faces of moon: mother

Chapter 6: Village

Song: Abe Parker, "It is what it is"

Coley's POV: Same day as previous chapter, 26 years ago

I entered the village on the trail from the southwest pack lands. There were wolves moving about here and there in the woods. It felt weird to be closer to others. My senses were on high alert. My hair stood on end. Stay calm, Samara. I spoke to my wolf calmly to soothe her tension. 

There were clothing bins set up around the village and trails for wolves to change in and out of clothes. The shared clothing bins had a smell about them that irked me. A mixture of multiple wolves' scents swirled about the bins and through the clothing fibers. That's why we bring our own, I mentally told Samara. 

I dropped my bag of clothes on the ground and shifted. I pulled my clothes and boots on quickly. My skin crawled. I hated wearing shoes and socks, but I gritted my teeth and sucked it up in the name of not being seen.

"Hey Brynn." came a familiar voice as I was pulling on my socks and trying to maintain my balance. I cringed, "If we're going to be friends, you have got to call me something else, Luke. I really dislike that nickname." He laughed, "You don't like your last name?" I gave him a pointed look, "I love it. It's a wonderful reminder of my parentage." I deadpanned. "Oh. Right. Well.... what do you want to be called?" He asked. "Just Coley is fine." He looked at me long and hard like he was thinking. His scrutiny made me self-conscious in my skin. 

"Stop being so weird." I said as I pulled my hair back and put my beanie on over the knot of hair.

Luke stepped closer to me until he was right in front of my body. His chin came to the middle of my face. His mouth level with my eyes as he spoke. A little too close for my comfort, my skin rippled, but I resisted the urge to shift. I had to get used to other wolves and being in my skin. He noticed my skin ripple, his eyes drawn to my arms for a moment. He said nothing about it, for which I was thankful. 

Luke added in a low voice, as he straightened my beanie and tucked a stray hair underneath the edge, "I was just thinking you could go by a different name today since you want to go in disguise." I thought for a moment before answering, "What about Elizabeth? It's my middle name and less likely to tie me to the Alpha." "Great let's go, Elizabeth. I have so much to show you in the village." 

I looked into his eyes, glistening a golden brown in the early sunlight, trying to find a hint of teasing. "No teasing, Luke. Just for today?" I asked trying to make him understand how hard this would be for me. He held up his pinky finger, "Just for today." I looked at his finger curiously, "Huh?" He grabbed my hand and linked our fingers together. "It's a pinky promise, which cannot be broken. It's against the laws of the universe. If I tease you today, the Universe will place 1,000 needles in my eyes, or so my sisters say." His eyes twinkled mischievously looking down into mine. 

He's teasing now, Samara told me, excited that another wolf wanted to play. I rolled my eyes with a barely concealed smile and pushed his chest back with my hands. He stumbled back a couple steps before regaining his balance with a huge smile across his face. "Alright there Bry-Elizabeth. You've got some strength behind those scrawny arms." I swallowed the retort I wanted to say with a smile. Maybe his teasing wouldn't be too bad. You can always leave, Samara reminded me sarcastically. I ignored her teasing too. 

"Let's go before the village gets too busy." I mumbled as I walked quickly along the well worn trail amongst the heavy brush. He jogged to catch up to me, "You trying to avoid the crowds Elizabeth?" He said my middle name with a teasing tone, but I refused to take the bait; the closer I got to the village, the more my anxiety rose. Glimpses of my mother's funeral, her burning cheek, the smell of her burnt corpse, the chemo, the Alpha...it was smothering. I took a deep breath trying to calm  myself. The last thing we needed was me losing myself in the middle of the village. I took a deep breath to calm myself.