Chapter 4: A Vision From the Moon Goddess

Zalena had found that she was unable to sleep that night, thoughts of those silver eyes plaguing her mind as she tossed and turned. A quiet huff coming from her as she finally gave up, instead staring up at the ceiling as the only sound that echoed in the room was the fan she had turned on earlier to help ward off the heat that was creeping in.

“Goddess, why is it so hard to sleep tonight?” Zalena murmured to herself as she ran a hand down her face. “It shouldn’t be this difficult…” She grumbled as she turned onto her side, tugging the blankets up over her with a frustrated huff. It took another hour before she had finally fallen asleep, moonlight streaming through the windows and illuminating her features as she slept.

‘Zalena was running through the woods again, the wind rustling her fur as she ran, coming to the same stream she had come across earlier, she skidded to a stop and looked around. She stepped towards the water, peering down at it and growling at the image in the water. She looked… Worn out, tired, wanting to escape her normal life. She huffed as she jumped into the stream and simply soaked in it, feeling as though the water was carrying every ounce of frustration and sadness she had away as it rushed through her fur.

But her attention was drawn to the bushes she had seen the silver eyes in earlier, climbing back out of the water, she shook out her fur as she wandered over. Some part of her knowing this was all just a dream… At least that’s what the rational part of her was telling her, the other part telling her that she was being blessed by the Moon Goddess herself by a vision. Her wolf nudged the bushes apart where they had seen the silver eyes and stepped through them, glancing around at the opening they led to. She paused as she saw a figure in the distance, her ears flicking forward as she began to walk towards the figure.

An all black wolf came into her sight, and she purposely stepped on a twig to alert him of her presence. The sound caused him to look from the rabbit he had pinned underneath his paws, no doubt chasing it for fun and training as many others had done before. He let it go and turned to face her fully, the same silver eyes she had seen earlier in the day stared down at her. Rather than fear setting in, she felt a sense of peace despite him being much larger than her wolf.

The wolf slowly approached her, stepping into her personal bubble, and she found that she didn’t mind at all as she held his gaze. Amusement spread across his features as he looked down at her, and she sighed softly as she could smell him, it was as though he had stepped out of the fresh pinewood forest after a rainy day back home. It was one of her absolute favorite scents, and after a rainy day like that, she would go for a run through the pinewood forest simply to enjoy the smell of the trees and rain once it had stopped.

The wolf motioned for her to follow him with a jerk of his head, and she did so willingly. She followed him to the edge of the clearing and right back to where the stream was that she had been soaking in earlier. The wolf paused for a moment, glancing at her before jumping in and floating there, he stared up at her as though expecting her to join him. Which she was more than eager to as she followed after him. Finding the stranger’s presence much more comforting than Andros’s despite only having met him once. A quiet rumble of affection came from her as she brushed against the stranger, eager to know more about him. But, despite that, the wolf had climbed back out of the water after a short while of being together and disappearing again. The world around her slowly faded back into nothingness as the faint sound of buzzing began to pull her from the vision she had been given.’

Zalena growled as she was woken from the dream she was having, desperately trying to ignore the sound of her phone buzzing on the nightstand. She reached over and shut it off so she could enjoy sleeping in for once in her life. Sighing, she burrowed back under the covers and drifted back into a light sleep for a little while longer.

By the time she had woken up again, she slid out of bed and got ready for the day. Feeling more relaxed and comforted by the dream she had, or vision as her wolf was telling her, she was relieved that Andros was not her true mate in any way shape or form. She made her way over to the small kitchen table in the motel room and took a seat, turning on the tv as she idly scrolled through her phone. Ignoring the several texts she had received within the last hour from various pack members of Fallen Grove for now as she read a few articles on attractions in Crestfall Grove, she’d have to ask the owner if they were true later.

One thing was for certain, she realized as she paused, lingering on an article about visions the Moon Goddess can give you, was that she had to find a way to free herself from Andros. For good. With a new sense of determination filling her, she stood and made her way to the front desk where she met the owner.

“Where’s the nearest library?” Zalena asked the woman behind the counter, if she was going to form a plan to leave Andros, she wanted to do it under the safety of using a library computer and not her phone, lest he see what she had been researching during a daily phone check.

“Just right up the road from here, can’t miss the sign. It looks like an old church.” The woman mused, different from the owner she had met.

“Thank you.” Was all that she replied as she made her way out the door, following the directions and making her way through the library doors. Once she found a seat far enough away from any prying eyes. She pulled up a search engine and began to search.

‘Lunas leaving Alphas, and how to do it.’ Several hundred results pulled up, surprising her as she began to scroll through the articles, finding one that looked promising, she clicked on it, and began to read from there.