The savage wild

3. Selene, the goddes of the moon

Heyhey, to your right you´ll find a picture of our little wolf girl! enjoy :)

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She caressed my cheek softly, leaving a trail of soft kissing along my jaw. I whimpered full of affection as an answer, and licked the nose of my mother. She laughed and pulled away, her hand lingering on my head, scratching me behind my ears.

I pushed my hand against her side begging her to return her face to me. When she didn’t react I jumped up and tried to reach her face. She laughed and pushed me away.

“Learn how to change into human form quickly, baby,” she whispered, “I’d love to see your baby face and your little hands and lips.” I growled softly and bit down into her hand softly, letting her know that whatever she asked of me, I would do. She was my mother after all.

She chuckled at my gesture and kissed my nose again. “You look just like your aunt. She was just as pure white as you are.”

I cocked my head at her, not understanding. I had never seen myself. She chuckled again and ran her hand across my soft pelt. “No worries, Shivani honey, you’ll see for yourself soon enough,” she promised me.

I woke up slowly. I felt so weak; I even had trouble lifting my eyelids. My back was being engulfed in an inferno. My paw was numb and I couldn’t move it anymore. My head was spinning, a headache cracking my skull apart. I had never felt so utterly alone.

Shivers ran down my spine, up and down. I felt cold and at the same time as hot as fire. I whined softly, but that hurt my throat. It was as dry as sand. I looked longingly at the water just a few feet away from me, but I didn’t have the energy to crawl towards it. I had no energy for anything.

I lay my head down at my front paws, and tried to slow down the shivers. It was no use; they kept rocking my body.

I closed my eyelids. At least I didn’t die at the hands of some rogue, I thought hatefully. I tried to remember my dream. The soothing voice of my mother, her stroking fingers. Her heartwarming laugh. If I could smile, I would’ve. Then her smile changed into one of horror and pain. Glowing eyes behind her. Cutting pain in my back. Screams. Blood. Bones. And then my mother's scent. So soothing, so fresh. But it wasn't a good scent. It had the tint of soullessness. As if she was gone from this world. And she would never come back. Not to hug me or laugh with me. To sooth me and play with me. Gone was such a foreign word for me.

I don’t know how much time passed, but when I lifted my eyelids for the second time, it was almost midday. I felt drowsy and numb. The blazing pain I had felt just a few moments ago was completely gone. I felt full of peace. A part of me wondered if the drowsiness wasn’t dangerous, but I ignored the thought completely. It was better than the pain. I searched my head for my wolf and found her far away back in my mind. She was whimpering softly. I reached for her and she touched my nose with hers. “What’s the matter?” I asked her. She whined and bit into my hand, softly. “We are dying,”  she stated. I nodded. “Yes we are. Do you have any regrets?” Her wolfish eyes glowed for a moment. “Revenge,”  She hissed.  “They broke the Law of the Wild.”  I nodded again. The law stated that no one is allowed to kill for pleasure. Only the law of man permitted such a thing. But the rogues being more wolf than man fell under the Law of the Wild. Even if they knew it or not, they had broken it and there were consequences. Those consequence might even be more dire than the human law would´ve been. After all, the wild was savage in its fairness.

“But there is little we can do about it now, is there?” I said softly and ran my hand along her pelt. She licked my hand, but watched me intensely. “There is,” she whispered, “call HER”. “Her?” I asked, confused.

“Yes.. the goddess of the Moon, Selene. Our goddess. The one who granted us our powers back in the old days.”

Selene…

We were sitting around the fire of the hearth, the three of us cozily together. That day I had changed into human for the first time and my parents wanted to celebrate. They made this big banquet, lighted all those candles and then invited all of our relatives. Which were a lot of people. After they all had left, we sat down here.

“Tell her a story,” my mother whispered. I couldn’t talk yet. I was too young. I would start talking when I was around 4 months. Already early for a human child, but a wolf had to learn from child onwards how to survive, and it was just one of those survival techniques.

“Okay,” my father murmured, “I’ll tell her the story of our creation then..

Once, there was the mighty goddess of the moon, named Selene. Her jet black her encircled her lovely face, skin white as snow and beauty unknown to any human. Many a god sought her attention and begged for her love, but she was cold to all of them. ‘Why do you reject us, oh bright Selene?’ they asked her, brokenhearted. ‘Because I do not find the love in your hearts that connects with mine,’ she answered sadly and turned to leave.

She shone her light on the earth beneath her, and felt jealousy for all those humans who found love and were so frivolous with such a precious gift. She wept and her tears were fallen stars across the dark, empty night.

Underneath that dark and empty night stood Endymion, a handsome shepherd, gazing at the moon and seeing her tears. ‘Do not cry,’ he wished upon them and Selene heard. She gazed into his eyes, with millions of miles between them, and felt the love in her heart connect to his. ‘What is your name?’ she asked softly. ‘Endymion,’ he answered.

She came down from above and landed before him, her eyes seeking his, her heart touching his. ‘Do you love me?’ she whispered. He held her steady gaze and answered, ‘I loved you from the moment you shone your beautiful light on me in the dark, empty night.’

With that, their love was sealed, and their love touched even those without much feeling.

But Pan, one of the suitors of Selene, was torn by jealousy, angry at the many rejections and seething at the human who dared to succeed where he had failed.

He watched the pair cunningly and his mind worked on a plan so vile, it would have been congratulated by Hades himself. 

He brought a sheepskin from the local town and wrapped himself in it. With it on, he proceeded to seduce Selene, who was unaware of his identity. She consented in letting her ride on his back, after which he ravished her.

Selene, the next morning, was found by Endymion whose anger knew no boundaries. They broke apart, their love connection broken with the act of betrayal. Selene was left behind with such anger in her heart that she let her moonlight dwindle for one whole night.

When the night was over she looked for the sheep who had seduced her, but knew not who. She searched for many days before she came to the conclusion that he was gone. This angered her even more and she decided to give the sheep an enemy so smart and so beastly, that they would have no chance of escape. So who was smarter than the human and who was more beastly than the northern wolf? Thus, with the full moon blazing, she created us: the Werewolves.”

“Her?” I whispered. My wolf nodded. “She is our best chance..”  I shivered. To call upon a god for survival was never without consequences. The gods were even more selfish than humans. More greedy for entertainment and power. The stories my parents told me had said as much.

But no matter how much fear I had for the gods, the loom of death was always more frightening, and so I searched deep inside of me for the part that was connected to the moon; to my goddess.

I found it buried, half gone. But there. So I used it, pulled on it, screeched at it. And then I was pulled. Pulled under a wave of blackness that I couldn’t fight and couldn’t resist.