“It was the same wolf as last time. I spotted him the moment we walked in, but I couldn’t have told you because he would have heard.”
“But he was far from us, right?” Esthelle asked, finishing up the popcorn.
“Yeah, he was in the front, but wolves have tremendously powerful ears. Oh, by the way, I can hear everything you say about me, even when you’re in the living room or in the garden and I’m in the attic.”
“Whoopsie,” Esthelle laughed.
Apparently, she didn’t mind my revealing this, but Adélie’s cheeks turned red, and I smiled too. In truth they very seldom criticized me, and they’d rather talk of how concerned they were about my situation. I had a good hearing, yes, but I’d try to disregard their conversations as much as possible because I wasn’t comfortable with eavesdropping. Let’s just say that it was useful sometimes.
“Don’t worry, I still like you, even when you say horrible things about me,” I teased, winking. “But anyway, about that wolf, I don’t know what he wants from me, however, I do know that I’m in his crosshairs.”
“And what do you make of that?”
“I don’t know Esthelle. I don’t think he’s dangerous, though. When I had just been cast out, he found me and gave me some money. He didn’t do anything to me, and now he’s just lurking around and clearing off whenever I try to get closer. I don’t understand. On the one side, he seems friendly, on the other, his attitude makes him look like a psychopath.”
“Indeed, that’s weird,” Adélie granted. “Do lone wolves always behave this way?”
“I wouldn’t know, I’ve never met any of them.”
“Is it possible that he is packless too, and that he’s just looking for company from someone like him, or that he’s just curious to see how you’re gonna make it on your own?”
“That might be true, sis’.”
“I… yeah, that could be right,” I sighed.
Actually, her hypothesis was very likely to be true. But he had also showed up in my former territory, and then he had followed all the way here. One way or another, he must’ve figured out that I had been cast out, and he might want to clan up or something. But then, why would he run away every time I wanted to make friends? His scent’s anger may be due to his loneliness, and he might be concerned because he dreads my reaction towards his behavior. And as for desire… maybe he was eager to get a pack? Or he was just horny and wanted to find someone who could ease that pain. But no, something was odd. I knew by his aura that he was not just some random dude whining about his current situation. There was something else, something that I could not get hold of.
I dwelled about it all the whole drive through. Esthelle had moved on to another topic, she never could focus on something more than five minutes. She was lucky to be so happy-go-lucky, but for me, that could not do. That wolf was obsessing me, it was driving me insane. And the worst part was that I had talked to the girls about half the issue. The other half was me, and those urges that troubled me every time he was around. I was so crazy I was scaring myself.
Esthelle kept rambling on about the movie and I ended up listening to her. I could not keep rambling on about him myself, so I might as well do what she did and think about something else. One way or another, I’d get my answers, whether by dream or premonition or by his own mouth. His mouth…I wondered what his face looked like. No, no, the movie, let’s focus on the movie. I had to listen to Esthelle’s summary to forget about all this bullshit. Yup, I hadn’t missed much: a divorced couple, a lover, mix-ups and final settlement. How fun. We should have chosen the horror movie. The wolf might also have watched the movie with one eye only: he couldn’t have liked it.
“Madelyne!” Adélie suddenly and tensely called.
“What, what is it?”
She had just entered the street leading up to our neighborhood, and her frowned brows showed how concerned she was. Oh my God. Those whiffs. I knew whose they were. But there was no way. They couldn’t be here.
“Someone just entered our house!” she said uneasily.
“How do you know?”
“The bells on the porch. They contain protection spells, and they’re connected to me, that way, I can be aware of someone’s lurking by or getting into our house.”
“Oh, so that’s why you keep those crappy things around…”
“Now is not the time to joke, Madelyne, there are people in our house!”
