The Smell of Burning Fur

Theodore

I blinked my eyes open, finding myself once again kneeling before the grand statue of Selena in her earthly temple. The same silky garments draped over me. The same cool breeze brushed against my face.

~This is a disaster.~

~A complete disaster.~

If the space-time continuum is broken, it means our Goddess Selena is in serious danger—her moonstone stolen from her. It also means that Isabelle and I have failed in our duty to protect her.

~There’s no time to waste.~

My sister burst in—just like she did the last time.

Her face was etched with fear, making it clear that she too understood the dire state the universe was in.

“Brother,” she gasped out.

I nodded. “We need to go. We have to track the stone and find it before the loop restarts. We can’t waste time trying to ascend to Astria again.”

It was true. In the last reset, we had tried to find Selena in the Astral realm and our mission had been fruitless.

I extended my hand to hers. It would take our combined powers to detect the stone’s magical trace. But together, it wouldn’t take us long.

The stone was the most powerful object in the known universe, and I was confident we would be able to trace it easily.

“Come, sister.”

“I fear the future of werewolf kind is in great danger,” she said as she stepped toward me.

“Let’s not dwell on fears now,” I said, even though I was haunted by the same overwhelming fears.

If the Moon Goddess was in trouble, there was only one person who could be responsible for such a despicable act.

~Matheius.~

I hadn’t seen him in centuries—not since the last fateful time—and I wasn’t eager to see him now.

Quinn

A swirl of blues, greens, and grays blurred my vision as I tried again to make out the stern lines of Aunt Jodie’s face.

~It worked.~

~Thank Goddess.~

I knew this moment well now.

I had lived it twice before.

She had her hands on me, chanting her wicked incantation, draining all my powers in an attempt to summon the moonstone.

This time, I didn’t resist her spells. I just held my breath and waited for the precious object to materialize in front of me.

I would have a brief window of opportunity to grab it and feel its true power.

When I finally managed to fully open my eyes, I noticed that Jodie’s face was marked with panic.

My lack of reaction clearly unnerved her.

She knew that with every cycle of the time loop, I was better prepared for what was to come.

She spoke the final words of the incantation.

My body twisted from the intensity of the summoning charm.

But sure enough, with a ~thud~, the moonstone appeared beside me.

Gathering all my strength, I rolled over and threw myself on top of it.

As soon as it touched my chest, I felt a jolt of electricity surge through my body.

~This thing is powerful.~

~More powerful than I could have ever imagined.~

I nearly passed out again from the pulse of energy that was coursing through me.

Jodie lunged at me and managed to slide her hand under my body and place it firmly on the stone.

Using its power, she blasted me backward.

I flew through the air, hitting the wall and crashing to the ground.

I stretched out my hands and sent a blast back in her direction, causing her to fall to the floor.

Unfortunately, the blast wasn’t strong enough to make her lose her grip on the stone.

Her knuckles were turning white. She was clutching that stone as if her life depended on it.

I had a feeling that her life ~did~ depend on it.

She was Matheius’ pawn, and there was no telling what he would do to her if she failed in her duties.

I felt a pang of something like pity, but then I remembered that she was holding the fate of the space-time continuum in her hand.

“Back down, Quinn,” I heard her say. “You have no idea what kind of force you're up against.”

She was probably right.

I had no idea just how powerful Matheius really was.

But I couldn’t let him succeed with whatever evil plan he was executing.

With a loud primal roar, I began to shift into my wolf. My bones were still cracking, my form still taking shape, as I started to sprint toward Jodie.

Before she could send another blast in my direction, I pounced on top of her, pinning her to the ground, pressing my paw into her throat.

She screamed, but she wasn't giving up. With a dark spell, she made the stone searing hot as it touched my furry flesh.

I could smell my fur burning as she moved the stone around my body. The pain was too intense. I leapt off of her, rolling onto the ground to put out the fire that had started on my chest.

I could hear her getting up. When I looked up, she had her arms raised above her head. The stone glowed as she clenched it with both hands.

