Darkness surrounded her and she seemed to sink farther and farther until the feeling of falling jolted her awake.  In front of her was an ocean of green that slowly shrank and what came into focus were a pair of green flecked eyes against a black and gold background.  Aria blinked rapidly trying to make sense of the sight before her.  Gradually, her vision cleared and a large, black wolf with gold flecks throughout his ebony fur stood over her.Who…who is this? Aria thought to herself.My name is Absalom.  I brought you here after freeing you from being consumed by the forest.  Consumed… what a horrid thought.  Then she remembered, she was in a fight with Philip when the vines shot out from the ground and ensnared them both.  And not to worry about the other you were fighting.  Absalom interjected, He is safe but far from where we are.I can hear you!  You can hear

Aria gasped awake and sat up. Something soft lay next to her, so she reached out her hand to touch it. Long fur spread across her hand and through her fingers and with it something rumbled beneath them along with a groan. Aria turned her head to see her human hand grasping the black and golden fur belonging to Absalom as his body began to come awake. “Oh, no!” Aria moved to stand but it was too late. Absalom’s head rose from its sleeping position on the floor of the shelf and turned to her. His wolf eyebrows rose as his green eyes rested upon her naked body. You turned. Clearly, he wasn’t upset about her being next to him. Aria was both relieved and… disappointed at his lack of comment… no, surely not. She cursed herself for even considering it. Absalom stood and she felt his fur brush against her back as he walked around to face her and little chills crawled down her skin. Aria moved her arms to cover her chest and clenched her thighs together. She’d never felt more emba

Three days later, Aria was still in her human form. She frowned as she pondered what could possibly be the cause to the seeming eternal human form. Absalom said nothing to her about it and she wondered at that too. Her human form used to last only moments and while two months ago she would have given anything to maintain her transformation this long, now it was hindering her mission. Aria grunted as she tripped over an exposed tree root and Absalom, who had been walking ahead of her, quickly turned around ready to attack, then relaxed as he realized there was no threat.“You should be more careful where you’re stepping.” Aria scowled over his obvious comment. Absalom grunted and turned back to his path. Aria was so deep in thought, she neglected to notice the familiar terrain Absalom was leading them through as she pushed a red leafy bush branch aside. She didn’t realize where they’d been headed until the dark wolf statue materialized in front of them as then entered Absalom’s

Aria’s mind wrestled with the strong anger inside her. Somehow a surge of it seemed to overtake her along with a great sense of hopelessness. She struggled to open her eyes, but everything was black. Revenge her mind told her. Was it her mind? Her voice sounded different. Death, it said. When she opened her eyes, the world was in faded colors around her… except for him. Who was he? Her eyes honed in on a red form that was… wolf! Aria growled in her throat. She hated wolves. Wolves had trapped her away in a dark place. Wolves had killed her! Heat surged into her chest and she lunged at the large form in front of her. The wolf was quick to dodge out of her way, but she spun around to face him again. A noise sounded in her head, but it was inaudible. Still it tugged at something inside of her but an involuntary reflux pushed it away. Her body seemed to move on its own and she walked to where a scrap piece of a metal rod lay on the ground and picked it up, then began swi

“I don’t recognize this one but it is similar to the symbol for blood.” He put his hand to his chin and brushed his goatee. Aria walked around to stand beside him so she could see the symbol he was studying. Instead, her eyes fell on Absalom. His eyes became intense and his jaw twitched as he clenched his teeth. Though his features were hard, she couldn’t help but think how handsome he was. It was a different kind of handsome than Morgan. Absalom embodied a type of regal-ness that demanded respect with his edgy jaw and muscular neck. His skin seemed slightly weathered yet healthy. Had he wanted to, he could have been an amazing leader in the human world. Even a king. His demeanor demanded respect. His jaw twitched again and his eyes flickered toward her but his head didn’t move, “Are you going to help me or just stare at me?” A chill shot down Aria's spine and she jerked her nose toward the wall and heard him huff next to her. Then out of her peripheral vision she saw him