Chapter 1: Selene's Choice

“Let go of me!” Selene screams.

A moment later, she feels an impact as she struggles with her unknown assailant. Selene opens her eyes to find she is fighting against her sheets, and the hard impact had been her falling out of bed and hitting the wood floor. One deep sigh later, she manages to free herself from the tangled mess of fabric.

“Another bad dream? Goddess, why?”

The nightmares have been happening more frequently now. They are always the same. Hooded figures around a fire are holding her down. She can hear chanting but is unable to make out what they are saying. It’s clearly a ceremony, but for what?

Selene wipes her brow, moving the sweat drenched hairs out of her eyes. She rolls onto her butt and winces. “That’s going to leave a bruise,” she says while rubbing her hip.

Her grandmother’s voice resounds in her head. “Get up and shake it off, little witch.”

Looking up at her nightstand, Selene flicks her wrist and lights the candle beside her. The room fills with a soft yellow glow and she looks around just to make sure she is alone. After reassuring herself it was only a dream, Selene climbs to her feet and takes the candle with her as she heads to the kitchen.

Her feet paddle against the cold wood floor as she heads down the steps. She truly misses her grandma, and could really use a cup of her sleepy-tea right now. Selene has lived alone in her family home for the last two years. Her parents had passed away when she was young, and her grandma raised her until she herself passed away two years ago. Selene has been haunted by the same terrible nightmare ever since.

After setting the candle on the table, Selene snaps her fingers toward the hearth and lights the logs in the fireplace. She keeps telling herself she was dreaming, but for some reason she still feels as if she is being watched.

Rather than using the kettle that’s resting on the turn by the hearth, Selene grabs a metal mug and fills it with water from the bucket next to the sink. While holding it between her hands she concentrates and wills the water to warm. Before too long, she has a steaming cup of water that’s perfect for tea. She pulls her grandma’s tea jar down from a shelf and makes up a teabag. Selene lowers herself into an oversized chair by the fire, mindful of her sore hip.

While her tea steeps, she pictures her grandma sitting in the chair, sipping her own tea while Selene practiced her lessons. Normally she would have been taught by a coven, but her parents had left the local chapter long before she was born. Selene doesn’t really know why.

“It was a difference of opinion,” her grandma would say. “Your parents didn’t want that life for you, and I agreed with their decision. That’s why I left with them, you see.”

Selene would always push for more answers whenever she was able to get her grandma to talk about the coven. “But, Gram, wouldn’t it be safer to live with the coven in town rather than all the way at the end of the meadow? We are literately the farthest we can possibly be from the village.”

“There is more danger in that village than here in our home. Remember that, little witch, and keep your distance,” Gram would say while wagging her finger.

“But what about the shifters in the forest? If they killed Mom and Dad, shouldn’t we live as far away from them as possible?”

This question was always the hardest to ask, but Selene had to know. Her grandma never really talked about her parents, as if doing so would disturb the peaceful slumber she hoped they had.

“We don’t really know who, or what, killed your parents,” she would reply. “Our family has lived here for many years without any trouble from the local shifter pack. Now, enough chit-chat, those candles won't light themselves.”

It was the same every time. Selene would ask questions, and Gram would eventually dodge them. Their last conversation actually gave Selene hope that the answers she was seeking would soon be hers. Gram had been sitting in her chair sowing a new cloak when she stopped what she was doing and looked over to Selene.

“You’re getting older now, little witch. You have learned all I can teach you, but that doesn’t mean you have reached the end. There are others out there willing to take your training farther than I ever could.”

Selene had put the book she had been reading down and was intently listening to her grandma. She would have normally bombarded her Gram with questions, but age and rejection had taught her patience.

“I have a friend who lives on the other side of the forest. She has extensive knowledge in plant magic. I sent word to her asking if she would be willing to teach you, and she was quick to reply. Ivy has agreed to train you. We will leave for her hut in two days.”

