Chapter 4
It's been two weeks since I was dropped here. Peri used her magic on my school and parents by somehow convincing them that I was going to finish my senior year abroad in Siberia. She said that she didn't even have to use her magic to convince my parents, only a suit and clipboard, but considering how my parents are, I find that very hard to believe. So I went home for a day, packed my suitcase, had one last dinner with my family, then hugged my parents goodbye. I said a friend was going to pick me up and I walked out the front door of my house. I looked back and wondered how long it was really going to be before I saw my home again when Peri transported (she calls it flashing) next to me and whisked me away to the Serbian pack mansion.
It's not all bad here I guess. There are about a hundred or so incredibly hot dudes roaming the mansion, most of them without a shirt. Since I wasn't "mated", I could enjoy the view all I want even though Sally and Jen also enjoy the view with me. Their mates are pretty freaking hilarious when they are enraged with jealousy.
Everyday, I have told everyone that I was taking a quick walk into the mountains, and saying I always stay on the trail, when in reality I was hightailing it off the trail to meet Percy. He's always there at our pond before me now and each time with a clean shirt (dang it). The first couple of days Percy tried to come up with reasons for me being important. All of them were completely ridiculous or that I was somehow a wolf like gypsy healer. I knew he was just trying to make me laugh but after a while I got bored of trying to figure out who I was and I asked him to stop. Since then, he has been telling me stories of his life and bringing board games to take my mind off of everything. It was incredibly sweet and he was the only highlight of my day. He told me that he was the son of an important wolf at his home, and he's always known that he would have to become Alpha as well. He said that he wants to wait until he's found something first before he becomes Alpha, but when I ask him what that something is, he just gives me a small sweet smile and says he's getting closer to finding it every day. Now, I like the whole mysterious guy, but it's really bugging me of what that something is.
Before, I go and meet Percy though, I have excruciating practices with Sally. She tries to show me healing potions and how to "see" inside someone to find what's hurt. Every time, I fail. The potions blew up in my face, and turned Sally green. Peri is always there to watch the lessons and when she saw that I turned Sally green, she laughed her head off. "Well, well! If it isn't the Wicked Witch herself?" Then she just laughed harder.
Today was different, however. Sally was desperately trying to show me how to find the sickness of someone by "looking" inside of them. I was practicing on Sally. Can't get anymore stressful than that, can you? She was holding my hand and telling me to let my magic flow inside of her and find what's wrong. Peri was watching this whole ordeal from her lounge chair in the corner of Sally's infirmary and quickly got bored. "Alright, that's it. I'm going home for awhile while you two continue practicing. As much as I love to see Sally turned green, it gets boring after about the first twenty times. If you need me, call me." And with that, she flashed out of the room.
"Okay, Crystal," Sally said as she turned back to face me. "It's just you and me now. Just try. Try to visualize your magic. Can you see it?"
I closed my eyes and tried to picture something, anything. After what seemed like hours, I thought I saw something. It was faint but I saw a sparkling purple cloud form. Sally said that magic looked like a sparkling, blue, cloudish line that you then use to send outward and find a sickness. For some reason, mine looked like a dark purple. And for a split second, I saw it take a form like Sally said before it vanished completely.
I opened my eyes and dropped Sally's hand. "I told you, Sally. I just can't do what you can do. I'm not a healer." I sat down on the chair that Peri had recently occupied and waited for Sally to disagree with me. After a few moments of silence and looked up at Sally.
"Um, Sally? Are you okay? About now is the time where you say I'm wrong?" As I looked at her, I saw that she was running her hand along her cabinet full of potions and medicines.
"You know what, Crystal?" She turned to face me and I saw a mixture of defeat and curiosity in her eyes. "I think you're right. When Peri first brought you here, I couldn't feel anything about you that showed that you were a healer. When Peri and I went looking for other healers a while back, I felt healer and good magic roll off of them in waves. Everyone could feel it, but with you? I don't get any healer magic."
"Then why did you make me think that I was? And why did you have me preform all these potions that you knew would blow up in my face?"
"Well for one, Peri believes that you are a healer and every time I tried to tell you my suspicions, Peri would stop me. Why do you think she comes to every practice? She's pretty much always right, so she thinks she's also right about you. If you can remember what the Great Luna said, she never said anything about you being a healer. She said you have great power, but that doesn't necessarily mean magic. As for the potions, I didn't know that they would blow up. When Jen decided to help me make one with Costin, the potion didn't do anything. It had no magic in it because Jen and Costin don't have any kind of magic that they can infuse into the potion to make it work. So when you tried it, I didn't know that it would blow up. I thought it would get sit there like before."
