingly. "True friendship."

I picked up my coffee and told her about the pain and joy of the transformation, the incredible feeling of running on four legs through the moonlit woods, the white dress that somehow survived the shift intact. I told her about Anya and Alric's shock at my golden coloring, about the legends and prophecies surrounding golden wolves, about the fact that I was apparently some kind of once-every-200-years anomaly.

"And the most terrifying part," I continued, my voice dropping even lower, "is that being golden makes me a target. The same group that killed my birth parents—if they find out I survived, if they learn what I am specifically..." I trailed off, unable to finish the thought.

Maya listened with rapt attention, her expression growing more serious with each revelation. When I finished, she was quiet for a long moment.

"So you're not just a werewolf," she said finally. "You're a legendary golden wolf who needs to stay hidden while training every day with your cousin because people might want to kill you specifically because of what you are."

"Pretty much sums it up," I said with a laugh that held no humor. "And here I thought the hard part was just learning to shift."

"Cal," Maya said, reaching across to grip my hands, "you know I'm here for whatever comes next, right? Training, hiding, figuring out how to live a double life—whatever you need."

The relief that flooded through me was almost overwhelming. "There's more," I said quietly. "Anya and Alric want me to train with Thorne every day, but they want to keep my presence at Moonveil quiet while they research golden wolves and try to learn more about the group that destroyed my parents' pack. Which means..."

"Daily lies to your parents," Maya finished, understanding immediately. "Daily explanations for where you're going and why you can't tell them the truth."

"I hate the thought of lying to them," I admitted. "But if the alternative is putting them in danger..."

"You don't have a choice," Maya said firmly. "And Cal? You're not lying to hurt them. You're protecting them. There's a difference."

Maya was quiet for a long moment, seeming to wrestle with something internal. Finally, she took a deep breath and looked directly into my eyes.

"Cal, there's something I need to tell you. Something I should have said when you first told me about being a werewolf." She paused, gathering courage. "You're not the only one in this friendship who isn't entirely human."

I stared at my best friend, my heart racing. "What do you mean?"

"I mean my family has our own supernatural heritage. My grandmother wasn't just into crystals and herbs for fun—she was a witch. And that ability runs in our family."

The words hit me like a physical blow, but not in a bad way. "You're a witch?"

"I'm a witch," Maya confirmed. "I've known about the supernatural world my whole life. My Aunt Iris has been teaching me since I was little—basic herb lore, meditation, energy work. My abilities really started developing about six months ago."

"What kind of abilities?"

"Empathic sensing—I can feel what people are really feeling, not just what they're showing. Plant magic—helping things grow, understanding their properties. Basic protective wards." Maya's voice grew stronger as she continued. "That's how I knew you were going through something major these past few weeks. I could sense the change in your energy, feel that something fundamental was shifting. Oh, and I should mention—I cast a privacy ward around our booth when I got here. Anyone listening in just hears us talking about boys and weekend shopping plans."

I felt tears prick my eyes, but they were tears of relief and joy rather than shock. "That's why you handled my werewolf revelation so well. That's why you always seemed to know when I was upset before I said anything."

"And that's why I've been your most loyal defender when people said you were 'weird' or 'too intense,'" Maya added with a grin. "I knew there was something special about you, even if I didn't know what."

"Pack recognizes pack," Lyra observed with deep satisfaction. "The witch was always meant to be our ally."

"Why didn't you tell me before?" I asked. "I mean, I understand why you couldn't before I knew about the supernatural world, but why not immediately when I told you about being a werewolf?"

Maya's expression grew more serious. "Because my family has very strict rules about revealing ourselves. For centuries, witches who were discovered by the wrong people faced persecution, death, or worse. Even now, it can be dangerous. We're taught from childhood to never tell anyone outside the magical community, no matter how much we trust them."

"But you're telling me now."

"Because I've been talking with my parents and Aunt Iris since you told me about being a werewolf," Maya said, reaching across to squeeze my hands. "Getting permission, making sure it was safe for both of us. They needed to discuss it with other family members, research werewolf-witch relations, make sure revealing myself wouldn't put either of us in danger."

