The wolf within her

Born beneath a veiled star, the masked one will wake the dormant storm.

Three carved from truth and terror;

One forgotten, one forsaken, one foreshadowed.

When the bloodline awakes, kings will fall,

And the lost shall rise,

To deliver or doom.

IVY

"Don't you ever say that again.", something shattered downstairs.

I jolted awake, heart slamming against my ribs. For a split second, I thought I'd dreamed it.

My parents didn't argue.

Ever.

I lay still, listening. The house held its breath.

Then my mother spoke again, her voice lower this time. "She's not ready."

"She has to be," my father snapped.

I didn't understand the words, but they sank into me anyway, heavy and cold. I swung my legs out of bed before I could talk myself out of it.

The hallway was dim, the early morning light barely slipping through the windows. I had just reached the top of the stairs when a sound ripped through the house.

"Ivy."

My mother was there instantly, faster than I'd ever seen her move. Her hands settled around my shoulders, warm and comforting, turning me back toward my room before I could even look down the stairs.

"What's the matter?" I asked. They looked tense.

"Everything's fine," she said, smiling too broadly. "Go back upstairs."

Behind her, my father stood at the foot of the stairs, his broad shoulders blocking my entire view of the living room. He wouldn't meet my eyes.

"What was that?" I asked.

"Nothing, my dear," he said. His voice was calm, but his jaw was set the way it only ever was when something drastic was happening.

My mother smoothed a hand over my hair. "We're leaving earlier than planned," she said gently.

They didn't say where they were going. They never did. They didn't have to.

Today was the first red moon in the last six months, and wolves never took superstitions lightly. Mum and Dad would be out leading the others through the Ceremony of Lights, and as their tradition demanded they were to be away the entire weekend. Everyone was.

Well, except me.

I tried not to let the emptiness seep in again. I should be used to it by now, but it never gets better.

I nodded my head stiffly, and my mum gave me a sad smile.

"Stay safe, Ivy. Have fun on your trip, we'll call you," Dad said.

I watched them leave through the front door and go out into the street.

Turning my back to the door, I knew that once I checked again, they would have vanished.

I took my time going up the stairs to my room. The moonlight shone with an intensity I'd never experienced before, giving the mundane objects here an odd tint. The room stood still as if it could tell I was observing it slowly and it was all I could do not to run downstairs, though I knew it was in vain.

They were already gone.

My phone buzzed on the nightstand. Talia.

"Ivy, you up?" I heard her ask.

"Unfortunately."

She chuckled slightly; she was used to me now. Several years of friendship and I never understood why she stuck with me. Born into wealth and power, Talia's lineage ruled in every single US state. Her father and mother were heads of state in Washington DC, her cousins owned massive companies in California, and her grandfather was the alpha of the Chicago wolf pack. Even in person, Talia had an air of dignity. She was never bothered about anything-everything was under her feet.

The bus leaves at 6. You'd better be there, I'm not sitting next to Townsend. He's been drinking since earlier today," she complained.

It's not like anyone else was going to sit next to me. I was quiet, and besides Talia and a few of my mother's friends, no one really spoke to me. My father loved me, and my mother pampered me, but I was always overlooked by everyone else in my father's pack. They respected me because of his position and would never dare to even breathe the wrong way next to me. But I felt the prejudice in the words that weren't spoken, in the pitied looks they sent my way. I grew up that way, in a bubble of self-consciousness and shyness. No one ever really knew me, some days I wasn't sure if even I did.

"Yeah yeah, I'll get ready now. I wouldn't want you to inhale vodka the entire ride to Los Angeles," I told her. "I would actually kill you if that happened. I'll send you a text when I'm at your house to pick you up." she said.

Such an angel.

"Thanks, Talia. Love you" I said. "You would be crazy not to," she responded.

I rolled my eyes.

I stood up from my bed and walked to the bathroom. Reaching for the light switch - I froze.

I could see. Perfectly.

I was probably just overthinking it. Talia would be here in a few hours and I didn't want to die for letting her sit next to Townsend.

My bathroom looked like any random one. Flowery tiles decorated the walls and pink towels and toiletries lined the edge of the bathtub. A large sink held my brush and skincare products, and a floor to ceiling mirror was stationed on the far right. Cracks ran down the corners of the wall, and pots of aloe vera hung on my windowsill to ward off 'evil spirits.

Did I mention that wolves were superstitious?

The only thing that was out of the ordinary was a golden charm that hung at the center of my door. Many like this one were placed in specific spots around my house. At the entrance of the house, on the dining table, in my parents' room, my mother even wore one on her finger whenever she was around me.