“I get it, I can smell them. But don’t worry, if I recognized the scents right, there’s nothing to be afraid of. Only they couldn’t possibly be here…”
Adélie looked at me with curiosity and annoyance. I rubbed my shoulders; my heart was pounding. The more the car got closer to the house, the more the scents grew powerful, and the more my heartbeat fast. Hope was starting to grow back, and in spite of my desires not to get carried away, I couldn’t help it. Scents were like DNA: they didn’t lie.
Adélie parked in the front and I got out of the car. My heart was on the verge of bursting; I felt both good and bad. I told the witches to stay behind me, just in case, and I pushed open the front door which had been left ajar. In the hallway, I was about to cry and faint. Their scents filled the whole house, and I could hear them walking in the living-room. When I saw them, I thought I’d die of happiness. They were here. They were actually here.
Chapter 9
I couldn’t believe it. This was a dream; I was going to wake up soon. She was there, her back facing me, covered in her messy red hair. And he was there too, right next to her, with his dark skin and his grassy eye staring at me with amazement. It was all real, it wasn’t a dream.
I rushed towards them without thinking and fell on their necks. Milo first, and I held him tight – two more seconds and I would have broken his bones. Then Lola, and she hugged me back. I let her go for a second, during which I framed her face with my hands and looked at her from every angle. “Lola! Lola!” I kept saying, unaware of my whining.
“Yup, that’s me,” she managed to say; crying like a baby as well.
Taking her back in my arms, I inhaled this scent I had recognized without believing it was hers. That was surreal. She was here, she was actually here. It was incredible. Lola and I cried in each other’s arms for a couple minutes, neither of us eager to let the other one go. I was too overjoyed to realize crying the way I did made me look like a crazy person; but those were tears of joy, and there was nothing more beautiful in the whole world.
“I might just start crying too,” Milo sighed.
“I missed… your coffees … so much!” I managed to say, sobbing.
“That’s my Maddie!” he laughed, kissing my forehead.
I frowned, that was enough touching for one day. I finally let go of Lola and wiped out my tears. Once again, I made sure she was alright and unarmed, and I did the same with Milo. Their gaunt features showed mere fatigue, but aside from that, they seemed to be in excellent health. Now that my amazement was over, it was time to ask questions. For starters, what on earth were they doing here?
“Ahem!” Esthelle intervened behind us.
The witches! I had forgotten about them. I turned over hoping they weren’t mad. Adélie was moved and crying as well, while Esthelle was just stamping her feet, not in the least stirred by the scene, and jaded as her usual self.
As I was about to make the introductions, something very strange happened. Lola had just moved forward to look at the witches; she stared at Esthelle, and likewise. They caught each other’s eye. Time stopped; the seconds felt like minutes. All of a sudden, the she-wolf uttered something between a whine and a growl, and the witch turned white, then fainted. Lola rushed towards her and caught her before she hit the ground. She sat down with Esthelle in her arms still whining. Her eyes were bronze, which showed that her wolf-self was now in control.
Adélie, Milo and I hadn’t moved a muscle while all this had taken place. My mind was blown. That was so weird I didn’t know what to do. I was feeling mixed astonishment
and fear. Adélie, who was obviously worried about her sister, managed to take action and came close to the girls, but Lola threatened her getting closer with a growl. That was weird. I mean even weirder. My little wolf cub had never been aggressive. I figured the situation might go worse because of Adélie’s concern and Lola’s shady behavior so I stepped in-between them. “Don’t come any closer, she might go wild.”
“Oh yeah? Well she’s not the only one! What did she do to my sister?” she hissed. I had never seen the angry Adélie before, and I hoped I never would again. My instincts could tell me I wouldn’t want to cross paths with an angry witch. My own strength would be powerless against raw magic.
I put my hand on her shoulder and tried to reason her before this turned into World War Three. “Adélie, calm down. We all saw what happened. Lola is just a child; she didn’t do anything to your sister. And look at the way she’s acting, she doesn’t seem to be willing to hurt her, far from it.”
The elder witch took a deep breath and nodded calmly. I faced Lola and talked to her with my most authoritative tone. I didn’t know whether it would work or not, but I had nothing to lose so might as well go for it. “Lola, get away from her. Esthelle needs some space.”
