"Wild, summer child.
You haven't lived till you've danced under the stars,
wearing nothing but the moonlight."
________________________
Change is always necessary.
No matter how small, or seemingly insignificant it may be. One can always develop into a better and more admirable version of themselves. Even after feeling as though this is as far as you go, you are pushed to become more than that.
We're never done.
Just as the rain pours down in a never ending cycle of life, we civil creatures of the earth are obligated to proceed with our existence. There's no stopping development. There's no such thing as being complete. We were born to evolve. All we do is evolve, and it seems it is what we are best at.
Those were my thoughts tonight as I stared into the mirror before me. My eyes never leaving the golden-flecked brown ones that met my own. It was as though I was staring into the old version of myself. The version of me that hadn't contemplated change. Every thought that slips through the cracks in the attic of one's mind changes that person. No matter how simple it is.
With every thought comes a new light on yourself, and a new mindset. What will my thoughts be tomorrow, and how will they change me?
As anybody could instantly tell, I'm a very deep person, and tonight, while the silver moonlight illuminated my room, was one of those nights.
My pale white curtains were drawn back, so that I had an unhindered view of the full moon, the silvery craters visible to my supernatural eyes. She was so peaceful. So calm. So nostalgic.
I let out a contented sigh.
It was all so serene.
But a mere second later, the moment shattered, forcefully snapping me out of my fantasy as I let out a low growl of irritation.
"Well? What did you expect? It's what you get for daydreaming while we're supposed to be on look out."
Those were the aggravating words of my wolf, Selene.
"I wasn't daydreaming," I mumbled, and she rolled her pale eyes.
"Let's just go deal with those idiots, and go back to bed," she yawned, crawling into a corner of my mind, her large ears flopping onto her forehead, and I slowly nodded in silent agreement.
It was my job to lookout tonight, and mother was peacefully sleeping in her own bedroom, her mind completely unburdened by the weight of our existence.
Walking down the stairs, I let out a tired yawn and mentally prepared myself to deal with the wolves that foolishly decided to break in tonight.
Looking forward I made eye contact with one of them, and he stared back at me for awhile, causing me to cock my head in curiosity.
This happened often enough, and I had eventually gotten used to it. I watched tiredly as the strangers lips curled into a feral smirk.
"Well, would you look at that," he said, causing his mini gang to turn around, and stare down at me.
Turning around to look behind me in a lazy, over the shoulder glance, I asked, "What?"
"Not you," the man stated, and I furrowed my brows in mock confusion.
"Were you not addressing everyone?" I pointed out, my voice questioning.
He simply scowled down at me, not liking my words. "Stop wasting our time, you know what I meant."
"You're right," I shrugged, while stepping forward. "I don't appreciate having idiots in my house, so if you could please escort yourself out," I ordered calmly, whilst gesturing towards the front door that they had so rudely broken down.
The man laughed aloud, and his colleagues followed suit causing me to sigh heavily.
"Who do you think you are, rogue?"
Looking back and forth, I dipped my brows once again. "A rogue," I replied, my voice dry, and I heard chuckles from the hopeless dimwits he had brought with him.
One of the other men stepped forward, "We didn't break in just so a little she-wolf can tell us to leave."
"Do you do this to every rogue you smell nearby?" I questioned incredulously, my hands coming up to frustratedly pinch the bridge of my nose.
He smirked. "Occasionally, yes. It's quite fun picking on you packless fools."
Sighing again, I shook my head. "Well, I suppose you must have a lot of free time."
"Don't worry, we won't be in town for long, we're only here on some business with our King," one of the others added, and my eyebrows shot up as their leader turned to him, angry that he'd carelessly disclosed that little scrap of information.
"Your King?" I inquired curiously, once again tilting my head.
Their leader glowered at my question. "You don't need to know anything more."
"You mentioned him first," I said, raising my hands in fake surrender, and they merely scowled at me, while refusing to say another word.
"So what brings you to my humble abode?" I asked dramatically, a part of me tempted to ignore them, head to the kitchen, and just make a cup of tea.
This was so fuckin boring.
The idiotic leader smirked again. "We're just here to have some fun."
"You're here to kill me?"
"No, we're here to take what you don't deserve." He grinned, an evil, yet seemingly forced, glint in his eyes. "Consider us the yearly tax collectors."
"I wonder if your King approves of this," I murmured, thoughtfully tapping my chin and watching as the man stiffened.
"Shut your mouth, rogue, before I slit your throat," he growled quickly, his mood immediately changing, and I held back a laugh.
You and what knife?
My gaze slid carefully down his form, my mind taking note of even the smallest details, and my shoulders slumped as I realized there was not a single weapon on his person.
They really were idiots.
Meeting his gaze again, I narrowed my eyes as I caught sight of the fleeting pain that lingered within them, a part of me not liking what that meant.
The only thing that could control a wolf besides his Alpha were his ever-growing emotions.
And pain was definitely the strongest of them all. I knew that for a fact.
"This is neutral territory," I stated. "You have no right to do this,"
The man smirked, his expression snapping back to normal as he unintentionally cloaked his eyes from my analytical gaze. I watched him distastefully, Selene and I no longer curious.
He gestured for his friends to begin destroying whatever they want, while he began advancing towards me.
"I'm giving you one more chance to leave," I offered, my eyes darkening.
He just laughed aloud.
