Anastasia

"Gisele! Gisele!"

Gisele lets go of my hand, and I'm falling down into the ravine. I don't stop falling, as if I'm lost in some dark tunnel. It's only when my back hits something soft, that I wake up.

I'm panting, struggling to catch my breath. And it might be the way I'm clamoring for air, that makes it so hard to keep my eyes open. The scent of herbs fills my nose, and I sigh.

I'm back on the ledge, but this time I'm alone. I kick my legs back and forth playfully, the way Gisele did in our moment of closure. The butterfly that visited us before flaps its wings close to my ear, and I smile when I see it. I open my palm, and the pretty little creature with its intricate black patterns on the purple canvas of its wings. The flapping stops and there's a moment of silence that passes before it flaps again and flies away.

It's Gisele. She seems to trust me enough to leave me alone here. This time, I'm not shrouded in darkness, and the warmth of the sun's rays kisses my cheeks.

I look up directly into the sun, but it's too bright for my eyes. I try shielding them with a hand on my forehead, but for some reason my hand doesn't provide any shelter. Squinting, I try to break my stare, but I find that I can't pull my eyes away from the sun.

Burning, burning, burning…

My face feels like it's going to melt. I part my lips, but the scream I let out is soundless.

It's burning!

I gasp as I feel a breeze drift by, cooling my face. I'm unable to see, my vision blur, but the scent of herbs strikes me once again, and I feel myself slipping out of consciousness.

It feels like an eternity has passed since I was last able to blink my eyelids and actually see. Well, not entirely. My vision is still hazy, but I can make out the shapes of trees surrounding me.

I look up into the sky, noting that it's nighttime. There are clouds above, which gently open up to allow a soft descent of rain.

Pat, pat, pat.

It's the sound of water droplets hitting off my skin. It's a welcome feeling, the coolness of the raindrops providing some relief to the burning sensation from the unconscious dream.

But the feeling is still there - that burning, aching feeling, and I grimace as one particular drop hits my cheek in a spot that burns the most.

I open my eyes to the realization that my body is submerged in water again.

Drip, drip, drip.

The droplets ricochet off something firmer than skin, and as I blink my eyes rapidly to regain a semblance of my perfect vision, I notice the leaves spread out in front of me.

Canna leaves. I've only ever heard about their healing properties. It was mom that told me about them, always rambling on about how she wished she had some whenever I came back home with a bump or a bruise. It's only effective on our kind. But the Blood Moon territory near Santa Barbara didn't have soil fertile enough to allow this type of plant to grow.

Even with its supposed healing properties, my bones ache from the battering I took in the battle against the rogues. Before falling off the ledge, it must have been adrenaline that kept all the pain away.

I lift my hand out of the water, using a rock on the side to get myself up into a seated position. The red-trimmed leaves cover my bare frame, and I'm surrounded by more rocks. I blink back the throbbing pain in my temples, and take a look around. I'm in some natural bath of some kind, in a roofless cave where the canopy is only the light of the moon shining onto me like a spotlight.

This place is different - not anything like the forest I'm accustomed to. Here, the air smells like freshly-cut grass with a sprinkle of rose petals or some exquisite flower that my nose has never had the pleasure of smelling. It's what dreams are made of, and I wonder if this is just that - a dream. It's only the gnawing pain on almost every part of my body that makes me realize this is no dream at all.

I remember how it happened - how I fell to what I thought was my death. How the raging waters consumed my wolf and left me fighting to get my head above water when I witnessed the rogue leader's own wolf cower and he drowned in the stream. I fought and fought until I had no fight left in me, and the next thing that happened was the dream about Gisele as she urged me to stay alive.

I remember taking her hand, and as soon as I did, I was being pulled out of the water by an unknown wolf who quickly disappeared into the forest. Wondering if I'm in that wolf's territory, its home, I try to get out of the water.

"Don't, Anastasia," a stern voice said from afar, and it's only when I strain my eyes that I see the shape of a tall, broad man standing in front of me. Shivering, I immerse myself back into the water until it reaches my neck.

"You're finally awake!" A younger voice exclaims on my right, and I see a younger man rushing towards the bath.

