The moon was at its fullest and the stars were shining brightly giving light to what would otherwise be a pitch black forest, not that I needed any help seeing in the dark.
I was on my way to a large stump on the edge of a clearing behind my two story cabin that was built into a hill situated in the middle of the woods. The lower level was basement-like having no windows and only one exterior wall showing which, had a gothic style door. It was a personal touch that I had added as something of a joke because I used the lower level as my living quarters. The upper level, which was mostly for show, had been built so that all walls were aboveground. There were several large windows all covered with heavy drapes that were now drawn back to let in the moonlight.
In my hands I carried the items I would need to make an altar to the Goddess and God. I wanted to attune myself to them and perform a cleansing ritual on myself. The things I needed to do in order to sustain myself often left me feeling tainted and with an overwhelming need to right myself with the deities, even though I wasn't sure that they still heard me.
The stump had once been a glorious willow tree whose leaves would dangle into the shallow river that ran alongside it. Almost a decade ago there had been a terrible storm and lightning had struck the tree. Unfortunately the tree had never recovered so I had decided to chop the willow down and use the stump it left behind as an altar to the Goddess and the God as a way to honor its long life.
With the river at my back I placed a tall slender green candle on the upper left side and a similar red candle on the right side; green representing the Goddess and red the God. Between them I sat a vase filled with snapdragon and hyacinth flowers. In front of that was a censer filled with frankincense, myrrh and cinnamon. The final piece, which was centered and closest to me, was a silver bowl with intricate celtic engravings.
After setting up my altar I turned to go and get the offering of wine and a bowl of salt for the ritual cleansing but found Warren standing next to an urn of of wine and a bowl of salt, in his hands were a box of matches. I smiled and patted his head.
Warren was a Faery creature called a Wag-by-the-way. These Faery were known to adopt homes or families and loyally protect them from harm. He was what I called a miniature dwarf. He looked like a little old man with pointed ears and a tail like a cat. Wag-by-the-ways were very cold creatures and would often get as close to a fire as they could, which was why Warren was forever covered in soot; though he never left a mess around the house. I never understood why he had attached himself to me, most of these Wag's detested things that caused harm to others and while I had secluded myself from society I still had to feed to survive.
Turning from him I placed the items at the base of the stump then began to disrobe. Standing before my altar I took some calming breaths and centered myself while basking in the moonlight. Taking the matches I lit the candles and the incense in the censer, then I took the wine a poured it into the offering bowl. Inhaling one final deep breath I started the rite.
Lady of the moon, of the restless sea and verdant earth,
lord of the sun and of the wild creatures,
accept this offering I place here in your honor.
Grant me the wisdom to see your presence in all nature,
O Great Ones!
Lifting my face to the moon and wiggle my toes into the earth I take a moment to try and connect to them, to feel their energies flow through me. Something warm coils through my chest and I smile at the reassurance it filled me with. Grabbing the bowl I turned and waded into the river. I could feel the rush of the water but I couldn't feel the coldness of it, a side effect of the curse that I went through all those years ago.
Dipping the bowl into the water I was careful not to let any of the salt spill out. Raising my hand to the moon I closed my eyes and began the cleansing ritual.
I call upon thee Mighty Mother of us all,
bringer of all that is fruitful,
by seed by root, by leaf and flower and fruit,
in the fullness of the moon do I invoke thee
to descend upon the body of this thy servant.
I call upon thee O Great Father, Son and Consort of the Mother,
who brings her light and warmth.
Come forth Mighty Horned One.
Live now within the body of thy servant.
Dipping my fingers into the bowl I anoint my head.
I cleanse my thoughts that they might be honest.
May they be pleasing to the Goddess and God.
Again I dip my fingers into the salt water anointing my throat.
I cleanse my voice
that all that I might say be for good
and not harm the innocent.
Next I anoint my heart.
I cleanse my heart that it might be healed
from the pain I put it through.
May it some day be free to love and care for others.
I take turns anointing my hands.
I cleans my hands that I might use them
in ways that please the Goddess and God.
May they never be used on the innocent.
Lastly I lift my feet and anoint them.
