Calliope's Wolf - Book 1

Calliope ran through the night. It took several hours before they made it to the Blood Stone packhouse. Abigail quickly shifted and ran in to wake up the Alpha and Luna. This was Heidi’s former pack. Its leaders were descendants of hers and, as such, were loyal to Calliope without question. This pack, her family pack, and the Royal Moon pack were the only packs Calliope fully trusted.

The Alpha and Luna were quick to wake and hurried outside. When Calliope saw them, Giizis shifted back to human form. Calliope collapsed to the ground. She had not been in human form for nearly two months. Though she got nutrients from her wolf, she was still weak from not using her muscles. The Alpha, named Hayes, quickly ran over to scoop her up. He carried her inside and laid her down on a soft couch.

“Great Luna!” He exclaimed once he set her down. “What is wrong? What has happened to you?”

“Don’t worry about me,” she said as she coughed. She couldn’t see it, but the dress she was wearing was covered in dry mud and blood. It was the same dress she had been wearing since Theo died. She never changed it. She looked dirty, like she had been fighting in her human form. “We found where the sun wolves are.”

“Are you sure? You look terrible. Are you hurt?” Hayes asked, ignoring the sun wolves for a moment. He then took notice of her eyes. “You’re blind?”

“Since Theo died,” she nodded. “And don’t worry about me. This isn’t my blood. I am not hurt. I have just been in my wolf form since his death. But, Hayes, listen to me carefully. We found where the sun wolves were hiding. They are somewhere in the Guide Stone Pack! They have silver weapons and wolfsbane!”

“That is our neighboring pack. Are you sure?”

“Positive,” she answered, fumbling around until she took his hand. “I need you to listen to me carefully. My beta has already sent messengers to the other packs. Warriors will be coming here in large numbers. I need you to help organize them.”

“I suggest sending large numbers out into the outer territories,” Abigail added. “Send warriors from both the left and right to ensure the sun wolves won’t leave the Northern borders of the Guide Stone Pack.”

“Assuming they haven’t left already,” Hayes retorted. “But, yes, I will organize the warriors and send some out to funnel the Sun Wolves and keep them where they are. When do you think we should push on them?”

“It won’t matter when we push,” Calliope explained. “The moon is almost gone; the new moon is only a night or two away. They can shift, whether it is day or night. But, as soon as warriors arrive, we need to start pushing. I will lead the charge from the south border into their pack lands.”

“My Great Luna,” Abigail said as she stepped forward. “You can’t see it, but you look like death. Please, why don’t we get you cleaned and changed?”

Calliope could feel her skin was stiff and covered in a thick crust of dirt. She also felt exhausted, something she did not feel while in her wolf form. She knew Giizis shifted for a reason. Perhaps she did need to get cleaned up. To get ready for the fight ahead.

“Fine,” she reluctantly replied.

Hayes gently carried her to a bathroom. He left her with his mate and Abigail. They scrubbed Calliope down in clean water and soaps. She sat there, unmoving. The water felt foreign to her. Being back in her human form, feeling sensations, it felt weird to her. She had hidden in Giizis, separated herself from the world. She almost forgot what it was like to be human.

Once cleaned, they dressed her and returned her to the main hall. Abigail sat her down at a table with some food. But Calliope didn’t want to eat; she just sat there, lifeless. Abigail had to hand-feed her some food. Calliope wanted to shift back; she wanted Giizis to have control again. But she knew she couldn’t shift, not yet. Her wolf needed rest.

For hours, she sat in silence, in deep thought. She tried to meditate, but she could not find the strength to do so. Being stuck in her human form, unable to see, she felt depressed. She felt weak and useless, and these feelings tore into her. She only seemed to come to life when she heard Hayes run in.

“Great Luna,” he starts. “Another set of warriors are here.”

“How many do we have in total?” She asked.

“425.”

“Send 300 out to the outer territories,” she said as she stood from the table. “Half to the west, half to the east. Put a member of your pack in charge of each group. I need you to be able to communicate with them in case of emergencies.”

“What do we do with the remaining 125?” He asked as he gently took her arm so he could guide her.

“We push north, straight into their pack lands. Take me outside,” she commanded.

“It is barely dawn,” Abigail said as she chased after them. “Shouldn’t we wait until there is more light?”

“It’s a three-hour run to the border; by then, there should be enough daylight,” Calliope replied.

Hayes helped her outside. She felt the dirt beneath her feet. She could smell all the wolves that were nearby. She closed her eyes, preparing to shift. But nothing happened. No static or electricity seemed to flow through her.

She groaned as she sat on the ground. She crossed her legs and rested her hands on her knees. She needed to focus: focus on her wolf, on Giizis. Breathe in...breathe out...breathe in...

