Calliope's Wolf - Book 1
Chapter 22

It’s been several weeks since the Moon Festival. After Heidi’s oath to Calliope, she told Theo and her everything that had happened before the festival. She told them that Ezra and his son, Alpha Jason, were the ones who approached her pack, among others. Their ultimate plan was to place someone they trusted as the Great Luna so the Elder Council could take power away from the Greats.

The elder council met, minus Ezra, and it was determined that he would be stripped of his Elder title. But it wasn’t just Ezra that suffered the consequences of his actions. His son and daughter-in-law, the Alpha and Luna of the Moon Valley pack, were forced to step down. Deep down, Theo felt that Alpha Jason paid the spies. Unfortunately, neither of the men identified him as the one who paid them.

With the loss of their titles, they soon realized that they also lost friends. No one was willing to house them in their packs. They ended up living in solitary on the outskirts of the Moon Valley Pack. They weren’t exiled or rogues, but they were disgraced, and many didn’t want to associate with them.

But thinking of these men, thinking of what had happened, was now furthest from Calliope’s mind. For days now, she, Theo, and their companions traveled far from the palace. They had made their way up a mountain pass, heading in the direction they were told the oracle resided.

The oracle was the person they hoped would give Calliope answers. An oracle is a woman who gives her life to the Moon Goddess. It is a hard life to live, with years of training and separation from others. But an oracle is the only person with a direct communication line with the Goddess. The Goddess would whisper to her, tell her things, and occasionally answer questions. An oracle would spend her entire life learning how to listen to the Moon and how to interpret her words.

A small snow-covered cabin was on a small plateau near the top of a mountain. Smoke came from the chimney stack. Someone was home. Theo was the first to the cabin, so he knocked on the door.

“Enter,” a voice said from the other side.

Theo looked to Calliope. She shrugged.

“Let’s enter,” she said.

Theo opened the door. Inside, the air was thick with smoke. There was a lone woman, old, thin, barely clothed. She sat in a meditating position on the floor. In front of her was a low table with deer antlers, small bones, and dirt. She looked up. Her eyes were white; she was blind.

“You’re here,” she said as she looked in Calliope’s direction.

“I’m here,” Calliope replied. She felt something pull her to the woman. Something spiritual.

Everyone entered the cabin, but Calliope was the only one to walk to the woman. She sat down beside her. The old woman’s shaking hands reached out for Calliope. When their hands touched, the woman placed Calliope’s hands to her face. She gave out a light sigh.

“I wondered if I would get to see you,” the woman said as she laughed. “I’m quite old, you know?”

“How do you know her?” Theo asked as he sat down on the other side of Calliope.

“I’ve seen her in my dreams,” the oracle answered.

“When did you first see her in your dreams?” He inquired.

“Many, many years ago,” she answered. “It was the night you two first met. When her wolf first showed herself.”

“We’re here about my wolf,” Calliope interjected quickly.

“I know why you’re here, child.” The woman said as she waved her hand. “Ask your questions, and I will answer what I can.”

“What do you know about my wolf? Why do I have no control in wolf form?”

“I know lots about your wolf. Dreams and visions of your wolf were the first ones the Goddess gave to me. Your wolf, she isn’t like other wolves. She was the first spirit created by the Goddess. The only spirit created for the Goddess herself.”

“Many, many thousands upon thousands of years ago, wolves were just wild creatures in the forest. The Goddess admired these creatures that sang under the light of her moon. But they weren’t the only creatures she admired. Humans, the first humans, would have celebrations under full moons.”

“In an attempt to get face to face with the creatures she admired, she created her first wolf spirit - a great white wolf known as Giizis. [Pronounced Guy-I-zis]”

“My wolf has a name?”

“A word that became a name,” the woman chuckled. “Giizis is the word for Moon in the first language. The Goddess was called that enough that the word just stuck as a name.”

“How come my wolf never told me that? Never spoke to me, for that matter?” Calliope asks curiously. She could feel her heart racing and her wolf growing restless in her mind. Like she, too, wanted to hear the stories.

“Giizis could never speak; the Goddess and her didn’t need words to communicate. The Goddess was the wolf, and the wolf was the Goddess: the same.”

