*Selena*
Underneath the silver glow of the moon, Zander and I stood at the entrance of the Moon Goddess Temple. He was willing to join me when I told him about my dream. However, he received an urgent message from his pack office and had to leave. However, he assured me to wait for him, promising that we would go together. And now, here we were. As we stepped inside, his hand holding mine, the temple’s interior mirrored my dream.
The familiar architecture triggered memories of the vivid dream, each detail unfolding before my eyes. The air within the temple felt charged with anticipation as if the walls held secrets waiting to be unveiled.
Suddenly, a figure emerged from the shadows the High Priestess.
“Selena and Alpha king! I was waiting for you,” she announced, her voice resonating in the sacred space.
A surge of skepticism overcame me, and I confronted her with a challenging question. “How do you know that we were coming?”
The high priestess met my inquiry with a mysterious smile that told me everything. The dream was not a mere illusion. The high priestess, standing before us, was a living embodiment of the mystical vision. My heart raced as the pieces of the puzzle fell into place. If the dream was real, then the words she spoke in that dream were true as well and she was my mother.
“Yes, Selena. You are thinking correctly. I am your mother, and what I told you was all true,” she affirmed, her words resonating with a mystical certainty that left no room for doubt.
However, instead of solace, the confirmation of my lineage fueled the flames of anger and pain within me. The questions that had lingered in the depths of my soul erupted like a tempest, and I couldn’t contain the torrent of emotions.
“If I was your daughter, why did you never come to see me in those years?” I poured out my grievances, the accusatory tone in my eyes reflecting the years of abandonment that had festered in my heart.
“Tell me, why?” I demanded, my voice rising to a yell, echoing through the hallowed halls of the Moon Goddess Temple. Zander, standing steadfast beside me, held me in his arms. His eyes mirrored the concern etched on his face, watching as the floodgates of my long-suppressed emotions burst open.
The high priestess took a deep breath, her eyes revealing the scars of a painful past. “When your father took you away from me and rejected me, I was in pain and extremely hurt. I needed time at that moment to recover from the heartbreak and trauma,” she confessed, her voice carrying the weight of years of suffering. “The Goddess took me under her wing, and slowly, I began to heal. I immersed myself in serving the people and caring for the Moon Goddess temple, but deep down, I was running away from the truth and from you.”
The pain in her voice mirrored the depth of the scars left by a tumultuous past. “You were a child born from forceful mating, and it reminded me of all the torture I had gone through while Albert kept me as a prisoner.”
Her confession struck me with a profound sense of shame for what my father had done to my mother. I had never imagined that he could be such a monstrous figure, especially towards his own mate.
“So, what happened now? Why did you appear before me, revealing your true identity?” I couldn’t help but sound accusatory, the weight of years of abandonment and unanswered questions fueling the frustration in my voice.
“Because now you need your wolf and your powers,” my mother revealed, her gaze shifting between Zander and me.
Zander’s expression contorted into a frown as he looked at me, confusion etched across his features. Yet, I grasped the significance of her words. It was about the prophecy and she already knew about it.
“Selena, are you ready to shift and meet your wolf?” she inquired, her eyes piercing into mine.
“Just as I am ready, High Priestess,” I responded with unwavering determination, a newfound resolve coursing through my veins.
“Call me Mother, Selena. After all, I am your mother,” she added, her tone filled with yearning.
The words hung in the air, and my throat tightened at the realization of the complex emotions swirling within me. She was the one who had given me life, but seeing her for the first time brought forth a torrent of mixed feelings that I struggled to fathom.
“Mother,” the word left my mouth as a whisper, but she responded with a gentle smile.
“Come with me,” Mother instructed, leading the way toward the back door of the temple. With a flick of her wrist, she opened the door, revealing a breathtaking sight-a dense forest illuminated by the ethereal glow of the moon in the star-clad sky. The moonlight danced through the leaves, creating a mesmerizing spectacle.
Zander, breaking his silence for the first time since our arrival, questioned, “Why will she have to shift here?”
“Alpha, she is not an ordinary wolf, and you will understand why she has to be kept hidden from the eyes of evil,” Mother replied calmly. Then, turning her attention to me, she spoke with a reassuring tone, “I am going to lift the barrier, and your wolf can contact you then.”
The realization struck me like a bolt of lightning it was finally going to happen. The anticipation tingled through my nerves, excitement and a hint of trepidation blending in a cocktail of emotions.
Mother whispered ancient words. I couldn’t comprehend the meaning, but as the incantation filled the air, a warmth enveloped my throat, and a soft glow emanated from within. A small bundle of radiant light emerged from me, leaving my body with a sensation of liberation as if I were breaking free from an unseen confinement.
“Ah!” I breathed out, the experience overwhelming me as my body began to tremble uncontrollably. I sank to my knees, hands pressed against the cool earth beneath me. My head instinctively turned towards the moon, its silvery glow casting an otherworldly sheen on the transformative process unfolding.
With the first appearance of golden fur, my claws extended. The warmth intensified, and an unfamiliar sensation gripped me as bones seemed to break and shuffle within me. A series of audible cracks echoed through the night, accompanied by the surreal feeling of muscles stretching and clenching, adjusting to their new form.
Amidst the bone-breaking sounds and the shuffling of muscles, the golden fur began to spread across my changing frame. The pain and discomfort were intense, but beneath it, a surge of power and ancient energy fueled the metamorphosis. As my human form waned, the golden fur enveloping me, the consciousness of the wolf within took prominence. In that transformative moment, I felt the mind connection solidify with my wolf.
“Selena! I am your wolf, Arena!” she spoke, her voice resonating within the mental link we now shared.
“Hi, Arena! It’s so nice to finally find you,” I responded, genuine happiness coloring my thoughts.
“A rare Golden Wolf!” I heard Zander gasping, his astonishment audible. “It happens once in five thousand years!”