She growled but she kowtowed. My order seemed to have compelled her into obedience – even though I wasn’t her alpha.
“Now, Lola” I insisted.
She wailed, but she let the witch lie on the ground. She got up and stepped back up to the wall of the living-room and she leaned against it. Her face showed nothing but fear. She was utterly lost. We all were. I let Esthelle to her sister’s care and joined Lola. “What’s happening to me?” she whispered.
I took her shaking hands. Her eyes still were bronze, and that surprised me because it showed she couldn’t take control of herself, and when her she-wolf was concerned, Lola was kind of a control-freak. I did my best to help her relax by sending out as many good vibes as I could. Milo joined us as well, and he started saying comforting things. Her eyes went back to brown, little by little. On the other side of the room, Esthelle had woken up.
“What the hell was that?” she said in a heavy voice.
Well, if she was able to complain, then she was alright. Relief reached Lola and she was now quite calmed. The only thing that showed something was wrong with her was her body shaking uncontrollably. Adélie took my advice and went in the kitchen with her sister.
“I don’t feel so good,” Lola mumbled.
“Come and sit down”
“I don’t WANT to sit down! I NEED her.”
Milo and I exchanged concerned looks. He was just as confused as I was. I had to admit that when I saw them in the living-room, I had imagined our reunion to go differently. I had thousands of questions to ask them, but they would have to wait because to go through what was happening right now, I had to be totally focused.
“Who are you talking about?” Milo asked gently.
“That witch, Esthelle! I need her, and she needs me.”
Ouch. I was the one to sit down. This crazy idea had just entered my mind. Could it be possible…? Could the two girls be… soulmates? Wow. In all my life, I had never encountered such people, and the only thing I knew about soulmates was that it was a rare and complex phenomenon which only affected few werewolves. That was very nice and all, but I had some concerns. First, Esthelle was a witch, and not a wolf. Then, well, could it affect two girls? Pff, stupid question Maddie. Love was not about sex or gender, and that I was sure of. But what about the species situation? I guess love was not about species either then. So why would this situation not be possible? Just because I wasn’t aware of potentially similar ones didn’t mean they didn’t happen.
I put my hand on Milo’s shoulder to suggest he stopped talking: he was trying to get Lola to be more specific, but love could not be explained. His eyes questioned me, but my voice answered with another question. “Could you go get the witches please?”
“Yes, Ma’am,” he teased.
I rolled my eyes at him, but I couldn’t stop smiling. I had missed Milo’s offhandedness and wit. And no matter the situation, I knew he’d have my back. I was so glad he and Lola were here!
When he came back with the witches, I noticed that Esthelle was fit as a fiddle. Her arms were crossed, and she had a grumpy look on her face. Lola avoided her worked up gaze and turned away. I gathered all the courage I had and attempted to say out loud what I’d been thinking about. “I think that …”
“That Esthelle and Lola are soulmates.” I stared at Adélie with astonishment. How the hell had she figured it all out? I was glad we’d thought about the same thing but weren’t werewolves the only ones to know and benefit from those legends? “Lycanthropes are more likely to be affected by this phenomenon” Adélie added when she saw I was puzzled, “but all species can be affected.”
“That’s true,” Milo agreed.
“Oh,” was the only thing I could answer.
A tensed silent set in. I was trying to understand Adélie’s thoughts about all this, and she didn’t look thrilled. Esthelle’s arms were still crossed and she was scowling at her sister while trying to get Lola’s attention, who was doing her best to ignore her. Milo was looking at the books on the shelf by the couch, and it made me smile. What a dork.
Esthelle and her legendary tactfulness were the first ones to break the silence. “So, Lola, if we are to be soulmates, I’d like to get to know you.”
Well, at least she was taking things the right way, unlike her sister. I wasn’t able to understand why she was so pissed off. From what I could tell, what had just happened was incredible and we were lucky to have witnessed such a rare and precious love being born. Ouch, cheesy alert! Ground control to Maddie, abort romance, abort romance!
