Cursed and Rejected

PROLOGUE

The young child laughed as the bright colorful feather lifted into the air with the sudden chilling wind.  Amazement had been felt when it swirled between the tall forest trees. Small hands stretched out towards the sky with determination to catch the dispersing feather that remained out of grasp. Only a tip of a finger had been able to touch the sharp quill of the feather before it rose further upward. Giggles and tiny footsteps were heard with the blowing wind through the lush forest. Mystified by the swirling movements, the eager child followed the flying object to the forbidden border of their territory. The wind soon changed into stagnant air and the feather had taken a sudden dive downward.  The vibrant red, blue, and yellow feather had soon turned into an abundance of similar feathers until they formed into a beautiful scarlet macaw. The child watched in awe at the magic that had been witnessed.

A delicate hand was held out as the macaw landed gracefully upon it. The holder's cold blue eyes remained on the curious child. A grimace appeared on the woman's pale thin face, but then maniacal laughter filled the air. There may have been beauty in her younger days, but frown lines and deep angered wrinkles remained with her unpleasant character. Wickedness is not pretty.

The witch stepped closer to the young werewolf pup with a cross between a smirk and a sneer on her vicious red lips.  She was careful not to step onto wolf territory when she had taken small predatory steps closer. Crossing the enchanted border without invitation is like entering the depths of hell.

"This must be a mistake. This is no leader. This is nothing, but a weak disgusting mutt. I had sent for the future ruler of the supernaturals. I was expecting a strong fighter with magical powers greater than my own and this is what was brought to me instead?" The witch grimaced again, but listened carefully to her beloved pet macaw when he squawked his response. The witch turned back to the pup and cleared her expression to that of fake sweetness. "Will you invite me in, child?"

Young innocent eyes of the child widened with the stranger's request. "No. It is not allowed. I will get in trouble."

"It's okay. The Alpha is expecting me." The witch lied.

"Then you would not be asking for an invitation across our borders." The child said smartly.

The witch attempted a calm breath and had to bite her lip to prevent herself from cursing at the disobedient child. The witch is accustomed to getting her way and hates that a mere child would not follow her request.  She held out her cold deceptive hand and faked the warmth in her voice once again. "Then will you walk with me to the main entrance."

"I am not allowed to cross the border." The child had taken another careful step back.  "You must find it yourself."

"Let me in you little brat!" The witch yelled with her impatience and the child jumped back.

The witch scowled at her pet bird when he ruffled its feathers in displeasure and disappointment. The squawk muttered from the disgruntled macaw would have been understood as an insult towards the witch. The bird knew its master had scared the child, which resulted with the child keeping a safe distance, but fear had kept the child from running.  The witch tried reassuring the child with a friendly smile, but she looked and felt deranged with the unusual emotion. Her beloved pet was right. Her impatience had ruined her chance of grabbing the child. She quickly pondered a new plan. Her original plan had been to kill the ruler of supernatural creatures and harness his wolf as her own, but she had not known the future ruler was a first grader.

The witch lowered herself slightly to face the little monster eye to eye. "You see, it is said that a powerful werewolf, blessed by the Goddess herself, will be the one to take the position of ruler to all supernatural creatures of the world.  It is a position meant to be mine. Not yours. Well, lucky for you mutt, you do not yet have a wolf and the powers you will be blessed with will not mature until your eighteenth birthday."

The small lips of the child opened slightly with emotions of fear, disbelief, and newfound determination. The child was aware of being gifted, but had not known to be blessed by their Goddess mother. The witch is quick to squash any hopes and dreams of the mutt becoming a ruler. 

"I will return when you are in your eighteenth year and I will kill you. Mark my words. Until then, I give you the curse of hatred to carry upon your soul. Anybody that looks upon you will have a deep hatred for you.  They will become the deadly and ferocious beasts they are.  Your mate will despise you. You will be rejected. Those that love and care for you will turn on you. They will betray you and be the ones to cause your downfall and weakness. Yes, very weak. Then I will easily rip the crown of royalty from upon your precious little head. Be scared little one. I will be back for you."

The witch cackled thrillingly at the frightened face of the child. The cackle remained in the air as the witch and the macaw miraculously vanished in a plume of smoke. Sparks of light flickered in the air. The child moved away from the darkening smoke and ran out of the woods toward the pack house with a fast beating heart and small legs yearning to move faster. Relief was felt when motherly hands reached out to pick up the child, but anger had overtaken love and the child was slapped with a fierce hand.

"What have you done? You are going to get us all killed! How many times do I have to tell you not to run off on your own? Now, I see war and death in your eyes. You worthless pathetic brat." The mother dropped her crying six year old towards the ground. "Nobody was supposed to know you were here. It's in your eyes. The truth is all there in your eyes. I can't let them see your eyes."

The once loving mother smiled with satisfaction when the child began losing consciousness after being thrown against a brick wall. She kicked her poor excuse of a mutt  wondering how she could have ever loved the child she had sworn to love and protect. Never again. She grabbed a handful of soft hair and lifted the child's head toward the direction of the moon's glow.

"Let the ray's of the moon blind you from seeing your true existence." The young mother stands over the child with narrowed eyes. "No, it's not enough. Impending war cannot be undone unless I do something about it.  I know what I must do, but you must know this is all your fault. You must die or you will kill us all."

Tears slid down the swollen scratched cheeks as the child pleaded for forgiveness. The mother had become the cursed deadly beast the witch had wanted her to be.  Life was slowly dulling the once joyful and vibrant eyes of both mother and child. An invisible layer of hate spread from head to toe until it surrounded the mother's once loving heart.  The child was slammed to the ground violently in a harsh motion and soon the beauty of the world turned to darkness.