High Priestess Liora
"No!" Miriam shrieked. "We can't let her know." She said frantically. "She's so tender-hearted, Mother. She's suffered so much already, spent her entire teenage age dealing with her pheromones, and now that she has her life figured out a bit, I wouldn't want to wear her out by telling her that she's abnormal again.'
"Then what do you suggest we do, Miriam?"
"We have to stop her wolf from manifesting," Miriam replied, pushing herself to her feet, her fists clenched. "I'm going to stop it."
"What do you mean?" I rose to my feet.
"I'm going to clamp her wolf," she replied, her voice shaking from desperation. "There's a way – I could use those pearls I once had. It'll suppress the wolf and would stop her from manifesting, and she won't even know."
"Restricting a two-tailed wolf with a pearl has always ended in disaster. When confined, their power becomes uncontrollable. Is that what you want for Lyla?"
"It's the only way to protect her," Miriam shouted, her voice cracking. "If the Lycans discover what she is, they'll kill her without considering her powers as a Moonsinger. Do you understand me? They'll kill her, Mother Liora!"
I shook my head, trying to calm her down. "Things may change, Miriam. Right now, she's doing good, helping the warriors, and I'm sure her wolf has been the one responsible for everything she has done so far because her powers as a Moonsinger were taken away. It's no longer there. Perhaps…"
"No!" Miriam interrupted me, her face flushed with anger. "You don't understand. She's my daughter! My child! I know what's best for her – not you, not anyone else."
I sighed. "It's fine, do whatever you want. You've always been this way."
"This way?" she huffed.
"Yes, Miriam…" I was growing annoyed. "You're being reckless again. You always have been headstrong. This isn't a choice you can make for her."
Miriam scoffed bitterly, her lips curling into a hollow smile. "Reckless? Yes. Maybe I am, and I don't regret it. It is my recklessness that got me reunited with my child… you're not a mother; you cannot know what it means to stay powerless, knowing your child is within your grasp, watching her call another woman mother and knowing you have limitations, but I choose this life. Better this than slaving away at the temple doing nothing."
"Miriam, watch your words!" I chided her.
"Leaving the temple – leaving all of this behind – was the best thing I ever did. You don't get to judge me for loving my child more than the goddess."
"Your carelessness, your curiosity, caused all of this. Because of you," I snapped, my voice rising. "You released something into this world that should never have been. You birthed a power far worse than the Dark One."
Miriam froze, her breath catching as new tears rolled down her face. This time, her expression was more broken than angry.
"How dare you?" She whispered hoarsely. "Do you think I wanted this? That I chose this? I fell in love, Mother Liora. I fell in love with a man who loved me back."
"Oh, please!" I scoffed. "He rejected you; he wanted nothing to do with you and your child. You broke his family."
"HE LOVED ME!" She yelled, poking her chest with her index finger. "And so dearly. He loved our child, too."
"That's not what the stories say," I returned, meeting her gaze. "This illusion you have created about love, Miriam… you think because the women at the temple don't have mates nor ever became mothers, we do not know what it means to love? Do you know how many nights I spent berating myself for everything that happened to you? How hard was it for us to continue our duties after you left? How difficult it was to go against our oaths… we lied for you, Miriam… seven women, including myself… paid the penance by lying because we couldn't afford to let one mistake define you."
"My child is not a mistake!" she retorted fiercely.
"She is!" I fired back. "You should never have slept with him. This is a punishment from the goddess, and you must bear it. You must accept that your child…"
"I will not accept anything," she cut me short. If the Moon Goddess wanted me to serve her, why did she give me these feelings? Why did she give us the ability to love? Why did she make me love him? She sits there, folds her hands and does nothing. My child is the Moonsinger and not what she wants it to be."
"You had the silver mark, Miriam, and you met with another man that had the mark of the sun. What were you expecting? The moon goddess is not to be blamed. She doesn't make Two-tailed wolves. That is the product of your indiscretions. You're supposed to be hers and hers alone… but failed."
"Let her deal with it then!" Miriam shouted back. "If she wants to punish me, let her punish me and leave my child alone. I am at fault… she didn't beg to be born. Let her come on to me like a woman to woman, and we'll settle."
"Stop, Miriam," I yelled. "Stop saying vain words."
"I will…" she said coldly. "And I hope she's not deaf and hears everything I will say. I will never become a High Priestess…"
"Miriam!"
"I would never serve her. I'll do as I please. Let men touch me as they want, desecrate this body to my pleasure. If she touches my child… if she makes her suffer once more from her ridiculous experiments, then I'll make sure I use the powers inside me for my pleasure. I'll gladly do so, even if it means joining hands with the Dark One. I'll take revenge."
I trembled. "Miriam… take back your words."
She ignored me, and came to where I was, her eyes were glittering with rage. "Well, Mother Liora… I will not sit back and watch her mistreat my baby again. I'll fight back."
With that, she stormed towards the door.
With one hand on the handle, she looked back over her shoulder, pure defiance in her gaze.
"Don't expect me for evening devotion, and you can ask the moon goddess to bring your food, make your bathe and change your sheets because I won't. Goodnight!" she spat before slamming the door behind her.
I stood still for a long moment, staring at the closed door. The conversation I just had now pressing into me like an invisible stone on my chest. With a deep breath, I sank back into my chair, rubbing my temples as though trying to ward off an impending headache.
"Moon Goddess," I whispered under my breath. "Forgive her, guide me; this path is dark indeed."