Prologue

Selene cracked the door open and sniffed the air before stepping outside. Little Lia came out behind her, one hand holding a tiny basket and the other latched onto the edge of Selene’s long skirt to remind the child that she needed to stay close. Or that was the excuse anyway, in reality it was so Selene could feel that Lia was near and know that she hadn’t wandered off again. Her heart rate sped up just at the memory of those agonizing moments on their last excursion into the yard, when she looked up from the chamomile she was harvesting expecting to see Lia plucking the petals from their centers, only to realize she was nowhere in sight. It had taken only seconds to find her, seated in the mint bed chewing on the foliage, but it had felt like years. The fear that gripped her had been almost unbearable. Selene looked down at the mass of white blond curls and sighed. Her little wolf was far too independent and stubborn for her own good.

They padded out through the grass, their bare feet making almost no sound on the lush green carpet. They worked side by side, chatting softly about the silly little things that children tell their parents or grandparents when they can talk about anything at all and know for certain that someone is listening but would never get angry with them. The pair happily made their daily rounds of their extensive gardens, carefully pruning and weeding as they went.

Selene was not really listening to Little Lia today though. Her mind was preoccupied with thoughts of the woods. Today they would need to venture into the bush as far as the stream. Fear crept in at the mere idea of the excursion they were about to attempt. It wasn’t a risk Selene took often, especially with Lia in tow, but today she needed more bearberry to help heal the little Rogue twins' bladder infections that hadn’t quite left them yet. The plant only grew in the forest, among the moss and coniferous trees near the stream. She had let the supply dwindle for fear of the woods, but now there was no choice. Today, she’d just get the berries she needed as quickly as possible, and another day, when she could go without the little one, she’d venture in long enough to replenish the bearberry stock as well as the rest of the plants that wouldn’t grow in her gardens. She’d need her attic stocked with every possible medicinal before the long winter set in. They stopped at the tree line and Selene put her full basket down in the shade as she sniffed the bush for any sign of other werewolves.

“Have you still got your basket my little one?”

“Of course Gran. And it’s still empty too, just like you wanted. Are we going to go to the wanter and fill it with the berries for Kassie and Kevin now?”

“That’s right. Do you remember the rules of the forest?”

The little head bobbed yes, and she stuck up a hand, counting off the rules on her tiny fingers.“One, stay close behind you when we’re walking. Two, don’t wander off. Three, don’t chase butterflies, or squirrels, or chipmunks, or bunnies, or anything else. Four, if you tell me to hide I need to climb high up a tree and make no noise. And five… I don’t like five. Can we make a compromise?”

“I’m afraid not sweetie, it’s the only safe way.” The little one sighed in resignation but didn’t say the rule. “And if I tell you to go fast?” Selene prompted her.

“I need to run and get in the stream and swim down to the Rougue’s farm.”

“That’s my good girl.”

“But Gran, how can that be safe when I still don’t know how to swim very well?”

“Before the water gets deep, grab onto a floating branch, okay? That will help you stay on top of the water. You could walk near the edge of the water if you really have to, but the water has to cover your ankles all the time, or even deeper. Floating in deep water will be faster though, and make less noise, so that would be safest. But whatever you do, don’t get out of the water until you see the sheep. No matter what. Understand? That’s how you’ll know you're in a safe place. When you get out of the water, run to the sheep as fast as you can.”

“They’ll just run away Gran,” Selene could hear the sadness in the soft little confession. “Mr. Rogue’s sheep are always ascared of me. I can’t even feed the baby ones from bottles, no matter how hungry they are.”

“If they’re afraid of you, they’ll run away, and Mr. Rogue will know where to look for you. He’s the one who can keep you safe. Understand?”

“Mmm hmm. Oh, gran look! It’s the moon!” Selene followed the pudgy little finger and looked up at the round, white glow peeking out between the wispy clouds. “Is the goddess trying to spy on us even in the day today?”

“It looks that way little one. Come on, let's get into the bush so she can’t see us as well anymore.”

“Will you tell me the story while we walk Gran? The one about how the goddess tricked the little girl with a red coat, and the werewolf that almost ate her except that she smelled it in time and yelled out as loud as she could and the farmer came and caught him with a pitchfork? And then the girl got to go home to her gran for some liver snacks with sheep’s milk?”

Selene shook her head and smiled sadly, “It sounds to me like you already know that one pretty well.”

“What about the one where the moonbeams shine into the pretty girl’s eyes and she can’t see that the man she wants to marry is really a mean, sneaky werewolf in his human disguise?” Selene shivered as the darkness of the forest seemed to close in around them. She’d rather walk in silence to keep her dwindling senses attuned to the sounds of the forest and it’s creatures, but her little wolf wasn’t going to stay quiet today. “How about a new story little one? A story with no pitchforks and nobody dying seems better for a walk in the woods, don’t you think? We wouldn’t want you to have nightmares tonight.”

“Oh Gran, I’m five and a half now. I can read and everything! I don’t have nightmares anymore. Especially not from stories. They’re just make-believe!”

“Some stories are real little one. Today I’ll tell you a true story, about a shy young princess who gathered up all her courage and jumped in the river to float away and hide from a whole pack of werewolves!”

“A whole pack of them?”

“That’s right.”

“Did she know how to swim?”

“When she first got in the water she could only swim a little bit, just like you. But by the time she got out, she could swim long, long ways without needing a rest. That was how she got away.”

“Did the werewolves smell really bad and she yelled and friends came to help her?”

