by Sy Walker
A moment later, Xander stepped out from between the trees in a pair of shorts and nothing else. His hair was windblown, and swept back from his face, his grey eyes were bright, and his skin flushed from exertion. He panted softly, and Savannah tried not to be distracted by the wall of muscles that ran down his stomach.
“What are you doing here?”
“Running a patrol,” Xander replied. “Are you walking home?”
“Yes,” Savannah nodded.
“It’s a long walk.”
“It’s just until my car arrives,” Savannah nodded.
“You could have asked me for a lift.”
Savannah shook her head in frustration. “That would have made it hard for you to stay away from me, remember?”
Xander sighed. “This is harder than I expected.”
“Is this you trying?”
“You’re angry today,” Xander said, moving forward.
“Can you blame me?” Savannah demanded. “I’ve never felt connected to anyone this way before, and the first time it happens he has a noble calling, and I end up being the less important one.”
“Don’t say that,” Xander said. “You’re not less important.”
Savannah gave him a pointed stare. “That’s what it feels like.”
“I’m sorry,” Xander said after a heartbeat of silence. “I probably shouldn’t have come up to you--”
“It’s fine,” Savannah said quickly.
“I’ll leave you to your walk--”
“No,” Savannah said, reaching out for his hand. “You’re here now, you may as well walk with me.”
Xander nodded once, and then he fell into step beside her. They walked in silence for a few moments, the air thick with things unsaid between them. Savannah felt the history of their whole relationship standing between them, and it felt large enough to fill the space of a lifetime, rather than the few short days it had been in reality.
“When will you have to marry?” Savannah asked, unable to stop herself from asking the question.
Xander hesitated, obviously uncomfortable with the question. “When I become the reigning alpha,” he replied.
“Which is when?”
“I don’t know,” Xander replied. “It could be a few days from now, it could be months, or it could be as long as a year or two. That will be determined by the current ruling council.”
“How will it be determined?”
Xander glanced at her. “It’s an ancient ritual,” he replied. “They watch the stars.”
“The stars?” Savannah repeated.
Xander nodded. “The stars will give us the answers.”
“And then you will become the alpha, and you will have to marry?”
“I will have six months to choose a bride,” Xander said, “and then yes, I will have to marry.”
Savannah nodded as though she were completely unaffected by the thought of Xander marrying someone else. “So…who do you think it will be?” Savannah asked. “Marissa, Bianca, Zanna, or Meryl?”
“Savannah,” Xander said, carefully. “I really don’t think we should be discussing this.”
“Personally, I think Bianca would be the best choice for you,” Savannah said, interrupting him and barrelling on with the conversation.
Xander stopped short and glanced at her. “Bianca?” he repeated.
“Yes.”
“May I ask why?”
Savannah shrugged. “I don’t know. There’s something about her aura that’s…calmer, more in control than the others. I could sense she wasn’t as mean-spirited as Marissa, Meryl, or Zanna.”
Xander gave her confused look. “You sensed…her aura?”
“Oh,” Savannah said, realizing she hadn't explained her gift to him. “I never told you, did I? Well, for as long as I can remember, I’ve been able to see people’s auras. I can sense things about them normal people can’t.”
“Really?” Xander sounded fascinated.
“Really,” Savannah said. “I think it’s sort of like…compensation. I was born deaf, but all of my other senses were heightened. Sometimes I even see things.”
Xander stared at her for a moment. “You see things?”
Savannah nodded. “Flashes of light that hold images in their center,” she explained. “Sometimes I barely understand what I’m seeing, but then later it makes sense.”
“How does it make sense?”
“Well, I’ll see something move with blinding speed, and then a couple of hours later I’ll watch this car whizzing past, and I realize that I saw the same image, hours earlier.”
“Are you saying that you can see the future?” Xander asked incredulously.
“No, no,” Savannah said quickly. “I wouldn’t say that. Well, I mean, I guess you could say that, but it’s not a very strong gift, and it doesn’t happen very often, either.”
“Did you see something about… us?” Xander asked.
“I saw the image of a wolf,” Savannah said. “Before I knew what you were.”
Xander looked amazed. Savannah caught him shooting little glances her way as they walked along the abandoned road. “What did you sense about me when you first saw me?” he asked after a moment.
Savannah couldn’t help but smile. “Your aura…it’s so strong,” she said. “It’s so bright and so incredibly beautiful. And it’s colorful--I’ve never seen so many colors on one person before. You’re full of passion, you have strong opinions, and you’re incredibly loyal. You can be stubborn and quick to anger, but you always admit afterwards if you feel you’re wrong.”
It was as Savannah was talking that she realized how much she had picked up about him over the last few days. She had never thought to put it into words, but now that she was doing it, the words came easily. She knew Xander, not just because of the connection they shared, but because she could read him better than anyone else.
