Waxing Gibbous

Chapter 3

“You are to be on your best behavior. You hear me, Soren,” Ulrick growled, looking down at his son standing afore him. He looked irritated, yet anxious.

“Whatever, dad,” Soren snorted and crossed his arms over his middle. He was waiting for the breakfast to be served and not at all in the mood to fight with his father about his attitude. He didn’t think there was anything to talk about anyway. He wasn’t going to roll over on his back like a pup and submit to this girl just because there was a microscopic chance of her being able to strengthen the pack. She is hardly strong enough to stand on her own two feet.

“Soren, please be reasonable,” his mother said, striding into the large dining hall. “This girl is our only hope at the moment. Give her a chance before branding her as impotent. She could be of great aid to all of us.”

“We have already put our faith in her kind and see where it has gotten us. Pestilence has killed off most of our pack. Our numbers are dwindling down to nothing. And all we can do is sit here and watch. What we should do is leave this barren place and merge with another pack, a stronger pack. This island and all its inhabitants are decaying. No witch is going to stop that, especially some weak girl like her,” Soren said, talking so emphatically that he began motioning with his hands.

“I wish you would stop calling me weak. You really make me want to give this whole witch thing a good go so I can hex the ever-loving hell out of you,” Tegan said, making an entrance into the room with her pet familiar by her side. For some reason, he wasn’t wearing a shirt. Soren wasn’t even going to question that. Judging by the closeness between him and Tegan, he didn’t want to know.

His mother and father sucked in a sharp breath at her comment. The tension in the room skyrocketed as soon as she had come in here. Her short brown hair was sticking out in all different directions. The clothes that she had on were wrinkled from sleeping in them. The look on her face was sour and completely unimpressed as she gave him a hostile once over with her brown eyes.

“I’m sure that will happen,” Soren muttered sarcastically, placing his hands on his hips. Just the sight of her alone was starting to make his blood boil. There was something about Tegan that got under his skin. It annoyed Soren to say the least, but he was certain that whatever it was was instinctive.

“Soren is just cranky this morning because he hasn’t had anything to eat, yet,” his mother said, going over to her husband, whose face was turning a dark shade of red.

Tegan’s dark brow arched. “Is he perpetually hungry? Because he seems to be like this all the time.”

Soren sighed and rolled his eyes. “Whatever. I just don’t have time for this crap. I need to get out of here.”

“Well, no one is asking you to stay. Go on, wolf-boy. Leave if you don’t want to be here,” Tegan taunted indignantly, a fed-up expression crossing her features.

“Why don’t you go? You don’t belong here, you cross-bred bitch!” Soren snapped, his fists constricting at his sides.

Ulrick stood up from the head of the table and slammed his hands down on the thick wood to get everyone’s attention. The dishes set out rattled and clattered, coffee sloshing out of the mug closest to the impact. An empty glass even dared to tip over and bang against a plate. “Soren, you will sit down and behave yourself or else I will –”

“Hey,” Tegan shouted, cutting him off. “It’s fine. I can handle whatever he has to say to me. Don’t worry about it. I won’t hold anything he says against you. So please, don’t upset yourself over his gum flapping.”

Soren had to clamp his jaw shut before he let loose with something that would really set his father off. This girl thinks she can come into his house and say whatever she wants to them? She might be their healer, but she still had no right to talk to him like that. He was, after all, the beta of the pack and she was under his rule.

Storm reached out and grabbed Tegan’s shoulder. She looked over and up at him. Her familiar conveyed a cautionary look, and shook his head a fraction. She tilted her head to the side, furrowing her brows.

The exchange puzzled Soren for a moment until he thought for a little bit. Then he remembered that witches and their familiars always had a built-in way of communicating without using speech. Ah, so apparently theirs was telepathy.

“Listen, girlie,” he drawled, getting her full attention once again. “Just because you are supposedly the daughter of some super-witch, that doesn’t mean you are one.”

She squared her jaw and took a step toward him. “No, you listen. Just because you are some kind of werewolf prince or whatever does not give you the right to treat people as if they were beneath you.” She snorted like she was completely disgusted with him. “Your dad was right; you need to learn some humility.”

