The Wolf Within (Book 1 of Wolf Within Series)

Visions - Part 2

** Dakota's POV **

Now I woke to a different kind of world, one where flashes of pictures were projected onto a wall of bluish smoke. As I stood looking on, various moments played out on this hazy smoke screen. I turned my attention to one in front of me and I heard my mother say, "Maybe she's just sleepwalking."

Then my father, "No Vicky. The doctors said her tests results show she doesn't do that."

The smoke lit up again as my mother continued, "Well what else could she possibly be doing Jeromy? Sneaking out of the house and rolling around in the mud?"

"No. I don't think that." My father sighed, "That doesn't explain the red stains on her shirt and the red smear on her cheek."

"Maybe she cut herself." My mother replied and gradually the volume lowered to nothing.

A brief moment of silence filled this large, cold, intimidating space. Soon the smoke lit up again, this time in a different section. Here I could see my mom's face as she screamed at me.

"Dakota enough!" My mother yelled, "This is insanity! There is no such thing as werewolves."

Then she vanished, and another flash to my left showed Kathryn, a school friend from when I was twelve.

"You can't be a werewolf." She scolded. "Werewolves don't exist. You're lying." Her arms were folded and she was in the process of shunning me when her picture vanished.

The chorus of accusations and doubts continued. Testimonies and statements from every person I held dear came forth, accompanied by images of their disapproving and disgusted faces. With each statement my heart fell, and my body physically recoiled back, near the end I was in a ball on the floor.

Until, in the grand finale, my father's face appeared, in a picture which took up almost the entire smoke wall now.

"Dakota, maybe it's time for you to put these childish lies aside. Focus on what you want to be when you grow up. You've always been great at art." My dad's voice was as patient as possible, but still held notes of frustration like he was ready to lose his temper at any moment. "You don't want to be known as a liar and that's all you'll be if you keep this up."

His was the final blow which made the tears stream down my cheeks. My strength had all but vanished, my pride was almost completely diminished, yet somehow, I had the strength to stand up and shout back at the image of him, "I AM NOT A LIAR!"

In that very same moment, the smoke which filled the room seemed to suck back into itself and form into a tight orb, no bigger than a socker ball. Then, in a flash, the smoke rushed toward me and blasted me away into that dream I had only a few nights ago. There I stood, again with the silvery white wolf that I had howled with in the field at the cabin. This time I was watching myself from outside my body while the final scene replayed. I watched as we howled in unison to the moon, and saw the wolf vanish into silvery dust and enter into the head of my corporeal body. My feelings of power and happiness returned and I watched as my body stood taller with the vigor of new life.

The world turned black again and I could now hear the sounds of the room around me: Tali's heavy breathing as she sat before me, and a gentle whistle as she fanned the smoke in my direction.

"You have seen your past." Tali stated, another gentle whistle followed. "Now inhale again and take in the new smoke. It is time to see the past of your ancestors."

Each sound of Tali's home deafened as I took in the new scent, a sweet and woody aroma with hints of lemon. The earth was situated before me, merely the size of a marble with only the stars and the moon around it. Suddenly and with great speed, the world flew at me, or rather, I flew at it, so fast that I feared I was about to burn up like a comet entering the atmosphere. Thankfully, that was not my fate, instead the earth took on many colors as I zoomed into a large forest. As it grew in focus the hue of the world settled on a happy and uplifting spring green. Finally, the zooming stopped and I was floating above a small clearing of the forest filled with huts of an indigenous tribe bustling with people, both young and old, all with perfectly sun-kissed skin. They were going about their daily life without worry or fear. Then, the pace of life quickened as if someone had pressed fast-forward on a movie.