Dawn's Path: Completed Work

Sometimes, the pain of denying his wolf was unbearable. Drew felt as if his body would be torn apart limb from limb. He kept his distance from everyone. Avoiding the usual hunting grounds and haunts of the brotherhood and hedging the boundaries of the pack's territories. There was precious little space left in his woods where he could truly be left alone. And yet, even if he were alone physically, he was never, ever alone in his head. The whispers of the brothers echoed in his mind. And the call of the wolves, echoed in his soul.

He was a divided man. And he knew exactly what he needed to do to make him whole. He had to accept both sides of himself. Of the gift his brother had imparted to him and of the gift given to him by the goddess. He had to learn to let go and accept what was. Embrace his destiny. And if he ever wanted to hold Tala in his arms again, he had no other choice. She'd made her stand on that clear. And the truth of the things she'd said to him cut him to the core. She was right about everything. He could not insist that she told the truth to her father. When he could not admit his own truth to anybody but himself.

Drew walked, choosing the long way to the bluffs over the shorter trails traversing the woods. He needed time to find the courage. To seek out the strength to do what he knew he must to make peace with the two halves of himself. The bluffs were vacant. Budding with life and the vibrant green of spring grasses. Standing in the light and the warmth of the noonday sun, he pulled his mud splattered t-shirt over his head and dropped it to the ground. Terrified, he chanted in his ancient tongue for strength.

Working the knots free from his bootlaces, he pulled off his boots and socks. The grass was springy and soft, a carpet beneath his bare feet. Dropping his gear, the onyx handled daggers he always carried at his feet. He unzipped his leathers and dragged them down his hips. He stood naked in the daylight. Exposed for the whole world to see. Panting and trembling with the force of the ancient power he called to him. Unleashing it to flow freely, he fell to his knees. Terrified and gasping in pain, his body shook apart. Flesh and bone reformed, making him into something else. Something far greater than what he'd ever been before, something born of pain and terror, of tearing flesh and broken bone.

The Great White Wolf shook the smell of vampire from his splendid white coat. He inhaled the lush scent of freedom and howled in joy. The man was part of him. Joined with his soul. Clamoring desperately for hold in their shared mind. Taking his first timid steps into a new world, the wolf inspected his territory, familiar to him and at the same time so unfamiliar to the man seeing it for the first time through his eyes.

Stretching his legs, his claws digging into the soft soil, and his paws cushioned by the springy grass, the wolf scented the warm air. Chuffing the currents carried on the breeze in and out of his black nostrils. He sifted through the various smells tingling his senses. And then finally scented the one he'd been searching for. Her scent was the only one that mattered, trumping the musky aroma of prey and the lingering essence of wolves and vampires prowling through the woods. Barking a sharp yip, nose to the ground he trotted into the tree line, tracking her scent with his keen sense of smell. She could run. She could hide. But, she would not escape him. For this was no longer the time of man, but the season of the wolf.