“You’d like to get to know me?” Lola said, suddenly getting up. “You think I want to get to know you?”
“Well, that was just a suggestion, we can just skip it and get down to the nitty-gritty if you’d like…”
“I don’t like girls!” Lola shouted. “I don’t love you, and I never will, and it’s not some stupid legend that’s going to tell me who I should or should not love!”
Esthelle was obviously hurt by her words. She welled-up while Lola rushed out of the house, and she ran up to her bedroom. That was a failure. I let my little she-wolf go, the town was safe, and she could take care of herself anyway. Besides, I was pretty sure she would not go far, troubled as she was. For now, I needed to speak with Adélie before going after Lola. “You don’t seem to be thrilled by all this,” I observed.
“I’m just angry at your little friend’s reaction,” she answered. “In the kitchen, Esthelle was thrilled. She’s always believed in legends and even if she doesn’t show it, she is sensitive. I was afraid her heart would break, and that’s exactly what happened.”
“But if they’re meant to be together, they’ll make up eventually right?”
“It doesn’t work that way Madelyne,” she snubbed violently. “Lots of soulmates don’t accept this evidence and they fight it. With them, it’s either everything or nothing, either passionate love or absolute hatred. They say that there’s only a thin line between love and hate, and some people fight it so much that they can turn the power of love into a deep hatred. I don’t want that for my sister, it would destroy her, and I don’t think you want that for Lola yourself.”
My heart ached. I kept quiet; I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know anything about all of this. I’d always pictured the soulmate phenomena as something pure and beautiful, but it was clear by now that there were always two sides of things. It was all about opposites: the sun and the moon, hot and cold, pain and pleasure, life and death, love and hate, hate and love. Lola and Esthelle shouldn’t suffer, it would all turn into a tragedy, and I would not let that happen. No worries folk, Cupid is in da house. Let’s take it one thing at a time.
“Adélie?”
“Yes?”
“What do you wanna do about th
e girls? And about me, now that my friends are here? What should we do?”
“What’s your plan?” she asked, avoiding my questions.
“I think Milo and Lola should stay here tonight, if that’s alright with you. Until we figure it all out.”
“Maddie, this is your home now, you can stay as long as you want, and so can your friends. The house is not too big, but we’ll manage and they’re most welcome. We have a guest bedroom, and one of them can either sleep in your sofa or in the office with a mattress. And I agree, we should stick together for a while and see what happens.”
Hearing that this place was also my home felt good. For a second, I was afraid she’d kick me out. Especially now that there was another wolf plus a shapeshifter with us, she might be feeling unsafe in her own house. And yet, as always, she was nothing but kindness and goodwill. Moreover, I had become attached to the witches and I would have been heartbroken too, if I had had to leave. “Perfect then.”
“Oh, and Maddie? I’m very happy for you, now that your friends are here,” she said with a lovely smile.
I smiled back. She went upstairs to comfort Esthelle – I could hear her crying, and it was heartbreaking. What a day! When I woke up this morning, I didn’t think today would turn out the way it did and become an emotional roller-coaster. The wolf at the movies, a friendly reunion, this soulmates fiasco… I was eager to get to bed.
“You’ve lost weight,” Milo noticed. I gave him a funny look. “What?”
“You think the time’s right to talk about that?”
“It’s always the right time to talk about your pretty curves,” he joked.
“You’re a pain in the neck.”
“I’ve missed you too!”
As he was sitting on the couch, I sat on his lap and hugged him. We remained nestled in each other’s arms for at least five minutes – my personal best! I may have trouble being tactile with the witches, it was a whole other story with Milo and Lola. What I just did was weird, I had only rubbed shoulders with Milo at his workplace, and I had never been alone with him, even less in his arms. My life was changing, and I had to cope with it, and right now, I really didn’t mind. I finally let him go but remained on his lap.
She-Wolf I Page 11
