The Fragility of Fate ✔️

35 | Tempest

Miesha

Turning to me almost immediately, it was more of a challenge than a question. "You're not going to listen to him are you?"

I didn't tear my eyes from the grained pattern in the timber door. "Yes, actually- I am."

I could see from my peripheral that Adrienne was perplexed, her eyebrow cocked in confusion, "So, you're going to stay here?"

I ignored her question, musing momentarily on the time that had transpired, "Do you remember when I first came to Cross Rivers?"

Of course she did. She saw me at my worst and was there to help me through it. But it wasn't just her, it was the whole pack.

"I remember how you all protected me despite knowing the risk it brought to your pack. And how patient you all were, giving me the time and space to heal and grow. James especially taking the time to show me how strong I could be."

I paused before continuing. Taking my shoes off one by one, Adrienne watched in anticipation as I placed them delicately beside her front door.

"And most of all I remember Gabriel. How he pushed me to see who I could become- showing me what I was capable of. So, when you ask if I will listen to him, the answer is yes. I will listen to everything he told me I could be- and I will prove him right."

Adrienne nodded in approval as she lent on the doorway, glowing in an aura of maternal pride. "I expect nothing less from my Luna."

I playfully rolled my eyes at her comment. "You know I don't care for terms like that Adrienne. I am not your Luna, I am your family. And families protect one another, so that's what I'm going to do."

~

Under the cloak of darkness, my wolf slipped into the sapphire-misted mountains. Unlike times before where she was rugged and wild, her steps were mellow and controlled. Lithe and light in her tread, she took her time as she disappeared into the evergreen.

Although this wasn't the home she was raised in, Cross Rivers had become a part of her, and it was something we both felt we had to protect.

Raising her head back to the treetops, she nudged her muzzle against the overhung leaves. Droplets of water scattered across her face like a sparkling shower, almost as if it were a precursor to the deluge that was soon to follow.

Picking up her pace she made her way through the forest before stopping along the ridge where the river churned, right at the edge of the territory.

Scanning the scenery from her viewpoint, the signs of trespass made it clear that Jacob's arrival had already occurred. The familiar, retched scent of him stained the air, dull but present- he had been through here.

Turning her head from the stagnant smell, she recoiled in disgust.

It was funny. Where once the memories would be flooding back, I retained my composure within her. I could still see him, but there was no more pain attached to the memory.

I broke the silence between us as we watched the clouds burst from above.

"I will not hold you back. He is yours to take."

Pulled from her quiet contemplation, there was an insistence in her voice that I hadn't felt before, her confidence exuding as if there was never any doubt, "He is ours to take- together."

"Then go."

Snarling in impatience, she turned from the cavern below, her haunches springing deep into the woodlands. Faster and faster, her pace matched the sheets of rain that lashed against her dampened fur.