Getting out of bed today I had a smile on my face and determination in my mind. I knew what I needed to do and I wasn't going to stop till I got it. During my shower I made a mental check list on what Cassandra and I needed to do today.
1. Relax our minds and body.
2. Find our weaknesses
3. Figure out where this power is at
4. Become one with nature
According to Cassandra, I need to understand nature to understand my powers. While rinsing my conditioner out of my hair I heard a knock on my bedroom door.
"I'm in the shower," I yelled to whoever was knocking.
"Oh good. James wants you to join us for breakfast when you are ready," says Shelia from the other side of the bathroom door. "Well, you have like 10 minutes to get down to the dining hall before he comes after you." Laughing at the last part.
Laughing with her, "Let me dry off and get dressed real quick. Thanks Shelia," I tell her.
"No problem Hay."
I smile at the nickname she gave me. I used to hate that nickname, but coming from her I love it. Not sure why that is, maybe because I know she is a true friend and not someone trying to be nice to me because I am the Beta's daughter. I shrug my shoulders while wrapping the towel around my body to walk to the huge closet. I will never get used to this closet, I mean who needs this much space for clothes. I do not. I might be a teenage girl, but I do not need that many clothes. A few jeans, t-shirts, dress shirts, shorts, and two dresses are all I need to survive.
Deciding blue jeans and an over-sized t-shirt with black converse is the perfect outfit for the day. Casual but comfortable at the same time. Brushing my tangles out, having straight hair is a plus; I head down stairs to the dining hall for breakfast.
The aroma of pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage, maple syrup, and toast feel my nose and my stomach growls at the approval. We never had this good of meals at my old pack. We always had to make our own meals because my mother hated to cook unless Alpha and Luna were over then she would put on her "happy housewife" face and make everything seem perfect, which it wasn't.
As I enter the room, it is only the Alpha, Luna, Beta Pat and Shelia, along with Thomas. I smile at them all as I make my way over to the table.
"Good morning Hailey," Luna Teresa greets me.
"Good morning Lu... Teresa and Alpha James," I say to them each giving me a smile. "Good morning Pat, Shelia, and Thomas."
They all say 'Good Mornings' as we make our plates. We shared small talk while eating, well, mainly Alpha James and Pat talked, and we all listened.
Alpha James clears his throat after he is done eating. "Hailey, how are with fighting?"
"Ummmm.... I wasn't allowed to train at my old pack. They said I would get hurt and they didn't want the Beta's daughter to get hurt. They said," I told him. Not mentioning that I didn't train because I didn't have my wolf.
"Well, you will start training tomorrow then. Everyone in THIS pack trains, no matter your status," he states. I give him a nod of approval.
"Will it be ok if I went to the meadow today? I wanted to see it and also have some time to think, quietly, if you don't mind," I ask Alpha James.
"Of course, I know you have been through a lot the last couple of days and I want you to be comfortable here with us. I do ask that you stay in the meadow, though. Do not go into the woods because I cannot protect you there," he says.
"Absolutely, Sir." I smile knowing I can have the free time and space to practice today.
"OK then, let's discuss your training first. You will meet with Malcolm; he is my lead trainer, this afternoon after lunch. He will want to go over what you both will like to accomplish with your training."
"Oh, OK. I would love that. Thank you, Alpha James." I smile at him. I have never had someone ask me what I wanted to accomplish in anything. I was always told what to do and when to do it. For once in my life I get to make a decision and it is an amazing feeling.
As I was leaving the pack house Thomas was headed to training. I wasn't sure on how to get to the meadow again so I decided to ask him.
"Thomas, which direction is the meadow?"
"It's straight ahead. Follow that path and it will lead you to it," he said pointing to the path to our right.
"Thank you," I tell him.
Heading down the path I think about what I needed to do today. I check my phone to set a reminder to be back at the pack house around noon for lunch and to talk to Malcolm about training. I have a lot of training to do. Between the element powers and physical training, I should be busy for a long time.
"Cassandra, what if I can't physically be strong enough for this war?"
"You will Hailey, as your element power grows, your physical strength will too," she tells.
I hope she is right, I mean how can I be the powerful one if I am not strong enough to fight the witches. What if I fail?
"You will not fail! You WILL be strong enough. It will take time and we have time. You have to want this Hailey, otherwise it will not happen. Do you WANT this Hailey?" Cassandra asks.
"Yes, I do. More than anything I want to prove everyone wrong about me. I want to be strong and powerful, not weak and useless as they all see me," I tell her.
"Good. Remember that. It will help you grow. You need motivation to accomplish this and that is what it will be. Don't think of the war, think about how cruel they were to you and how you WILL prove them wrong."
My wolf sure knows how to motivate someone. And yes, she is right. I will prove them all wrong, one day. And I will make sure they all know that I am more powerful than they will ever be. I laugh at myself thinking about the look on their faces when I finally go back to that hell-hole they call a pack. To show them, this weak and useless human, is now the most powerful wolf.
The scent of lavender brings me out of my thoughts. I did not realize I have walked this far. The meadow is beautiful. Lavender and wildflowers flowing with the wind. Bees flying to the flowers to get the pollen and birds dancing throughout the field with each other.
Nature is a beautiful thing.
Walking into the center of the meadow to get a good spot to start my relaxation exercises. I sit in the center with my legs crossed. Not sure how I should start this, so I do the only thing I know how to do, just breathe.
