Sold to a Wolf Pack

SBAWP | Chapter 35

Where am I? I ask, looking around. I'm lying in the middle of a field, and the familiarity of it sparks a wave of memories. The first is of jolting awake in a hospital bed, where I'm surrounded by Logan, Luna, Jasper, and a doctor. I feel safe at first, but then POW's there, and he forces me to shift.

It's POW's fault that I'm here, isn't it? If I hadn't been injured, I could have fought off his Alpha's order, but I was weak. I'd turn a limb back to wolf form, and his order would win out and change it back to human. I'd win over my legs, but he'd gain my torso. I'd change it back, but my legs would shift instead. It was losing battle, one that POW won when my strength gave out. If he'd just let me stay a wolf, I would have healed. It's because of him that I'm here.

With a whoosh, another memory hits. This time, I'm lying in the middle of a field much like this one. The fight is over, and Zara is... is... I cry her name and look around the empty field, waiting for her to materialize. She should be here too, if we're both dead. Or how did the Moon Goddess put it? Neither dead nor alive?

Hush, child, the Moon Goddess whispers. Only my flowers visit my garden.

What does that mean? I ask. And what does that have to do with Zara?

All will make sense in time.

I nod as another wave of peace fills me. I shouldn't worry about Zara. It will all make sense in time.

Is Jess okay? I ask as I start to remember more. And Joshie? Nisha? Nicki?

They're in the land of the wolves, my child.

I feel another wave of peace. I'm not sure what she means, but the land of the wolves really doesn't sound so bad. Then I remember something else: fighting Beta and the older brother, then flying straight into an oak tree.

I glance up. The tree at my back looks almost identical to the oak, but also entirely different. Instead of dark green leaves, this tree is sprouting flowers. They're my favorite shade of purple, and at this distance—and if I were human—I might think they were saffron. Except that I'm a wolf, and I can see they're longer and more bell-shaped.

I frown at the tree. Can such flowers grow on trees? It seems so surreal, so unnatural, and yet it's as likely as a wolf whose coat is such a vibrant mix of color. If I'm neither dead or alive, who knows what normal is.

Jacaranda, the Moon Goddess whispers.

Excuse me? I frown, wrinkling the top of my wolfy forehead. The way she says it, it sounds like she's casting a spell... or sneezing.

The tree, the Moon Goddess explains, which isn't really an explanation at all. Was she talking to the tree? Is it a word for tree in another language? Or does she mean something else entirely?

Before I can ask her to clarify, my gaze drifts across the field and the colorful garden surrounding us takes my breath away. There are flowers everywhere, and when I take a deep breath, a hundred different scents envelop me in a cocoon.

One in particular tickles my nose, and I turn to look at the row of saffron. The last time I saw one that wasn't a painting was when Mom was still alive. She used to grow it in a pot by the window, so high up that Dad had to lift me so I could smell it. I think Mom used to lift me before—when she wasn't pregnant—but I don't remember. It was all before she died, before the plant I couldn't reach shriveled up and turned to dust.

I stand and pad through the garden toward the saffron. The Moon Goddess joins me, and we stop in front of it so I can inhale its floral scent. It's even more beautiful in real life than I remembered, and it smells even more magical. I rub my cheek against it, and the soft tickle makes me smile. It's a woofly grin, but full of happiness, and the Moon Goddess nudges me playfully in response.

The nudge makes me turn my head and notice another group of flowers, taller and red with thin strips of white.

Amaryllis, the Moon Goddess whispers.

The flowers? I ask, playing with the word in my head, and she nods.

I've been tending this garden for centuries, the Moon Goddess takes a long slow sniff then nudges me again, so I can turn and look around the garden. Hundreds of flowers bloom all around us: red the color of blood, yellow like the sun, and even a pink that reminds me of Nicki's t-shirt on the day we met. Now it's finally time for my flowers to bloom.

They're beautiful, I whisper.

They are, the Moon Goddess tells me. She pauses and tilts her head to the side again. They're calling to you.

The flowers? I asks.

Your pack. Your family.

I don't have a pack, I tell her, feeling a sudden ache in my chest. Or a family.

You have more than one, my child—three, in fact—and there lies the problem. The Moon Goddess moves closer and leans against my side. It's the wolf equivalent of a hug and makes me feel better, even though her words make no sense.

Three? W-what are you talking about? I ask in confusion. How can I have more than one family? Or more than one pack? And how can I have three when I'm not even sure I even have one?

You shall see, my child... but now it's time.

Time?

Yes, time. To choose.

Suddenly, I feel exhausted. My eyes start to droop, and I get a strong urge to lie down. I let out a yawn, and give in to it, resting my head on my paws.

Choose, the Moon Goddess urges.

Choose what? I ask as I slowly feel myself drift away.

You are neither dead nor alive, my child, but you must pick, she says, her words getting fainter and fainter. You'll be safe here, my flower, but on earth, on earth you can bloom.

○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ 

Did you guys like this chapter?

What should Saf pick? Stay dead? Or Live?

Do you think this is really the Moon Goddess, or a hallucination? I left clues! 

I also revealed a few things in this chapter. Anyone catch any of them?

Oh, and... 3 packs? 3 families? What are they? I think one is pretty obvious, but the other two? The clues are all here, but can anyone figure it out? 

♥ Also, I hit 3 Million Reads on STAWP and Hunter's Luna is ranked #116. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU FOR READING, VOTING AND COMMENTING TO MAKE IT HAPPEN!!! ♥