"Then why did it blow up?"
"I don't know. Maybe we added something that wasn't supposed to be in there. Who knows?" She threw up her arms and sat down on the side of her work table.
"Well if I'm not a healer, what do you think I am?" I asked tentatively.
"I think you're...hold on." She reached into her pocket and pulled out her cellphone. "Let me call Jen."
"Jen?!" I said incredulously. "Why do you need to call Jen?"
She held up a finger toward me then went back to dialing. She must've answered on the first ring because Sally immediately started talking.
"Jen, you need to get down here.....yes, now!......Jen, I don't want to know.......Oh, well that's just great....Thanks for that....Yes! I was being sarcastic!......Just get down here now!" And with that she hung up.
We must've sat in silence for all of three seconds before Jen came running into the room. "I'm here!"
"What on earth could you have been doing to make Sally blush over the phone like that?" I asked her.
"You don't want to know," Sally said.
"Oh but I bet she does! Listen here, sweet and innocent Crystal. When you finally find your mate, there are things that-"
"Jen!" Sally interrupted. "She doesn't want to know!"
"Yeah, on second thought I'm good! I don't want to know anymore."
"Don't worry Crystal. I'll tell you later. So Sally, what did you call me in here for?"
Sally got up from off of her seat on her worktable and stood next to her cabinet. "I don't think she's a gypsy healer. I think she's like you."
"Wait, you don't think Crystal's a healer?! Well you're probably right. Anyone would be SO lucky to be like me." Jen tossed her hair to the side and looked at me.
"Jen, I mean she may only have one drop of werewolf blood in her like you do."
"Oh. Well that makes sense."
I had no idea what they were talking about. "Woah, woah, wait! What do you mean I have only one drop of werewolf blood?"
"Well, that's just it, Crystal. You must have a relative in your family that must have been a full fledged werewolf and over the generations, the werewolf blood must've gotten so small that now you only have a drop. Jen has this condition too."
"True dat! They said I wouldn't be able to turn into a wolf, but I can! I have to admit, I look great in fur."
"So you're both telling me that I'm a...a werewolf? I can phase?" I thought by now things couldn't possibly surprise me anymore. But alas, they can.
"Yes but you can't phase right now." Sally sat down on the lounge chair with me.
"Why not?"
"If you do only have a drop of werewolf blood, and I'm pretty sure you do, you have a wolf that you can phase into. Remember how I said that the wolf and human live most of the time in harmony? How when the human phases into the wolf, he can still concentrate and focus like a human and when they are a human, they can still feel their wolf's instincts?"
I nodded.
"For you, your wolf has never been awaken, I'm sure. Since you grew up in the human world, you never have had to rely on your wolf so it stayed in the back of your mind and over time, it soon fell into a hibernating state, per say. Your wolf must be dormant and needs to be woken up. "
"Well, if what you're saying is true, how do I uh, awaken my wolf?"
"Hold on there, chica," Jen interrupted. "You can't just say, 'Hey wolfie! Time to wake up!' willie nellie! You have to be in a worse case scenario where the only way you can survive is through the instincts your wolf has. For me, I was in a burning car, had to get out and save Sally's butt. I'm sure we can find something suitable for you. Let me go see if my mate has a sledge hammer."
"Seriously, Jen?" Sally asked.
"What?" Jen asked with mock innocence. "I just wanted to see."
"Sure, Jen. I was thinking that we could do that ritual that you and Jacque to become wolves."
"Oh yeah! I forgot about that."
"What's this ritual you guys are talking about?" I asked.
"Before we can even start to think about awaking your wolf though, we need to find your mate," Sally said.
"Wait, what does he have to do with this?" By now, I wasn't surprised anymore. I just wanted to know the facts, even if they are completely ridiculous.
"When you find your mate, a bond forms as you know. With a bond in place, it will be easier to help your wolf come out of hibernation. Plus the ritual is kind of private because you have to be naked, so when you phase, you don't ruin any cute clothes in the process."
"Figures there's a catch. Can't ever be easy, can it?"
"Nope. Now to the good stuff, have anyone in mind who can be your mate?" Jen asked, with an evil grin on her face. Even Sally was leaning toward me with a knowing smile.
"Well...."