She placed this one on my bathroom door when I was about three years old. I remember my mother crashing out when I had climbed a stool to check it out, removing it in the process. To this day, I've never understood what that was all about, it wasn't that anything particularly bad had happened. In fact, right at that moment, I remember feeling significantly stronger, it felt like my world had turned right side up after being at an angle all this while. But my mum looked so frightened that I never asked about it.

I showered quickly, already dreading agreeing to go on this tour to Los Angeles with Talia, but I knew the main reason I did was so that I wouldn't be alone again while my parents were out.. I wanted to feel like I had a life too, that I didn't feel left out from the culture of my family.

Like I wasn't an oddity.

I emerged from the bathroom and started tossing random clothes into my backpack. I packed for two days although I had a strange premonition I wouldn't stay that long.

Ignoring the strange tingling sensation that ran down my spine, I put on the pair of jeans my mom got me last summer and paired them with one of my father's flannel shirts; I wasn't getting glammed for a trip where half the students would be asleep or doing the immoral.. It was a student organised trip so no adult would be there to supervise.

Humans have too much faith in their offspring.

Well, technically I am human. Just one living amongst monsters.

Placing my fully packed luggage on the ground, I looked around my room to see if there was anything I'd forgotten.

Talia didn't like sharing.

There was a vibration in the atmosphere that made it hard to focus on any one thing, the world felt stretched, like the night was holding its breath. I patted down my shirt and was about to blow off checking the mirror when I felt compelled to look at my reflection. But there was nothing out of the ordinary, just my oversized shirt and terrible bed hair.

"This mirror is so dirty," I said moving to wipe the smudges off with my shirt. I was doing so when I realized something was amiss.

My reflection didn't move.

"What the fuck?"

IVY

It was still standing where I had been moments before. My heartbeat lurched as if it had missed a step. I waved at the mirror, and it didn't follow my movement. The first thought that came to my mind was that it resembled one of those mirrors in hotels with people watching behind them, but my mirror wasn't even attached to the wall. So unless there was a spirit lurking beneath the cracks of the glass, I was losing my mind.

I was afraid to look away so I could catch it changing, but apparently it couldn't care less whether I saw it or not because in a split second, it changed back to normal.

It was so subtle that it was as if there was never anything wrong with it. I backed away slowly, scared my reflection might jump at me. Maybe the universe was glitching, or it could be because I woke up early for the first time in years. I always tried to tell Mum that waking up before six was breaking an ancient law, and now she wasn't here for me to gloat.

"Damn it, where's my charger?"

I rummaged under the bed and on my nightstand where I usually kept it, but it wasn't there. Flipping the sheets off my bed, I darted my eyes around for the cord. There was zero chance that Talia would lend me hers- her phone was always dead- and Mum would kill me if mine died on this trip.

"Mum," I slapped my forehead.

It's probably in their room.

Picking up my luggage from the bed, I ran down the stairs to their room. I opened the door slowly, already annoyed that I had to come in here at all. I didn't like being in their space when they weren't home. It felt like I was invading their privacy, even though they'd told me countless times before that it wasn't like that.

The room always felt wrong to me. Ironically, it wasn't because anything in particular was off about it, but because it was too perfect. Everything seemed placed with intention. Even the things that were casually set had a reason for being there. The bed was made, the curtains drawn just enough to let a pale glow seep in. The air smelled faintly of cedar, and golden accents adorned the room-not surprising, seeing as my parents were wolves. They took the technicality of the ancient laws too seriously. Silver was deadly to them, so they believed that putting gold everywhere would be their salvation.

I crossed over to their nightstand, hoping that the charger would be where it usually was when Mum "borrowed" it from my room.

I really needed to buy that woman a new charger.

I sighed in relief when I found it there, plugged into her power bank. Not that she ever really used it. I wasn't even sure if she knew what it did.

As I made to unplug the charger from its socket, my eyes drifted around the room, landing on a section of the wall where my parents displayed their most prized possessions from their wolf pack. In the corner was a mural depicting the fall of other supernatural beings against the wolves in an old battle.

At the bottom of the mural was an ancient inscription in a language that I had never really understood, even as a kid. The symbols had never made sense to me. Not letters. Not numbers. Just shapes. Lines that curved too deliberately to be random.

I straightened, squinting at it.

For some reason, today, it didn't look like shapes.

It looked like words.

Basking under the night's shine, the words rearranged themselves in my head without actually moving, almost as if the code were unlocking itself.

It read:

"Beware.

Should shadows falter and silence reign, the tides shall turn and-"

Just as suddenly as it had formed, the shapes blurred.

They went back to being nothing, leaving me staring at the wall, blinking and unsure if I had seen anything at all.

I stood stunned, wondering if I was hallucinating or if this was another side effect of waking up early.

Halfway between awe and confusion, my stomach growled in protest.

"Fantastic," I held my abdomen.