“You don’t even know me,” Soren spit angrily.

“I don’t need to know you that well to know you need a good kick in the –”

“Okay. Okay,” Lyn said, getting between the two. “Let’s all settle down.”

“She started it,” Soren accused with all the finesse of an eight year old.

“What, are you in the grade school or something?” she huffed.

“Tegan!” Storm said firmly. “Please, stop.”

“You’re right. I shouldn’t even waste my breath on him.”

She went over to the table and sat down the farthest she could get away from Soren. That was just fine with him. The farther apart they were from each other, the better. The pet sat down next to her after flashing a dirty look in his direction. He was in the frame of mind to go over there and cap the son of a bitch in the face.

His ire arose from the fact the entire pack is putting all their faith in this little half-breed. She had only just learned of what she was and they were expecting miracles from her. They were only going to get let down. Tegan was nothing compared to her mother. She was a greenhorn in witchcraft. Hell, she was less than that because she hasn’t even started practicing magick. She was going to fail them all. Just like all the others had.

“Tegan,” his father started. “After breakfast I would like to continue our discussion from last night. I’m sorry that I pushed you too hard, but you need to know everything.”

“S’okay,” Tegan said. “I was pretty worn yesterday. I was exhausted to begin with, travelling and all. It’s not your fault.”

Just then, a door across the room opened and people carrying large trays of food entered. The scent of bacon, eggs, and sausage filled the room. Platters of breakfast foods were laid out before them. Soren dug into the food as soon as it was all put down, piling his plate full. He shoveled eggs, meat, potatoes, and biscuits in his mouth. Once his plate was emptied, he went back for more.

In the middle of a forkful of sausage, he looked up and noticed that Tegan was staring at him, her mouth agape. She looked at him like she had just witnessed a car accident. “What?” he asked, the word muffled because he still had a mouthful he was chewing.

“Hungry much? Shove it in any faster and you might choke,” she said.

His mother laughed softly. “Soren has always had a rather large appetite and his table manners do leave something to be desired.”

Soren glanced over at her as he wiped his mouth off with a napkin. “Maybe you should eat more,” he said switching his gaze back to Tegan. “You’re pretty scrawny.”

Tegan rolled her eyes. “That’s because I don’t eat like a pig.” She took a butter knife to the stack of pancakes stacked in front of her and after slicing them, slid a small bite in her mouth. She chewed slowly, savoring the syrupy mouthful before swallowing. Storm was following his master’s lead, eating with delicacy and slowness. He shook his head then dug back into his heap of food.

There was nothing more said during the rest of the meal. When they were all done eating, the dishes were cleared away from the table. The group moved to the living room while Soren decided to skip and went to his room instead. He had no desire whatsoever to join them. Instead, he grabbed his car keys off his bureau and jogged out of the house. He would rather be anywhere than here at the moment.


~*~


The breakfast had been filling. Now that she had eaten, Tegan felt something a little more human. Yesterday, she didn’t really have much of anything to eat before coming here. Maybe that was why she had a hard time keeping upright.

Tegan sighed, ready to push forward with this meeting with Ulrick. “So let’s get this over with. What do you want to talk about?” She and Storm settled down in the couch she had been on last night.

“All right, let’s start with your father.” Ulrick said, taking a seat in a recliner. Lyn sat down in a chair opposite of his. “Did your mother tell you anything at all about him?”

“My mother never talked about him. I was beginning to think I was reproduced asexually because she uttered not a single thing about him even if I asked,” she told him.

Ulrick clasped his hands together and set them on his lap. “You’re father was the beta of the pack before he died. As you already know, you’re mother was a witch. And because of that, her blood flows through you just as much as your father’s. Since you have the spirit of the wolf and the ability to call forth the wild magick, you can control all the magick within the pack. If one of us is injured or ill, you can cure us. If one of us is lost, you can find us. You keep the supernatural power circulating within the pack and that strengthens us. We haven’t had a healer of your caliber for years and years, maybe ever. Your mother was the closest we have had in a while, but even she was not enough because she didn’t have the echo of the wolf. Without a healer, our pack has succumbed to disease and poor fertility. Many of us have died off in the last few decades, our pack declining until only a few of us remain. Our power was weakened even more since your mother deserted us, and as a result, many of us died or fled these parts, going rogue to find a new pack were the power and magickal structure was secure. We need you to help us, Tegan. We need you to help us survive and thrive,” Ulrick explained.

