Is this truly home? (Book 1)

Chapter 9

Axel looked everywhere for Raven but still couldn't find her. Where was she? So he put his nose up towards the sky, closed his eyes, took a deep breath in, a slow exhale out, and then opened his eyes.
"Bingo."
He followed her scent to a stretched plain, the same place where Desmond and Titan would meet up to swap intell, and there she was. Staring across as if wanting to go forward but something was holding her back. Axel slowly walked up beside her and played it cool to ask her to join his quest.
"Hey."
"Hey."
"So?...
"What do you want?"
"What?"
"I said, what do you want?"
"What makes you think I need something from you?"
Raven turned to look at Axel.
"You have done this whole act since we were pups. You play dumb by asking me how I am, and then sooner or later, the answer becomes clear that you want something from me."
She then mimics his own question.
"So?..."
"Fine! Fine! You're right. I do need something from you. I basically need you to come with me to unlock secrets of the past to find Eris's weakness and defeat her."
Raven had an annoyed look on her face, and the answer she gave him was a very 'Raven' answer to give.
"No."
"Wait, what?"
"You heard me. N. O. No. I'm not risking my life, so you can find a way to destroy my mother."
But Axel had one more trick up his sleave. Since the easy way didn't work, maybe the hard way will.
"Fine. Stay here for all I care. Maybe when I come back, you'll be all initiated into the pack and never want to be a rogue again."
As Axel was explaining himself and walking away backward, Raven was scared about what he had said. Initiations?! Being in a pack?! Living by rules and being... Good?!Basically, no freedom?! She began to run behind him to catch up.
"Axel?! Wait for me!"
So the two began their journey to where it all began... Axel's birthplace.

The moment they stepped into the old territory of Alpha Darek, Axel's head began to throb uncontrollably; like all the memories of his siblings' deaths ending in blood, their screams, and crying was echoing in his brain. He couldn't speak, think, or move. Raven began to become worried for him; she had no idea what he's been going through in the past week.
"Axel? Axel, what's wrong?!"
"AAAH!!! THEIR SCREAMS!!! I... I CAN'T TAKE IT ALL!!!
"I... I don't know what to do! I'm not a healer! What do I do?! How can I help you?!"
"Mother... Ghost girl! She knows!"
"I don't understand?!"
Axel transformed into a human and fell on the ground, falling unconscious.
"Axel?! No, no, no! Help! Ghost girl!"
It was then that she began to hear an echo-like song that could be heard throughout the forest.

Hush-a-bye, don't you cry
Go to sleep, you little baby...

