Awakening the Wolf by Crymsyn Hart Read Free Book Online Page B

change into?”
    “I think you already know the answer to that,” Coret said, amusement lilting her voice.
    She sighed. What was it? If she already knew, then why was she coming up with a blank? The night before, she had been running, so her other shape had to be something with four legs. It seemed the other side of her was pressing for her to figure it out. The shine of silver eyes flashed in her mind. It was more animalistic, so it had to be a hunter.
    Coret drew her into a hug. Illiana rested her head on her shoulder so she could whisper in her ear. “There’s a reason why you have always been drawn to the wolves more so than the others in this flock. You’ve told me in the past you’d always felt right at home with them. There are some among this clan who never set foot on the ground and yet you’re sneaking off every time you get to play with them.”
    “But that’s because I’m friends with Christopher.”
    “Illiana, you’ve been in love with him since you were thirteen. Put that aside for a moment. You growled at me a few minutes ago. Even your eyes turned silver for a split second.”
    She touched her face and found a mirror to stare into. Her eyes were dark the way they always were, showing no change. Illiana tried to imagine her eyes turning silver, reflecting the full moon, but she saw nothing—save her own face. All of her yearned to see what she would look like if she truly turned into a wolf. What would the others of the flock say about her then? Would she still be part of the flock? If it were the wolf, why was it coming out now? “Why now? If it’s always been there, why are things changing inside of me?”
    Coret shrugged. “That would be something to ask your father, but my guess is that because your mother raised you to know only the raven and not the wolf. Last night, when you were hurt by Christopher, it must’ve taken over. You wanted to retreat from the world, so it took hold and let you run. You needed to escape from your problems. When you were finally exhausted, you changed back. I would think that you finally had your walls down long enough that it came out. Now that you know it’s there, you can access it the way you can the raven part of you.”
    Illiana stared at her reflection and thought about what her aunt had said. If the walls had finally come down, then she should be able to claim her birthright and embrace the rest of her heritage. Possibilities whirled around in her mind. The wind nearly knocked her over. It was then she realized all the mobiles and things hanging from the ceiling were clattering together. Even the whistling of the gale through the leaves was shrieking. The air was cold upon her skin. She left the mirror and glanced at the fire pit. The coals were nearly burned down, but she could feel the heat of them. The longer she stared at the glowing embers, the more she was sucked into them, swaying back and forth as though caught by the very spirit of the fire. If she listened intently, her ears picked up more than the faint crackling of the coals, she could make out the voice of the fire. It was crisper than the air element and burned her entire body. The salty tang of the smoke settled on her tongue. The darkness inside of her thoughts was not so dark anymore as though it responded to the fire element. Fire was fury. Primal. Wolves followed their instincts. They listened to no one but themselves. Illiana had seen it before, even with Christopher being in a pack. Illiana reached out with her mind and tried to harness the fire the way she had with the air, but it was just beyond her reach. It kept flickering through her grasp. The more she concentrated on it, the more the darkness receded as though she had taken a candle and the flame was growing more courageous to shed some light onto the shadowed part of herself. She gazed deep into the blanketed darkness and caught a glint of black fur and two burning silver eyes. The shape moved, and she made out the form of