Aislinn looked around; or, at least, she tried to. What she found was pitch dark in every direction, and she was cognizant of the fact that the cold winter air still surrounded them. For a moment, she panicked; but, a light squeeze of her hand reassured her that she wasn't alone.
"Dark, isn't it? I wasn't expecting that. Let's see..." came Gwen's voice in the empty void around them. Shortly after, Gwen released Aislinn's hand, taking the silver stone with her.
Aislinn stood completely still, waiting for Gwen to say or do something again. As the seconds slipped by, though, Aislinn was beginning to fear that Gwen had abandoned her. After too much time had passed, she called out. "Gwen? Are you still here?" She asked, trying to keep her nervousness from her voice.
Silence was the response.
Just as Aislinn was about to call out again, pushing her growing panic down, a bright light burst through the darkness and nearly blinded her. To her relief, though, the light also came with the sound of Gwen's cheers.
Still adjusting to the light, she couldn't see Gwen returning; but, she could hear her voice coming closer. "That wasn't as easy as I was hoping for. Oh well, we have it now." Gwen was saying, talking as if Aislinn had been beside her all along.
Too relieved for the light, and the company, Aislinn nearly didn't respond. Curiosity piqued, though, she asked "have what now?"
"This" Gwen replied, and with her eyes adjusting to the light better, Aislinn could see the red blob that was Gwen's puffy coat, with her arms waving at the light itself.
"And that is...?" Aislinn asked hesitantly, feeling like she was missing something obvious.
"Well...I don't really know how to describe it. You'll see" Gwen answered with a shrug. Then, she grabbed Aislinn's hand again, so both their palms were touching the stone.
"It's a special...Thing. The best way I can describe it is that it'll let you show me your dreams. All you have to do is think about one, and I'll be able to see it, kind of like on a TV screen" Gwen explained.
Giving Gwen an uncertain look, Aislinn let out a sigh. What did she have to lose? She might as well try it, she figured. So, she closed her eyes and thought of the dream where she saw Gwen, through Gwen's eyes.
Eyes still closed, Aislinn heard a gasp come from Gwen. She opened her eyes to see, and as soon as she did she saw something disappear from the "screen".
"Hm, I guess you have to focus on it or it goes away" Gwen said, after looking over to find Aislinn had opened her eyes. "Try again" she instructed.
Aislinn nodded, and closed her eyes again. This time, she thought of one of the dreams where she saw the mysterious woman who recurrently appeared in her dreams. This time, she heard Gwen make a "tsk" sound, but nothing more.
"Alright, think of some more" Gwen instructed, and this was how the next hour or so was spent.
After Gwen had seen enough, she told Aislinn as much. "Let's head back. I'm sure Rei and her little twerp of a son are wondering where we've been" she said.
"He's not a twerp! He's just protective of the people he cares about" Aislinn argued; though, she wasn't arguing that they should return.
"Yeah, yeah" Gwen responded back, clearly not caring to change her opinion of the man. She squeezed Aislinn's hand once more, and they both found themselves back in Gwen's little bubble.
"Woah" Aislinn said, wobbling a little from the disorientation of the abrupt change of scenery.
Gwen grabbed her elbow to steady her, saying "don't go dropping on me yet."
"Where have you two been?!" Demanded Rei's worried voice, pulling the attention of the two over to the impatient werewolves standing by the fire. "Do you know what he's been putting me through while we've been waiting?!" She added while gesturing to Ryan, in an effort to downplay her own concern.
"You've been worried, too" he replied, scowling and clearly upset at the distress they'd been put through.
"Yeah, sorry, my bad" Gwen said, waving her hand dismissively. "I didn't think things would go the way they have...I've got some really great news, some really terrible news, and some downright shit news for yas, at least."
"You do?" Aislinn asked, having shown her dreams to Gwen while receiving little to no feedback. She was under the impression that nothing at all was gleaned from their time together; but, she was excited and simultaneously anxious to hear that wasn't the case.
"Yep" Gwen said. "You just have to decide what you want to hear first."
"The good news! Do you know what's wrong with me?" Aislinn demanded, not bothering to consult Rei or Ryan in her decision.
"Hm, most people don't pick the good news first" Gwen said, crossing her arms. "Oh well. Basically, the good news is that yeah, I know what's going on...I can't answer everything, though" she explained.
"So?! What's going on?" Ryan jumped in to demand before Aislinn could ask the same.
"So, since the beginning of werewolf kind, it's been an intrinsic part of your heritage, your belief system, and your very being to seek your mates. To go against that is unnatural" Gwen began as her way of explanation.
"Yeah, we know all that" Ryan said, annoyed.
"What does that have to do with me? I can't even find my mate without my wolf" Aislinn said, confused and saddened.
"That's it exactly" Gwen said, turning to Aislinn and ignoring Ryan. "It is nearly unheard of for a werewolf, especially a powerful male werewolf, to not want to find his mate...But, if a prophecy said that his fated mate would be the cause of his death, he might feel differently about that mate" she explained slowly. "So, if, for instance, the Alpha King, the King of werewolves, potentially the most powerful werewolf to currently live...Hated his mate so much before he ever met her, that he did everything in his power, and made it part of his life's mission to never meet her...Well, that hate could theoretically trickle through the bond."
"What?!" Rei gasped in horror.
"What...?" Ryan said, following but unsure he wanted to believe what he was interpreting.
"Trickle through the bond...?" Aislinn asked, not fully grasping what Gwen was alluding to.
"Yes, that would explain your wolf being suppressed, whether from his overwhelming power or his overwhelming hatred, either one she would feel through the pre-existing bond that was formed by the Moon Goddess herself" Gwen explained, taking Aislinn's hands in hers.
"So, the good news is that I know what's going on...But the bad news is that you are destined to be the Queen of the werewolves...And the current Alpha King will do everything in his power to stop that from ever happening."
YOU ARE READING
Veritas
WerewolfBook 1 of 2 Aislinn Jones has had a unique problem for as long as she can remember: her dreams. They are vivid and haunting, and plague her whenever she tries to rest. Her father's solution was to train her to a point of exhaustion where she was pas...
