Origins

Selena

Once upon a time, there was a wolf and a she-wolf. They were alike and different in many ways. They were made to be together, to comfort each other through life’s ups and downs, and to pass on their stories and successes to their offspring.

They came from the earliest days of creation. They multiplied. They ate. They killed. They mated. They did all this without thinking about the consequences. They were just animals.

But there was one she-wolf who wanted more than this life. She wanted a life with a purpose, a life with more awareness, like the one lived by a new race that was emerging on Earth’s ancient shores.

Wolves usually hunted humans for their tender flesh and delicious taste. But this particular wolf saw more in humans. She saw an opportunity to learn.

And she did learn. She learned their language, their stories, their sadness. Every night, she would hide in the woods and watch as they performed their magic. They would create a beautiful display of light with rocks and twigs. They would gather around it. It gave them food. It gave them warmth. But most importantly, it gave them a sense of community. It connected them to their past and gave them a vision for their future.

One night, a little girl invited the wolf to join this new human race. The girl, whose name has been lost to time, welcomed me home.

I was scared when she found me hiding in the bushes behind the human camp. But there was a purity in her eyes, a desire to learn more, just like me. I trusted her immediately.

When she brought me into her home, the others were scared. They thought I would eat them like the other wolves had. But the little girl knew who I was. She told them who I was. And they trusted her. They knew that the youngest among them had the best sense of right and wrong.

From that night on, I was part of their group. They made me a valued member of their pack. The little girl who had brought me home introduced me to everyone. Each human I met taught me something new. And I tried to teach them something in return.

They showed me how to grow food from the ground. I showed them how to hunt wild animals. They showed me how to protect myself from the rain, wind, and snow. I taught them how to predict the weather. We shared our knowledge with each other and made a better life together. It was magical.

I wished for more magic—to experience this beautiful world in a human body. But my animal body didn’t stop me from forming a bond with the little girl. We spent every day together, playing in the wildflowers in the morning.

I watched the little girl grow bigger and stronger over the years. And our bond only grew stronger.

But then one day, everything changed. One morning I woke up, and she didn’t. I didn’t know why. Neither did the humans.

When I took them to her, they tried to bring her back to life with their magic spells and chants. But nothing worked. My little girl was dead.

They burned her body in the fire, reducing her to dust. But many of the humans said that her physical body was only a small part of her. They said that a larger part of her would live forever, swimming in a cool stream of eternity protected by walls of fire. A place where the living were not allowed.

But I didn’t care about the rules. If there was even a small chance that my little girl was still alive somewhere, I was determined to find her.

So I lifted my nose to the wind. After a few minutes, I caught her scent. It was faint and far away. But it was the best chance I had to find her.

I ran away from the human camp, never to return. With my nose in the air, I followed the scent for days, determined to reach my goal.

I traveled to many corners of the world, across deserts, through dense forests, and over icy caps. Finally, I found it. The entrance to the final resting place of human souls.

It was a hidden entrance, not grand or obvious as one might imagine—just a crack in the wall of an icy cave, somewhere in the Great North.

It was clear that I wasn’t supposed to be there. The depths of this underworld were beyond description. Its maze of flaming buildings held endless horrors.

I lost track of time there. I might have spent years searching. My girl’s scent was hard to detect amid the sulfur and brimstone, but I managed to keep track of it.

Finally, I came out of the flames into a deep cavern. Shimmering stones sparkled on the walls. A narrow stream ran through the quiet cave, casting a supernatural blue light.

There were many scents here—thousands. But my little girl’s stood out among them all.

At last, I found her. Her eternal spirit was swimming calmly beneath the waters.

I tried to howl to her, but she couldn’t hear me. She was trapped in the waters below.

I didn’t know what to do. Had I come all this way only to fail to bring her back?

But then I realized what I had to do. The only chance I saw to bring her back to life.

I dipped my nose in the stream and drank the waters, swallowing her spirit.

Her body began to twist and turn beneath the water. As I consumed the last of her soul, her body shrank and disappeared.

In its place, a single, glowing moonstone was all that was left.

I reached my paw into the water and picked up the stone. When I brought it to the surface, my paw had turned into a human hand.

I looked at my reflection in the water. My body was now hers. We were one. We shared one body.

The cleverness of the wolf and the intelligence of the human were now combined in one being.

I didn’t know it then, but I had become the first werewolf.

I soon found out that drinking from the mystical stream had given me the gift of eternal life.

The gods put me through a series of grueling tests.

But I proved myself and earned my place among them, creating a race of werewolves.

My first task as their goddess was to make sure they didn’t fall into the same traps as regular wolves.

They would be driven by the human need to belong.

To be with one special person of their kind.

To experience love, as I had.

They would be consumed by the need to find it. And once they did, it would forever shape their lives.

Werewolves were to be linked through the ages by their mates.

Quinn

We were stunned into silence.

What could we possibly say?

Her grand plan, which had safeguarded werewolves for thousands of years, had been undone. Wiped out in a single moment.

Isabelle hugged Selena, wiping her tears with her sleeve.

Theodore locked eyes with me and said in a serious tone, “Only a goddess can overthrow Matheius, Quinn. You’re our only shot at getting our rightful ruler back on her throne.”

I didn’t get what he meant.

“But I’m not trained,” I protested. “I don’t even understand my own powers.”

“Your blood carries centuries of bravery, wisdom, and skill,” Selena said, her voice shaking. “You have everything you need to beat Matheius, as long as you can spot the right moment to use it.”

~The right moment?~

After being so easily tricked by my Aunt Jodie, it seemed that accurately judging situations wasn’t exactly my strong suit.

But what could I do? My goddess was counting on me. My family was counting on me.

I nodded and met Selena’s gaze. “What do I need to do?”

Isabelle chimed in, “You have to go to Astria to overthrow Matheius’ rule and reclaim the moonstone.”

“Once you do,” Theodore added, “you’ll become a deity.”

“What?!” I blurted out. “Me, a God?”

I was nowhere near ready for something like that.

The twins shook their heads.

“As soon as you take the throne, you’ll declare Selena as Moon Goddess again and give her position back to her.”

I looked at Selena. She nodded in agreement with the twins' plan.

I turned to Jax. “Ready to face Matheius again?”

To my surprise, he looked at me with disbelief.

“And what makes you think you’ll win this time?” he challenged.

I was at a loss for words.

He’d never talked to me like that before.

We’d always been there for each other.

Selena looked between us sadly. “I see Matheius works quickly,” she observed.

I looked into Jax’s eyes. They were filled with anger and confusion.

It seemed that I was running out of time.

With every passing second, we were drifting apart.