“If my mother knew you needed the help, why didn’t she stay?” She asked softly. “She might have been cold, but she wasn’t heartless. Something else had to have happened, because she wouldn’t leave you high and dry just to keep me safe.”

Ulrick cleared his throat before going on. “It’s about your father. He, uh…he was assassinated in the woods behind your house on the night of the new moon. Your mother thought that they would be coming after you next, so she took you and disappeared. She shrouded you away from everything in the supernatural realm because she thought it was the best way to protect you.”

“My god!” Tegan whispered, covering the bottom half of her face with her hands. After a moment of collecting herself she continued on. “Who killed him?”

“We never found out. We think it was an outside job, someone from a rival pack. The night he died it was raining, and when he was discovered the next day, all scent from the murderer had been washed away. We searched for clues that would lead us to who had committed the crime, but came up with nothing. I’m sorry,” the alpha said, his voice coated in sadness.

“Was he a good man?” she asked.

“He was. He would do anything he could to help out anyone in need. He was kind and generous. He was well loved and is still missed by those of us who knew him. He loved you and your mother more than anything,” he answered.

Tegan’s brows furrowed as she continued her interrogation. “Why would anyone want to kill him, though? And couldn’t you have gone to the police? They could have done something.”

“Humans are not openly welcomed here. That could be a reason why he was targeted; because your mother was human. There are those among us that think humans and wolves should be kept separated from one another. But we don’t believe that was it. We think it was to get to you. You are a rare creature, Tegan. A more prized asset to any wolf clan than you can imagine. That is why you must be careful now. There might be others out there trying to find you, and once they learn that you are back within this pack, they might come looking for you,” Ulrick warned.

She swallowed and leaned forward in her seat. “So my life is now in danger?”

“Not necessarily. They would try to use you to empower them,” he said.

Tegan wrapped her arms around her body, fighting off the chill of fear. “Jesus, when will this nightmare be over? Can’t I just go back to a normal life? Leave this place, and go back to the city where I can live in boring peace and harmony. Because that all sounds really good right about now.” Storm reached out and rubbed her back, lending a calming comfort.

“You will be able to take it all in with time. Trust me. It can be very difficult to try to amalgamate into this lifestyle when you grow up knowing nothing of it. I assure you, every single one of us in this pack will help you with adapting to our ways. Anything you need, just ask one of us and we will do our best to help you. You are a part of our family now,” Ulrick said, smiling gently at her.

“How did you know I was even on the island?” Tegan asked.

“We found out through Storm. He told us where you were and we helped him bring you here to us,” he said.

“What!” Tegan scooted away from Storm before standing up. Her head swam but she chose to ignore it, her anger propelling her even though her body wanted to give up. Though she had just slept a good however many hours, she still felt exhausted emotionally, mentally, and physically. “You lured me here so that they could use me?”

“It’s not like that,” Storm started to explain.

“Then what is it like?” Tegan snapped.

“Tegan, please help us.” This came from Lyn who had stood up along with her husband. “Our people are dying. Your people are dying. You are our last hope at survival.”

Tegan shook her head. “I can’t save you. I-I don’t know how. Do you even know if I can wield magick like my mother could? This could all be a fluke.”

“You will learn with my guidance. As I’ve already told you, the magick is reacting to you. It has already come to you and is waiting for you to use it,” Storm whispered, stepping up to her.

Tegan shook her head. “This is way too much pressure. I can’t possibly do what you are asking.”

“Tegan, please come with me. There is something that you should see.” Storm held out his hand for her to take.

“What do you want me to see?” Tegan asked suspiciously, eyeing his hand like it was ridden with disease.

“Trust me. I would never hurt you, nor would I ever do anything that would put you in any kind of danger. I didn’t bring you here to save them. I brought you here to save you. I have told you before; I belong to you and only you. I did what I thought was in your best interest. You do not know the dangers that could come your way now that your mother is dead and unable to protect you. You need the pack as much as they need you. They will offer you protection, shelter, and family. And in return, you shall instill into them vitality and power. You need to see the realities in which you are facing. You need to know what you mean to them and what they mean to you. Take my hand and let me show you,” Storm said gently, his hand still lifted to her.