I cleanse my feet that they might
take me far in my eternal life.
My they lead me to a life of
love, peace and joy blessed by the God and Goddess.
As I finished the ritual and turned to leave the river, a howl echoed from the forest. Moments later a large stag came crashing through the tree line in an attempt to escape the danger of what was chasing it. He was close and I tried to not move, to seem as harmless as possible, but when he caught a whiff of me he became confused and even more frightened, turning to try and back pedal from the new frightening curiosity.
The stag didn’t get far though, a wolf slightly larger than a Tibetan Mastiff pounced on him, going for a killing blow. It didn’t even have time to utter a noise before his neck snapped with an audible crack. Had I any need to breath I would have been holding my breath. The massive size of the wolf told me that if was no ordinary wolf but a werewolf and their kind didn't like me very much. I knew a pack had claim to the area north of me but I had settled far from their borders to try and avoid any run-ins and unnecessary conflicts.
The wolf was still reveling in the excitement of the hunt and subsequent kill so it had yet to take notice of me. I made no move to draw its eye, I was not in the mood to fight with a werewolf and on nights of the full moon where there was one, there were sure to be others around. From my peripheral vision I could see Warren take an ‘at the ready’ stance, though I was sure he wouldn’t be able to do much damage I knew he wouldn’t back down either.
I waited, thankful that the chill of the Macopin River would never reach me, and watched as he drew in a breath to howl I assume but he never called out to the others to signify his kill and claim his glory. No, it was at that moment that the wind betrayed me and wafted my scent to him as he inhaled. I saw the moment he scented me, his body became rigid and the hairs on his back lifted slightly. With a low growl he turned to me and still I made no move to provoke him. Had I been anyone else I would have found him frightening to be sure, but all I could see was his beauty. His coat of golden amber shone under the moonlight and his eyes were of melted gold and seemed to be endless. As he took a step in my direction I simply glared at him, meeting his eyes in challenge. While I may not have been looking for a fight I would not allow him to think he was my dominant in my own territory.
“You are far from the land you have claimed. This is my home wolf, you are trespassing.” with that he sat on his haunches, hackles less evident as they were before. Not quite liking me but curious of me nonetheless. Turning away from him I climbed the bank of my side of the river and slipped back into my robe.
“And what of my kill?”A deep and rich voice floated over to me. So he was no ordinary wolf but a leader, only they had the will to move so freely between forms on nights of the full moon.
“The kill is yours Alpha, you may keep it so long as you can carry it yourself. I don’t want your pack to be sniffing around my sacred space.” looking back I gave a wave of my hand indicating my alter. I took a moment to take him in, wolves were generally something to behold in their human form. While they were not always attractive in the face their bodies were well toned, a part of the species physiology really. He was no exception there and he was attractive in the way that most women would do a double take, but both he and I knew he was much older than the thirty-something tattooed covered man he appeared to be.
“You’re a rare breed aren’t you Emerald?” I stiffened slightly, it could have been just a coincidence after all, him calling me by my enforcer handle. With my bright emerald eyes it was hard to tell if he had just named me of his own accord or if he knew more about me than he was letting on.
“Am I familiar to you?” I faced him fully “Do you know of me? Come to suss me out have you?” my tone was casual and nonchalant but I very much wanted to know if he sought me out purposefully. He held his hands up in a gesture of mock surrender, as an Alpha I knew he would submit to noone so the gesture did nothing to put me at ease.
“I know of you. I would be a terrible Alpha if I wasn’t aware of my neighbors. My coming across you this evening was merely an accident. The thrill of the chase and all.” Even without my talisman that helped me determine truth from fiction I could tell that he meant what he said. Of course it would make sense for him to learn about me, I had a decent body count even for an enforcer though it wasn’t as if I was unnecessarily cruel. I just wasn’t as lenient as others in my field, I never looked the other way and there wasn’t a damn thing anyone had that I wanted so bribery was also out of the question.
A nod was all I gave him to show I accepted his answer, then gave him my back as a dismissal. Warren had already gathered all my tools and placed them in the basket I had sitting near by, picking him and the basket up I made my way back inside leaving to wolf to tend to his kill.
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