The Wolf Girl

Chapter Five

Alex's POV
I look at the emerald in my hand with curiosity. I could've sworn I'd pocketed it before we were caught. Why did she have it?
  I reach into my pocket and feel something. I pull out my pendant. But Molly just gave me a jewel. Maybe there were two emerald gems. I shove it back into my pocket, telling myself I'll give it back later.

I summon Thunder. As he appears before me, he summersaults through the air, but when he tries to land it, his legs give out underneath him and he's on his little belly.
"Oof," he grumbles. I chuckle, earning a glare from his young blue eyes. "Next time, it'll be nice if you don't summon me while I'm doing a flip."
"How am I supposed to know whether you're doing a stupid summersault or not?" I exclaim. He grumbles again, this time in defeat.

He suddenly stands up and starts sniffing the air.
"What're you doing?" I ask.
He continues to sniff before replying with, "I feel darkness here. I don't know where it comes from, but I know that it makes me uncomfortable." He carefully scoots closer to me. "You have a good aura. This may sound strange, but it makes me feel better." I laugh softly and he lies at my feet.

There is a knock on the door, and I stand to open it. The visitors are the last people I'd want to see- Molly's escort, Zack, and my escort, Gavin.
"We are ready to take you to training," Zack says. "Are you ready?"
"Will Molly be joining us?" I ask after a moment.
"We were heading to her home." He smirks. "Why, do you have feelings for her?"
"No," I say, fighting to keep my voice steady. Surprisingly, heat doesn't rush to my cheeks. I'm not blushing.
Zack shrugs. "Are you ready?" he repeats. I nod curtly and step outside, followed by Thunder, who keeps looking at Zack and Gavin suspiciously.
Gavin wrinkles his nose when he sees the companion. "A wolf? Of all animals?" he snorts. "Pretty stupid animals, if you ask me."
"I'll have you know I am part wolf," I growl. "Are suggesting that I am stupid? Because calling our kind stupid..." I glare at him. "Don't test us."
He puts his hands up defensively as we start walking. "It's not my fault that your kind is as stupid as a l-"
"Drop it, Gavin," Zack barks. Gavin is silent after that. I feel my face burn up with anger.

Wait until I tell Molly. She won't take this lightly at all.

Molly's POV
A soft knock is heard at my door and I jump up to open it, ignoring the tears that have started flowing from my eyes again. I hear Starlight jump down and follow me to the door. I open it and hold back a groan.
Zack is there, along with another man with muddy brown hair. Alex is behind them- thank goodness.
"Why are you here, Zack?" I ask somewhat coldly.
"If you're ready, we are going to begin training," he replies.
I look past them, right at Alex. If he's there with me, I'll go. He is my best friend, after all.
  "I'm as ready as I'll ever be," I sigh, keeping my gaze affixed on Alex's eyes. With that, Starlight comes out of my house after me and we start to walk.

  The other man who accompanied us- Gavin, as he introduced himself as- wrinkles his nose when he sees Starlight. "More wolves?" he groans. "Mangy mutts."
  "Excuse me?" I ask, my insides going cold with disgust.
  "Wolves are one of the least intelligent animals in the world, in my opinion," he replies. I clench my hands into fists at my sides and take three deep breaths.
"I find that we are very intelligent," I argue, uncurling my fists. He turns to me and rolls his eyes. He opens his mouth to speak, but Zack gives him a cold stare, and Gavin turns away from us again.

We arrive at an area with several training dummies, bows, arrows, swords, and training weapons. I walk to the bows and arrows and instantly pick up some of the contents. Before I know it, a sheath of arrows is wrapped around my upper body- a close-to-perfect fit- and a bow is in my hand. Zack looks at me with a smug look on his face and I scowl.
  "What?" I ask.
  "I didn't even have to tell you to choose a weapon," he says with a smirk. My grip on the bow grows tighter.
  "Why are we here?" I growl.
"To train," he replies simply.
"For what?" I sigh, irritated.
"Practicing your power through your weapon of choice," he says. I try not to shudder at the word. Power. I don't have a power.
Zack walks to me and picks up a bow. "Hold your bow out like this," he commands, demonstrating by holding his bow in front of him with both hands. I hesitantly do the same. "Now stay still," he continues. I stiffen when he places a hand on my wrist to slip something into my hand. He does the same to the other hand and steps back.
"What are you doing?" Alex and I exclaim at the same time. Zack just places a finger on his own lips as I suddenly feel the warmth being leeched from my body. I start to tremble.
  "What is happening to me?" I demand. Zack just shrugs again.
  The warmth shoots back into me, and I break into a sudden sweat. I look down at the bow and see that it has gone from dark brown to white, with a soft glow. A small pair of angel wings is etched into the wood.

