A Reincarnate

“How are you feeling now, Elise? ”

I asked, turning to look at the older wolf. She had come to me earlier with a backache, and I had helped her straighten out her back. She was one of the few wolves in the pack who knew about my inabilities and that I hadn't shifted into a wolf like the other pack members.

She had seen me one day healing myself after a nasty fall, and since then, she had kept my secret, only telling a few others about my abilities. She knew as well as I did that the pack would not accept me.

As for why my abilities were a secret? Well, let me reintroduce myself.

My name is Mira Carter, and I am the daughter of the pack’s warrior leader Alpha Carter.

I had always been one of the odd wolves in the pack. My father is an Alpha, while my mother is a human. They were mates and they fell in love, and after some time, my mother had me.

Growing up in Mystic Shadow pack as a mixed wolf was kind of hard. My mother was the closest thing to what I was in the entire park, and although the other wolves would not directly point it out, they knew I was odd, too. I would play with the other pups around the park, playing hide and seek, running and chasing each other till we got tired. I could not run as fast as they could, but they never called me out, we just had fun with each other.

When I and the other pups turned 11, a few of the other kids started going through the Changes and got their first shifts. The Changes happened once in two full moons, and eventually everyone was going to shifts into their wolves.

 Nala was already getting ready for the full moon, while Gabe and Loiti could run ten times faster than before!

I tried and tried to turn like them, and fit more into the pack, but all the parents had noticed my inabilities and had started whispering to their kids.

I couldn't walk past any of the houses without hearing whispers of some sort. Some said I was cursed, and told their children to stay away from me. They acted like I was contagious, and I started to play all by myself in my room.

Just after my 12th birthday, my father and the elder wolves along with the betas had a meeting in our house. They were discussing all the children that had shifted into their wolves in the pack, because the full moon was just the night before.

The elders asked my father if I had had my first shift, and he told them no.

Nobody said anything due to the respect they had for my father. When most of them left, a few lingered around the house, drinking and eating.

Of course, they began to chatter after some time.

“Imagine that, ” went the first, “the Alpha's daughter hasn't even had her first shift!”

“I know! ” replied the other, “isn't that a bit embarrassing? ”

My mother overheard their conversation and gently urged them out of the house, assuring them she would like to host them another day.

That night, my parents spoke to each other in hushed tones, glancing at me countlessly.

The next morning, they both came to me and asked me to run around them.

“Mira?”

“Yes mummy?”

“Could you run around your dad and I?”

“Run?”

“Yes baby, ” dad joined, “just a quick little run. ”

So I tried.

And tried.

And tried.

But my run only looked like a walk, and by the end of it, I was panting really hard. That was when my parents began to worry. As the first and only child of the Alpha, my powers should have started to manifest!

“Can you growl, Mira? ” My father asked, hopeful that something would change. I looked at him and shook my head, but when my mum kept on urging, I decided to try.

“Grrrrr! ” I went with all my might, turning almost blue on the face. When nothing changed, my dad turned to my mother. “Ava? Something is not right.”

By my 18th birthday, many more full moons had come and gone, with no changes. All the other kids could growl and shift to their full wolf forms willingly, but I couldn't.

That was when my mum decided that we were going to the pack seer, all three of us.

The pack seer did not live too far away, so Alpha Carter walked my mum and I over to her home, a faded yellow bungalow surrounded by short blackberry bushes.

On getting past them and all the way to the seer's door, I felt my nose picking up the scent of blackberry juice and sugar.

My dad used his free hand to knock at her door, letting me play with the other one. We heard some shuffling and clanking inside the house and waited for the woman to come to the door.

“Alpha Carter, Luna Ava! To what do I owe this visit? ”

Silently, my dad pushed me forward.

“I don't have my powers yet!" I said, wrinkling my face.

I turned back and looked at my mum and dad for approval, and when they shook their heads, my face fell sadly.

Silently, the seer ushered us in, pointing at a mat for us to sit down on. As soon as we did, she went into a different room, pushing away the beaded curtains that covered it. After some scraping, she called for me and I pushed away the beads like I saw her do.

“Sit down, Mira, ” she said, pointing at a stool.

I smoothed my dress, sat on it and waited for her to pull over a second one. When she brought it over, and sat down, she sighed.

 “Give me your palm. ”

I held it out to her, watching curiously as she ran hers across it.

She closed her eyes and muttered to herself while I wondered how long she would hold my hand. After a few minutes, she opened her eyes, dropped my hand and said a single word.

“Well.”

She took a few minutes to get herself together and then walked over with me. My parents jumped up as soon as we got out, and asked her what was wrong with me.

“She is a reincarnate, ” she answered.

“Reincarnate?” my mum questioned, a confused look on her face while I blink hard on the revelation.

“Yes, Luna Ava. She is a born witch, reincarnated from hundreds of hundreds years ago. She is a reincarnation of a white witch who came back to fulfill some prophecies from years ago. As for why she hasn't become a wolf, there is nothing wrong with her.”

Well that was a bummer.