I lie still, watching her, frozen, breath raspy to match my elevated heart rate, but my fears begin to calm
and fade as she slides down her hood with a slow even movement, and illuminates the room with a
magical blue glow of both her hands. Like a mesmerizing smoky orb around each, that follows and
traces with every movement. Hypnotic in nature.
Sierra Santo is a very beautiful woman, with almost milky skin, despite looking exotic. Her dark hair
frames a delicate bone structure, and her eyes, although electrifying blue right now, are almond shaped
under straight thick dark brows, so perfectly symmetrical. She has pouty lips, and an ever-present
youthful charm that completely warms her to you. A face that says, ‘I can be trusted’ to match the
surrounding atmosphere of serene she always carries.
I sit up, gasping in wonderment at the light show, and reaching out to touch what I can see as she
moves in and sits on the side of my bed with grace. She allows my hand to wander into hers, seeking
out and investigating, before firmly surrounding my small hand in her own fingers and encompassing
me within the warmth. I expected the blue air to be cold, but it’s almost like being submerged in a hot
bubble bath, and I giggle at the tickle of it.
“Don’t be afraid, Alora… it’s magic. Special, gentle, and yet so very beautiful, and kind, when used the
right way. Would you like to do some magic with me while I tell you a story?” Her eyes are still that
dazzling brightest azure, and I look from her hands to her eyes in awe at the vibrance of this mystical
light she’s able to produce. My curiosity killing the last of my fears, and I nod with the enthusiasm of a
child who wants to discover more. Naïve courage, because of my innocence.
Of course, I shouldn’t be afraid, this is the Luna Santo and I do know her. She comes to the library to
read us stories and plays with us sometimes. well she did, before all the grownups left to fight a battle.
Just like my own mommy and daddy have. and my big brother Jasper. and my grandparents. and most
of the rest of the Whyte pack. I stay with Mommy’s friend while they’re gone, Aisha Munro, one of our
pack. who is big and round because she says she’s having puppies. Sierra has a son around my age,
but I don’t like boys. and I don’t like playing with Santos. They’re always so pushy and aggressive when
we do. and I prefer my friends from the Whyte pack. We’re softer, we play less rough and tough games
than fighting and hunting. They’re just stupid.
“How can a wolf do magic?” I ask, blinking trustingly and adjusting to fully see her in this dimness,
leaning up against my headboard and shuffling my butt so I can sit properly. With blue as our light
source, everything it touches between us is shaded in cold hues, which add even more magic to the
atmosphere all around us, and I smile as I watch it envelop my own hand and spread up my arm. It
feels strange, but good, like soft gentle air being blown across the surface of my skin, only warm.
“Well that’s a story, and one I would like to tell you. Remember how we used to read at the library,
when you all laid on the floor, and closed your eyes so you could get lost in the pictures your mind
creates? We can do that now if you like, so you can listen and empty your mind from any distractions. I
need you to focus on my words and not my light.” Her voice is so soothing, low, yet pretty. I’ve always
liked Sierra’s voice, it has such a calming quality, like a warm wave washing over you on a cool day. A
husky depth that is a little lower than most femmes, but it’s melodic.
“Yes!! I love your stories.” I reply in unleashed excitement, hurrying to lie back down in my bed and
eager to hear this one. I bounce, and shuffle, while still holding her hand and wriggle myself down like a
squirming caterpillar into my sheets once more, pushing my head back against my cushion, sinking in. I
don’t care why she’s come in through my window and not the door. Or why she came in the night, I
want to be a good girl and listen to her magical adventure story. The one in which a wolf learns magic.
That’s crazy, and even I know that wolves can do no such thing!
My mommy used to read me stories in bed, and maybe because she can’t be here right now, Sierra
came to do it instead. She’s a Queen so she can come home when she chooses, but my mommy is a
warrior, and she has to stay away and protect us from the bad men who came to the mountain to hurt
the wolves. Mommy is really strong, and fast, and such a good fighter for being a farmer wolf, so she
said it was important that she went with them to chase the darkness away.
Sierra tucks me in neatly, pulling my blanket up to my chest, but keeps my one hand in hers snugly and
tightens the grip she has on me. She slides back a little and lays my wrist on her knee which splays
open my palm to disengage hers, so she can touch my hand without holding it properly, and with gentle
strokes begins to circle in the center in a rhythmic motion. The sensation sends both shivers, and
goosebumps, across my skin but it brings back the sleepiness and has the same effect as rocking me
back to sleepiness.
“I learned to do magic as a very small child, much the age you are now. It wasn’t easy, but when you
discover a gift inside of you that aches to be set free, nothing can hold it down forever. Open your
mouth, Alora, I have a sweet tasting berry that will help you sleep when I’m done telling my tale.” Her
voice is hushed, as though she’s telling me secrets, and I obediently open my mouth as she pops a
small, round, semi soft object, in my mouth, and I automatically begin to chew. The juicy little thing
explodes with the first squish between my teeth, like a delicious fruit bomb of sticky sweet nectar,
leaving a beautiful residue of raspberries, strawberries, and other wild berries, that seem to mingle in
my mouth and coat my tongue as though I just drank a whole glass of squeezed berry juice.
