Chapter 2
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! Stupid alarm clock.
"I don't want to get up. I hate school!" I hiss, reaching for my alarm, eyes still closed. I couldn't find it, so I open my eyes. I sit straight up, and gasp. Everything rushed back to me at once. Being Marked, the statue and my bloody arm. Speaking of my arm...I looked down, expecting to see bandages and other crap the doctor put on patients. Instead there was a...umm..I don't WHAT is was but it was flat on my arm and seemed to be daring someone to touch it.
"It's a...wolf? On my arm? How did that happen?!" I asked, staring at my tattoo. I knew that I couldn't become one of "them", but deep inside I could feel the blood of my ancestors rejoice.
"It happened when your true spirit saw Kowahi," A sweet, innocent voice said. Looking up, I saw a beautiful woman, about 23, smiling down at me. "I'm Helanka, the High Priestess. You must stay here, at the House of Spirits. By the way, we respect a goddess. You may have heard
of her, it's Jenevére, the goddess of Spirit."
"House of Spirits? That's where I am right now? My true spirit, you mean the tattoo on my arm? My true spirit is the wolf...awesome! One question though Helanka. Why does it matter that the wolf is my true spirit? What does it mean?" I burst out, not realizing I was asking WAY to many questions. "Sorry. I'm just confused, I mean excited, no wait...ugh I don't know." That went...bad. All I could think was, Wow. I'm smart, she probably thinks I'm insane. Great. Then I jerked my head up at a giggling sound, soft and innocent as a babies coo.
"It's okay. The House of Spirits is the place where everyone who gets mark goes. Like you." She said, then continued. "Your true spirit is a wolf because of how strong, brave and smart you are. Don't tell me that you have never loved the wolves and that you haven't been sneaking out every night to go and meet them. I know a lot. When you go to meet them, whether in the forest or the zoo, they have never attacked you but have only come up to you and acted like a big puppy. The wolves knew that you were somehow part of them and trust me, you knew that they knew. You would talk and they understood. They would talk to and, believe me or not, you understood too but you never realized it did you. There are other wolves here too that you would get along with. Real and shape shifters."
"So, you're calling me fake? Unreal?" A teasing voice laughed from behind. I turned around to face him and oh dear sweet
Jenevére, I do believe my heart stopped. The cutest boy was standing behind me. He had ash blond hair (which was kinda long), wicked eyes that seemed hypnotic; they were a gold-hazel. He was lanky and elegant with clean-cut features and a disarming smile. Basically he looked like a giant, lazy cat. When he looked down at me he smiled, then began to talk again. you would get along with."
"Is this our newest member Helanka? Hey there, I'm Areno Redfern but call me Ash. All my friends, and everyone else, calls me by the name Ash. So go ahead and join the club."
"H-hi. I'm Roseka Lupa." I looked up and smiled. "Just call me Rose, that's what my friends call me. Anyway...so you're a wolf? Really, no offence but you seem more like a cat."
Ash laughed. "Yeah a lot of people say that. I think it's because my mother was a big, ash-coloured lioness. That's were I get the name 'Ash' from. If you want...maybe sometime you can see my true spirit?" He added, winking.
Was he asking me out? YES, YES, YES!!! "Sure, I guess." I could feel my cheeks getting hot so I turned away so he wouldn't see. This is amazing. The cutest boy I know is asking me to hang out with him... I kept babbling in my mind while Helanka and Ash talked about getting me to my room.
"Oh, stop teasing her Areno. One of these days your mouth will get you in trouble. Anyway, you coming Roseka? It's time to meet your new roommate." Helanka interrupted my non-stop babbling. She grinned at me the waved her hand for me to follow.
