Into the Darkness

Chapter Twelve

After a week with intense training and almost passing out, the alpha wolf came back. James greeted him and they came toward me. I wasn't watching but I could sense them through the earth while I was meditating.

"Sorry Aaliyah but your training starts now." The Alpha said.

"How can I start when I don't know how to channel my inner spirit animal?" I smirked.

"Figure it out. Your a Stargazer. Be back in five minutes." He ran off and I looked at James.

"I have to deal with that git for a whole week." I groaned. He smirked and hopped off.

"Connect with the stars and the earth." A voice said in my head. It was Osias's and I sighed. He has been guiding me through the training and it has been really helpful.

I sat there for a few minutes and I felt a tingle in my body. A swirl of wind came around me and I opened my eyes to be laying on my side. I tried to get up but it was awfully hard. I noticed I had paws inside of my regular two feet. The Alpha came closer and almost fell over laughing.

"Not funny. This is hard." I growled. He used his mouth and helped me up by the neck. I kept my balance and noticed I was much bigger than him.

"Your really intimidating. Except the design makes you look really awesome. Man, why can't I be like you?" He smirked. Designs? I slowly made my way to the lake and looked it in. The star was on my foward and I was a white wolf.

"Come on. You have a lot of work." He called to me. And the first thing he taught me was to run on four legs. It took awhile but I eventually got it. I followed him for awhile and he stopped all of a sudden.

"Hey guys. She's here." He yelled. A bunch of wolves came out of hiding and I stood there as there were whispers around.

"We have been waiting for a Stargazer to have wolf as their spirit animal again. Osias was the other one." One of woman said. I smiled and the Alpha came by me.

"In this week, we will teach you to fight and to hunt. There is no down time. First, you have to learn the basics." He said.

"Like?" I wondered.

"A howl." He smirked. Of course. That was a no brainer.

"Show me what you got." He said. I sighed and tried my best but it turned out like some weak broken record. It was terrifying and I could tell from the look on everyone's face.

"That is the first thing you need to know. But it is getting late. We must rest for the night. We will work on your howl and hunting tomorrow. Also, how to change into and out of your wolf form in the matter of seconds while running and still be running." He said. I nodded and he showed me to a place to be safe for the night.

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"Get up. Training starts now. We are going hunting first. A pack of elks are a few miles from the valley. Rule number one, I get the first taste." He smirked. I groaned and got up. We started running and I was sure getting lost in all this hunting business.

There was a howl and my ears perked up and I started running faster. I have never had raw meat which is what I was really scared to try to eat.

My paws thumped on the ground and wind rushed through my fur as I headed in a valley and saw the elk. The smell of their raw meat made my mouth water and it was some instinct that took over my human thoughts.

"This will teach you how to kill." Alpha called. He stopped the others so I had a chance to get the weak link in the group. I didn't spot it at first but I got in. I was alone and I sped up slightly.

When I was close enough, I lunged at it's back leg and sunk my teeth into it, making the elk fall down in an instant. Alpha headed over here in a second and he smiled.

"Not bad for your first time." He breathed. I returned the wolfy smile and watched for any other carnivores that would want some of the kill. I cringed at the ripping skin and I looked at him.

"Better get some before the others head over here. Then find somewhere to rest. This will make you tired." He threw me a piece and I stared at it for a moment for devouring it. I walked off and found a great tree to take a small nap under.

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My ears pricked up at the sound of someone coming toward me. I opened my eyes to see Tolken and I smiled.

"Whoa, Aaliyah. Alpha let me come see you. I heard you hunted an elk. Good job. Thor is going around, looking for recruits and he will come see you two days before battle. I will see you later." He informed, running off toward James and Clovis. Alpha came toward me and smiled.

"The others are heading to a new place for a moment while I train you some more out here." He said. I nodded and he smiled.

"Go back to your human form. I picked this spot because you are going to fall before it is perfected. It takes skill. Your going to run and turn into your wolf form and go back to your human form in seconds while running. I will be running beside you." He said.

"Isn't that really dangerous?" I wondered.

"Yes. But it is very helpful for your survival." He replied. I sighed and turned into my human form in minutes.

"The secret is have reflexes on spot. So I want you to imagine the battlefield in front of you and that tree is going to attack you as I run in its direction. I want you to turn into your wolf form before running into the tree and stop." He said. I nodded as the rumble of nerves ran through me.

I took a deep breath and he barked, making me jerk foward into a run. I came closer and I tried turning into a wolf but it wasn't happening fast enough. I focused and I did it but when I landed, I tripped and rolled into the tree really hard.

I groaned and he came toward me. I slowly got up and looked at him.

"Good try. You don't have much balance do you?" He wondered.

"Not really." I replied.

"Well your going to keep trying till you get it." He replied. I hate this. All this intense training is so upsetting and frustrating.

Later in the day, I was getting the trick of things but we worked on my howling and it was better than running into a tree five billion times. Eventually we headed back to a new area and he said something to me.

"Your going to learn to fight while I go somewhere. Be back." He ran off and one of the other wolves came up to me. He looked strong and I gulped.

"Your training starts now." He said. This is going to worse than just learning about my powers. He growled at me and I knew I was going to fail being a wolf.