"Take deep breaths in and out Hailey," Cassandra tells me. "Try and relax your whole body."
I do that for a few minutes, until I feel a little lightheaded from the deep breaths. I decided to just breathe normal. This is working; I feel my shoulder muscle relaxing and the tension in my back going away.
"Now, I want you to let me take over a little."
My eyes fly open at what Cassandra said, "I don't know how to do that," I tell her.
"You will feel a pushing in your mind, let it through, don't think about just let it go. Trust me." I nod. I start my breathing again with my eyes closed. After a minute I feel the pressure deep in my mind, I just breathe in and out and relax my mind. Slowly feel my control leaving my body. I see Cassandra in my mind, she nods at me.
"Good job Hailey. Keep breathing in and out. I will not take full control of your body just yet. I need us to be able to work together, as one."
"OK."
Feeling Cassandra taking over control was exciting and terrifying at the same time. She was moving my hands and head. We were both looking through my eyes at the meadow around us, but everything was sharper, clearer in a way. I could see the petals on the lavender flowers and the leaves in the trees that were 100 feet away. I was amazed at how much I missed with my own eye sight.
"This is incredible Cassandra."
"This is what you will see in wolf form. Our eye sight is clearer and sharper than a human's eye sight. We have to be able to see what is around us and also hear everything around us. Listen Hailey."
Closing my eyes to focus on my hearing, I could hear scrapping on the ground, leaves shuffling around, and three heart beats. Opening my eyes, I tried to see what was making those noises but I couldn't.
"The noises are farther away from us. We have a higher hearing frequency than humans; therefore, we can hear things farther away from us. We will know if someone is approaching us."
"Amazing." I couldn't think of another word to describe how these new advancements in my human abilities were. After admiring my surrounds again, I decided it was time we started the element training if Cassandra thought we were ready.
"Yes, we are ready. But you need to understand that we can only work on one element at a time Hailey. Small things first and after your physical strength has increased we can try harder elements. OK?"
"OK. What do I need to do?"
"You should start with wind. Wind is easy to control, but can be difficult to maintain if your mind is not clear."
Close my eyes and breathe in than out. Breathe in than out. Feel the tension release. I keep repeating this in my head to relax my mind.
"Good. Now, think of how the wind feels on your skin. The way it makes the flowers sway with it in a dance. Do not force nature to move for you, but you move with it."
"OK." Thinking of how the cool breeze feels on my light skin. Giving me chills all over, but cools me down on hot summer day. The flowers swaying with it like they are dancing with each other. The leaves dancing around the meadow playfully.
"Open your eyes Hailey."
Slowly opening my eyes, I see leaves flowing in the wind, along with all the flowers swaying back and forth. My skin cooling down from the summer sun.
"Am I doing this?"
"We are doing this. You are the wind. What you want it to do it will."
All I can do is smile while looking at the meadow all around me. It is beautiful to watch. Nature is a beautiful thing.
"I want you to try and increase the speed of the wind. Think about it coming in harder or faster."
Doing as Cassandra suggests, I think about how the wind was with the storm we had about a year ago. It was strong and fierce. Force to be told and no one could stop it. The trees bend at its will and the leaves were blown away for miles. I couldn't stop watching that storm.
"Hailey, it is too strong. You need to slow down!"
"What?" I say not realizing that I was making that storm come alive again. The trees all around me were bending at my well and the leaves were blowing away. I wanted it to stop. I needed it to stop. And it did. I don't like this. I was thinking of a memory and it came to life in front of me. I can't do this. I could hurt someone like this.
"Calm down Hailey. Breathe." Cassandra kept repeating this to me until my heart rate came back down. I was still scared of myself, or more like what I am capable of.
"How did this happen Cassandra? I was thinking of a storm from last year and then it happened. How? How could that happen?"
"Your emotions control everything. You felt comfort with that storm; therefore, your powers gave you that comfort again. You might not know that you feel that way but your mind and body do. All powers, witches included, are linked to our emotions and body. When you feel love, hate, anger, betrayal, loneliness, and comfort it will show in your powers. Love and anger are the strongest. Nothing is more powerful than love, though. That is why the Moon Goddess told you not to complete the bond when you find your mate. Our love for him will over power us and we will not be able to control ourselves and our powers."
"How do I, we control our emotions?"
"We can't control it. We can try to relax more and not think about past things. Your life in your pack brings back terrible memories. Not all are bad but your body reacts to it all the same. You have anger towards them and anger is a strong emotion."
"OK."
I need to try and forget them. To move on from them. I can't let this control me any longer. They have brought me down and for the past month they ruined me. I am stronger. I am braver.
I am powerful and I will not be controlled by them any longer.
Starting now, I will let the past go and make a new future for myself. I need to do this. Werewolves depend on me to do this, even if they don't know it yet. Winning is the only option for me now. No more losing, no more being pushed around.
I am strong. I am brave. I am powerful.
I keep repeating that to myself to calm myself. I need to focus on this to control my powers. Our powers cannot control us, we have to control it.
Beep Beep
"Crap." I almost forgot about my meeting with Malcolm. I have to train hard to be the strongest I can be. That is my goal. Strength. I need my strength and power to be equal. I'm off to meet my trainer and start the process of strength training. I can't wait to do this.