Read with BonusRead with Bonus

#7

Aurora POV

I had been vigorously gathering all morning, and it must be afternoon now. It was hard to tell with the dense, overcast sky. The drizzle of the morning turned to heavy rain. I could still sense the scurrying of animals and the muffled chatter of birds. The energy of the rain joined the hums and vibrations of the deep forest’s energy. Something in my bones told me to remain alert. I had foraged for some roots and some heartier edibles that would keep longer than the daily herbs I was collecting before. My boots treaded deftly through the damp earth. I kept having the urge to sniff my surroundings. ‘weird’ I thought. My senses would sharpen and then fade out. Like I was momentarily looking through with the laser focus of a predator’s eyes. I suddenly became disturbingly aware of a presence not around me, but within me. I found myself looking around me still for who or what could join in my senses. A fierceness within me bloomed as I stalked around in the rain looking for the trespasser of my mind. My body language changed, as did my gait as I spun around, keeping my back to a large tree. As I stilled, reaching out. What would cause me to go, predator, when I'm a very docile individual? My senses reached far, and I heard a yelp in my mind as I nearly doubled over with pain in my calf.

The tug pulled me as I staggered forward. The need to get to who or whatever was calling for me was more than an instinct in my mind. ‘Don't lose yourself. She is within you.’ My inner self encouraged. I nodded to myself. I knew there was a time and a place, but this was mine. Stumbling ungracefully and as fast as the searing pain in my leg and the wet surroundings would allow. The need to find the source of the woeful sound was overwhelming. I let the tether pull me in, but the blinding rage that suddenly seeped under my skin from deep within myself as I came across an extremely large grey wolf with blue eyes in a hunter’s old bear trap shocked me. I was panicking. His leg was bleeding, and something in me was seething because of that. As a true witch, I wanted no one to suffer. I wanted peace and humanity to be humble. But the emotions coming out of me now threatened to dampen my control.

I breathed in pine and cypress. I exhaled fear and irrationality. Pulling back into myself, I sought out the consciousness that had invaded my mind, though now retreated I reached for it and coaxed it. The invader’s consciousness emitted warmth and tenderness that spoke to my soul. I pushed out a calming lullaby of energy to soothe the beast. The whining stopped as he looked at me, less panicked. No way was I leaving this animal behind. Bowing my head in submission, I crawled down on all fours, my stomach dragging in the mud, attempting to be as meek as possible. I edged closer to the wolf, eyes averted. Still holding on to the calming energy as I coaxed it into the wolf. When I got to the trap, I sucked in a deep breath. My hand inched towards the trap. He simply let out a sad whine. I placed my hands on either side of the trap, pulling in a thread of power as I released it, bolstering my strength to force open the heavy metal trap. My muscles strained with the effort until the trap finally gave way. The animal retreated a few feet before whining. I pushed the calming lullaby, with more force, feeding it, as I knew I needed to tend the animal, and I didn’t want to risk being bitten.

I watched him as I sat dumbfounded. My eyes darted over the animal before me. He was beautiful. I expected him to try to shy away from me. However, he limped a few steps towards me before collapsing unconscious, surrendering to my tendrils of calm that lulled him into sleep.

The rain came harder as the wolf's blood continued to seep from his leg. I glanced around for shelter, finding a ledge outcropping that offered a small space of dry ground. I pulled my poncho off, tossing it on the ground, knowing there was no way I could carry or drag the animal without help. As the rain soaked through my clothes, I labored to shift his large body onto the poncho. I struggled to pull him to the dry area, using the poncho as an aid. Once there, I found 2 sticks as straight as I could manage in a time crunch and lined up his leg, splinting it and binding it with some twine from my bag. I pulled out a clump of yarrow and began chewing it into a paste that I then covered the wound with. This would help stop the bleeding. Ignoring the bitter taste in my mouth, I then placed my hands around the wounded leg and prayed to the goddess for strength to do this correctly, as healing had not been one of my major studies. I had left that up to Blake. He had dreamed of going to medical school and starting a natural healing practice. Pulling energy from within me instead of around me knowing the consequences this may have for me later, I concentrated on mending the blood vessels, tissue, and pieces of bone together. I could see in my mind as I connected each bit back together. It would not be a complete healing. Hopefully, it would be enough. So, hopefully, he would be able to complete the healing process on his own. This was a colossal risk, as I was ignoring my other abilities and leaving the wolf and myself without protection.

Considering the crushed bone, the wolf was lucky his leg was still intact after the incident. His size and the age of the trap were probably the only things that saved his leg. How did wolves even get this big? I wondered to myself. The act of healing took a lot of time and a lot of my stores of energy. As healing came not only from the energy around you but from within you. As I finished, I was swaying as my teeth chattered in the evening air. Pulling off my soaked clothes, I smacked them against the dry rock, where they stuck with a slap. Left in my bra and underwear, hopefully, they would dry by morning. There was no dry kindling to maintain a fire, and the air was becoming colder. I unzipped the cover over my sleeping bag and pulled it around me. Yet I knew I’d spent too much energy fixing the wolf and I'd have trouble regulating my body temperature with the dropping temperatures. I glanced at the wolf. Do I risk becoming dinner to the animal as I use him as a personal furnace? Or would I die of hypothermia? As I continued to sway and could barely keep my eyes open, I decided I’d rather be dinner than an witchcicle. So, I crawled up to the animal, throwing the sleeping bag over us. Engulfed by the pine and cedar scent of the wolf, I curled around him, soaking in his warmth and everything drifted to black as my body shut down.

Previous Chapter
Next Chapter