Chapter 1
Everyone knows that a curse is a promise of misfortune.
A vow meant to inflict harm and punishment.
In its simplest terms, it’s payback.
It doesn’t matter if the world views it as justified. The power lies with the one speaking the malediction into existence. You can only hope to not be on the receiving end of such ancestral sin.
Harlow Green did not find herself so lucky. She had lived under the weight of the curse her entire life. Always present, it haunted her and her pack. For 21 years Harlow could feel the anticipation of facing the curse building within her. The impending doom like a slow burning ember fueling her forward ever searching to fan the flames. This would be her fight.
Never one to back down she did the only thing she knew how to do, prepare. Alongside her twin sister Whitney, she trained building her skills and developing her gifts.
Whitney and Harlow were not just any pair of twin werewolves. They were marked by the Goddess herself.
They were Mythics.
Wolves bestowed by the Moon Goddess with a silvery crescent moon behind their left ear at birth. A birthmark that presented special abilities.
For twins born to the Little River Pack, the question it seemed everyone fretted over would be if these abilities were gifts or marks meant for destruction.
Harlow took in the starry night sky as she lay on her back in the green meadow not far from her home. She had spent her whole life on this pack land. It filled her heart and consumed her soul. The moon was full, its light beckoning her with its promise of the unknown. Always mysterious the moon never seemed to want to fully reveal its secrets. She hummed to herself as she moved to a sitting position.
Harlow breathed a heavy sigh and turned to her Great Aunt Bell, “I just can’t find it.” Weaving her fingers through her long chestnut hair she braided absentmindedly waiting for Bell's response.
Aunt Bell smirked looking across the field.
“What?” Harlow searched her Aunt’s face for answers. She was notoriously hard to read but served as the consistent rock in Harlow's life. Good or bad, hectic or slow she could count on her to be in her corner.
“Stand.” Great Aunt Bell held her hand out in front of her body. “Rely on your light. Pull it from your core and feel it pulse within you. Grow it with each breath knitting it stronger, bigger, impenetrable.” The wind picked up in the meadow around them, blowing into a calm swirling presence.
Harlow closed her eyes feeling the force of light twitch in her belly. She held it softly, fearful it would burst. The size of an apple, it was the biggest she had ever manifested. She pulled upwards, gently and then with gaining force as her excitement took over. Her breath fueled it and her eagerness seemed to make it twitch with anticipation. She felt whole. It was here.
Hazy at first it slowly manifested in front of her. Aunt Bell used her hands to project calm back to her, “Do not let go of the light. Hold it, fuel it. Believe in it.” Her soft wrinkled hands were steadily pulsing with energy back to Harlow. The band of energy between them thickening with power. Like a braided cord it wove itself between them.
Slowly, the orb began to glow with color, first gray then blue with amber specks dancing throughout. The specks seemed to jump and shift throughout the orb. It pulsed with energy, flaring with each heartbeat.
Aunt Bell gave Harlow a knowing smile, “Now dear. Love it.” Her grey hair glinting in the moonlight she looked on without any doubt clouding her face.
“What?” It was taking all of her focus to hold the orb. “Love it? What does that even mean?” Harlow’s face full of confusion searched Aunt Bell’s for an explanation. She considered herself pretty open but even this seemed too tree huggery. A little too Yoda, one with the universe mumbo jumbo even for her.
It felt both foreign and natural to be amid her orb. Such an unusual duality, curiosity, and safety in one. Harlow struggled with its power. It felt like it could overpower her in an instant, like holding back a tsunami with a teaspoon. The pressure built in her chest, her anxiety increasing as if a piece of herself was existing beyond her physical body.
“Trust me. Trust yourself. Love.” responded Aunt Bell continuing to project calm to Harlow.
Harlow closed her eyes as she teetered on the edge of control. She could see the orb even more clearly in her mind’s eye. The blue was limitless like the deepest ocean and the amber lights were dancing seemingly just for her. It felt like home. It felt like complete and utter peace and so she fell. She fell with her whole being into the orb. Her wolf pranced through her consciousness proud of her accomplishment, letting out a howl in delight.
Opening her eyes she was shocked to see herself still standing. The meadow around Harlow glowed in the light of the full moon. The tall grass swayed as if in recognition of her great feat.