"They never learn," Selene said, shaking her head, causing me to sigh.
"For wolves who are supposed to be a part of the kings army, they're extremely stupid, maybe they're physical strength pays up for it," I murmured in my head.
My wolf nodded. "We'll never know unless we fight them," she grinned, and I felt her excitement awakening my dormant power.
"What exactly do you want?" I asked the man, whilst taking a step back, and his lips curled into another fake smirk, one that made my heart freeze, and my blood run cold.
This man was so clearly hurting.
"There's a lot of things that I want," he mused, eyes once again flashing with that unidentifiable emotion, "but I've come to realize that I can't have any of them."
I briefly thought over his words, before turning back to him, "I think you got the wrong house," I told the wolf, smiling innocently up at him, "the therapist is actually a bit farther down the road."
At my words, he seemed to snap out of his daze, and was suddenly overtaken by a strange anger that he seemed unable to let out.
So that's why he was here.
He needed an outlet.
Just as I was about to offer him some of my life-changing advice, the wolf lunged at me, a feral part of him appearing as he seemed to let out all his frustration in that moment.
My comment must've provoked him.
Instinctively, I side stepped, my mind already two steps ahead of him as I didn't give him a second to react. My foot collided with his back, and I could've sworn I heard a small crack as he fell forward with a pained cry.
Serves him right for trying to take out all his problems out on me.
"Quiet down, will you? You might wake up my mother," I hissed, before turning around.
There were three more of them, all of whom were now staring at me, and their wounded colleague. I smiled brightly at them. Their eyes only narrowed.
"I asked you all to leave, but sometimes being polite gets you nowhere," I said, and appeared in front of one of them.
Sending a roundhouse kick to his abdomen, he landed against the wall with a loud thud, and I winced.
That's definitely going to leave a mark.
On my wall, I mean.
Turning around, I ducked just in time to avoid a punch from one of the other men. I kneed him in the stomach, and watched as he painfully staggered backwards.
The last wolf stood there glaring at me, and I returned the dark expression with a grin of my own.
"Are you going to run away?" I questioned, innocently staring up at him from beneath my lashes.
"From a rogue? Are you insane?" he growled before barreling forward like some sort of bull. I merely stepped aside while sticking out my foot. Silently watching as the brainless fool face planted, and successfully caused his own demise.
Wiping my forehead from the nonexistent sweat that I thought had appeared, I let out a sigh of relief before feeling a cold metal against my head, and a hand pulling my wrists behind my back.
I inhaled deeply, eyes briefly closing as their self proclaimed "leader" walked towards me, his eyes filled with anger. It took me a moment to realize that the person holding me was the guy I kneed in the stomach.
I knew I should've kicked him in the balls or something.
"Oh, you're in trouble now, princess," self proclaimed leader growled, and I narrowed my eyes.
I laughed drily, "Ah, I didn't expect any less from the kings army."
"We went easy on you," he bit out, and I laughed again.
"I'm not stupid. I already know you did. It's because you underestimated me, and you're doing it again," I told him.
Glancing around, I saw the man who face planted was already standing up; however the man who landed against the wall wasn't doing quite well. His eyes were open, but he seemed unable to move.
"Look at me," their leader growled, and my eyes drifted back up to his tall, yet slim form.
"Why don't you just let me go, and we can have some tea and put all this behind us?" I offered, and his glare didn't falter.
"Fine, be petty," I mumbled.
"I have some other plans," he stated stepping forward, and I moved to step back, but the man holding the gun tightened his grip on me.
The leader stood directly in front of me, a smirk on his face.
"How can such a pretty face be so evil?" he questioned.
Growling at him, I disregarded his words, "What kind of wolf are you?" I bit out.
"No rape, no pillage, and no harm to innocents. Those are your King's rules, and here you are defying them the moment you are no longer in his presence. Is your job not to implement them?" I ground out, anger bubbling inside me.
"Those rules don't stop us from destroying," the man said, and I glowered at them.
Does this dumbass not know the definition of pillage? Regardless of whether you destroy the object or not, you technically still touched what's not yours.
Raising my chin, I regarded them all, my eyes glowing a dim unnoticeable gold, "Nothing I love more than a bunch of unintelligent disloyal frauds."
Why was I in the presence of these imbeciles?
As my determination to get out of this situation grew, I noticed the wolf in the back furrowing his brows, whilst he watched the events unfold.
"Damien, why are her eyes turning gold?" he questioned nervously, and I smirked as the wolf pressed the gun closer to my head, but it didn't bother me.
I'm going to regret doing this, but what other choice do I have?
I felt myself conjure up a ball of flame in my restrained hands, and waited for the wolf behind me to realize he was on fire.
"Fuck!" I heard him growl, and release me as he fanned his shirt.
His colleagues watched with wide eyes, and flicking my wrist another fire ball appeared and I directed it towards their adorable leader. His eyes widened, and he backed away, but the fire made contact with his skin, and he tripped over himself, mind in disarray at the phenomenon.
"This is why I told you guys to leave," I told them, voice suddenly a thousand times more commanding as I once again grew accustomed to the power at my fingertips.
The leader glanced up at me from his place on the floor, "What are you?!" he hissed, and I stared back at him innocently.
"That's for me to know, and you to hopefully never find out," I smiled, and waving my hand, they all fell to the floor. Completely knocked out.