"Your whole family had to vote on whether you could tell me?"

"Not vote, exactly, but... yes, kind of. It's a big deal, Cal. My family needed to be sure that your werewolf family were the kind of supernatural beings who could be trusted with our secrets."

"And what did they decide?"

Maya smiled. "That golden wolves are mentioned in our oldest texts as bridge-builders between magical communities. That if anyone could be trusted to honor both werewolf and witch traditions, it would be you."

"I can't believe my best friend is a witch," I said, laughing through my tears.

"I can't believe my best friend is a legendary golden werewolf," Maya shot back. "We're quite a pair, aren't we?"

"We are blessed in our friendships," Lyra said with warm approval. "This witch will stand with us through whatever comes."

The rest of our conversation took on a completely different tone. Instead of me trying to explain an impossible world to my human friend, we were two supernatural beings comparing notes on our abilities and heritage. Maya told me about her family's magical traditions, the protective wards she'd learned to create, and the way her plant magic had been growing stronger. I shared more details about my wolf senses and the way Lyra communicated with me.

"So what happens now?" Maya asked as we prepared to leave the café. "I mean, practically speaking. Do you think Anya and your werewolf family would be okay with me knowing about them? Especially given that you're supposed to be staying hidden?"

"I think," I said carefully, "that having a witch ally could be exactly what they need, especially if there are threats out there that specifically target golden wolves. But Maya, are you sure you want to get involved? This could be dangerous—more dangerous than normal magical stuff."

Maya's expression grew fierce with determination. "Cal, you're my best friend and you're family to me. If there are threats coming after you specifically because of what you are, then they're my problem too. Besides," she added with a grin, "I've been practicing magic my whole life waiting for a chance to use it for something important. Protecting a legendary golden wolf feels pretty important."

As we walked back toward our cars, I felt a profound sense of completeness I hadn't expected. Not only did I finally understand what I was, but my best friend—my chosen sister—was part of the supernatural world too. Whatever challenges lay ahead, whatever enemies might be searching for golden wolves like me, I wouldn't face them alone.

"There's one more thing," I said as we reached Maya's car. "About telling my parents... would you help me figure out how to do it? When the time comes?"

"Of course," Maya said immediately. "We'll figure it out together. But Cal?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't wait too long. Secrets this big have a way of coming out on their own, and it's usually messier when they do. Especially when there might be people actively looking for you."

Maya's words echoed in my head as I drove home. She was right, of course—I couldn't keep my supernatural nature hidden from Mom and Dad indefinitely. Eventually, they would notice the changes in me, the enhanced abilities, the new relationships and responsibilities. And if there really were enemies out there searching for golden wolves, keeping my adoptive parents in the dark might actually put them in more danger, not less.

But first, I needed to understand more about what being a golden wolf actually meant, what threats I might be facing, and how to protect the people I loved. Anya had promised training, research, and more explanations about my heritage and the enemies who had destroyed my birth parents' pack.

"One step at a time," Lyra counseled as I pulled into our driveway. "We learn to protect ourselves first, then we protect our family."

As I walked toward the house where Mom and Dad were probably enjoying their Sunday morning routine, I made a silent promise to myself. Soon—very soon—I would tell them the truth about what I was and the potential dangers that came with it. They deserved honesty from the daughter they'd raised with such love and dedication, and they deserved the chance to make informed decisions about their own safety.

But today, I just wanted to be their daughter for a little while longer, to enjoy the comfortable normalcy of family breakfast and weekend plans before diving into the dangerous world of daily training and hidden enemies.

The supernatural world would wait. It had waited eighteen years already—it could wait a little longer while I figured out how to bridge the gap between the two lives I was now living.

"Home is not a place," Lyra observed as I opened the front door to the sounds of Mom humming in the kitchen and Dad reading the newspaper aloud. "Home is where we are loved."

And for now, that was enough.