Chapter 20
Death was a lot easier than I'd imagined. It was like falling asleep after you've been awake for three straight days; you kind of just gladly succumb to it. It wasn't painful and cold and dark, as a matter of fact it was quite the opposite. Everything was a bright color, no darkness around for as far as the eye could see. I was in a meadow, the grass and flowers tall, above my ankles, and all light green and pink and purple and yellow and orange. It was like the brighter counterpart to the Fields of Asphodel.
Looking down at myself, I found that I was redressed in an old fashioned gold and white dress, one that might've been worn in the early 15th century.
Spinning in a circle, I had to squint as a bright ball of white appeared straight ahead of me, probably a mere fifty or so yards away. Call it curiosity or stupidity, but I went forward to the spinning sphere of white and silver that seemed to burn my eyes whenever I looked at it. I was now right in front of it, this curious sight before me, and something inside of me told me to reach out and so I did.
My hand connected with the substance, not gas, solid nor liquid, and a spark flew, followed by another and another.
Withdrawing my hand, I watched in astonishment as the orb grew, taller than the tallest trees of the woods that surrounded the meadow, so bright and blinding I could barely make it out, and then it shrunk. It ended up at just a few inches taller than me, I realized it was not an it, but a young woman, no older than mid-twenties.
She was beautiful, with white hair that flowed down to her hips in perfect waves, eyes the color of the silvery full moon. She wore a loose, all white gown that was only just paler than her skin and with a jolt, I recognized her.
"Selene," I whispered, more to myself for verification.
The woman smiled her pale lips and nodded, "Yes, my child, I am Selene, but most just know me as the Moon Goddess." Immediately, I bowed my head to her. My eyes snapped back open when her fingers hooked under my chin, raising my head back up, "There is no need for that, I've summoned you only to talk."
"About what?" I question, surprised by the steadiness of my voice, given the circumstances.
She sat down on a bench that I hadn't even realized was there. It was stone, grey and simple, like one from the Greek times, which didn't surprise me considering she was a greek goddess.
"Whatever you'd like to talk about; life, death, the past, the future, dreams-- anything," The air around her was calm and collected and I wondered how she did it. But then a voice in the back of my mind reminded me that she was thousands of years old and of course she would learn how to master her feelings within that amount of time. She continued, "But I must tell you, I can answer only three questions of yours. No more, but I could answer less. Perhaps we could meet again, and you would have new, more important questions for me."
Hesitantly, I asked her my first question, "I had a dream, there was death and blood and shortly after there was a war. Can you explain that?"
Selene smiled, "You are wise; you know what to ask. I can tell you this, my child, this premonition you had, it did not predict the war between your two packs. In fact, to this moment, the death count remains at zero. You were predicting an upcoming battle, between your true pack and the monsters that roam free."
The monsters that roam free? What was she saying? I sat there in silence for several moments, pondering the possible meanings until, finally, it clicked, "You mean rogues?"
"It is for you to decide," She responded, "But if you are wrong, I will correct you."
Considering she didn't correct me, I took it as I was right.
"Am I really dead?" I blurt, not thinking about my three question limit.
The Moon Goddess chuckled, "I suppose that's up to you to decide. And do not worry, I will not count that as one of your three questions, because I did not give you an answer."
"Selene," I whispered, "I don't know what to do anymore. What should I do?"
This time, I was fully aware that I was asking her my second question.
"You need to listen. Listen to your heart and your mind, do what you think you need to do," She responds.
"But I can't hear anything!" I exclaim, jumping up and throwing my arms out in exasperation.
She, too, stands and remains calm, staring me right in the eye, "All you have to do is concentrate. Find something, like a tether, and use it to listen. Connect yourself to something, maybe even someone."
That's when I heard it.
It was faint, like I was just remembering him say it, but it was still definitely there. It was Hayden's voice and two simple words; come back.
"You have one question left," She tells me, but I'm sure she knows that I will save this question.
I shook my head, "Tell me what to do. Please, you're all knowing, I trust you."
She smiled sadly, "I'm afraid that I am not allowed to affect whichever choice you make. There are two paths that you must choose between; the left and the right. I recommend that you choose wisely, because right now, my child, you only have one chance left."
I followed her hand gesture to look at the woods, where two paths formed a fork in the road. The one on the left continued through the forest, a miniature sun lighting up the path at the entrance. This path was predictable, what most nearly dead people would choose I suppose.
To the right was a pitch black path, not a clue of what was behind the darkness, only the mystery of the unknown.
I stopped in front of the left path, in front of the happy, bright path. Surely the beauty meant that it would be the right path.
But instead, I took a last second turn and walked straight into the black path without a second thought.
It was cold and I couldn't feel my legs, couldn't see anything and couldn't even tell if I was standing, sitting or crumpled on the ground in some heap of body parts. But cracks of light were beginning to pour in and with a final flutter, my eyes opened and stared up into his intense, worried yet relieved blue orbs.
~
A/N: so so so so so sorry that it's taken me so long to update but I hope you liked this chapter and we'll see what's going on with Arleigh ;) also, did you get that foreshadowing about the rogues? could that mean a sequel???
SPOILER: A reunion and a meeting is requested.
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Behind Enemy Lines
Werewolf"I don't trust you," I told him, refusing to go. He smirked, "You shouldn't." Arleigh Blackburn has always dreamed of the day she would meet her mate. She imagined he would be her knight in shining armor, smiling down at her with love in his ey...