“You’re coming with me,” she said as she walked toward me. “Just stay calm. Don’t move. It will all be over before you know it—”

But then, strangely, she stopped in her tracks, her eyes darting toward the door of her chambers.

In an instant, she was thrown backward with a tremendous force.

The fall was so severe that this time the stone flew out of her grasp.

“QUINN!” a voice shouted from behind me. “Grab it!”

Without even looking to see who my saviors were, I leapt up from the ground and took the stone into my hands.

I was shocked with another jolt of electricity; I was expecting it this time, so I didn’t let it slow me down.

I turned toward the door and saw Theodore and Isabelle waiting for me, holding the door open.

“RUN!” Isabelle yelled. “She’s waking up!”

It was true. I heard Jodie scrambling to get up behind me. There was no time to waste. I started sprinting toward the twins, shifting back into my human form as I went.

The moment I stepped inside, the door slammed shut behind me. Once again, I was in the middle of a war zone.

“DUCK!” I yelled to Theodore and Isabelle. We hunched down, weaving through the whirlwind of bodies and bloodshed.

The sight was gut-wrenching. My own people, hurting each other. Killing each other.

But this time, I had a glimmer of hope. The moonstone.

I hoped that with the stone, I could stop the violence, or at least freeze everyone in their tracks like Jodie had done to us earlier.

But I didn’t know how to fully tap into the stone’s power. Or maybe I was afraid that I would tap into it ~too~ much.

That instead of stopping the fight, I might accidentally blow up the whole place and kill everyone.

I decided it was best to wait until we were out of the chaos to discuss it with Theodore and Isabelle.

As we navigated through the violence, a sound made my heart drop.

It was Zara, crying for help as she battled not one, not two, but ~three~ wolves from Anthony’s army.

I almost stopped to help her, but that would have been reckless. Jodie must have woken up by now. She would be after us any second.

Luckily, I saw Alex pushing through the crowd, appearing at Zara’s side.

In my mind, I saw them recognizing each other as mates again, and I smiled faintly as I reached the front door and finally escaped from Fort Vulpes.

Isabelle

We ran until we reached the edge of the forest. The trees would hide us for a moment—just long enough to come up with a plan.

Quinn was looking at me, holding the moonstone. My creator’s most treasured possession and the source of her power.

I shivered, thinking about the pain she must be in without it.

What could Matheius possibly want?

“What now?” Quinn asked, clearly annoyed by my silence.

“We need to get to Matheius’ earthly temple. I’m pretty sure that’s where he’s holding Selena captive.”

“Selena? The Moon Goddess herself? Here on Earth?”

“Yes, my dear. Without her moonstone, Selena could be a prisoner on Earth. We have to find her before it’s too late—”

“Show us the way to his temple,” Theodore interrupted. “I never thought I’d have to go back to that awful place. I can barely remember how to get there.”

“Are you ready?” I asked Quinn.

But instead of responding with enthusiasm, she looked back at Fort Vulpes, her face filled with fear.

“I know it’s hard to leave your friends in such a terrible situation. But you’re holding their future in your hands. If you want them to survive, we have to find Selena.”

When Quinn looked at me again, I thought I had convinced her. But to my surprise, all she said was: “I can’t.”

“What?” Theodore exclaimed. “What don’t you understand? Don’t be stupid!”

“I need my strength to face Matheius. The farther I get from Jax, the more it hurts. If we go deeper into the woods, the pain will be unbearable. Overwhelming.

“I can’t face Matheius without Jax.”

She was right. I was foolish to forget that. My mate was a mortal, so I lost him a long time ago. But I still remember the pain of being apart from him.

“Okay, my dear,” I sighed.

I knew that right now, the only way forward was backward.

“Let’s go back to the camp and find Jax.”

Theodore didn’t seem convinced.

“If something happens to Quinn, the time loop will start over. Next time, we might not be able to get the moonstone.

“We have to be careful.”