"No," I protest. "I am tired, I want to rest. I don't want to suffer again to make my mate come back."
"Don't you want to see him again?!" she yells, mad. "You can't give up!"
There she goes again... I growl as a warning, but she ignores me and gets back into position.
"Come on, Luna, again!"
I growl, but I ought to help her. Perhaps, this time...
I take a deep breath and extend my hands to prepare. She starts the circle, and we articulate each element like a limb. We need all of them. Soil, water, fire... It's hard to move them all, and incredibly tiring, but we still do, relying on each other. The circle expands, and the pain grows, but finally, I feel something happening inside. That sensation, gripping my guts, that something is pulling from the inside...
A horrible stench appears. So strong, so fast, I'm about to let go and throw up. I feel horribly sick, and that thing makes me want to vomit. Not only that, but... something appears inside the circle. Something unnatural and scary. It... looks like bones... No, I must be wrong. Yet, that thing is moving, and Luna looks... happy. She keeps holding on, but I can't. Something's wrong, and I don't like that. I let go and step back, completely hit by the pain. What was that? Human bones? What happened?!
"Why did you stop?!" she screams, crying out of the blue. "We were almost there!"
"We weren't! That was... death," I scoff, shocked. "What happened?!"
She shakes her head, furious at me.
"It's part of the process, Luna! If you hadn't stopped... Oh, Moon Goddess! I can't believe we were almost there!"
"No, I'm not doing that again. That thing is dangerous and scary. Let's not call it back."
"You're... Ugh!" she screams in frustration, but I change back, and leave her there.
I can't handle it when she's like that, it just makes me uneasy. She's going to cry and scream, get mad for one of those strange reasons humans find when they're unhappy. I won't be there for it. I walk away. I need a walk, I need to get away from that crazy woman...
I wander aimlessly in the forest, relieved to finally find some peace of mind. In the quietness of nature, I can rest my mind. Both wolf and woman, beast and witch, I can find a gentle balance here. I don't feel as uneasy, as torn by my two identities as before. I like my white human hair almost as much as my white fur. With magic, I feel the nature around me even more intensely, as if it was greeting me, so soothing.
My steps push me toward a part of the forest I recognize. It should be around here... I find it. From afar, I recognize the rock Luna acted so strange about. I must have made a detour from the house. A bit curious, I approach that thing. I wonder what word made her cry so much. What would make a witch so sad? She only ever cries about that rock or my mate. I can understand her crying over my mate being gone, but why a rock? Is that another one of the humans' strange customs? I step closer, hoping to finally get an answer to a question that was lying around my mind for quite a while now...
I shift back into a human so I can read it and understand. I stop in front of the rock. It takes me a little while to read, this time. Is it because it's carved in stone? It feels like the letters are moving, dancing and confusing my eyes. I force them to read. It's just one word, so why is it so hard to figure out…?
Liam.
...What is Liam? It's odd. Why does that name feel so familiar... Liam. I know Liam. Liam is a... It's my... my mate? No, it doesn't make sense. My mate doesn't have a human name... My mate is... No, wait, why am I so sure? My mate is Liam. Liam... Liam Black. What is this? That truth is engraved in my mind, so set in stone I can't shake it off or ignore it, not even for a second. Like a hammer pounding in my head. Liam, Liam Black is my mate. Each time I think about his name, about him a little more, my heart races. Liam, Liam, Liam... What... Who is Liam?! Why can't I remember him…? Who... Why... Why would my mate's name be there? What is that... What is that stone? What's going on…?
As if to echo the storm in my head, a headache breaks in, and I stumble back, utterly lost. I don't understand. The name on that tombstone, it... it's almost glitching, like something's wrong. No, something is definitely off about that thing. My mate... My mate is dead. Liam is... Liam is not dead. If Liam was dead, I... Oh, Moon Goddess, it hurts so much just to think about it! I can't! I can't, I can't imagine for a second that Liam is gone, no. It's impossible, I wouldn't... Oh, how could I…?
"What is it?"
I turn around. The witch is there, staring at me with that cold look in her eyes... Something's off. She's standing at a careful distance, and there's something odd about her, something different from before. My heart accelerates a bit, wary. I feel danger, restless. I look around. The forest is still the same, but my gut tells me something is off about all of this as well, all my surroundings shouldn't be trusted. What does that mean? Why did that tombstone... make me feel like this?
She steps forward, but I growl, as a warning. I don't want her near me, or near my mate. ...Wait, what am I saying? My mate is dead, so why would I think…?
"What is it, Luna?" she asks, tilting her head. "You look confused."
"Don't... call me that."
"It's your name. Luna. You chose to take my name, remember? You're Luna."
"No."
I growl, pissed for some reason. This isn't my name, this isn't... true.
Mara!
Who the hell is calling me?! This voice just keeps coming to my ears, again and again, like some distant echo I can't ignore. I feel so drawn to that male voice, to this... feeling. This thing in my heart, that feels just so warm and so good. I want to see you. I want to see my mate, find my mate. I need you...
