Dark Shadow (Book 1 in the Original DARKNESS Duology) ✔

Five: ... Is Only the Start

I ended up staying in the forest for longer than I intended. It was so dark out, I had to switch my eyesight to the animal's that lived within me. 

Every Werewolf had a specific eye color; a shimmering gold that they could look through when need be, such as now in the pitch-black forest.

My dad once told me when I was very little and in order to get me to go to sleep that every once in awhile a Werewolf would be born with different colored wolf eyes. He explained to me that this didn't happen as often as people assumed because that particular wolf could be taken advantage of. My dad pointed out that these wolves were very special because of their ability to protect a pack like other average Werewolves could not.

"They are strong in a way most Werewolves will not fight them, Button. These wolves happen to have a heart that makes them... well, them," he told me.

Dad paused, pursing his mouth to the side in the middle of his story. When he met my gaze, he stared at me in a way that I didn't understand as a child at the time.

"There's a lot of bad people in the world, Gigi..." my dad said to me, raising his eyebrows as he was pulling the covers up to my chin. "But then there are also those who are good."

Dad swiped his hand over my head to brush my hair back as I asked quietly, with Cece sleeping soundly next to me in her own bed, "And am I good, Daddy?"

When my father paused, I never understood why. It was a pause that was almost hesitant... like he was unsure of how to answer. But every time I asked the same question when my Dad told me this story over and over and my dad would brush my hair back and nod that I was a very good person.

"You have a way about you, Gigi, that I am so certain will make a difference one day. There's something within you that is special, my little Button." My dad stopped again, staring me down before grinning a bit. "And I can only hope you can prove yourself to be as strong as I know you are---but for the right reasons."

Then Dad stood up, bending over me to kiss my forehead as he whispered that I needed to get some sleep now. He leaned over to turn on the spinning night light carousel beside me. In a dark room, it projected the shadows of the horses spinning around on the walls and ceiling. 

My eyes took in the pretty colored horses, and the porcelain decoration. I shifted my gaze to my father's face.

"Daddy...?"

He sighed,"Yes, Gigi..."

I paused, now staring at the spinning carousel and softly promised, "If I was a special wolf... I would protect you, mommy, my brudder and my seester! Because here," I patted my chest where my heart was and met his gaze. "I know how to be good."

I'll never forget the look in my dad's eyes when he stared back before walking all the back to the side of my bed and knelt beside me. Dad tilted his head, stroking my cheek with his fingertips and whispered through teary eyes, "I pray you never have to my little one. For it is my job to protect you. But you're right... there is so much good in you... and I know that darkness will be too intimidated by you."

It was a memory I played in my head for years after I was able to sleep on my own. It was only when I had hit my thirteenth birthday I woke up that morning and sat at breakfast and felt a tingling sensation send shivers down my spine. 

My mom tried to calm me down, having me shut my eyes and take deep breaths. As I did, Mom explained this was just a sensation every Werewolf child gets once their wolf is showing signs to reveal itself to its human. She asked me to open my eyes after making sure I felt calm enough and that pulsing in my body simmered to a humming buzz.