Raven then saw her... The little Ghost girl. She had dark brown hair and was wearing a white dress. She smiled at Raven as she walked closer to them. Raven didn't know if she was there to help Axel, but one thing was for sure she gave off a sense of overwhelming power. The little girl bent down, put her hand over Axel's head, and woke up with a start.
"Whoa! I'm here! I'm here?"
He looked up to see the little girl and Raven who had tears in her eyes because of how happy she was to see him alive and well. Axel then stood up and introduced himself to the little girl.
"Hi there. I'm guessing that you're the little Ghost girl my mother spoke of?"
The little girl nodded.
"Oh, great, cool. Well, I'm Axel, a.k.a Aries son of Alpha Darek; and this is my friend/cousin Raven."
"We're saying it like that now?"
Axel just looked at Raven and shrugged. They looked back at the girl who had just stood there silently. Then, with a small hand gesture, she asked them to follow her. She led them past the apple blossm tree, past the secret den where he and his sister had hid, and finally arrived at a small lake. Both Axel and Raven were confused about why they were standing in front of a lake. So Axel was the first to speak up.
"Uh, what are we doing here?"
The girl pointed out to the lake. Then, smiling, she looked back at them and gestured them to follow her onto the lake. But that was where Raven drew the line.
"Uh, yeah, in case you haven't realized, we're werewolves, not..."
Then it occurred to Raven, who the ghost girl really was.
"Raven? What's wrong?"
"The little Ghost girl. I know who she is..."
"Who is she?"
"She... Is the first werewolf."
After Axel freaked out, Raven explained herself.
"Axel, before you came to us, maybe even before you born, Storm would tell me stories of the first werewolf. Apparently, the moon goddess was lonely and went to earth in her human form. There, she found a wolf who looked just as lonely as her, and they mated. Together, they had a child that was both human and wolf; then, she was declared as the first of all werewolves."
Looking back at the little girl who was smiling back at her.
"That's you. Isn't it?"
The little girl nodded and grabbed Axel's hand and started leading him across the lake, leaving Raven behind.
"Hey! What about me?! Axel?!"
"I don't know! This is my journey! Oh ho ho, no, you didn't!"
Then, without realizing it, Raven started to walk out onto the lake just like the little girl.
"Uh, Raven?"
"What? Do you think you're somehow better than me?"
"No, no, I just didn't know that you could walk on water."
Raven looked down and gasped.
"What?! How?!"
The little girl pointed up to the sky as the sun set and the night sky came. Then, she spoke out of the blue.
"Wow! It feels so much better to talk! Do you know how long I've been silent?! Two-thousand years! I just want to thank you both so much for coming here! Axel, I could feel your mother's spirit when you arrived. And Raven! I had hoped you would come! I knew if Desmond found out you were here, he'd kill you. Literally. But enough about me. Let me show you why you're both here."
As they set foot on the shore, the little girl had one more piece of information for them.
"By the way, my name's Lunaria. Daughter of the moon goddess and Lonely Wolf."
At the edge of the shore was a dark cave filled with seaweed, water, and moss growing everywhere.
"Welcome to the Cave of Memories! Every moment in every werewolf's life is recorded on these walls by your's truly."
"Wait? You've been here on my father's land all these years and did nothing?! You could've prevented so much suffering!"
"I'm so sorry, Axel. My mother forbade me from intervening with mortal affairs. Let me show you what I mean."
She took them to a part of the cave where it was the most dark.
"Now follow my lead."
She put both hands in the middle and lifted her head back to howl. When she did, a white glow came from her hands. Axel and Raven didn't know what to do other than trust Lunaria; so they followed suit. When Raven did hers her hands emitted a purple glow. When Axel did his it emitted a golden glow. Then, Lunaria stopped howling so so did they.
"Open your eyes."
When they did they were in the middle of a forest in autumn? Then, Axel asked the most obvious question.
"Uh, where are we?"
"Mortals. So simple minded. We are in the..."
Just then a young wolf that looked a little like Raven came running past them while she called out behind her to two other wolves.
"Come on, bear breath and Mr. Genius! Dad says there's a new wolf joining the pack! And it's a boy! Eeeeek!"
The smaller male had reddish brown fur with black tips on his paws and ears came up behind her.
"Carlotta! We'll be there in plenty of time. Why so jumpy?"
Then a bigger brown wolf came up right beside him.
"Oh, really? You don't see it?"
"No."
"My sweet, innocent baby brother Axel, our sister has a bad case of puppy love."
"Oh, ho, ho!"
"I do not!"
Then both brothers circled her saying happily: "Puppy love! Puppy love! Our sister's has it ruff!"
"Oh come on, I expected this from Axel cause he's the youngest, but you Derek?"
"What? I can't have fun playing with my sister's feelings?"
Carlotta looked at him annoyed. So, Axel decided to lighten the mood.
"Race you there, losers!"
Then all three of them took off. Raven and Axel's minds were blown. If that brown wolf was a younger version of his father Derek, then that could only mean one thing...
"WE'RE IN THE PAST?!"
"Wow, you guys are fast learners. Now come on! I brought you here because the next few memories will let you see why Eris is the way she is. She didn't start off evil. She was influenced by a friend and by an evil being... The god of the night."