My eyes scanned the back yard as I tried to understand what I was looking at. I saw my four pack members standing closest to the porch, but they weren’t the only wolves that had come to help us face off against Verina. Across the yard, there were dozens of other wolves, some standing by themselves, others in small packs, all of them looking up at Grandma and I where we stood on the porch, all of them appearing to pledge their allegiance to our cause.
Caught in Verina’s dark stare, I was helpless, even with the staff pulsating its power through my grip. She laughed that horrific cackle, and I didn’t move, only continued to stand there, a million thoughts flooding my mind as I pondered what I could do. I had more wolves on my side than she did, but that meant nothing if her powers were stronger than mine.As
Sam’s teeth made contact with the hem of Verina’s long black cloak pulling her down slightly, back toward the ground, as the ball of fire hit him squarely in the side, near his right haunch. He yelped and let go of her, falling to the ground. I didn’t have my powers ready in time to prevent it, but I did send a wave of what I hoped was healing light in his direction. Her flames didn’t last long as the white light left my hand and extinguished them. Sam fell to the ground in a heap. I wanted to see if he was okay, but I couldn’t at the moment. Verina was still coming my direction, Sam’s attempt at distracting her doing little to stop her.
The pain from the wolf attacking me was overwhelming. My head was swimming as I tried to stay conscious. I’d never been in so much pain in my entire life. Thoughts of doing anything else, of trying to stand up or use my powers to help me, were far from the forefront of my mind as all I could think about was the excruciating pain of the bites and gashes from his claws.
“Grandma!” I cried, on my knees next to her. Already, my power pulsed through me as I gripped her hand and did what I could to try and revive her. There was blood all over her tattered red cloak. Her face was scratched deep, and her left arm was mauled so badly, it reminded me of a tube of hamburger from the market.
Everything that happened right after Grandma passed away was a blur. I remember Sam shifting into his human form and telling me not to worry, that the packs would take care of Grandma. Then, he was a wolf again, and he was taking me home on his back.Once we got to Grandma’s house, he was his human self again. By then, I was crying so hard, I was blinded by my
I felt like it should be raining. On TV, whenever someone dies, and there’s a funeral, everyone always wears black, and it’s raining. Even the umbrellas are black. People stand around a hole in the ground, weeping, as a coffin is slowly lowered inside. A priest crosses his chest, and everyone says amen.That’s not at all how Grandma’s funeral went.
I wanted to talk to Sam before I mentioned anything to my parents. Since my family had been served first, we were done eating while most of the other guests were still finishing up their lunches. Mom was conversing with some of Grandma’s friends, so I took the opportunity to sneak away.My pack was seated together at a table across the room. There were a few ot
I waited until we were back at Grandma’s house to tell my mom I had a solution to our problem. I told her I needed to talk to her, and we all went into the living room--Mom, Max, me, and Sam. Grayson didn’t need to be there. She’d just cause problems. Sam and I sat on the couch, about two feet apart. Mom sat in one of the extra chairs in the room, and Max sat down in Grandma’s knitting chair like it was no big deal. I cringed but didn’t say anything because I was trying to be as agreeable as possible. I wanted them to approve of my sugg