“You hate your father, but you’ve also been hurt by him, even though you will never admit it. You loved your mother to death, and miss her still. You’re scared because you don’t know if your half-brother will succeed in becoming alpha. You’re scared for your pack, and what it will mean for them if Dominic takes control.”
Xander stopped walking. He stood there, staring at her as though she had revealed she, too, was a wolf. Savannah smiled. “I didn’t know I knew that much myself,” she admitted. “Am I…right?”
Xander shook his head in disbelief. “You are. Can you do that with everyone?”
“I don’t pick up that many details with other people,” Savannah admitted. “But I pick up a lot, a significant amount at least.”
“You have a gift, Savannah,” Xander said.
Savannah smiled. “I know.”
When she looked back up, she spotted her house some distance away, and knew Xander would have to say goodbye again. They started walking again, but Savannah made it a point to slow her pace down so she could prolong the moment.
“It was nice to share that with someone,” she said softly.
“Nobody knows?”
“You’re the only one,” Savannah said. “It’s fair, now I know your secret, that you know mine.”
Xander smiled. “Thank you for telling me.”
“Of course,” Savannah nodded.
They stopped just outside of her house, and Xander’s eyes grew cloudy. “I’ll be seeing you, Savannah,” he said, and she knew he didn’t want to say goodbye again.
Savannah nodded. Xander turned and disappeared into the trees. She stared off after him, wondering if her entire life would just be a series of unending goodbyes.
Chapter Twelve
The library had quickly become Savannah’s second home. She moved between her classes with her head down and eyes firmly fixed on the ground in front of her. She saw Xander every day, as well as Marissa and the rest. Sometimes it all got to be too much for her.
Whenever she had a moment of spare time she'd find solace in the library, especially during lunch break when she couldn�
��t really avoid anyone. There were a few kids that tried to befriend her, but Savannah simply did not have the energy to invest in a new relationship that probably wouldn’t last very long anyway.
Savannah heard the laughter and bustle coming from the cafeteria as she passed it by. She noticed Xander there, surrounded by his friends, but he didn’t see her. She kept walking and went straight to the library, which was completely empty. She moved to the back where no one could see her, and moved through the shelves, searching for something that would distract her, if only for a few minutes.
She was about to move on to the next shelf when she spotted a thin, black, bound book with gold lettering on the spine. Its title read, "Legends of Grey Mountain." Gingerly, Savannah pulled out the book, and scrolled through its contents list. She stopped short when she came upon chapter seven, which read "The Legend of the Wolf Prince."
Savannah moved to the last aisle of the library, sank to the ground, and leaned against the shelves to read it. The chapter was only a few pages long and filled with detailed black and white drawings that had probably been done exclusively for the book. She wasn’t really interested in any other legend apart from the one about the wolf prince. She stared at the image of a man with the head of a wolf, and then started to read:
Back when Grey Mountain was known only as Grey Mountains, there was a great chief who had three daughters by his three wives. His daughters were all tall and beautiful and respected among the tribe as skilled wolf hunters. His oldest daughter was flaxen haired and blue eyed, and she was the best hunter. His second daughter was black haired and green eyed, and she was the best archer. His youngest daughter was red haired and brown eyed, and she was the best fighter.
The chief’s oldest daughter was promised in marriage to the son of a prominent member of the tribe, and they would take over as the leaders and elders of the village when the time came. The chief’s youngest daughter was famed for her unusual red hair, which was considered the ultimate in beauty. She had many suitors and she was eventually promised to the son of a powerful, neighbouring tribe.
The chief’s second daughter, however, was disinterested in men and marriage. She explored the mountains of her tribe, and came to know nature more intimately than anyone else. She was an adventurer who never stayed in one place for long. She spent more time in the trees and mountains than she did in the tribe with her own family. She was the wildest of the chief’s three daughters, and her name was Mira.
One day, Mira traveled further into the forest than she had ever traveled before. She came upon a clearing that held in its center the most perfect blue lake she had ever seen. Enchanted with its beauty, Mira removed her clothes, and prepared to swim in the lake’s clear waters. She was about to enter the lake when she heard a noise behind her.
She turned, and found herself faced with a terrifying black wolf that was bigger than any she had seen before. She had left her bow a few feet away with her clothes, and she had no way of defending herself as the animal moved forward with its teeth bared. With no choice left to her, Mira jumped for her bow, but the animal was too fast. It attacked her and tore at her flesh until she fell back into the lake, bleeding from a thousand different wounds.
The animal left her in the lake surrounded by her own blood, contaminating the clear blue water and turning it red. Mira believed she was going to die, but then something happened. She sensed it as she floated in the water waiting to die. The water was magic, and it had begun to heal her. An hour later she rose from the waters, her body new and free of any wounds or scars. She felt stronger and more powerful. She felt whole.
But Mira knew she was more than just a woman now. She could feel the animal inside her, and as night descended, Mira transformed into a great beast, similar to the one that had attacked her, and instinctively she knew she could never go back home. She ran through the forests, feeling a new sense of freedom unlike any she had experienced before. She kept running until she caught a scent that was strangely familiar to her. She stopped and turned and found herself face to face with the creature that had attacked her in the lake.