Tegan tentatively reached out and touched her fingers to his warm palm. He closed his hand around hers. Storm tugged her closer and then began walking through the house with Ulrick and Lyn close on their heels. Storm led her past many rooms and then down a flight of stairs.

This had to be the basement area. The walls were made of stone. It seemed to be an old home but even though they were underground and the walls were stone, it wasn’t damp and moldy like a basement. It was warm and cozy, very homey.

“Where are you taking me?” Tegan asked as they reached the bottom of the flight of stairs.

“You will see,” he answered, not even turning to look at her.

He led her though a labyrinth of rooms. Then finally came to a series of doors, Storm led them into the first one. It was small with only a dresser and a small bed. Upon the bed was a little huddled figure. A shivering child of no more than six bundled in a wad of blankets.

Tegan gasped, going over to the little girl and looked down. She was pale. Dark circles were under her eyes and her breathing was labored. She reached out a hand and placed it against the side of the little girl’s head. Her skin was cold and clammy; fever was digging its claws into her.

“What is wrong with her?” Tegan asked softly, not wanting to rouse the slumbering child.

“The spirits that sustained us are diminishing along with the magick. With your connection to the spirit world, you will bind the magick back to this island and keep it flowing through us. You can save her, you just have to believe in yourself and trust the magick that you use to do it,” Ulrick said.

“These children need you, Tegan, as well as their birthed families. Our people will be wiped of existence if you refuse to help us. We are sorry that we brought you here in this manner but we are desperate. We will surely fade from this planet,” Lyn spoke up from behind her mate.

Tegan closed her eyes. She knew in her heart that after seeing this little girl that she would not be able to turn away from them. No matter how much she wanted to, it just wasn’t in her nature. They were suffering and if she could do something to ease that pain then she would.

“What do I need to do to make this right?” Tegan asked, determination blooming inside of her.

“To heal the sick, you must use magick. To keep them well you must walk among them, thrive with them. Only you can help them flourish,” Storm said, coming up next to her.

Tegan turned her head to look at her familiar. “Will you be with me through this?”

“I’m never going anywhere.” Storm stepped closer, putting his warm hands on either side of her face. His wise eyes locked onto hers and he smiled tenderly. “It’s about high time you except this.”

“We will pay you. Anything you want shall be yours, just please help us,” Lyn begged.

“No,” Tegan said softly. There was a look of horror that crossed the woman’s face and anguished that crossed Ulrick’s. Tegan was quick to explain. “No, no…I didn’t mean no, I won’t help you. I meant I want no payment for this. I just want to help you anyway that I can. This is horrible and if I can alleviate this burden then I will. But please, don’t expect much of me. I don’t know how much help I will be.”

“Just that you are willing is enough. Yeah…it’s enough,” Ulrick murmured in a voice thick with emotion. He looked down tenderly at the sick child.

Tegan followed his gaze to the slumbering little girl. She moaned and twisted in the sheets, her eyes fluttering open to take in her audience. It looked as though she had a hard time focusing those pale green orbs. With a raspy gasp, she tried to pick herself off the bed. The woman beside Ulrick went to the girl’s bedside.

“Hey, Viv.” She gave a reassure smile to the kid.

“Aunt Lyn,” the girl greeted. She yawned then turned her head in Tegan’s direction. “Who are you?”

Tegan smiled warmly, hoping that she didn’t startle the girl too much. “Uh, my name is Tegan. I’m a friend of the pack. Sort of.”

Ulrick stepped up and sat down on the girl’s bed, slinging his arm over her shoulder to help keep her in a sitting position. “Not a friend. She is a part of our pack now. She is here to help us.”

“Yeah, I’m going to do all I can to help you, hon. I promise,” Tegan said. She then turned to Storm. “I need to be excused for a little while.”

“I’ll come with you,” he offered.

“No,” Tegan held her hand up to stop him from following her. “I want to be alone at the moment.”

“But –” he started to protest.