Selene hadn’t known how to reply. She was terrified to leave, but excited about traveling and meeting another witch. Her grandma had taught her a little plant magic and the thought of learning more intrigued Selene. This joy had been short lived as Selene suddenly recalled her grandma’s words. “Wait, did you just say we would be traveling through the forest?”

“That I did…”

She hadn’t let her grandma finish. “But there are shifters in the forest. It isn’t safe!”

“How about you let me worry about the shifters, little witch? Now off to bed with you, we have much packing to do tomorrow.”

That had been the last conversation Selene and her grandma would have. The next morning, Selene had started her day as usual except her grandma hadn’t been waiting for her with a breakfast plate. She had gone into Gram’s room to find she had ascended in her sleep. Her grandmother’s form still held tight to the sheets, but a pile of witch dust was all that remained of her body.

Her heart had broken, even though her grandma had prepared her for that day. She suffered a great loss, and spent the day setting up a shrine for her grandma. Selene had lived in darkness for weeks following Gram’s ascension. She ran through her daily routine without thought or feeling.

Time passed, and soon Selene realized she had to do something other than slip into a perpetual darkness. That’s when she started talking to Gram as if she were still there. It wasn’t hard for her to imagine what her grandma would reply, and this tactic still works for her.

Selene came to terms with living alone. She went out and set up traps around the hut to help keep her safe, and traveling into the forest would now be forbidden. With new rules and safety measures in place, she had settled into her altered routine with grace.

Selene sips down the last of her drink. Grandma’s sleepy-tea always does the trick. With heavy eyelids, Selene stands and stretches, waves her hand toward the hearth to put out the fire, and heads back up to her bed.

The next morning starts as any other day. Selene stretches and swings her legs out of bed, only slightly aware of the pain in her hip. After getting dressed, she takes the time to brush the knots out of her long auburn hair.

“Ugh,” Selene moans while rubbing her stomach. “Time for breakfast.”

She gobbles down eggs and toast while practicing some magic. Her Gram had always instructed her to start the day warming up her abilities. “You never know when you may need to use them,” she would say.

Once the dishes are all washed, and the kitchen is clean, Selene grabs her cloak and heads out the door. There is a coolness to the mornings now, indicating an early fall. Selene loves this time of year, when collecting food for the winter is the only real task. It gives her a break from spending the day practicing magic.

She’s only a few steps from the door when the scent of rain drifts her way. Looking around, she doesn’t see a single cloud in the sky. “Odd,” she tells herself. She feels pulled toward the wooded area behind her hut.

“Maybe I can find some wild mushrooms,” she says. It feels like an excuse to allow herself to go into the woods. Normally she would start foraging in the meadow, but she feels compelled to change it up today.

She’s a good fifteen minutes into the woods when the sound of voices draws her attention. Without thinking about it, Selene silently hurries over to a clump of trees. The plants give her cover enough, and she peeks around to see what’s going on. The voices are coming from the path ahead of her. She can make out three men loudly talking about something. Selene can tell from their deep burgundy cloaks that they belong to the coven in the nearby village.

“This is a great find!” one of them exclaims.

“The leader is going to be very pleased!” another chimes in.

“Imagine, an Alpha for a sacrifice,” the third man adds.

Selene looks toward where the third man is pointing and notices a large black wolf just off the path. It has managed to set off one of her traps and is now being held in place by the coven’s magic. She lets out a gasp as the creature makes eye-contact with her. Selene fights against the fluttering taking place in her belly.

“Oh, this isn’t good,” she whispers.

It takes her a moment to understand what she’s seeing. This creature is no doubt a shifter. Not only has he left his territory, but he’s intruding onto her land. She shouldn’t care what happens to this monster, but for some reason she does. Maybe after years of her grandma telling her not to blame the shifters, her heart has begun to believe it.

Either way, she feels compelled to do something. The wolf is unfairly trapped by the three witches from the coven, and Selene would feel less guilty if it were a fair fight. She has the advantage of not being seen by the coven yet. Even though the wolf has noticed her, it hasn’t made a sound. What choice does she have, if any?