Now that she herself was in wolf form, she could communicate with the beast. Mira learnt that he was a man named Kian, who was afflicted with the same transformative powers she had. The difference was that a witch had cursed him, and so he could not control himself when he turned. He became a beast, an animal in its most dangerous state. Mira promised to help him so that he would maintain some sense of control when he transformed.
For many months, Mira and Kian roamed the forests together, and she helped him control his beastly instincts. She taught him how to suppress the wild beast inside him, and he taught her the little secrets of the forest. Eventually they fell in love, and Mira gave birth to a son. The boy had all the wolfish traits of his parents, but he could control himself better, he could think and decide, and when he transformed, he was still a man inside a wolf's body.
Mira and Kian named their son Kato, and they taught him all they knew, but it was a lonely existence, for Kato had no one to talk to but his parents. He would watch the people of the village from the grey mountains, and wish he might walk among them, and live his life among them. It was not the same for his parents. Their instincts were more animal than human, and they did not miss their old lives.
One day, when Kato was watching the tribe and its people, he noticed a beautiful woman with golden hair and soft brown eyes. He kept coming back to watch her, day after day, and soon he was in love with her. His parents warned him against the tribe, for they were fierce wolf hunters, but Kato would not listen. One day he grew bold, and went down to the tribe in his human form. There he spoke to the young woman, whose name was Alais. They met secretly over the next few weeks, and eventually Kato told Alais the truth about who he was. The young lovers dreamed of leaving behind the place of their birth and roaming the world. Scared that they could not be together, Alais sought out the help of a witch who lived in the mountains.
The witch gave her a special potion that gave Alais the ability to transform into a wolf as well, but the potion came at a price. Alais and Kato could never be free to roam the world as they had planned. They had to stay in the village, forever tied to it, obligated to protect the tribe’s people, whatever the cost. They could never leave, their children could never leave, and their grandchildren could never leave.
For Alais, it was a small price to pay. She and Kato both agreed to stay and be protectors and guardians of the mountains, and the villagers who lived at its feet. Alais drank the potion, and she and Kato married. A year later, they had a baby boy and thus, the first wolf prince was born.
Savannah read through the passage again, staring at the drawings and wondering if even a quarter of the legend was true. She was fascinated with the story, but she was not sure if she could trust it. Just then, the bell went off, and Savannah knew she had to get to her next class. She shut the book and sighed. Then she got up and walked to class alone.
Chapter Thirteen
After the first couple of days, Savannah realized that she really enjoyed the long walk home. It gave her time to enjoy the raw nature that surrounded her, time to reflect, and most importantly, it gave her time to think about her future.
Lately she had been thinking about taking a gap year between high school and college to travel around Asia. Then, maybe she would go to Europe somewhere and get her degree. She had always been interested in linguistics for obvious reasons, but lately she had been thinking about Classics, and mythology as well. It didn’t seem to matter how far her thoughts or her dreams took her, she always ended up back in Grey Mountain.
It was becoming increasingly more difficult to go to school each day and see Xander. He always gave her a smile, his eyes softening with the weight of emotion, but he never approached her, and Savannah knew she could go to him.
From time to time she would feel the jealousy coming off the other girls when they noticed how often Xander glanced her way, but it had ceased to bother her. T
heir jealousy paled in comparison to the weight of everything else Savannah was feeling. She stopped walking as her mind reeled back to the first day she had met Xander, the day he had taken her to the lake.
It clicked that perhaps the lake he had taken her to was the lake in the book she had read in school that day. Savannah knew it was not true. She also knew she was searching for an answer that simply wasn’t there, but she didn’t care. She turned from the road and moved into the trees, determined to find the lake again.
The truth was she simply wanted to be comforted, and since she couldn’t turn to anyone, she decided to seek solace in the one place she felt was hers and Xander’s alone. She moved through the trees, trying to remember the trail that Xander had taken her through.
An hour later, Savannah had to face the fact that she was completely and totally lost. She turned three hundred and sixty degrees, and nothing around her was familiar in the least. The scent of the air around her was clear and fresh, but she could pick up the number of wild animals hiding in the trees around her. A part of her knew it wasn't safe for her there, but she was past caring.
That was when she smelt it. It was subtle at first, but she was now so familiar with the scent that it took her only a moment to place it. She knew it wasn’t Xander, but she suspected it was one of the girls. She turned in the direction of the scent, and before she could try to figure out who it was, a man walked out of the forest from between two trees.
He was tall, taller even than Xander. He had short blond hair with brown roots, and pale blue eyes that held little tinges of grey speckled throughout. He was bare-footed and naked to the waist. The only thing he had on was a pair of ripped shorts. He looked at Savannah with interest, his expression narrowing into a smile that made her supremely uncomfortable.