Hannah Pole - Song Of The Wolf

When he was a pup his mother had talked of astral travel. His mother had always said she had the ability to walk ‘the grey planes’, the realm of the afterlife, where souls went before they moved on. But he’d always assumed he couldn’t go there, that his short trips to this world were obviously just dreams. Something he had convinced himself of since he was a little boy .

“Dax?” Alison’s voice brought him back to reality .

“Alison? Where are you?” he said, scanning the beach, the edge of the rocky cliff once again .

“Behind you.” Her voice whispered through his mind, and he spun around making his stomach roll .

There she was, in all her glory .

Her long blonde hair looked grey, but still just as beautiful, cascading down over her pale thin shoulders. He frowned as he noticed that she’d swept the length of it over her neck as if she was cold. Alison’s eyes locked onto his. Though they were now just another shade of grey, he knew they truly were a beautiful blue .

“What’s happening?” she whispered, hugging her bare knees closer to her chest. She too was completely naked, and trying desperately to cover herself .

“I don’t know,” Dax admitted, frantically searching for something to cover her with and coming up empty .

“Is this a dream?” she said. He could see the tears that were threatening to spill sparkling in the moonlight. To hell with this, he thought, standing up and walking towards her, covering his manhood and keeping his back away from her line of sight. His body was not a pleasant thing. He crouched next to her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and pulling her into him .

“Whatever it is, I’m so damn glad you’re here,” he whispered into her ear as she leant into him .

For a while they just sat there, dazed. Dax was pretty sure this was a dream. In real life, he wouldn’t dare get this close to Alison .

In real life, she wouldn’t let him touch her. He wouldn’t even try .

Either way he was absolutely lost for words. He’d known this female for almost all of her life, since she was just a young pup! He’d begun working for Julian many years ago and had watched Alison grow into the beautiful female she was now .

He’d always been there on the side-lines. Looking out for her .

But now? He was holding her in his arms and he felt like an absolute idiot .

Lost for words .

“I was thinking about you,” she murmured, shifting her head to look up at him .

“What?” he grunted, cursing himself internally .

“I–I was trying to sleep. It’s so cold where they’re keeping me. I was thinking of home. I thought of you…and then I was here.”

Yeah. He must be dreaming. Maybe he wanted to find her so badly his subconscious decided to create a dream in which he could see her .

“Where are they keeping you?” he whispered. It was unlikely that this was going to help, but hey, he might as well ask .

“I don’t know,” she choked. Figures .

“It’s OK, baby girl. We will find you,” he soothed, stroking her hair .

“Why are you on a cliff?” she asked after a while, which struck him as odd. If his mind was creating a dream, his imagination’s version of Alison would know why he was here, surely?

“Because this is the last place your GPS chip showed up on the map.”

“That makes sense.” She sat up a little straighter, although she was still desperately trying to keep her body hidden from him. “When they took me, they blindfolded me. I couldn’t see anything. But I could hear the sea for a while.”

Dax turned around, holding her at arm’s length. Scanning her face, he noticed a thin scar that wound its way around her throat. That hadn’t been there before .

Surely his mind would generate an image of Alison exactly as he’d known her?

“Where did you get this?” he asked, gently brushing a thumb over the mark .

“They –” She hastily wrapped her arms around herself, hiding her body from him and cleared her throat. “They bound me with silver. It burned.” Only then did he notice the thick scars across her arms and wrists. Deep gouges where skin was missing. He carefully moved his gaze to her face and kept it there. She obviously didn’t want him to look at her injuries .

“Alison,” he said sternly, regretting the sharpness in his voice as soon as he’d spoken. She flinched at his words, snapping her gaze up to meet his face .

“Tell me what happened when they took you,” he said more softly, wrapping his arms around her, letting her lean against him .

“I was walking in the woods,” she said, fidgeting with her hair. “There were two tuhrned hiding, following me. They told me –” She swiped a stray tear from her face .

“It’s OK,” Dax whispered, “take your time.”

It broke his heart to see her like this .

“They told me the new High Lord wanted to meet me. They said that because they’d bound my soul –” She cleared her throat, visibly trying to pull herself together. “They said that they could find me anywhere. Because it was their magic that bound me.”

“What happened next?” Dax asked, a sense of urgency washing through him .

“They tied my arms and legs together and put a bag over my head,” she squeaked. “They put me in a car and drove for a while. I don’t know where to, but it wasn’t far. I could hear the sea when they took me out of the car. They carried me somewhere. It felt like they were struggling to walk. It was cold and smelled like the beach. I could hear the waves crashing as though they were next to me. I don’t know what the Circle put me in, but it was wet and horrible. It felt like we were floating. As soon as they’d dragged me inside…” She faltered. “I don’t know what or where. The sound of the waves stopped. It was so abrupt… it confused me.”

“It’s OK, baby girl, I’ve got you.” Dax hissed, struggling to make his voice sound even and tightening his grip around her .

“I was inside a room of some description that didn’t feel like it was moving. It was really quiet,” she told him. “Eventually they moved me to somewhere that smelled like a sewer. It was horrible. I could hear water lapping slowly against the walls but I didn’t know where or why. Finally, they took the bindings off and removed the hood. They locked me in a cell that smells horrible; it’s damp and cold. I have a bed and a blanket but little else.”

“It’s OK, Alison. I’ll find you.” Dax soothed her, stroking her hair, trying to chase away the tears that were freely falling now .

“DAX.” A voice reverberated through his mind. It was a male voice .

“Did you hear that?” he hissed at Alison .

“Hear what?” She looked at him confused. “What’s happening to you?” she squeaked, eyes wide. He glanced down at his own arm, which was rapidly fading; his formally thick and human looking skin began to grow transparent. He could see the rock beneath him through his own damn flesh .

“DAX. WAKE UP.” The voice bounced though his mind, making him wince. Crap, someone was trying to wake him up. He was going to leave this weird dream .

“Alison,” he said, urgency wrapping its way around him. “I’m going to have to go.”

“Please don’t leave me!” She choked, gripping his arm for dear life .

“I’m sorry, baby girl, I don’t have a choice.”