The Rise of Carolyne Magna

Chapter Six

Carolyne Magna

"I don't know what to think of all of this," Carolyne confesses to Shayla, slipping the loose blouse over her head. It was a soft shade of lavender purple, with a pair of worn, mid-waisted shorts to match. She felt better being back in normal clothes. They were standing in the middle of a large bedroom that was on the third floor of the mansion, surrounded by pictures of the family and strangers.

"What do you mean?" Shayla was sitting on the large king-sized bed, casually watching the young girl.

"I don't know what to think of Lance. Of this whole... wolf-thing, you know?" Carolyne sits beside the woman, fiddling with her fingers.

"If you're gonna be the Alpha female, you need to learn to hold your head high, and speak with confidence, even if it's nonsense." Shayla tilts Carolyne's chin up, her southern drawl thick.

"Sorry." Carolyne takes a breath, looking Shayla in the eyes, calming her nerves. "I don't know what to think of Lance, because... I've never felt love before. I mean, my parents, yeah. And my aunt, of course... but everything I've known... my entire life, has been a lie. I don't really know who I am, and I don't know who Lance is, but it just feels so... natural to be with him. Like we just fit, you know? Like I was made to be beside him."

"And you were. He was made for you. He was made to love you, to comfort you, and to understand you." Shayla smiles, looking at a picture of her and a man, that was sitting on her side table. "When I first found Moreno... it felt like a dream. Everything was so surreal, like I would wake up, and go back to normal. With him, I felt like I truly belonged. Despite all of my quirks and insecurities, he adored and praised me. At first, I was afraid to accept him, and I was afraid to be tied down. I was afraid of the mating bond... but Moreno helped me understand, he helped me come to terms with everything that was goin' on, and now, I'm the happiest that I've ever been."

"How long did it take you to realize you loved him?" Carolyne looks back at Shayla. Her presence was so comforting, and motherly. A feeling that was truly foreign to Carolyne. All former hostility had evaporated.

"A few weeks, maybe. I don't know, I think I was always in love with him. I just officially accepted it after a while."

"Would it be absolutely insane for me to say that I think I might already be in love with Lance?" Carolyne looks back down at her hands. "'Cause I just feel so... complete with him around. I've always felt empty, strange. I was told it was caused by my schizophrenia. Just another symptom of that inner demon... but with Lance, all of that goes away. I don't feel crazy anymore, I don't feel alone or empty, or like everything that I am is fake. With him, it feels like nothing is a lie, not like before. And I know that I've only known him for just barely three days now, but I feel like we've known each other for centuries."

"That's because, all your life, you've been hidden from who you truly are. You were never told the true reason why you feel that way, and you had to cope with it in different ways. When a Lycan is cut off completely from their wolf, it... does things to them. I think that, because you were separated from your very powerful inner wolf, it warped your version of reality and your sanity. But now, because of Lance, your other half is filled, and that emptiness that you've always felt has suddenly been eradicated. And I think that you are very lost, and confused. You've never known your wolf, and now she's back in the co-pilot's seat, and you've found your soulmate so suddenly, and you just found out that you are the leader of the biggest pack in the world, that you genuinely don't know how to cope. This barrage of new things and new feelings would be too much for any normal person to handle, and you're trying to bear the burden by yourself. That is what Lance is for. I think that you need to just let go, and confide in him, understand? You just need to step back and relax, take a breath, and look at everything that is happening. Process it, and then file it away."