Chapter 9

　　Finally the time has come for them to leave for Clan BloodBane. Alpha Jaden has welcomed both of them in his clan and is sending one of his sons to escort them. He will reach here by nightfall and they will start journeying early in the morning tomorrow. Niya is still not convinced that she should go or not, especially after the events that happened two nights prior.

　　She has not seen the hooded woman again but every night she has the gut feeling of being watched. Like someone is trying to keep tabs about her movements. Whoever she was, she felt otherworldly, ancient and she could have killed Niya easily. At least that is what makes sense. The fact that she didn’t attack her or try to kill her makes no sense at all.

　　What if she doesn’t want Niya to leave? If those are the savages threatening to attack our clan, then no one will survive. Father can be ruthless and powerful but even he would avert his eyes from such scenes, such savagery. No one blessed by Moon Mother is capable of such sadistic actions. Niya throws her punches a little harder. The sun has already set but she is still in her training gear, all sweaty and filthy.

　　“Niya? What are you doing?” Vivian strolls into the training grounds and stops in her tracks. “What is wrong with you? You look terrible! Were you rolling in the dirt?”

　　“No! What happened? Where is Father?”

　　“He is patrolling. Have you packed?”

　　“No.”

　　“Don’t try to rebel anymore. Go clean up and I will help you with the packing. Try to look at least presentable tonight, Alpha Jared is sending his eldest son here.”

　　“I know,” Niya replies through gritted teeth. “I am going.” She takes her armor off and proceeds to take a warm bath.

　　After washing all the grime and dirt, she is about to enter her room when she is intercepted by Donny.

　　“So you are going forever?” Donny asks her playfully.

　　“Donny, I am not in the mood..”

　　“Come on Niya, lighten up a little bit. Everything will be alright and don’t fight with Vivian over the same boy.”

　　“Donny, it’s no joke. I am still trying to find a way to avoid going.”

　　“It’s too late now.”

　　“Why are you here? To taunt me?”

　　“No,” he says, dropping the friendly smile from his face. “The Crone has asked for your presence immediately.”

　　Niya looks at him for a while before replying “Me? Are you sure she called me and not Father?”

　　“I carry her messages Niya, I can’t afford to make mistakes.”

　　“Okay, I will go.”

　　“I’ll prepare for our trip too. We will need food and water. See you later.” After Donny leaves, Niya puts on her shrug and hastily brushes the tangles out of her damp hair.

　　What could the Crone want from her? She has never seen her, never in her eighteen years has she called for Niya or offered her blessings. Whatever it may be she will be brave, she will not let her words affect her resolution.

　　The door to the Crone’s cottage is slightly open and a funky smell emanating from inside hits Niya. Wolves are no stranger to chilled nights, but the small cottage has an appearance of an abandoned shamble from outside and the moonlight falling gives it an edge. Shadows seem to shift and whisper as she approaches the front door.

　　“Come in, daughter of the Moon.”

　　All of Niya’s instincts scream at her to run. This is not the voice anyone would want to listen to on a night like this. Taking a deep breath, she takes a step inside and immediately regrets it. The Crone is sitting in front of what seems to be a pentagon drawn with a dark liquid suspiciously smelling of nothing. At each edge point of the pentagon a small star is drawn with the same liquid and a tiny candle is placed on top.

　　The Crone is sitting with her bony legs folded in a cross legged position and her eyes… Moon Mother blesses her. Niya takes a sharp breath intake when she finally notices her eyes, which are seeing everything and nothing at the same time. Her pupils are completely white with something swirling within and the longer she looks at her the weaker the Crone appears.

　　“Come to me,” she orders her with her broken raspy voice and extends her thin hand.

　　Very reluctantly Niya approaches her, careful of not ruining the pattern on the floor. As soon as she is in the vicinity of her, the Crone grabs her hand and pulls her down. Struggling to keep her calm Niya squirms and tries to pull her right hand back but finds the grip impossibly strong. Her appearance is a deception; she contains power that can best the strength of most wolves at their prime age. The Crone looks into her eyes with the same horrifying stare and then brushes her thumb over Niya’s birthmark. A thrill runs through her body and the stress building inside threatens to explode, as if shifting between her true form and her taken form.

　　“You have been touched by something girl,” her voice momentarily shatters the dizziness in Niya’s mind and roots her to reality. The Crone raises her bony fingers and brushes them on Niya’s forehead. She tries not to cringe back from the cold touch.

　　“Something ancient and powerful, something that has no true form but is still bound to this place, to us.”

　　Niya runs her tongue over her dry lips. “I don’t understand.”

　　“You will,” the Crone says as she slowly starts coming back to reality, as if she is waking up from a dream of hers, or nightmare. The light in her eyes dims.

　　“You have a unique destiny, daughter of Moon. But your destiny is not set on the moonstone. Whatever you choose now will become your life so you must choose wisely.”

　　Niya contemplates what she is saying. For the past few days she is in a constant turmoil of what to do; to go with her father’s decisions or defy him and face his wrath. No matter what she doesn’t want to leave her father’s side especially after the encounter in the woods with the mysterious figure. Was the Crone hinting at her about that?

　　“I can see a storm raging inside you” the Crone speaks, breaking the silence.

　　“Listen to me girl, you must not defy your father or you might live to regret it; if you get time to regret.”

　　Niya shudders at the intensity of the last words.

　　“You have to choose, you have to align with strong forces and be careful of dark nights and dark wolves; they come bearing betrayal and death…”

　　“I don’t fear my death.” Niya says.

　　“Who said about only your death?” the Crone retorts “You are the one to bring the dead back, girl.”

　　Niya’s whole body goes stone cold. There are so many people she cares about the most, whose death would completely shatter her. She can never imagine walking up to her father’s corpse, Vivian’s beautiful face covered in blood, Donny choking to death. No! Rubbing her palms and willing the chill to go away she asks “So I have to go then?”

　　“I will not command you to do anything. The choice should be yours. I cannot interfere with divine powers. I just made you aware of the consequences.”

　　Niya stands up feeling weak. “Okay, then I have chosen.”

　　“Good. May Moon Mother bless you,” the Crone says, with some empathy mixed in her voice for the first time.

　　Niya doesn’t waste any more time and wills her stiff legs to take her to her father. Now that she has chosen, she has to let her father know how she feels about it. It is not until she has disappeared into the shadows that the Crone looks up at the moon and whispers under her breath “I did my work, now I can rest.”

　　Meanwhile a cat slips away from the room undetected into the lonely night.