Meredith.
"Why did you need a special trigger to wake up? Other wolves do not need that," I said to my wolf.
I have never had any instance or myth about us needing a trigger to transform during the blood moon. This was a first to me.
And it almost sounded like I was being deceived.
Just then, my wolf’s voice resounded in my head.
"I am not like other wolves. Never compare me with them."
She sounded angry and even refused to give me any more details about what she meant or what she was.
I sealed my lips. Briefly.
"Was it you who asked me to flip the table over on the night of my wedding banquet?" I inquired, deathly curious about this one.
That scene couldn’t help resurfacing in my head after hearing my wolf speak to me for the first time.
"Yes," she answered curtly.
I let out a slow breath. Finally, I have once again confirmed that I heard correctly.
At least I knew now that my wolf didn’t like me... us being humiliated. She wouldn’t take it.
And then again, I realized that I didn’t know my wolf’s name.
"What is your name?" I asked her while already thinking of a name to give to her just in case she didn’t have one.
I would be honoured to give her one.
My wolf released a small breath in my head before answering me with a low powerful voice that sent goose bumps springing up on my bare arms and shoulders.
"Valmora."
Valmora? I repeated that name in my head and immediately felt a stirring in my heart.
That didn’t sound like an ordinary name.
Before I could throw in another question, my wolf; Valmora, spoke again and this time around, I was forced to listen until she was done.
"Waking up has no benefit for me. You are weak and bad tempered. The only part of your body that has strength is your tongue."
Instantly, my mood dampened.
"You disrespect a future King without batting an eye, without fear that he could end you with just a snap of his fingers. You definitely are not worried why he hasn’t killed you yet because you have proven several times to deserve a quick death."
My heart started beating loudly in my chest. I was livid, but now, furious.
Let me get this straight. This was my first time having a contact with my wolf and what she is doing now was scold and degrade me, using the exact words Draven had used on me in the past?
A scoff escaped my lips. I couldn’t believe my ears. My mood was already sour yet Valmora wasn’t done with me.
My wolf said I had anger issues yet look at her speaking angrily to me.
"You have a lot of work to do on yourself. I understand that being abandoned and mocked is painful, but you channelled people’s negative comments and actions wrongly instead of using them as a stepping stone to build yourself."
Valmora let out a sharp breath and continued. "What did Veronica say to you when you were 16?"
Veronica was my paternal grandmother, and she had told me when the curse appeared at 16 not to give up and not listen to what people said, but rather, to train like a warrior, as if my life depended on it.
And I hadn’t done any of that.
Immediately, my anger turned to guilt.
I became paralized realizing that all the blame might be on me.
All this while, I’ve been doing the wrong thing and wasting my time and everyone else’s.
I delayed my wolf’s awakening with my own hands.
I was indeed a fool. And right now, I don’t pity myself anymore.
I thought I was stripped of my wolf when the lunar curse appeared, branding my shoulder with a crescent mark.
My gaze fell on my left shoulder and I saw the mark still resting there.
I thought the curse meant that I would no longer have a wolf.
I guess it didn’t mean what those people said. They had interpreted wrongly and passed the wrong information to everyone.
Valmora scolded me without holding back anything.
She was more cruel than Draven even though she didn’t speak as long he had done that day.
The moon goddess hadn’t left me empty-handed and dejected that, I understood clearly.
But what about this mark glaring at me?
I thought it would magically disappear with my wolf’s appearance, but it didn’t, which meant that I might still be under a curse.
"Valmora, what do you mean by you are not like other wolves?" I inquired, already arranging my next question in my head.
"You ask too many questions." Her reply came almost immediately. "Why don’t you think this out yourself. Take this as a little assignment from me and come to me with the answers."
I panicked. "Does it mean you won’t speak to me again until I find answers about what you are?"
"I will. But the only thing you would probably do is ask questions, and I won’t answer them until you’ve made the effort and earned my response," Valmora said clearly.
I wanted to ask her if I was still cursed and why the mark was still there, but she wasn’t taking any more questions.
Damn it!
I felt a shiver run through my spine and realized that the warm water had turned cold, and that I had spent an hour in the bathroom. Thirty minutes soaking in the tub and the other half with Valmora.
Time ran faster than I thought.
I quickly finished with my bath and rinsed off my body before getting out of the tub. Then, I grabbed a big white towel from the hanger and used it to dry my wet body before running into Draven’s room naked while praying that he wouldn’t suddenly barge in.
I found the bag Draven mentioned on the sofa and opened it to take out my supplies. Either Azul or Kira had arranged all the items quickly.
My thoughts were quickly replaced with my wolf; her sudden awakening and her identity.
I think she might be powerful, but I have to prove it.
But how?