“What was that? Can I have another?” I ask while opening one eye to look her way, it was so tasty I
could eat a whole bowl of whatever that was. She’s leaning over my hand, looking at me, and shakes
her head with a soft smile on her pretty face.
“Hush now and listen. Close your eyes. No, one is more than enough, for you see, one little berry has
the power to make tonight fade away further than a forgotten dream, where no one will know where to
look to find it. It’s a very special berry, only found in crevices of magical places, in whimsical woods,
and with my help it has a little added spice.” Sierra picks up a strand of my hair and twirls it with her
free hand, never breaking contact of the first and I settle back down into my dark blankness as I shut
my eyes once more, to focus only on her voice.
The night air is still and quiet, and for once, I can’t even hear the owls in the trees or the leaves rustling
on the wind outside my window. There are no other noises around us, not even the ones of the house
creaking, or the Munro’s coughing in their sleep, which is a little odd, but maybe I usually sleep through
the night and don’t know the world sometimes falls silent.
“My story may not make sense sweetest child, but one day it will, and when you remember it,
remember this night and this moment…. all will fall into place. You’ll know why I came,” Sierra Santo
brushes a hand across my forehead gently, a simple yet affectionate touch of a mother, and I nod, not
willing to interrupt her anymore, so eager for this story to begin even if I don’t grasp what she means. I
love tales about witches, and magic, and brave hero’s, and hope this is going to be a good one. I can
already tell as she’s playing with my hair, like we’ve started a great adventure.
I feel her sag and sigh against my thigh before her voice fills the air, still hushed, yet clear and true.
“Once upon a time, there was a special girl called Danya, who lived near some very beautiful
mountains in a land filled with immortals. She was only small, barely a girl. She was unusual though, as
before her no other of her kind had been borne that had ever survived beyond the womb. They say the
fates blessed her very creation with a purpose in mind. That she was of two breeds united, who had
lived on the land side by side for centuries; her mother a light walking wolf, fell in love with a dark
creature who could never face the sun, a vampire. By their union they created a child of two worlds
who could walk in either sun or moon and harness the best of both. You see these two breeds; they
were once allies, co-existing together. One in night, and one in light, protecting the lairs of each, so
other immortals and human hunters would never hurt them at their weakest, but a terrible king pulled
them apart in the worst of ways. He believed the breeds uniting, creating a new kind, would overpower
all of the immortals, outbreeding his wolves, and this girl with her special gifts, could show them the
way. See, she was not just any hybrid child, she had powers unlike any we had seen before, and she
wanted only unity among her people. That was her fated purpose.”
I gasp a little, and cover my mouth right away, so as not to disturb her, and utter only a breathless
WOW as I become immersed in this tale. My little heart picking up speed with the wonder of it. Sierra
smiles softly and continues.
“The Alpha king was enraged with the audacity of the girl, that she should one day rise up and derail
him, taking his wolf kingdom away. So, he did what he thought would save his rule, and he slaughtered
the girl Danya, when she was merely a child. Her mother too, who tried to protect her, was laid down in
a pool of blood. The King, he was a liar, he blamed the dark creatures for the deaths of their own, and
ignited anger in the wolf packs, to seek vengeance for the bloodshed of an innocent, while he denied
the act himself.”
“He killed the little girl and her mommy?” I blurt out my outrage, unable to contain my angry shock,
inhaling hard, and opening an eye to blink at Sierra. Sierra gently moves her hand over my face and
closes my eyes once more with her delicate fingertips, pushing me back to quiet, and continues on. I
try so hard to keep my eyes closed this time, the excitement bubbling within my veins.
“Now the dark walker, he was not just any creature…but he was what they call an original, much like
the Alpha of the wolves was. An ancient; beings who were the first in line of our kinds and created
many purebloods. Danya’s mother had lain with the King of Vampires, probably why her child took hold
and came to fruition, as ancients are the purest of our kind. His broken heart and need to avenge his
love, and his child, drove him to sheer madness, and he swore to avenge her death by slaying all
wolves he deemed responsible in their demise. The Kings, they met in battle, and what were once
allies and peaceable unions became bloodshed and death, and it spilled onto every land until both
were forced to find refuge in parts of the world where the other did not stray. Those born of mixed
breed, who came after, in the years following where unions were made in secret from those who didn’t
want the wars, were hunted down, and slaughtered by both kinds for treason. Unions were forbidden
between the two breeds. So those who were born of light and dark, they fled, and hid, and always kept
their secret about who they really were, in any way they could. Danya was not the last.”
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