Chapter 3: Out of Prison (Lucia's POV)

The Present

The Officer leans into the table with an angry growl coming from his breath. A fog appears in the interrogation room. The cops think I am a witch or a conjurer for siding with the wolf people clan. But they have little knowledge of their culture and the beauty of how they live.

When I was first brought to the wolf clan by the blessing of Chief Wolfpaw, I didn't expect to gain their approval. By day, they walked and talked like my kind. They were timid in their dog-like reflexives. Their ears still twitched when a branch fell in the forest. Chief Wolfpaw ran with the river, and his heartbeat soared with the earth. He was the living legend that my grandmother spoke of in terror. She was wrong about them. She was wrong about every single one of them. 

 

Convincing the Officer that I didn't murder Cody Colfax will be no easy feat. There is nothing amusing about proving one's innocence. Cody isn't dead, at least not to my knowledge. His human form may have passed on into the next world. But his spiritual wolf appearance is here, somewhere in the heart of the forest. Perhaps he is 'The Ghost' the scientists are searching for. As his soulmate, I have to find him. If these cops let me go or if Chief Wolfpaw helps me out first, then I can search for my precious Cody. 

 

"I've grown tired of your lies. What did you do to Cody Colfax, witch? Have you put a spell on him? Did you need him for your potions class? What ritual were you preparing Cody for that night, the night you murdered him in cold blood," the officer says with an angry gruff. If he scowls anymore at me his face will freeze and the birds will mistake him for a scarecrow. 

 

The 'potions' the officer is referring to is a wolf people clan ritual. For example, Cody and I were planning to get married the night he was allegedly murdered. But the ceremony didn't go according to plan, and it didn't work. As a result, Cody went missing, and his human body died. His blood was splattered everywhere, and 'The Ghost' appeared.

 

The Ghost that creates the fog lies somewhere nearby. Whether it is Cody or some other evil spirit, I will never be sure of as long as I am held captive by these humans. Although I am human, I have lived among wolves and have slept with them. If I wanted to become one of them, I could. Cody and I are in a place where he can be human for me, or I could be a Luna lover for him.

 

The Luna Lovers are what the wolf people clan call a married couple. For the ritual to be complete we would need to make love under the full moon and drink each other's blood or drink from the cup of a Luna Lily. But I messed up the ceremony. 

 

I suspect it was tampered with by a tribal member, either a jealous beta wolf or a luna lover rejected by Cody. The Wolf people clan was torn about my presence and the destruction my friendship with Cody would bring to their tribe.

 

I can't say I blame them. Nature is all about balance and perfection. Our union would be either a balance or a sin against nature. The wolf people clan didn't want to anger their goddess of the night, their precious Luna whom I am named after.

 

The fog appears thicker and brighter this time. The officer shakes in the air and twitches like a victim being tortured within. His eyes turn yellow, and his veins bulge. As he floats in the air, his skin becomes pale green. The water drips slowly down his shoulders and onto the floor. The Ghost is out for revenge on this officer. His name says Officer Wilds.

 

The pariah in the room speaks in the ancient language of the wolf people clan. To humans, it sounds like dogs barking. To a human in love with an Alpha, it sounds like the music of a thousand ancient howls pouring her secrets into my ears. Chief Wolfpaw created the fog; perhaps he is the chanter to conjured 'The Ghost' to rescue me. Unless Cody himself has found me at last, the Ghost, after all, could indeed be Cody. I only wish he would reveal himself to me if that were the case.

 

As poor Officer Wilds struggles to breathe, his face collapses. His neck veins tighten, and he gets choked by the nothingness causing him to die. The air leaves his lips as the fog collects his life force. The very force that Chief Wolfpaw talked about and the reason the wolf people clan will never be truly accepted by man.

 

The thing about wolves is they live forever under the protection of the moon. When the life force of man is taken, they can live forever. Officer Wilds is a pawn in the chessboard of Chief Wolfpaw's game. Perhaps when he grows bored of me, he will also summon fog to collect my breath and choke my air from within me. As long as I love Cody and remain faithful to the pack, then I am safe. 

 

Werewolves are nothing like vampires. Although, vampires collect and drink the blood of their victims. They selfishly choose to be immortal. But as I've lived among wolves, I have learned that they have a choice to be mortal or immortal. Cody never once tried to take my life force away, he would have done so by now if he meant to kill me. 

 

I have no living relatives left. My grandmother died of a heart attack years ago. She met Cody once, but she knew I had feelings for him then. It was these feelings that made me stay with the pack. My love for Cody is why we are engaged. I've never told him I love him, but somewhere in his soul, if he has one, he knows I love every fiber of his being. 

 

"Promise me you will let Cody protect you."

 

Perhaps my grandma knew what Cody was and that my love for him overpowered her fear of his kind. Or maybe she knew nothing and just didn't want me to be alone. Whatever her reasons, I am happy to honor her in death, despite her fear of the wolf people clan.

 

Officer Wilds is dead. I get up from the table. I find the keys lying beside Officer Wilds's body and set myself free. I am the only human whose life was spared in that building. It's an indication that Chief Wolfpaw is here to collect me, his future daughter-in-law. The building has shattered into rubble. All that remains in the foundation and the interrogation room that I survived in. 

 

My respect for Chief Wolfpaw is partnered with my fear of him. His voice is echoed in the wind. I have heard his voice along the river banks of the Saint Maria waters. He has followed me on hikes in the forest, and he's watched from the branches of trees. He was watching me and approving me for his son. Then, when he could trust me enough, he let Cody out in the world to befriend me. That's how this all started. That's how my destiny for Cody was really born. It wasn't written in stars; it was orchestrated by his father, who is clever-minded.

 

I find the edges of the prison and walk out of the building. I don't know why I was ever in this building in the first place. I did nothing wrong, and Cody, I will find you wherever you are, my friend and love. Chief Wolfpaw greets me at the door. 

 

"Hello, my daughter Luna. I am glad to see you free again. Let's go find your life mate and keep away from men. I believe I know where Cody is. If it weren't for the Ghost, I was afraid you were lost forever," Chief Wolfpaw says as he hides his proper form from me, like a child playing hide and seek.

 

"I thought the fog came from you, my Chief," I reply.

 

"No, it is the Ghost the humans speak of. Come let us follow her foggy path and see where it leads. It may help us find my son." 

 

So together, the Chief and I head into the woods searching for my best friend, lover, future husband, the prince himself, Cody of the wolf clan people.