Oracle of Wolves

XXXIII

Tyler's POV

A feeling coursed through my veins. A feeling of absolute fear and horror, like I knew something awful was going to happen but I didn't know what.

Shaking off said feeling, I sat up on the couch and stretched my arms in the air, popping my back. I looked up to see Faye standing on the stairs with one of the remaining healthy children clinging to her shirt. I think her name is Zoey.

"Did you sleep well, hybrid?"

"Fine, thanks."

"I'd ask if you want to join us for breakfast but it will be only Zoey and me and we won't be having ours until we've fed all the other children theirs."

"Only you and Zoey? Did more of the kids get sick?"

"Last night the last boy, Liam, took ill. It's been a long time coming though, he's been helping more than the other children ever were. He has such a big heart..."

I watched as the ginger witch trailed off and the nostalgia set in. She has no family other than there children, I remembered Nova telling me once, her entire family left her to die and her kind turned against us. She loves those children so much.

"I'll get the breakfast ready. Zoey, please stay here and entertain our guest for me."

The little girl just stared at Freya as she left the room and went to the kitchen. She was pretty enough with light blond hair tied in a ponytail, a beauty mark under her left eye. Her eyes were remarkable though, one was blue and the other hazel. I've heard about people with eyes like that, a genetic mutation that is incredibly rare.

"Hello, Zoey. I'm Tyler."

"Faye says that you're dangerous."

I let out a silent chuckle at that," I can be. So can you."

"You don't look dangerous," she said after studying me for a long moment.

"Neither do you," she smirked. After a pause I leaned forward and said to her," I like your eyes. They're very defining. Mine can be different colors too, would you like to see?"

She nodded her head. I closed my eyes and focused. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Open.

Zoey gasped and took a step closer to look at the yellow- gold that invaded my blue eyes. A smile came across my face as she whispered "wow" and her duo colored eyes widened.

"How do you do that?"

"A side effect to being 'dangerous'. They change depending on my mood."

"Like a mood ring?"

"Yeah, like my own built in mood ring," in my head I added That I couldn't get a rid of it I wanted to.

"What are you doing," Faye said as she came into the room, hands in a towel as she dried them. She ran over to Zoey and pulled her away from me.

"He was just showing me his eyes, they change, Faye!"

"That's because he's a hybrid, dear," Faye glowered at me," A filthy hybrid."

My eyes returned to normal, I made them. If I lost my temper in a house full of sick kids, who knows what will happen. It would be like a bull in the china shop.

"I'll leave, I'm not here to cause any trouble."

"Good."

I went towards the door to leave, my wolf already excited at the prospect of seeing Nova's once more.

"Faye," I turned around in the doorway and she looked up from Zoey to me," I'm sorry if I over stepped. I wasn't trying to do anything wrong."

She gave me a slight nod but her face remained stone hard. I left the house and went into the chilly, winter air.

I looked up and realized the sun was barely in the sky, pinks and oranges surrounded the bright bulb still.

Nova isn't awake yet, she sleeps until 8 or 9 most days.

Then what will we do for another hour?

How about a run?

Works for me. Maybe we could even find some lunch while we're out.

I grimaced at the thought. Since finding Nova, I've been trying to stay away from the hard stuff but animal blood isn't exactly what I'd call appetizing. My vampire half requires certain foods though.

Walking behind a tree, I tied my clothes on a branch and changed into my wolf form before taking off into the forest.

Through out the months, I've come to enjoy the Jade Forest. It's calming and quiet. The forest, true to the name, is bright green and thick with tall trees and bushes and different plants.

When I got far enough in I realized that I didn't know how to get back out. Everything was so tall and dense that I couldn't see around it. Changing back, I climbed up the tallest tree I could find and tried to see the closest way out.

The air was chilly up there and it didn't help that I wasn't wearing any clothes as a result of my change. I could see for miles on end from up there though and wouldn't trade the sights for anything. I saw an easy way out just a few hundred yards east and jumped down from the tree to change back again and get started in that direction.

A wolf was in my path, she tackled me into the melting snow. I tried to roll away from her but she bit down into my neck, not enough to kill me but enough to keep me down.

Then my brain seemed to shut down and everything went dark. The last thing I remember is my wolf howling inside me and sending out a distress call to Nova.