The Lotus Trials

Chapter IV

When the north born claims the crown
Peace within us will be found
By the witch's mark that joy be plagued
The Lotus moon drop meets her grave

While wolves weep the flower spreads
A darkened power paints us red
With the cloak of darkness wide
The gem of light must save our kind

If she fails then her hidden heir
Will fall from grace despite our prayer
Should the witch's claim strike the kingdom's core
The king-to-be will breathe no more.
~~~~~
Zeke's POV:
I bolted out of bed in a panic, turning the words over and over in my head until the cluster of words was a semi-legible block on my nearest notebook. "North born claims the crown. Witch's mark. Lotus moon drop."

I shake my head, standing. "So, somebody north of here is going to usurp me, some literal witch is gonna pop up and curse us, and the pack is going to loose an important member. A female soldier? What the hell does moon drop mean? Someone feminine, a child? And this flower, is it for making poison to wipe out Lotus? Is it small scale movement to start a tyrannical takeover? Scare people into loyalty? This is some dark, twisted prophecy or something. Red always means blood."

I groaned, tossing the notebook onto my bed, beginning to pace. "It's three forty-two. I don't have the energy to deal with this." But now my worry has me too wired to sleep.

"Run?"

I rolled my eyes at my wolf's enthusiasm. He apparently wasn't terrified of being stuck in our animal form permanently. It's still all that's going to clear my head tonight. "Yes, Caspian. Let's go for a run."

I made my way downstairs, sensing a second presence there. "Selene, why are you out of bed? You should be asleep, sweetheart."

"No," she whined, hugging my legs. "Someone's upset. Someone outside. I want to help them."

"Selene, you had a dream. You can't tell if someone out in the woods is upset."

"You're upset too. And scared. And you look dark. You're blue and black. They feel blue too, Daddy."

"You're going to keep getting out of bed until we see them, aren't you?"

"Yes."

I sighed. I could already feel Caspian's frustration, but it was short-lived. Selene is his pup as much as my daughter, her wolf apparent or not. "Just a few minutes," I told her. "Then you go back to bed. Understand? If we can't find them fast we have to leave anyways."

"Okay," she grumbled, shoving her feet into her pink Crocs. Oh dear. Crocs and socks. I should have taught her better.

"I'm going to shift and then you climb on my back and hold on. Keep low so you don't hit your head on branches."

"Okay," she said, more excitement in her voice now. I shifted and she giggled as she clambered onto my back, laying down and hugging tight. Small for her age, she felt light as a feather in this form. I hope her wolf won't be a runt.

I was careful as I began navigating. I've known these woods my whole life, and some parts were a bit too rocky to bring a human child through. "Left, Daddy," she said, pointing towards a clearing I knew. "They're over there."

Why she was so confident I didn't know, but I could humor her, considering the area is so safe. Left we went. I barked as she slid off my back when we broke the tree line, only to find her approaching a sleeping female. I bounded over, nudging Selene away. Startling some wolves had led to loss of limbs. I'd witnessed a few defensive attacks myself and my daughter would not be a victim to that. Especially when I can't hand down consequences for defensive instincts.

I took in the she-wolf. She was gorgeous. With a coat of dark red, so rare for our kind, it promised certain skills. Her size wouldn't suggest impressive physical strength, but I could predict superior agility. Light and quick, but effective in attacks. She suddenly leaped up with a growl of caution. I angled my upper body down, not in a bow of any kind, but a normal gesture of peace. I'm just passing through. No threat here.

She returned the gesture, her bow a bit deeper, before laying down again. I started to move along, nudging Selene. "Daddy, she's blue." I stuck close as she walked towards the red wolf, kneeling inches from her ribs. "Why are you sad?" The wolf seemed to let out a sigh as Selene fearlessly stroked her snout as if she were simply a lap dog. "I want to be friends. I don't like sad friends." The wolf cocked her head and Selene reached to scratch her ears, laying down in a trusting position. "Your fur is pretty. And you're warm."

Her eyes drooped and I let out a huff, trotting closer. The other wolf simply scooted in, easing her head onto her paws as to not disturb Selene's hand still at her ear, as gentle as a mother wolf. Slightly awed at the sight, I settled on Selene's other side, my eyes not straying from the red female until I sensed her sleeping again. Was that a protective instinct for my daughter alone or did I feel I had two females to watch over tonight? I still slipped away and all that night—or early morning—prophetic nightmares aside, with the moon glowing over us as some sort of symbol I slept a sound sleep.