Nothing like terrifying dreams and cryptic prophecies to remind me that I hadn't eaten since dinner.

My phone buzzed with Talia's text and I knew she was rounding the corner to my house.

I snagged the charger from the wall and ran through the door to get to the living room.

I did not notice, as I closed the door, that my reflection in the window glass lingered half a second longer than it should have.

I skidded to a halt as I reached the living room. Shoving a piece of chocolate in my mouth, I scooped my remaining stuff from the table while I chewed.

Headphones, plastic cups, and perfumes; I picked them up from the dining table and stuffed them into my handbag. I was about to dash out the door, when that compelling force came again pushing me to look downwards.

It was then that I noticed the golden platter my Mum typically kept on the table; it gleamed under the silver-blue light, its rays giving the plate an unearthly glow.

Instantly, I started seeing the plate more clearly. It's not like I wasn't seeing it before.

I was.

But now I was seeing microscopic fissures in the metal; marks and scratches that I would have needed a magnifying glass to see clearly. I focused on my reflection in the plate and dropped it to the ground instantly. What I saw was enough to have me screaming bloody hell.

I ran up the stairs.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," I shouted. The bathroom door swung open and I approached the sink and doused my face in water. Raising my head slowly, I got a glimpse of my now wet face.

Or more specifically, my eyes.

I didn't think they were mine anymore.

My pupils were slit and they no longer had their usual green hue, but were now entirely a bronze-like shade. My legs almost gave out. I ran my hands down my face.

"This is just a phase. It'll go away soon." I repeated the mantra over and over.

Maybe I could wear a pair of sunglasses, although Talia would never let me walk next to her if I were wearing sunglasses before dawn.

Even Mum wouldn't let me, and she has made some questionable fashion choices.

A car horn sounded outside. Talia was here.

"Please, please just go away," I begged, my head down in the sink. I peeked at the mirror again and it was gone. My eyes were back to normal.

"What the f-"

Talia honked three times. She wasn't the most patient person.

I thanked the gods of wolves everywhere as I rushed downstairs to grab my bags.

"Talia, I'm coming!" I shouted from the living room. I could see her already getting out the car to tear my head off.

Snatching the keys from where they hung, I ran out the entrance door and slammed it shut. Something fell to the floor beside me, a round glowing orb had smashed. I began to look closely at it.

"Get your ass over here!" Talia shouted.

"Jeez, I'm coming." I kicked the thing under the bushes and plopped into her car seat.

"Took you long enough," she said, rolling her eyes as she turned on the ignition.

Talia drove the latest Bentley one could get in the US. She probably got it for free as well, because if she had bought it herself, she would have never driven it out in the dead of night. She was vain, not foolish.

I peeked at the rearview mirror at the top center. My eyes were normal. "I'm a lady, you know we need time." I responded. She snorted with derision and drove us off.

It wouldn't be until my return that I would learn what had fallen beside me.

The charm over my house was broken.

IVY

"Ugh, Talia. This song is ass," I groaned.

We were making our way to the bus pick-up point, the last rays of moonlight beginning to vanish. Talia was jamming to something loud and overly motivational, the kind of song that made you feel like you could win in life by getting a gym membership.

She scoffed. "I will not tolerate any slander against Imagine Dragons. They're amazing."

"Maybe," I said. "Just not at 5:30 in the morning, when I'm still deciding whether I want to be alive."

She laughed and rolled her eyes at me, but she at least changed the song. I was fairly certain the drowsy streets of New York appreciated my sacrifice.

A softer melody flowed out of the speaker. "Happy, now?" she asked, smug.

"Absolutely."

I gave her a wide, cheeky smile.

Talia glanced at me and did a double take. She squinted. "Did you...do something to them? Have they always looked like that?"

"Like what?"

"Pointy," she remarked. "Did you get them done or something?"

I resisted the urge to put my hand to my teeth to check out what she was saying. Laughing a little too loudly, I rolled my eyes.

"Pfft. No." I said. "You're seeing things. Spent too much time thinking about Townsend, by chance?"

It was a poor attempt at deflection, and I knew Talia only let it slide because she was being nice.

"Ewww," she slapped my wrist on the armrest. "That boy is disgusting."

I chuckled nervously and turned toward the window. I felt the weight of her stare until we pulled into the parking lot.

The place was already crowded when we arrived. Half-awake students clustered together in cliques and rolled their suitcases across the asphalt, everyone's voices creating an offbeat harmony in the stillness of the early morning..

Talia had parked and was getting our stuff out of the car. Well, mostly her stuff-she might as well have packed for the entire school.

I glanced toward the bus doors, registering a face I vaguely recognized before my attention drifted to Talia.

