Cruel Fate

9

Over time Cedric watched Ovidia find herself and come out of her shell. She laughed, played, and danced with the little ones. Ovida and Moon Oasis members watched Cedric stand a little straighter, the heavy bags under his eyes fade away, often catch him smiling. It seemed that some needed more than just time to heal wounds. Even if some wounds would never fully heal. The aches would ease, or maybe it was so familiar to the body that the aches seemed dull. The two both knew pain. Some of it was shared.

And even so, one held their dying mate, and the other wasn't given the chance to say goodbye. They found solace in each other. No longer did he weep of his deceased mate, and no longer did she think of hers. They had each other. New mates. A second chance at love. The moon goddess Morgana wasn't a wholly good being. She granted gifts and she bestowed curses. Gave both glee and horror. She was fair, depending on who you asked. Neither Cedric nor Ovidia thought Goddess Morgana to be fair.

Maggie and Ovidia were at a shopping center, the one close to the cafe, in Moon Oasis. Going into the human territory was easy, to wander around and spend all your savings in every shopping center or fast-food joint you could find. It wasn't hard and there weren't many restrictions on visiting. However, as wolves, they found humans to be lesser in their honor.

There had been a war many years ago, and a lot of the older wolves held loathe against them, the younger wolves were more open to forgiveness in a war they had not fought nor had to deal with the aftermath. The older wolves would sometimes stare into nothingness with a shadow cast over their foggy eyes. At times you could see the terror. And at an even closer glimpse, you could nearly see the battle happening in their eyes. Like the war never left. Like a screening of a movie, you hated but couldn't help but go to every showing of it.

Maggie and Ovidia weren't particularly close, but they considered each other well enough. Conon was close with Ovidia. Maggie wanted to be close with Ovidia too. Maybe it would help her be a little less jealous of how many whispers they share, even with Cedric at times. Maybe Maggie wanted to be a little jealous. It was exhilarating to see the look in Conon's gaze on her. The last time she brought up being a little bitter about the time he spent with Ovidia he had ravished her in their room and didn't drop his pace even when someone had rapped on their door. He had, instead, told them he was busy.

In an effort to get to know Ovidia she took her to the mall. The mall was vast but nothing like the many the humans possessed. Everyone liked the mall. There was something for everyone: tasty food, clothes, gaming shops, candles, jewelry, furniture, and a movie theatre. Maggie hoped that Ovidia wasn't one of the rare few that hated the mall. It'd be more challenging to get on with her then. Maggie was paying for their shopping trip, gifting Ovidia whatever she wanted.

Maggie worked for a vet clinic on the outskirts of the human territory. It was a job she enjoyed a lot, helping creatures and then releasing them back into the world. Sometimes they'd help wolves...werewolves even. That was actually how Maggie met Conon. Maggie had been human; she no longer was as Conon had turned her. Conon had been injured; hunters had found him. At the time Maggie had just thought he was a wolf on steroids. She was terrified at first. Over time Conon began to visit Maggie in human form until she grew feelings, while Conon patiently waited to tell her of his secret, sort of magical life.

Ovidia was happily walking beside Maggie, taking in the mall, the lights, the people, the smells. It had been a long time since she had last gone. Nearly a century. Maggie sighed a relieved breath, letting Ovidia lead the way. Maggie thought Ovidia's eyes looked light a cat's gawking up at a Christmas tree. The other woman wasn't aware of it, but Maggie was studying her, learning about her, desperately wanting to be friends. Ovidia was similar to Maggie in a way: they were both unfamiliarity's in the pack, Maggie who had once been human, and Ovidia who at first had more questions than she had answers. Their pack loved them dearly now, but Maggie felt as though that hadn't always been the case. Ovidia, like a moth drawn to a flame, nearly glided into Hot Topic. Maggie thought the clothes suited her the same as some of the other, more bright clothes, like Rue 21. Ovidia had a sense about her. Just about everything suited her. Every dress she tried, every pair of jeans she slipped on, every sparkling heel she stumbled around the store in.

Maggie was beginning to see why everyone who met her personally seemed to have a soft smile on their face. She was a comforting presence. A calming, reassuring one that made you forget your worries for a while. She needn't talk to you, just sitting and watching her go in and out of dressing stalls to show Maggie outfits she might like to keep was calming enough.

They soon left the mall, Ovidia leaving with four new outfits and two new pairs of shoes. Maggie had insisted that Ovidia got some new underwear too, but Ovidia was barely leaving with the outfits she had picked. Ovidia was appreciative but did not want to use so much of someone else's money. Maggie liked her more after today.

She was seeing how pure, and kind, Ovidia was.