The Secret

Smoke rose in the distance adding to the chaos that was surrounding ten-year-old Addie.  She sobbed, clinging to her older sister.  Sounds of fighting and screaming echoed around the walls of the courtyard causing her to shake.  Her mother, Luna Ana, bent down and looked Addie in the face.

“Listen to your sister.  She’ll keep you safe.” 

Addie nodded.  Ana stood up and looked at her oldest daughter.  She reached over and caressed her face.  “Remember what I told you.  Practice.  And don’t tell anyone.”  Beatrice nodded, starting to cry. 

“None of that.”  Her mom smiled sadly.  “Don’t forget to prepare Addie.”  Beatrice nodded again, not hiding her tears. 

Her dad came out of the packhouse leading Helena, the cranky omega cook.  He handed her a bunch of money and a bag.  Using his alpha voice he ordered her “Take care of my girls.  Keep them safe.”

Helena turned and offered him her neck, submitting.  “Yes, Alpha.” 

Alpha James turned to his daughters and kissed them each on the forehead.  “Take the tunnels out as far as you can go.  Then run.  Don’t look back.” 

Sounds of fighting had reached the other side of the walls.  Warriors joined their Alpha and Luna in the yard, facing the gate.  James turned to Helena.  “Go!”.  His alpha command echoed around the yard. Addie looked back and saw her parents shift, their large wolves foreboding and ferocious.  Helena turned and started running back into the packhouse, heading for the basement.  Beatrice grabbed Addie’s hand and followed. 

Keeping up with Helena was hard but Beatrice knew where they were going.  She led Addie to the farthest point of the basement and helped Helena move an old, dusty shelf stacked heavy with dusty jars and vases.  One fell to the ground and shattered.  The shelf shuttered but slid out from the wall with a groan.  Helena led the way into the tunnels, shining a light ahead of her.  It was prohibited to be in the tunnels.  They were wet and caving in with age.  A hundred years ago the Agate Rock Pack was the most influential pack in the area and Alphas from all over would use the tunnels to have clandestine meetings with the leaders of Agate Rock.  After today, Agate Rock Pack would be no more than a page in the history books.

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Addie was hanging on to Beatrice, following her as best she could while tripping over roots.  The sounds of the fighting had gradually lessened the farther away they managed to escape.  All of a sudden Beatrice gasped and fell to her knees, holding her head and groaning. 

“What’s wrong, Bea!”  Addie skidded to a stop beside her sister and tried to raise her to her feet. 

Bea gritted her teeth, tears streaming down her face.  “Mom’s dead.”  She choked back her sobs and continued to hold her head. 

Addie shook her head.  “How do you know?” 

Bea took a deep, shaky breath and climbed to her feet.  She glanced over at Helena who had stopped, murderous look on her face but still bound by the Alpha command.  “I’ll tell you later.”

The next few weeks were a nightmare for Addie.  They had escaped the tunnels and ran across the pack territory into neutral territory.  They continued to push north, following Helena.  Every few days Helena would sneak into a town and buy enough food to last until the next town.  Addie was tired and dirty and she wanted to go home.  She tried talking to her sister as much as she could, but Bea didn’t want to talk.  She looked as exhausted as Addie felt and Addie felt like she might be on the verge of collapse.  That terrified her because eighteen-year-old Bea was the strongest person she knew, besides her parents. 

Two weeks after escaping the pack, Helena found a cave up in the mountains.  It was close enough to a town that they could get supplies, but far enough off the main road that they wouldn’t be found.  It was shelter and it would do for the time being, allowing the girls to rest and recover.  Bea had spoken to Helena, asking her to make a run into the town and giving her a list of things to purchase.  Helena was as sullen and resentful as ever, but the Alpha command still held her.  She left, hopefully to do as Bea asked. 

“Come here, little pup.”  Bea smiled at Addie and Addie came willingly and happily, cuddling up to Bea.  She was slightly annoyed at the nickname but the annoyance was just a prickly feeling in the back of her brain. 

“I have to tell you something important and I need you to listen.”  Addie nodded, looking up at her big sister’s face.

“You know how everyone loved Mama, and everyone did what she wanted them to do?”  Addie nodded again, wiggling and getting as comfortable as she could in her sister’s arms.  “Mama had a special gift.  It’s called Shawishi.  Do you know what that is?” 

Addie crinkled her nose, thinking.  “Maybe.  Is it one of the five gifts?”  She vaguely remembered being taught about the sacred gifts but she thought that they had died out. 

Bea nodded.  “Yes.  There are five gifts from the Moon Goddess.  There’s Harakati, the gift to move things with your mind; Wakati, the gift to slow time down; Somaji, the gift to read minds; Mahubiri, the gift to see the future and Shawishi, the gift of persuasion.”

Addie looked at Bea.  “But no one has those gifts anymore, right?  But mama did?”  She was confused. 

Bea shrugged.  “I don’t know about the rest of the gifts, but I think that there might be wolves out there with the other gifts, too.  The gifts are fickle.  They follow a bloodline.  The gift is given to the oldest direct descent of that bloodline.  Mama had the gift.  When she died, it went to me.  If I have kids, the gift will skip you and go to my oldest child when I die.  If I die without kids, it goes to you.”

Addie pushed back.  “You?  You have Shawishi?  Is that why I don’t mind it when you call me little pup?” 

Bea chuckled.  “Yes.  I’ve been practicing on you and Helena.  Mom couldn’t teach me how to use it because only one wolf alive can have the gift.  She tried telling me about it but, really, it’s not as easy as she made it seem.  Sometimes I can get it right.  Sometimes I can’t.  And it hurts to use it.” 

Addie realized Bea didn’t just look tired, she looked sick.  Her eyes were bloodshot and there were dark circles under them. She reached up and stroked her neck.  “I’m sorry, Bea.”

She shrugged.  “Mom warned me.  She said it gets better and easier.”  She shifted, looking directly at Addie.  “You have to keep it a secret.  I will be hunted if anyone knows I have it.  That’s what mom thinks happened to the other gifts.  The keeper of the gift was hunted until their bloodline ran out and it had no one to pass along to.” 

Addie nodded solemnly.  “I promise not to tell anyone.”