"Who are you?"

"Me?" he comes closer and points to himself, and now that his face is illuminated by the light of the moon, I notice how much we share similar features. He wears a smile on his face - reminiscent of the smile I had long forgotten, and his hair is a red mass atop his head, curling where it touches his ears. He becomes hesitant when I frown, the smile fading from his face.

"Alpha, you haven't told her, have you?" the boy turns to the man, who also comes into the light.

It's Kierren - the man who visited me in Healer's clinic, his hair graying but his eyes still brilliantly gray like mine. The man who is my real father, and begged me to stay with him.

"Kierren?"

"Yes, Anastasia. It's me," he smiles warmly. "We found you at the base of the mountain, and brought you here to heal you."

I turn to the young man, still wondering who he is, when he takes a seat on the edge of the bath on some flatter rocks, and places a knitted bag on his lap.

I put my fingers to my temples, and apply pressure, the throbbing pain not letting up. Every bone in my body aches, and I don't have any will to leave the bath.

"You found me at the base?" To the boy who takes my wrist and presses two fingers into the center of my palm, "What are you doing?"

"Ralph here is a were-healer," Kierren explains as he takes a seat at the base of the bath, "he's the one who's been treating you ever since we found you. Your condition was really bad," he shakes his head as if he can't believe it, "I thought you were going to die."

"The other wolf - the rogue I fell with - he died, didn't he?"

"We only found you, Anastasia."

The were-healer brings a wooden cup to my lips, and after taking a sniff and noting the soft aromas of herbs inside, I take a sip, feeling the mixture burn my throat on its way down. "What is that?" I croak as I struggle to swallow.

"I've been giving you a concentrated mixture of this in your bloodstream," the were-healer tips the cup back to my lips, "this is just the drinkable version. It has chamomile, goldenseal, feverfew, and -"

"Okay, okay, I get it," I sip on the last few drops and swallow. "So I'm alive because you found me?"

Kierren shrugs, but as I look into his gray eyes that sparkle like silver now, I realize that maybe Gisele had been right. Maybe it was fate that had me falling off the cliff, only to end up in my father's place.

"I think you're alive because of where you are."

"What do you mean?" I sit up while the were-healer rubs some potent-smelling ointment on the wounds around my face and neck.

"Our home," Kierren gestures around the cave where the soft rain still falls on the bath and drifts down along the darkened walls, "is closer to the moon. It gives the werewolves around here the ability to heal faster. Those born here are gifted with quick-healing, but you have the blood of the Alpha that naturally gives you that ability."

"Were you the one who pulled me out?"

"Pulled you out?" Kierren confusedly shakes his head, "No one pulled you out. You'd already washed up onto the bank."

"Oh."

I try to hide my confusion, because I was so sure someone had pulled me out when in my dream, Gisele told me to grab her hand. It was a wolf, I am certain, but Kierren has no reason to lie about it. Maybe it was someone else.

"You should get some rest now," Kierren says as he gets to his feet, "Ralph," he nods at the were-healer.

"I'm going to give you more cure, okay?" Ralph smiles gently, and open his palm, encouraging me to take my arm out from the water. I do so, and he runs two fingers down my arms in search of a vein. He doesn't seem to notice the scars on the inside of my wrist, or maybe he just chooses not to question why they're there.

He sticks the needle into my arm, and injects me with a green-colored liquid. As he pulls the needle out gently, I feel myself fading again. Only this time, I'm surrounded by bright greens and pastel colors, the scent arresting my senses similar to the scent in the cave. And all around me are pretty little butterflies in their celebratory dance in the air. I feel myself smiling, and for the first time ever it feels like a genuine one.

I'm back in the woods, close to the edge of the ravine, and expecting to find Gisele there, I frown as I turn to find Jacob sitting there. Maybe he's here to symbolize his mourning for his mate, and I reach out to try and comfort him.

But instead, I find myself falling off the edge again and below, the water hasn't risen yet. Terror strikes, and I'm screaming, seeing Jacob's face fading above me.

This dream is haunting, and it's not a good one. And I realize I'm not out of the water yet. Not until I can forgive myself the way Gisele wants me to.