“We don’t have long.” My mom’s words barely carried over his sobs. “Carl once told me he started having visions when he was sixteen and by eighteen, his grandmother was gone.” She bit her lip. “The earlier the visions start, the more powerful the Shaman, the faster they master their powers…”
I felt my mouth drop open. Carly was four or five. Her small body was still flopping around, stuck behind the veil of her vision. “The faster the last Shaman dies.” I finished, and she nodded.
The silence settled around us as Carl mourned over his daughter. “But we aren’t for sure…” I waited, hoping someone would say something, anything. But my mom and Carl stayed quiet.
“Amy.” My mom started.
“Can we delay her learning somehow?” I tried to think of any other solution that didn’t leave a little girl without her father.
“No.” Carl’s voice was soft. “If I even try, then the universe kicks in and we have a Shaman that doesn’t know their full potential.” He finally looked up from his daughter. “Ainsley…I hate to ask this of you.”
“You don’t have to ask.” She leaned down and kissed his cheek.
“I need to know how long…” I pushed.
“Why?” Carl looked at me.
“Because.” I walked away and came back. My skin was itching to tell them to leave now. Something was screaming at me to tell them to pack up their shit and hide.
“What do you feel?” Carl’s voice was deep, thoughtful, and terrifying.
“What?” My mom looked at Carl, but he wouldn’t move his eyes from me.
“You need to hide. You need to leave. Nothing good comes from you being here. It just leaves her in danger.” My voice was deeper. I felt the world shift, and my eyes did too. Only this time, it wasn’t the eyes of my wolf. I went from seeing the world around me to nothing.
“What’s happening?” My mother gasped. “How is this even possible?”
“I don’t know.” Carl’s voice was a whisper.
“Darkness surrounds this pack. If the Three Spirited one takes too long to figure it out, or the Shaman falls into the hands of the tainted Alphas, the world as we know it will be lost. Darkness and evil will seep into the world and corrupt everything bright.” I felt my body turn and looked down at the little wolf. “You need to hide her.”
I heard an intake of breath and my mother’s hands came up to cup my face. “The Three Spirited one?” I felt her lean in. “Who is the Three Spirited one?”
I felt my head tilt. “You know who the Three Spirited one is. Luna, you need to find out the truth of your past, before you ruin your future.” She shuddered, but pulled me into her arms.
“Carl?” My mother’s voice trembled, and I wanted to reassure her, but I wasn’t myself.
“I know it’s terrifying. But just like me, Amy will come out of it.”
“What is it? She has done nothing like this before.”
“What changed lately?”
“Nothing.” My mother started, but then stopped. “The beginning of the summer, she woke up and was just different.” I heard her shift. “She said she needed to hide her scent, and I called my ex. I knew that his family had power. It wasn’t really hidden in the pack. And he could help her. She came back with an unfamiliar scent, but that’s it.”
“Wolves can’t change their scent, not alone, and not for long.” Carl’s voice was strong but quiet. “The only way for Amy to have changed her scent would be if the Goddess herself granted her the power of her father.”
“What does that even mean?”
“There are some wolves that come from a family that have human ancestors, ones that have powers.”
“Yeah, Gavin’s grandmother had power. Well, he said she did.”
“Any descendants of hers will have to go through an awakening. Just like a Shaman. If their powers are awakened and they are able to balance them with their wolves, then they can shift and use their Goddess given power.”
“Three Spirited…” I heard her intake of breath. “Goddess no.”
Carl was quiet for a minute. “Have you told her?”
