"Not much," I replied with a frown.Tyler hovered over the books. One was an ancient leather-bound volume, its pages yellowed with age and filled with hand-drawn illustrations. The text either appeared to be printed somehow, or handwritten by someone with more patience and consistency than I could ever hope to possess. It was titled A History of Lycanthropy, and it detailed some notable packs, wars and werewolf related incidents of the past.The other book also had a leather cover, but it was much thinner and seemed to be completely different in nature to the first. From what I could tell, it was a personal journal belonging to the Alpha of The Ironwood Pack from many years ago. I wondered where they were from and whether an Ironwood Pack even continued to exist today. If they did, I had never heard of them.Tyler leaned over the thicker book first, reading the excerpt I had marked with a Post-it note out loud:The Elysian LineStatus: ExtinctDuration: Indeterminate - 1700sOrigins:
The drive home was quiet aside from Tyler's adamance that we talk to his father as soon as possible... as in, the second we got home. He seemed really concerned and I could feel the underlying tension radiating off of him as he stared ahead, frowning the whole way home.The thought filled me with trepidation. I agreed that we should tell Alpha David, but being in agreement with the idea hadn't suddenly filled me with the words I would need to articulate the issue to him.I mean, what was I going to say exactly? 'Hey Alpha David, I see weird things, but don't worry, I'm not crazy'?I frowned as I tried to think of a softer way to deliver the news and desperately hoped that a demonstration wouldn’t be necessary.As we walked into the house my anxiety only grew. We didn't even head to our rooms first. Tyler just dropped his bag in the entryway, then took me by the hand and led me upstairs in search of Alpha David. My heart raced with each step and my stomach twisted itself in knots.When
The room was thick with tension as I prepared to delve deeper into the revelations about my abilities. David and Liz’s expressions were a mixture of curiosity and skepticism, their gazes fixed intently on me.I took a deep breath, trying to steady my nerves. “Well, like I said, it all kind of started at the Lunar Eclipse Celebration,” I began, trying to keep my voice steady and matter-of-fact. “At first, I didn’t understand what was happening, and eventually decided it was maybe just some weird side effect of the Lunar Eclipse or something, but then, when it happened again, I figured there had to be more to it,” I explained.David stared at me wordlessly, waiting for me to continue, so I did. "That was when Ryder started to help me. He was like, a guinea pig, I guess. A willing test subject, if you will. He allowed me to practice with him while Tyler was in classes. I eventually got an idea of what I had to do to make it happen and got a better grasp on how it worked. I guess I'm stil
To my absolute relief, the doorbell rang announcing Shane's presence. I exhaled deeply, releasing a breath I had been holding for who even knows how long."I'll let him in," Tyler said, leaving the room once more.It felt like all eyes were on me. Staring at me and silently scrutinizing me.The room was beginning to feel uncomfortably quiet and when I heard footsteps approaching down the hallway, I was only too grateful for the opportunity to turn around, cutting off everyone's curious gazes as I awaited Shane's arrival.Hopefully he would be able to explain what I couldn't and convince David without me having to show him.To my surprise, when I turned around, Ryder had moved from the doorway and was standing just a little way behind me. His presence loomed, protective and comforting in spite of our difficulties, and I was grateful that David had called him in because I was beginning to feel like I was on some kind of trial now. Shane’s eyes scanned the room as he entered and he gave
David looked confused and a little annoyed."Just... Just try to clear your mind, okay?" I urged, not wanting him to think of anything he DIDN'T want me to see, which would likely result in me seeing exactly that.My hand trembled slightly as I reached out once more and I closed my eyes, desperately focussing on extracting a vision of MY choice. That would hopefully limit any potential awkwardness.I felt his fingers grasping mine and I took a deep breath before opening my eyes and looking into his.Falling backward through time, I tumbled through the void feeling heavy and weightless all at once. To my surprise, I found myself in the same room, only the furnishings were different.David stood beside me, his hand gripping mine tightly as his chest heaved and he looked around in confusion.The sound of a baby crying caught our attention and my eyes wandered over to a young Liz, sitting on a rocking chair near a sunny window. She looked exhausted with dark rings under her eyes and her h
We heard the door to the studio as it shut behind Ash and Ryder, leaving a stillness in its wake that seemed to amplify the weight of the evening’s revelations.Tyler sighed, his brow furrowed in a thoughtful frown as we remained hovering awkwardly in the entryway.“I feel bad for my mom,” he admitted, his voice barely more than a whisper.“Me too,” I agreed, the image of Luna Liz’s teary, exhausted face fresh in my mind.A heaviness settled over me like thick fog and I couldn’t shake the feeling that maybe I had gone too far. I hadn't wanted to tell them and maybe I should have just listened to my gut for once.“I really feel like I shouldn’t have told you guys,” I confessed with a miserable frown, feeling responsible for the obvious uncertainty and pain that the twins were experiencing. My chest felt compressed by the weight of my guilt, making it difficult to breathe.Tyler shook his head and forced a reassuring smile, but I could see that it was just an act for my benefit. “No, it
Conciousness slowly began to ebb its way back to me and I reached out my hand, searching for Tyler's comforting presence. The space he usually occupied was cold and empty though.I opened a sleepy eye, sitting up to look for him. My body felt heavy and exhausted and I ached all over.As I scanned the room, a sense of disorientation settled in. This wasn’t Tyler’s room, but it was vaguely familiar. I tried to make sense of it, my mind still foggy with sleep, when a strange fluttering sensation in my stomach made me look down.I froze, my breath catching in my throat. I had a big, pregnant belly. Adrenaline coursed through me, banishing any remnants of sleepiness and panic filled me as I recognized the room from my vision.My heart raced, my breathing becoming short and ragged. “This can’t be real,” I whispered to myself, struggling to make sense of it.When I fell asleep, I didn’t look nine months pregnant. My mind whirled, trying to grasp at any logical explanation, but the panic clou
The realization filled me with relief, but I was still apprehensive. I didn’t know exactly what I had seen, but it had felt so real and so terrifying and I was struggling to come to terms with it.“Are you okay?” Tyler asked, reaching out to touch me in a gesture of support but I pulled away instinctively.“It’s okay,” Tyler murmured again, raising his hands to show me that he meant no harm as he tried to reassure me. “You had a bad dream,” he explained.It was a dream... Just a dream.I took a deep breath, trying to steady my nerves and calm my breathing.“Deep breaths,” Tyler encouraged me, taking a few of his own, hoping I would mimic him.I did, but it took a while to slow my frantic pace.“There you go,” he whispered reassuringly when I seemed to be calming down.I closed my eyes, leaning back against the headboard as I tried to focus on my breathing.“Better?” Tyler asked, his voice gentle.I kept my eyes closed but gave a small nod, willing myself to accept that none of it was