"Hey, get this for me." She handed me a purple suitcase whose weight almost pulled me to the ground.

"My God, what's in this thing?"

She pouted her lips. "It's for my LA aesthetic."

I didn't even bother inquiring what that meant.

She turned toward the bus and pointed. "I'll get us two seats. "Just wait over here with the luggage until the workmen come to take it in."

She ran ahead before I even had a chance to respond.

Better her than me. I doubt I would have been able to push and jostle for space in there.

I waited a while for the workmen to look in my direction and then waved them over to move our stuff. The sun was beginning to rise, so I fired a few texts to my parents letting them know that I was about to leave for the trip. They wouldn't see it till they returned from the ceremony and that was a few hours more at best.

Looking toward the bus, I saw that our stuff had already been placed inside, so I made my way toward it. Everyone was already inside waiting, so I expected some groaning from them for wasting their time-the last person to board always got a small ceremony: a glance, a sigh, maybe a few teasing whispers.. But as I walked down the aisle no one even noticed. They were either chatting with their friends, talking about all they would do on this trip- which I wished I hadn't overheard- or on their phones deciding which songs to play during the ride.

Unseen. Even here, among other humans who didn't themselves stand out.

I continued moving, trying to spot where Talia was, the buzz of conversation gusting past me like a breeze, laughter, jokes and elbows all moving around my body.

Spotting her wave from the back, I stepped into the row in front of her. Townsend, reeking of overconfidence and early morning vodka, strutted over to the empty seat next to Talia.

"Hello, darling," he patted the chair. "Is this seat taken?"

I've known Talia since we sat next to each other in our first class in college, and we've been inseparable ever since. But I've never understood how commanding her presence is; she is a force herself.

One look from her had Townsend backing away.

"Just trying my luck again, darling," he smirked, his hands raised in feigned innocence as he walked backward.

I plopped down on the seat just as Talia suppressed a shudder. "Why does he bother me so much?"

She took a mini perfume out of her purse and sprayed it around her , as if his presence polluted her aura.

"Well," I joked trying to make her feel better. "Maybe, he only annoys pretty girls."

She smiled sheepishly for a second, then seemed to remember that I, too, was a girl.

"Oh shit," she covered her mouth. "No, no. He would have bothered you too."

I let out a loud cackle.

"Mhmm," I mumbled and she blushed, turning to the window to watch the sunrise.

The journey started, and it was a blur of buildings and streetlights that were gradually switching off. The stars faded into the background of the blue sky as the sun came up. Some girls were trying to film the sunrise and others were fast asleep on their boyfriends' laps. I knew my parents would arrive home soon; they always stayed up the entire night during ceremonies and needed to sleep as soon as the sun rose so that could wake up and get on with their day. Mum would probably call me soon and ask for the outfit I wore-the woman would wear gold earrings to the store-she'd lose it if she knew I was wearing my dad's old shirt.

Not that she'd ever find out, though.

I stared out the window, letting the rhythm of the road take over. Somewhere past the state line, I realized we'd left New York long ago and were approaching LA. There was a restlessness in the air, in the shadow of the buildings, in the way the city stretched along the coast. Los Angeles wasn't New York. It wasn't the careful, measured chaos I was used to. New York had a pulse I could grasp- fast, unyielding, but predictable.

My parents had brought me once, years ago, when he went for a pack gathering. I was really young, too young to be trusted with anyone back home, so they always brought me along on their trips. Even then, the city felt alive, not in the way of busy people, or with the buzz of entertainment and opportunities that LA was known for. It pulsed differently, like a coiled spring ready to snap. I told myself that was just Los Angeles.

Cities each had their own personalities, didn't they?

"Hey, Collins. Pass me the aux," one guy shouted from the middle seat.

"Ooh, Ivy" Talia looked to me in earnest. "Do you think I should ask for it, too?"

I gave her a dry look. "I don't think anyone's in the mood to listen 'Radioactive' five times, Talia."

She narrowed her eyes in challenge. "Townsend," she beckoned sweetly.

He turned to face her eagerly.

"Could you please get me the aux?"

And then, quicker than a drunk person should have had a right to move, just as Collins was about to pass the aux to the kid who had asked, he snatched it and offered it to Talia..

Her smile dimmed as Townsend blew her a kiss and I could see that she was trying her best not to squirm.

"You're ridiculous." I said as Imagine dragons began to play on the speakers.

Putting on my headphones, I tried to focus on the road.

I was about to get some snacks from my bag when everyone noticed that the bus had stopped moving.

"What's going on?" Talia raised her brows.

I took off my headphones and looked out the window.

"What the fuck are those? Coyotes?" Townsend shouted.

Our bus had stopped on a dusty path beside a green field, and surrounding us, cutting off every way forward, was a pack of wolves.