Calliope finally opened her eyes, and she saw her wolf in front of her.

Giizis, Calliope sighed as she walked to her. Her wolf gently nudged her with her snout. It’s time to finish this. You and I are here for a reason. I don’t know if this is the reason or not. But only you and I can stop this.

Only you can undo the damage I have done, a voice in the distance said.

Calliope looked around Giizis. She saw a tall woman hidden by mist and fog. She was barely visible, even though she seemed to glow. Calliope tried to move, but she felt her feet were heavy.

Are you the moon goddess? Calliope questioned.

I am, little wolf, the voice answered.

What damage could you have possibly done? What do I need to do to fix it? Calliope continued to ask questions. She felt small in front of the Goddess, like a child.

I have given you everything you need. You must undo the damage that I have done.

I don’t understand, Calliope replied with confusion. She suddenly felt the pull of her going back to reality. When she landed back on the ground, she was shifted into her wolf form.

Calliope was breathless, taking in what had just happened. Was that the Goddess? Speaking to me? Calliope thought to herself. What was she to fix? What damage was there? There were so many questions, but unfortunately, now was not the time to find the answers.

Calliope looked up and noticed the two outer territories groups were leaving. Giizis walked over to Alpha Hayes.

“I’m leaving my mate here to relay to me when more reinforcements arrive.” He said as he looked into Giizis’ glowing, white eyes. “But the southern push group is ready to go when you are.”

Giizis stomped the ground and growled. Hayes nodded and whistled. Everyone began to shift into their wolf forms. Abigail gave Calliope’s Wolf one last touch before shifting.

It was several hours before they were on the outskirts of the borders of the Guide Stone Pack. A dirt road was all that separated the two packs. Abigail and Hayes shifted so they could talk.

“I got word almost 30 minutes ago that the other groups made their way into the outer territories,” Hayes said as he cautiously eyed the tree line in the North.

“Tell the wolves to look in the trees,” Abigail said after a quick mind link with Calliope. “They could be hidden anywhere. Assuming they are here.”

Giizis sniffed the air and growled.

I smell sun wolves! Shift! Calliope commanded Abigail.

After a glance at Hayes, they shifted. Giizis howled before running across the dirt road and into the Guide Stone Pack. Everyone else was quick to follow. Hayes stayed on her left flank, and Abigail on her right.

Something jumped from behind a tree, a moon wolf, trying to grab Calliope. Before she could dodge, Abigail had caught the wolf's hind leg and yanked him to the ground. Giizis watched momentarily as Abigail slashed at the wolf before getting her jaws around his neck.

Her attention quickly turned to sun wolves that were running to them. Calliope tried to get a glimpse of their claws, but she couldn’t tell if they had the silver tips or not. She reminded Abigail to watch for the claws as Giizis lunged at a wolf.

Giizis pushed against the chest of the sun wolf, causing him to fall onto his back. He waved his arms, slashing as hard as he could against Giizis. There wasn’t silver on his claws, not this one, at least. But the claws struck deep into her skin. Giizis lifted her front legs off the ground and slammed them into the wolf’s chest. Calliope heard a snap and the wolf yelping before silence. Giizis had smashed his ribcage inward.

There was steam coming from Giizis as she healed the slash marks. They weren’t life-threatening, just painful. She looked to her left. Alpha Hayes was holding his own against a moon wolf. She looked right and saw Abigail struggling with a sun wolf. She started to run over to help but saw something sparkle in the light. She saw silver, and it was making its way to Abigail.

Calliope screamed inside of Giizis so loud that it caused her to shift to her human form. She fell to the ground, and as she did, she waved her hands, freezing everyone. Calliope gasped and called out to Abigail, but there was no answer. There were no sounds. It was quiet; everyone was frozen, and everything was still.

Calliope could feel her heart beat so fast that it felt like it would beat out of her chest. She crawled forward, trying to feel for Abigail. She last saw her in her wolf form on the ground. She knew she had to have shifted near her.

She kept feeling until she felt fur. She felt that the wolf was lying on its side and that it was a moon wolf because it had four legs. She took a breath; if she was wrong, she was dead, everyone was dead. She concentrated and unfroze just this wolf.

The wolf instantly shifted to human form. It was Abigail. She gasped as she moved away. What Calliope didn’t see was a short, silver sword a mere inches above Abigail.

Abigail grabbed Calliope and hugged her tightly.

“My Great Luna,” she cried. “I thought I was dead. You saved me!”

Calliope hugged her back tightly.

“Is everyone frozen? Did I freeze every wolf?”

“It seems every creature is frozen,” Abigail answered as she looked at the sky. She saw a bird frozen in the air. She helped Calliope stand and led her to Hayes’ wolf. Calliope waved her hand, freeing him.

