*Whispers from the ancient Willow’s boughs,

In a cavern’s shadow where history allows.

By the moonlit lake, reflections guide,

Symbols hidden in ripples, where secrets abide.

Guardians of the night, statues stand tall,

Midnight echoes in the pack’s sacred hall.

Within the ancient forest, the howls reveal,

A path to follow, a destiny to unseal.*

*At the mountaintop ruins where stars align,

Celestial convergence, a gateway to find.

Decipher these riddles, a cosmic quest,

To the Moonlit Nexus, where the Keystone rests.*

I shot awake, cold sweat covering my skin and making it damp, I had the same weird dream again. I have been having the same weird dream for as long as I can remember but now it has become more frequent and vivid.

I get up from my mattress and stumble through our humid cottage and into the bathroom, the wallpaper is falling off and the walls have mold, we live worse off than the town’s homeless.But even this is grace from the pack, being in a pack guaranteed protection especially during the full moon, when those creatures came out.

I looked at myself in the mirror and as my mind cleared and the grogginess went away I was filled with disappointment, I could feel it , it wasn’t there maybe I was born without a wolf but the pack doctor assured me that I was a wolf,I had all the abilities of a wolf even though I was weaker than most of them which was a sign of being an Omega.

I was so excited when I went to sleep yesterday because today is the day I turned 18 and it’s the day I finally shift.

Stronger wolves tend to shift earlier so for an omega like me turning at 18 is a normal thing.

I run my hand through my short hair and sigh.

I hear the noisey cupboards open and I know Mariah is awake, so I quickly take a shower wincing as the cool water touches my skin. I scrape this little lotion with my toothbrush and apply it to my face, hands and ankles. After that I threw on some cargo shorts, a tank top and a hoodie to keep the taunting gazes away before walking into the kitchen.

“Hey birthday girl”,she cheerfully calls out to me, but seeing the expression on my face sighs “it’s okay Stormi you still have the rest of the day, so don’t worry so much about it” she smiled warmly and said shoving a bowl of cereal in front of me.

I was just a pup left at the borders when Mariah found me, the pack didn’t want to take in a pup with unknown origins but Mariah took me in anyway.

“Don’t try to make me feel better Mariah, I’m just some woofless bastard child that nobody wanted”,I say and grab my strap bag ready to start my half an hour trek to school.

She grabs a cupcake and puts a candle on it lighting it up as she brings it closer to me “I will love you either way, you mean the world to me and it hurts me to see that you don’t even consider how much I love you”

Now I feel bad I didn’t want to take it out on her so I threw myself into her arms, she’s all I have and is the most important person in my life. Soon after graduation Mariah and I will leave this town.

“Okay let’s not cry today is your birthday, so make a wish and blow out the candle”,she says smiling her black luscious locks falling to her face , Mariah is a beautiful woman I don’t get why she never tried to move on after the death of her mate.

“Today is the day you found me”, I remind her but I do as she tells me and wish for our plans to go our way.