  "This bow and sheath of infinite arrows belong to you now," Zack explains. "The arrows renew themselves every once in a while; you always start with 50 arrows. The sheath refills itself occasionally."
  I look at him as if he isn't speaking English. "How did this happen?" I ask.
  "You're an-" he starts.
  "Don't you dare say I'm an angel!" I yell. "I'm not!"
Anger takes over his expression for a moment before it returns to normal. "You'll learn," he scoffs.
"Learn what?" I exclaim. "I either learn that I was taken from my family for a misunderstanding, or I realize my whole life has been a lie! Whatever I'm 'learning' will not benefit me in any way, shape, or form!"
"Stop raising your voice, please," he says, the energy draining from his gradually softening voice. "I'm trying to explain something to you. Or maybe I should just have Penny do that."
"Penny?" Alex asks from behind Zack.
"Another escort and training helper," he explains simply, as if those five words will answer every question in the world.
Newsflash, Zack. They don't.

I look down at my bow. "What do I do with this now?" I mutter, glancing up at Zack, and then averting my eyes back to the weapon.
  "You keep it with you as often as possible," he says. "You never know when you'll need it to fight off intruders." He looks at Alex. "You're next. What weapon do you want to use?"

  Alex's POV
  I look at the array of weaponry- swords, archery kits, and everything in between. I slowly approach the table with swords. There is almost every possible size and shape for a blade displayed right before my eyes. I grab one with a long, slightly curved blade. Zack grins.
  "Now, what material do you want that blade to be made of?" he asks.
  "Something strong," I mutter. He rolls his eyes.
  "What specific material?" he groans.
  "Diamond," I reply. One of the strongest minerals.
  "Think of the word 'diamond' and perform the process that Molly did," he orders. I hold the blade out in front of me ever so carefully with both hands. He slips something into my tight clutch with some gentle coaxing for my hands; he makes gestures for me to loosen my grip, so I do. Soon, I feel a clammy, cold feeling come over me. Is this why Molly had been shaking? I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to block out the nauseating feeling. But the whole time, I chant 'diamond' in my head.
Just a moment later, I'm practically panting because of the heat coming over me. I open my eyes and look down at the sword. Just like Molly's bow, it has changed from its dull brown color. But, unlike her weapon, mine shimmers with a crystallized blue color. A diamond sword. I try to grip the handle, and it fits my hand perfectly. If I look closely at the blade, I see a paw print scratched into the crystal. The paw print of the first wolf-human.

A thought enters my mind, making me feel suddenly sick with worry. My sister is a descendent, as well as my mother. Are they in danger?
I tell Thunder to stay here and pull Zack aside. "My m-" I begin, but then I stop myself. I will not tell this stranger that the people I love are in potential danger. What if they go after them? "People I know have the same abilities that I do," I whisper to Zack. A smile creeps onto his face.
  "You mean, your mother and sister?" he asks. I tense up. "Don't worry," he says. "We aren't going to get them. You were just vulnerable and we only wanted you, anyways." I let out a breath of air that I had been subconsciously holding in.

  "You're lucky to have a family and friends," he sighs. "My 'family' included the trainers of this camp." He rolls his eyes. "They're so harsh sometimes."
I wonder if I should try to make him feel better by telling Molly about her dad. No. That's her choice.
I just nod.

We rejoin Molly and Gavin. They are shooting each other death glares. I'm guessing Gavin made some smart remark about wolves. The thought makes me want to make a comment about full-blooded human males, but I hold my tongue. After all, I don't want this trip to end with violence.

  The sudden sound of footsteps makes me instinctively turn around. A woman with golden hair growing number almost past her waist is frantically making her way over. I try not to laugh at her bugged-out eyes; let's see how these people like stress.
  When she arrives, panting heavily, a worried expression comes over Gavin's face.
  "What's wrong, Penny?" Zack asks, his arms crossed over his chest.
  After a moment of heavy breathing, she speaks in a hoarse voice.
  "I can't find Hillary or Phantom anywhere."
  The names are not extraordinary to me, but when Zack's eyes go as wide as saucers and his jaw drops, fear evidentially taking over him, I know I may have something to worry about.
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A/N: Hey guys! It's been a really long time since I've updated- like, a week now. I know I have an audience that consists of about two people right now, but sorry for the delay. Major writer's block.
  I've previously mentioned that I created the cover of this book. That WAS true, but now I've changed it. This picture does not belong to me; I got it from Google Images. I do not take credit for the wolf cover. I will probably be changing it again soon.
  Thanks for reading!
  ~Mabel