“No, that’s not how this story goes.”

“Does the evil moon goddess show those nasty werewolves where to find her? Did she get away to safety forever? Did they-”

“Are you going to keep asking questions or can you settle down and walk with me, listening quietly while I tell the story?”

“Was she a pretty princess?”

“She looked a lot like you, with long white hair and blue-violet eyes. But she was a bit older, about sixteen. Her name was Selene.”

“Just like yours! And my Momma’s!” Selene stiffened for a moment and swallowed hard.

“That’s right darling. Now, the beginning of this story is a little bit scary. This is the story of what happened to the princess who was tricked into marrying the werewolf. Remember that his eyes were little yellowish slits and his human face was always in a scowl? Well, his wolf hair was grey and black on top but white on his belly. He was the biggest and meanest werewolf you’ve ever seen.”

“Oh Gran, you’re so silly. You know I haven’t ever seen a werewolf so I don’t know what the biggest and meanest one looks like. Nobody does, they’re just pretend!” That announcement brought Selene to a stop. She bent down to look Lia right in the eyes when she asked, “Who told you that werewolves aren’t real?”

“My teacher did. She tells the red riding hood story different than you do too. It’s a tree cutter that kills the wolf in her story, not a farmer. The wolf had already eaten the little girl and her gran when the tree cutter chops the wolf open and the girl and her sick gran step right out of it and go back home.”

“Do you think a little girl would really live if a wolf ate her?”

“Well...no. But it’s a story, so it’s pretend.”

“Your teacher’s story is just about a silly little girl who didn’t follow the rules of the woods and a wolf, not a werewolf, caught up to the little girl because all little girls smell and the basket of food she was taking to her granny would also have had a smell, wouldn’t it? That much of her story is probably true, but then it switches to pretend. In that pretend part of the story, people get eaten but don’t die and don’t even get hurt. Things that couldn’t possibly be real happen, so you know that bit is just pretend. But even this pretend story has truth and lessons in it, doesn’t it? The lesson in your teacher's story is that little girls should never go into the woods alone. The pretend bit makes it less scary for little girls, but it’s still a lesson. Some stories are more real though,” Selene stood up and started their trek through the forest again. “In my story, the princess has been trapped in the werewolf’s dungeon for a long time. She ha had no food and no water for days and days. The dungeon has only one tiny window, way up high in the wall. At night, the werewolf would go out to hunt, and the moon goddess would peer her beams in through that tiny window to keep the girl in sight so she could warn the werewolf any time that the princess tried to escape. But one night - ” The little girl stopped abruptly, she dropped her basket and used both hands to tug urgently on Selene’s skirt.

“Gran? It’s that smell,” she whispered. Selene sniffed the air. Her nose picked up nothing beyond the scent of the trees around them and a few little squirrels.

“Which smell is that little one?”

“The very scary one you told me to always tell you if I smelled it before you.” Selene scanned the trees, trying to see anything out of place or to pick up the scent that had her little one so concerned.

“Are you sure child?” She looked down into the girl’s round, frightened eyes and knew without a doubt that her little pup had just smelled an unknown werewolf in its wolf state. Selene bent and swung Lia up into her arms, pressing the child’s face into her shoulder and taking off back towards the clearing with a speed that defied her greying hair and curving spine. Just as they reached the tree line three large grey wolves and a smaller brown and white one dashed past her into the bush. She sobbed with relief, but continued running through the yard, the sound of growls and snapping jaws ringing in her ears before she got them both inside their tiny cottage. She closed the heavy wooden door with a thud and turned the lock on the deadbolt. Still holding Lia close with one trembling arm she dropped the heavy locking bar into its holders before she collapsed into the rocking chair, keeping the little one on her lap.

“Granny?”

“Yes, child?” Even her voice trembled.

“You’re shaking Granny.”

“I know little one. I’m scared.”

“Was that a wolf what I smelled? Is that what the scary smell is?”

“Yes. Actually what you smelt was a werewolf in its wolf form. That was the scent I taught you to always be afraid of.”

“And then the Rogues and Mr. Timmins and Jasper all came to scare him away?”

“You...you saw them?”

“No, I smelled them. Mr. Rogues smells like rain and wool. Mrs. Rogue smells sort of like berries and sheep's’ milk. Mr. Timmins mostly like dirt and Jasper kinda like green trees in winter.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Did the moon goddess tell the werewolves we were in the woods?”

“It would seem so.”

“In my teacher’s stories, there is usually a good guy who helps the good people so the story has a happy ending. Aren’t there any good guys in your stories Granny?”

“Our friends are the good guys, Lia. The Rogue family, Mr. Timmins, and Jasper. They’ve helped us lots of times, and again just now, didn’t they?”

“Oh, okay. Why doesn’t the moon goddess want us to help the Rogue twins? Will she send more werewolves after us now? Will we have to move away? Will we get-”

“No child. We’ll stay out of the moonlight for a while. That way the goddess can’t tell the bad werewolves were to find us. In a few days, they’ll move on and look somewhere else. Then we can go outside again.”

“But what about the bearberries!”

“I’ll find them some other way. Come now, let’s make ourselves some tea to calm our nerves.”

Later, she’d go alone to get the bearberries. Or better yet, they could go for a little drive when the others got back from the woods. The Mi’kmaq elder on the reservation might have something that could to help the cubs. The indigenous people in this area knew a great deal about the healing properties of their local flora. Surely they knew something good for bladder problems.