The Unwanted Wolf

ADIRA

“Can we take a break?” I asked Ginger, sliding to the floor.

“You don’t have time for breaks.” Ginger walked over to me and hit me in the head with a rolled up piece of paper. “If the Council of Magic is after you, you have to access that internal power source.”

“I’m trying,” I said, not making an effort to move.

Ginger sighed and crouched in front of me and bonked me on the head. “Girl, don’t act so defeated. I know you have it in you. You know how to access your magic. You’re overthinking it.”

I blinked at her a few times. “What do you mean?”

She let out a long, exaggerated sigh. “Your magic is tied to your emotions. Think about all of the times that you were suddenly able to expand your abilities.”

I thought back on all that had happened. The first time I used magic was when I was scared. I was able to escape Theron because I was hyped up on adrenaline. I saved Mark from near-death because the thought of losing him was too much to bear.

“My emotions,” I said. “When they are running high, I’m able to do so much more, but I thought you said not to let my emotions overtake my magic because it can grow out of control.”

Ginger held her hand out to me. “Help me up. These old bones don’t work as well anymore.”

I stood up and then pulled Ginger to her feet. I heard the creaking in her body as she got to her feet, and it really reminded me of her old age. She was spritely and spunky most of the time, so it was easy to forget how up there in age she was.

“As for your emotions, you need to be careful to not let your emotions control your magic, but you need to use your emotions to control your magic,” Ginger explained. “That’s probably why you’re having issues expanding your powers. You are holding back out of fear.”

I thought about this for a moment. I didn’t think I was letting fear hold me back, but maybe she was right. I saw what Theron’s desire for magic did to him. He went to a dark place where nothing but power mattered to him. I never wanted to let myself get to that point. When I felt the dark magic from Theron enter my body for even the briefest moment, I felt the craving to be stronger, no matter the cost. I didn’t like that feeling.

“How do I do that without letting myself spiral?” I leaned against the wall in the conference room. Ideally, we would be practicing the magic outdoors, but with all of the werewolves from Pack Lyna around, there wasn’t much privacy anywhere anymore. Training camps were set up all around the backyard, and any farther away could be an issue if we ran into any enemies.

Since I still didn’t want to share the full extent of my magical nature with Pack Lyna, it left Ginger and I to make due with the only conference room that hadn’t been transformed for the boarding room.

“Intention,” Ginger said. “Intention is one of the most important things when it comes to magic. You could create a flame with the intention of lighting a fire and warming your friends, or you can light a fire with the intention of burning someone alive. Those two flames may both be fire, but the flames themselves will be very different with power and ability.”

“Which one is more powerful?” If bad intentions were the only way to create a strong flame, then I wasn’t sure what I would be able to do against a dark force that wanted to spread destruction across the world.

“Some would say the flame created to burn enemies is more powerful.”

My heart sank hearing this. It was making it difficult to understand how to grow stronger without falling into a dark hole.

“But I would disagree with that.” Ginger held a flame in her palm. The light flickered in her eyes. She snapped her fingers, turning off the light in the room. The flame in her palm was the only source of light in the room now, and it was soft and warm. The tiredness in my body seemed to float away.

“A flame created with the intent to heal and warm the soul can be far greater than a flame used to burn and break things. Anyone can cause destruction. Not everyone can inspire and protect. There is a deep power with good intentions, and many disregard that, thinking it’s a weakness. Make that your strength, and you’ll find more power than any other sorcerer out there.”

Ginger held out the flame to me as an offer. I stepped forward, looking at the light and feeling its energy. There was something special coming from this light, and I could feel the power Ginger was describing.

Take the flame, Moon said in my head.

As if in a trance, I reached forward and scooped the flame into my own palms. It floated just above my hands, and even though I could feel the heat, I knew there was no risk of injury. As I watched the flame, I could feel the intention Ginger created it with. I could feel the ball of energy inside of me brightening and courage filling me. This was not about gaining power. It was about being able to protect those around me and keep peace in the world.

I saw Rie and Mason dancing in the flames. Their love and happiness grew as they built a life together. Next, Scythe swirled into the flames. Percy ran and embraced him, making the flame grow stronger. They spun out of the flame only to be replaced with Mark. His face was clear and it felt like he was looking directly at me. He took a step back, fading into a silhouette in the small flame. A female figure that looked just like me joined him, and he picked her up, swirling around. As they parted, a third figure appeared between them, a happy family.

This was what it meant to have power. It meant protecting the people I loved now so we could all have the happiness and love we were meant to have in our futures. The flame faded, and at the same time, I felt the energy inside of me burning brighter than before, the new intention instilled deep inside of me. Getting stronger was about protection, not the survival I had been relying on.

My cheeks were wet with tears, and I hadn’t even realized I started crying. I wiped my face with the back of my hand and tried to compose myself.

“Have you told him yet?” Ginger asked.

My eyes met hers, confused as to what she was asking. “Told him what?”

Ginger simply smirked in return. “Let’s continue our lesson. I want you to practice redirecting energy to create new things.”

I blinked at Ginger, still trying to figure out what she was talking about, but there wasn’t time to move back to the conversation. She was already focused on our next lesson.

–

MARK

As I ran with the rest of the patrol, a strange scent filled my nose, instantly putting me on high alert. I didn’t recognize the scent. It wasn’t the scent of a werewolf, but it wasn’t human either. I had never smelled anything like it before, which worried me. I thought we had more time before the council came after Adira. We weren’t ready yet. We needed more time.

I signaled to the rest of the wolves on patrol with me, but they were already on the same page as me. That was one of the things I appreciated most about Alpha Lyna’s warriors. They were sharp and skilled warriors. They didn’t need much training. The biggest struggle I had with them was getting on the same page. We had to work out communication procedures and make sure everyone was on the same page.

The scent was strong, and it was easy to pick up on the trail of whoever it was, and it went north. We followed the trail, keeping an eye out for whoever was in our territory. I picked up speed the longer we followed the trail. It was possible this person was just someone who had wandered onto our territory, but I assumed everyone was the enemy until proven wrong. There were too many people who wanted to take Adira away from me, and I wasn’t about to take any chances with security.

We followed the trail, and the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach grew. The trail circled around our territory, but there were no signs of whoever made the trail around. Whoever it was had been scouting out the pack house. They were preparing some sort of attack.