Aunt Bell looked at her approvingly, “You did it. It is you and you are it. A bond that cannot be broken.”
Harlow had a nagging feeling this conversation was not just about her and her orb.
“Ok, well that was weird,” Harlow said throwing herself onto the ground. A combination of soft grass and clover caught her in their summer scent. She moved her hands over the soft earth, grounding herself.
“Good weird though, right?” Aunt Bell smiled.
“Yeah, definitely good but definitely weird.” She took in the night sky and felt a buzzing in her fingertips. The moon shown brightly, not a cloud in the sky. “Definitely weird.”
After what seemed like an eternity of stillness she sat up and looked at Aunt Bell. “Did you know?”
“Know what, dear?” she grinned.
“This. Did you know this would happen tonight?” questioned Harlow as she dramatically encircled her arms around herself imitating an orb.
“Yes and no. I had a vision. But as many things within this plane not all visions come to life or turn out quite as planned.” Aunt Bell stood and straightened her bleached apron over her skirt, the apron she was never without and thankfully always held just what you needed. She took out a homemade granola bar tossing it to Harlow. “Eat. Your energy is depleted. This was a big gift from our Goddess you received tonight. You must refuel.”
Harlow munched happily on the granola bar. Aunt Bell made the best snacks. As she ate she thought she heard Aunt Bell whisper, “You must prepare, it has begun.”
Granola escaped from Harlow’s lips, “What? I didn’t hear you...” still crunching on her granola wiping the crumbs from her face.
“In time dear. In time. Now we must get back, tomorrow will be busy.” Aunt Bell began to gather up the jugs of moon water scattered about the field. “Come help your dear old Aunt Bell.”
“But it’s a Tuesday. What could we possibly need to do on a Tuesday?” Harlow asked as she gathered the jugs and placed them in the back of the Jeep. Tuesday was reserved for meditation training. Typically, a low key day spent back here in the field among the clover.
“You’ll see.”
“Anyone ever told you that you sound cryptic?” Harlow jokingly asked as she popped into the driver seat heading back to Aunt Bell’s cabin.
“All the time.” She laughed. “But I am also almost always right.”
Harlow giggled, "Yeah, and with an appropriately sized ego to boot," earning a light tap on the arm.
The drive back to the cabin was silent. The air between them teemed with anticipation. Something has shifted in the field and felt like a new path laid was laid out before her. Harlow’s wolf began to pace through her mind. Something is definitely up...
After unloading Aunt Bell's water jugs onto her porch she gave her a quick hug goodnight. "See you in the morning." She whispered as she walked back to her family's cabin next door. She ran her hands along the wooden fence of the garden that separated the two cabins. It was a bit wild and due for some attention she noted. Silently she entered the cabin. Harlow tip-toed back into her room that she shared with Whitney. As she stepped over the threshold the old oak boards groaned loudly beneath her. So much for being sneaky.
“Dude, you left me? Where did you go?” Whitney sat up in bed wiping the sleep from her eyes.
“Aunt Bell wanted to make moon water and woke me to come with her. You know, typical full moon Aunt Bell shenanigans. But you will never believe it...” Harlow sat on the edge of her bed pulling off her shoes.
“But what? Don’t hold me in suspense!” Whitney tensed waiting for her sister’s response.
“I made an orb... a big one.” She paused to see how she would handle the news. A full-bellied gasp and wide smile removed any sort of worry that she would take the news negatively. They had manifested their first gifts together therefore Harlow was fearful of her feeling left out.
“I am so PROUD of you! Way to go, Sissy! I knew you could do it. How did it feel? What did it look like?” Whitney eagerly held her pillow in her lap awaiting her sister’s responses as she rattled off questions.
Harlow yawned unexpectedly, the exhaustion taking her by surprise. “It was intense, but in a good way. I can't wait to tell you all about it but it will have to be tomorrow. I am going to pass out if I don’t get some sleep stat.”
"Sounds like a plan, looking forward to it." Whitney blew her a kiss and cuddled back up to her pillow. She was back asleep as quickly as she awakened. How does she do that? Harlow whispered to herself staring up at the window.
She took in the full moon lingering behind a tree branch watching... or waiting. She wasn’t quite sure. She needn’t worry too long because sleep came swiftly blanketing all her thoughts in a cozy cocoon of nothingness.