She flashed him a warning look. “I said no, Storm. There is just took many emotions running their course through me. I need a breather away from here, away from you. So stay here,” she said with an edge of caution.

Storm looked heartbroken, but he didn’t say anything more. He just watched as she walked away from him and went back the way that they had come in.

Tegan wandered around the house for a little while. There were people – wolves? – going in and out. Most of them stopped and stared at her, or bowed and said hushed blessings. News about who she is was traveling fast, eh? Trying not to be totally freaked out, Tegan bounded outside. Just as she had thought the night before, the grounds surrounding the manse were painted in the vibrant colors of autumn. All the deciduous trees were in the throes of a brilliant death. It looked like someone took buckets of yellow, orange, red, purple, and brown paint and splashed the landscape with them.

Hopping down the steps, she decided that she would take a stroll around the yard. It was pretty quiet. The only thing that made any noise was the wind shaking leaves from their branches and the chirping of flocking birds. Tegan walked along the forest edge but stopped when she came to a path that sliced through the dense forest. Looking around, she saw no one to ask where the path led to, so she went to find out herself.

There were a few obstructing branches and tree trunks that she had to maneuver around, but the trail seemed to be well traveled. Maybe this was one of the paths that they used when they turned into wolves and went hunting. She didn’t think too much about it because, quite frankly, the idea of ripping into a bloody deer carcass was quite repulsive.

A little ways down the pathway there was a pond. It was speckled with golden leaves and there was a collection of geese paddling in the shallow depths. She walked along the shore of the rippling water, the sound of dead foliage crunching under her feet the soundtrack to her little adventure. She slowly followed the path further away from the mansion, the beaten trail curving and winding through the thick woods.

Soon, she came to another clearing guarded by a black wrought iron gate. This one was grimmer and the sorrow saturated in this place surged up like a strangling giant. It was a graveyard. Countless markers of various sizes rose up from the ground. Tegan pushed the entrance and it opened with a rusty squeak. Some of the gravestones were noticeably older. Moss and weeds grew in the cracks of the stones and the engravings were weathered away by the elements. But those were few and far between.

Tegan walked along them, reading the inscriptions chiseled into the slabs. Most of the ones that she read had died in the last few decades, which supported what Ulrick had told her.

On one of the biggest graves, she noticed that someone had visited it recently, as in the past few hours. There was a string of yellow, orange, and white daisies weaved together into a wreath. It was set on the grave like a summery banner for the dead. Tegan smiled as she squatted down and reached out to touch the sad, yet beautiful offering. She lifted it so she could read the epitaph beneath.


Delilah Blackstone

July 17, 1999 – December 02, 2009

Here lies

The joy of our hearts

The light of our souls

Rest with ease and be in peace


The snapping of twigs and rustling of a bush had Tegan up on her feet and turning around. Her heart started pounding hard, sending adrenaline flowing through her veins. Bounding out into the clearing was a doe. She raise her head slightly, her nostrils flaring as she smelled the air. She must have caught Tegan’s scent because she looked in her direction then went springing back into the woods.

The young girl breathed a deep sigh of relief that it wasn’t anything dangerous. Tegan turned back to the headstone she was reading. Out from behind the great slab of granite came a wolf. She sucked in a gulp of air. Knowing that werewolves were wandering around and connecting it with the real deal was something that did not yet catch up with Tegan. The flight or fight reflex kicked in.

The beastie stood roughly above her hip. It was white with dustings of grey, red-brown, and gold fur trailing from the tips of its ears down to the middle of its tail. The wolf took a step closer to her, growling low in its chest…

Flight won out.

She twisted on her heel and fled into the woods the same as the deer had. She could hear the trampling and the panting of the animal giving chase. Hopping over broken trees and corkscrew roots was slowing her down. Tegan knew if she looked behind her it would all be over. Pushing on, she zigzagged through the forest.

It jumped on her then, tackling her down to the sodden ground. She put her hands out in front of her so that she wouldn’t hit her face on impact. She screeched and yelled, but no one would hear her. She was possibly miles away from the house were everyone else was. She squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the finishing bite, waiting to be ripped limb to limb, waiting to become wolf chow.