Hayes was mid-fight with a wolf. Even though his opponent was frozen, he didn’t stop. He ripped into the wolf until he was sure he was dead. He finally looked at Calliope and noticed her in her human form. He shifted and ran to her. He helped to steady her on her legs. He looked around and saw everything had frozen.

“Is this you?” He asked in shock.

“Yes,” Abigail answered for Calliope. “Now, let’s take her to some of our wolves and unfreeze them.”

Hayes nodded and led her to the wolves he recognized. Since some of the wolves they were fighting were rogues or members of the Guide Stone Pack, they had to be careful who they unfroze. In total, about a dozen wolves were freed from their frozen state.

“Should we just attack the sun wolves while they are frozen?” Hayes asked.

Calliope thought to herself. You have to overcome bitterness, anger, and agony, in order to get to forgiveness, hope, and love. Why did she suddenly remember what the oracle said to her now? Is this what the Goddess meant? Did she want the cycle of violence to stop? To stop with her?

“No,” Calliope answered. “But I want you to take all the silver you can find. I want to try and offer peace and give them the option to submit. I’d rather not kill everyone if I can help it.”

Hayes nodded and removed his shirt. He used the shirt to block his hands from touching the silver. His wolves did the same thing. After about an hour, all silver that could be seen was rounded up. Two wolves carried the haul back to the Blood Stone Pack.

Calliope was brought back up to the front line, where the fighting had started. She took a breath; she knew the wolves could see and hear her, even in their frozen state. She exhaled a deep breath and steadied her nerves.

“Wolves!” She called out in a firm voice. “Listen to me and listen well! I don’t want to fight you! We don’t want to fight you! So please, when you are freed, submit and shift back to your human forms! Think of your families. I want you to go home to them. If you shift to your human forms, I promise you will not be harmed!”

“Hayes,” Calliope said as she turned towards him. “Let your pack members know, both here and in the outer territories. Anyone who submits won’t be killed. Spread the word.”

Hayes nodded and shifted back to his wolf form, along with the rest of his pack. Calliope gripped her hand on Abigail’s arm.

“Abigail, you go to the back and relay the message to those not in Alpha Hayes’ pack.”

“No, I want to stay here, right by your side,” Abigail protested.

Calliope felt Abigail’s arms. She moved her hands slowly up to her face.

“No, you are to go to the back.”

“Is that a command, my Great Luna?”

“I don’t want it to be,” Calliope said as tears brimmed the edges of her eyes. “Abigail, you are my sister, my mother, my friend. You are everything to me. And everything to your children. Seeing you almost get hurt caused me to shift. I need you in the back, where you’ll be safest. Please, do this for me.”

Abigail hugged Calliope tightly. She nodded reluctantly. She walked towards the back of the warriors. Once Calliope could no longer feel Abigail, she steadied herself.

Please, she thought to herself. Please shift to your human forms. I don’t want to fight.

With a heavy sigh, she shifted and gave Giizis control again. All the frozen wolves were now freed, and they stumbled as they regained their footing. Giizis readied herself but didn’t immediately go after the wolves. She waited to see if any would shift.

She saw a few shift to their human forms and fall to their knees. But most stayed as wolves. She waited; the seconds felt like hours. The seconds ticked by until the wolves finally returned to their senses and began charging towards Calliope.

Hayes and other wolves raced to Calliope’s side. Several wolves tried to lunge at Calliope at one time. Giizis was able to grab the arm of one of the sun wolves and yanked him off of her. Hayes and others helped to pull the other wolves from her. She was scratched, but nothing severe.

Giizis grew angry. They were offered peace and their lives, an option not given to Theo. And they declined that offer by trying to do a joint attack on her. She growled and charged at a wolf.

Giizis bit down into any unguarded flesh. She would hold on tight until her teeth tore the muscles that they were sunk into. She would snap in the air until her jaws would catch something. No amount of yelping from the wolf would stop her attack.

Any humans who knelt on the ground were ignored. As the fight went further into the Guide Stone territory, Abigail would stop to help round up those who surrendered. She and others would bind their hands and send them into the Blood Stone territory.

The fighting slowed down for them when the sun was at its highest. The more wolves that Giizis attacked, maimed, and killed, the more it would cause others to shift into their human forms out of fear. Once no one was left to fight, Giizis looked through the dead.

Was Alpha Alan one of those who surrendered? Calliope mind linked to Abigail.

No, why?

He wasn’t here. The coward didn’t come to fight.

Maybe he went North into the outer territories? Abigail suggested.

Giizis turned her head and looked in the direction of the packhouse.

Abigail, grab Hayes and meet me at the packhouse. Let’s see if the coward is home.