The Lost Elixir

Chapter Five

Rayne was officially homesick after walking beside Jarrah for the day.

He was easily the most frustrating person she'd ever met in her life. All he did was shoot her glares, snap unnecessary comments at her, and stayed silent unless spoken to. She did her best to avoid him at all costs, but even that proved to be difficult. So, when nighttime came, she decided she needed to reconnect with the one being that made her feel normal.

Her wolf.

She was a gift from the moon goddess herself. Coated in a soft fur of alabaster white, her paws dipped in silk ivory, she was a sight for sore eyes in wolf form. Alpha's were graced with the moon goddesses favoritism, so just like her father, and his father before him and so on, Rayne was gifted with the moon's bright replica.

Once they found a place to settle in for the night, Rayne wasted no time in walking behind a tree with her backpack in hand. She quickly stripped out of her clothes, shoved them in the bag, and stood up straight again. Closing her eyes, she rolled her shoulders back and positioned her body towards the moon.

"Hʋshi Ninak Aya, I call to you," she breathed, her voice soft with adoration. The moon's energy stirred, and Rayne's warm brown skin tingled with a humming vibration. Wolves didn't need to do such a ritual to shift during the day, but when night time came, they made sure to be respectful of the moon goddesses presence. It was through her gift that they were able to shift at all, and they did well to remember that. "Grant me your gift of night. With it, I devote my loyalty and love to you, Mother of Night."

The influx of energy pulsated through Rayne's fingertips. Security drifted over her shoulders and wrapped around her shaking body as she focused on her wolf form. There was nothing like shifting at night in the presence of Hʋshi Ninak Aya.

It didn't take long for Rayne's body to ripple and slowly morph into her wolf form. She was used to the transition, and no longer fought against the few cracks it took to get into position. Fingers curling into paws, two legs stretching into four, she was finally at ease with her other half. She shook her fur and bent down to grab her backpack into her mouth, before trotting out from behind the tree.

Jarrah, who finished eating the apple he plucked from a tree, looked over at her, stunned. His fingers were paused mid-air and his eyes glanced over her coat warily. They followed her movement of putting her bag down where she'd be sleeping on the blades of grass and watched as she ate at the fruit she gathered for herself. They'd catch their own food tomorrow, so for now, fruit was just fine.

It wasn't until after Rayne licked her jaws that she looked up, catching the Fae king's gaze. Questions lingered in his eyes, resentful curiosity on his lips. But, instead of voicing anything out loud, he turned away from her. That was fine. She didn't really feel like talking--or er, howling at him anyway.

Rayne decided she needed to stretch her legs a bit in wolf form, so she trotted away from him and back to the forest. They hadn't discussed patrols before, but she took the liberty to do it for a while. She needed some time to think and clear her head, something she hadn't done since the day they brought Jarrah to the pack. She didn't realize the toll jumping into something as serious as finding something that may or may not exist in the most dangerous city in the world, until then. When she realized she was stuck with someone who despised her when she could be spending the last of her days with her family and friends.

Thinking about Ronan made her heart ache and a whine pushed through her muzzle. Since the day they were born, they hadn't been apart for anything longer than twenty-four hours. They were born in the same hospital twenty hours apart, and grew up as practically twins. Their parents didn't know what to do when they realized they couldn't go anything longer than eight hours of sleep without fussing and crying until they were in the same crib again. It was why their families had hoped a union would be made once they were old enough to make the decision to date.