Ravenwood(90)

Would being a wolf put her on a level to challenge Hayter?

A howl broke through the night, long and high and she shivered, terrified for a moment that it was Hayter and she would feel the nauseating pull to go to the forest. But, it was not Hayter’s discordant howl she heard, nor the softer tenor of Caleb that she knew from her dreams. It was the omega, Elinore realized. She felt she understood what his howl meant, deep in her heart and in her bones. It said to her, I am here. I wish to be part of your pack.

Another howl rang out and this time it was the off-tune howl that Elinore recognized as Hayter’s. She felt a pull in her chest - a desire to answer his howl. There was a hard tug in her chest, an urge to run toward the sound and find him. She pressed a hand to her heart, willing it to slow its maddening beat. She could not answer Hayter’s howl. She would not answer Hayter’s howl. There was a minute of silence and then he howled again, causing such a sharp pull against her insides that she gasped. It hurt. His howl made her heart hurt, it made her ears hurt. Good Lord, it even made her teeth hurt.

No, those weren’t her teeth. Well, they were, but… Elinore touched the tip of her tongue to the long, sharp protrusions that now came from her gums where blunt human teeth had been moments before. She tasted blood - sharp and metallic. She rushed to the mirror and in its silvery reflection, she could see, as she drew her lips back, elongated canine teeth.

They looked deadly. They looked fierce. They looked as though they could do damage.

Elinore waited for another howl. For the omega to howl again, or for Hayter to call her again, or perhaps for Caleb to respond to Hayter. Did Hayter’s howl sound as terrible to Caleb as it did to Elinore? Had it always been so wrong and raw?

As time crawled forward, and there were no further howls from the forest, Elinore felt her wolf-teeth sink back into her gums, receding underneath the flesh. She pressed her fingers against her lips, wondering if her sharp teeth lingered still, under the surface, waiting for tomorrow night.

Elinore thought of the story Caleb had told her, of the new mother who prayed to the moon Goddess and demanded she save a sickly-born child. A fable likely whispered to children as they lay in bed at night and fought against sleep.

But perhaps not only that?

Elinore blinked at the moon and closed her eyes, letting it bathe her face in silver light. She wondered if what she was about to do was blasphemy. What would be the appropriate words? How could she articulate her desires? Elinore stood in the moonlight and tried to let her heart speak for her. She thought of the other women of Ravenwood, of Mrs. Davenport, Mrs. Thistlewaite and Alice. The Vollmond men may be the masters of the house, but Elinore felt the women were its heart. She wished to be a force to protect them. She longed to be strong enough to do what needed to be done to keep the people of Ravenwood, the pack of Ravenwood safe. If Caleb could not, or would not see Hayter for what he was, it would be left to Elinore and perhaps the omega wolf, whose name she did not even know, to do… something. Subdue Hayter? Trap him? Was there a council or some kind of law system to which he could be brought? She sighed deeply, opening her eyes to the moon, feeling as though she’d finally found her words.

“I wish for strength, tempered with justice and affection.”

Surely such words, even if whispered to a pagan goddess, could not be horrible blasphemy?

Hayter’s howl again broke across the night and though it pained her to listen even harder, Elinore did, waiting, straining, hoping to hear something from Caleb. If he were near, would he answer? Did he know the discordant howl to be his uncle’s?

After several breaths, her heart sank. There were no other howls. She waited longer, hope a small, tremulous thing in her heart. Surely Caleb would reply. If he recognized the howl as Hayter’s, then he would respond. If he didn’t recognize the howl as his uncle’s, then he would respond to indicate he was in the area, possibly to let Elinore know of his proximity.

But no other howl came across the wind to Elinore’s ears. She was hollow and sick at the silence. Was Caleb too far away? Or worse, was Caleb unable to answer? If Hayter was mad, and Caleb had caught up with him, had things finally reached a breaking point? Elinore had seen what Hayter was capable of when it came to animals, but she didn’t know what he would do to family.

The night was long in the way that only the night can be. A day could be long, but there was always the sense it would end. However, when the night was long, it was an endless abyss, hollow and wretched. Like the night on which she was bitten, Elinore feared sunrise would never come, and she would be trapped in an unending darkness forever, waiting for Caleb’s howl on the wind, while also fearing Hayter coming closer.

The sun finally did rise, slow and fat over the horizon. Though it was bright and beautiful, Elinore found her eyes drifting to the ghostly circle of the moon in the sky, its pale white belly now complete and round. The daybreak of the night of the full moon. Yesterday, she’d been so certain Caleb would return, as he promised he would, but when she did not hear any sound from him during the night, fear and doubt crept into her soul and took up residence. What would happen tonight? Would Elinore turn into a werewolf? What would become of Hayter and the omega?

Elinore could no longer bear the thought of sitting in her room. She dressed quickly for the day, putting on her most serviceable gown and pulling her hair back in a plain knot. Upon arriving in the dining room, she found Mrs. Thistlewaite setting out some food and a pot of tea. The fragrant scent of Caleb’s favorite tea made her heart clench in fondness, worry and anxiety. Mrs. Davenport came in as well, poking her head into the dining room as if only to check on Elinore quickly. Once seeing her, the elderly housekeeper made to leave again, but Elinore spoke.