The Veil
SHADE
My eyes fluttered open. I was awake, but something felt off. I could feel something solid beneath my feet, but my body felt light and airy, like I was floating.
I glanced around. I was in a forest, but it wasn’t any forest I knew.
Unfamiliar trees with low, heavy branches surrounded me, their leaves cascading toward the ground like a waterfall. Thick, stringy moss wove its way along their branches like spider webs, and bushes with huge, palm-frond leaves and colorful flowers as large as my head lined the clearing I stood in.
Where am I? How did I get here? I can’t seem to remember anything. Maybe this is a dream.
I turned toward the small pond in the middle of the space, its crystal-clear surface as smooth as glass. The very air around it glowed with an eerie haze as I took several steps forward. I blinked against the light, trying to adjust, but it only grew brighter, making it more difficult to see.
It seemed to pulse, becoming even more luminous as I watched in awe. Then suddenly, there was a flash so radiant and intense that I shielded my face with my hands. Heat scorched along my skin, so hot it felt as though I had embraced the sun.
It was over as quickly as it began, leaving me surprised but no worse for wear.
As I peeked through my fingers, I saw twinkling lights dancing around me like snow. I stared, mesmerized, slowly reaching out to touch one to see if it would burn. But the light simply faded away, seemingly more affected by my energy than I was by its.
“I’m afraid you don’t possess enough magic to contain an ember of time within your grasp, my little one,” said a familiar female voice.
My breath caught, my heart hammering in my ears as I turned to face the speaker. Tears spilled down my cheeks as I caught sight of her.
“Mom?”
The angelic woman floated just above the small pond in the center of the clearing, the hem of her flowing white gown dusting along the water and creating tiny golden ripples on its surface. Her long, wavy blonde hair floated around her like a halo, gently swaying in some magical breeze.
I fought hard to remain standing as my knees began to wobble.It’s her. It’s really my mom. But if she’s here, does that mean… No, I can’t be. Not yet.
“Hello, Shade,” she said, a warm smile on her face as she gazed fondly at me. “It’s good to see you again, honey. Now, I know there’s a lot going on in that overactive mind of yours, but I promise I’ll explain as much as I can.”
“Am I…d-dead?” I stammered with a gulp.
“No, sweetheart. You aren’t dead,” she assured me with a chuckle. “We’re currently sitting within the veil between your world and the next. Everything you see is a physical projection of the eternal forest of the Moon Goddess, where all souls reside until their reincarnation.”
“Reincarnation?” I questioned, wiping my eyes. “Does that mean you can come back?”
“Eventually, I will be born again,” she explained. “I’ve been waiting for your father’s soul to join me as we are two halves of the same spirit, but now we must also receive the Goddess’s forgiveness. She is most displeased with the way your father handled the gift she left in our care.”
“Gift?”
“You, sweetheart. She gave us you,” she said with a smile. “Your ability to amplify emotions is meant as a way to weed out the bad and reward the good. Caelan was designed specifically for you. A wolf pure of heart who would have the strength to love and support you through it all. The Goddess foresaw great things for you and your mate. Together you will protect and unify packs the world over.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Your gifts and Caelan’s wisdom will bless the wolves for many generations to come. Your influence will help to shape the future. Each of your descendants and their mates will leave a lasting mark.”
“If that’s true, then why did I have to suffer so much? Why would she take my mother and abandon me to such a cruel father?” I demanded, my voice breaking. “Why would she curse me if this is meant to be a gift?”
“There is no curse, sweetheart,” my mother insisted. “Those ignorant sages mistranslated the text. The Wolf Born of Sorrow is aprotectionthat the Goddess puts in place within the DNA of her most important wolves. It’s a fail-safe to guard against any threat to the pup. It protected you then just as it did tonight.”
“Tonight?” I asked, images from the battle against Dark Moon rushing back to me.
Sunny’s betrayal. Huxley holding me against him as his teeth neared my neck. Caelan as he crawled across the ground toward me, blood dripping from his wounds.
I gasped, my hands covering my mouth as fresh tears streamed down my cheeks. He’d been there when I howled. He’d been close enough to feel the effects. I could vaguely remember the warmth of his body against mine just before I lost consciousness.
Oh Goddess. Caelan.Did I kill him? Please tell me I didn’t murder my mate?!