“I have heard a voice; it’s not my wolf’s, though,” Calliope added. “But I’ve only heard it twice.”

“What does the voice say?”

“All the voice has ever said was to take someone’s hand. Then I feel something in me that knows what to do from there. And I was able to give a blessing or create mate bonds. It’s like hearing the voice reminded me of something I’ve done before.”

“It’s the Goddess who has spoken to you,” the oracle answered after a moment of thought. “The gifts you have are those she had when in wolf form. She is simply reminding you, reminding Giizis, of what you can do.”

“So why do I have Giizis if she is the Goddess’ wolf spirit?”

“Ah, something I can’t answer. I’ve wondered the same thing! But the Goddess, she doesn’t see a need to explain.”

“My wolf, Amarok, once told me she was the last one. What did he mean by that?” Theo asked.

“She is the last of the original 12 to be put into a human. She was the first created. The following 11 wolf spirits were what are now known as the Great Wolf Spirits. She was the first created and Amarok the second. He was the first wolf gifted to a human. A man, strong and fierce. A man who worshipped the Goddess day and night. A man that, if the Goddess had a human form, would have been her mate.”

“So our wolves were at one time fated for one another?” Calliope asked.

“Fated? No. It was all wants and desires that ended in sadness and despair. The man was mortal, even with the wolf spirit. He passed on, leaving the Goddess with a new sensation: heartache. For many, many years, Amarok was not given to another human. He stayed with the Goddess, with Giizis. What few times she let him out, it always ended in heartache for him, for them.”

Theo’s heart skipped a beat. Heartbreak, it was destined for him again. But why let her wolf out if heartache was to continue? The oracle looked up to Theo but didn’t speak.

“Is there any way I could gain control of my wolf?” Calliope asked, causing the oracle to stop looking at Theo.

“How can you control something that is not tamed?” She quizzed. “Even though you were created specifically for Giizis, you will never be able to gain control. She is her own being, just as you are. Rather, you are both cohabitating in the same body.”

“You said you didn’t know why Calliope got Giizis, but you know she was created for her?” Theo questioned.

“I have seen, dating back before you were born, how the Goddess specifically created certain mates to get the child before us. Just because I have seen it doesn’t mean I know why.”

“Can you guess as to why?”

“My job is not in assumptions,” the oracle answered as she turned her head to look at those around her. Though she couldn’t see them, she could feel their auras, their wolves. “I can only speak of things I know, of things I’ve seen. For me, things are black and white, with no room for guessing or assumptions. If I did, I would spend my whole life assuming things. It would consume me. It would consume all of us.”

“So, what should we do? What should I do?” Calliope asked.

“Live your life,” the oracle answered. “Don’t worry about things you can’t control. If there is a reason for you, for Giizis, being here, it’ll make itself clear to you eventually. All I can tell you is a set of words the Goddess left me with: they will have to overcome bitterness, anger, and agony to get to forgiveness, hope, and love. Now, can this old lady ask you a favor?”

“Anything.”

“Let me see Giizis. It’s been some time since I’ve seen the Goddess. She has another oracle she is training, and I’m no longer needed in my old age. But I’d like to see the Goddess, in whatever form, one last time.”

“Of course,” Calliope nodded. She stood, and everyone began to leave. The oracle called for Theo to stay.

“I have words I want you and only you to hear.” The oracle said quietly. Theo nodded and stepped closer to her. “The future cannot be changed, not if the world is to change.”

“I don’t care about the world,” he replied honestly. “I only care about Calliope.”

“I know,” she smiled as she stood on her shaking legs. Theo offered his arm to help her steady herself. “But the world needs to change.”

“You know something,” he whispered.

“I’m making assumptions, that is all.”

Theo didn't press it. He led her outside. Calliope had already shifted and stood nearby. The oracle walked through the snow, seemingly unaware of the cold around her. She reached up and touched her fur.

“I’ve only seen her in dreams, and it feels unfair that I can’t see her now that she is in front of me.” The oracle sighed. She fell to her knees, and everyone ran over to her.

In the snow, the oracle passed under the shadow of Calliope. She had held on for years, waiting for Calliope to visit. For years, she fended off death until this day. She used the last of her energy to talk to Calliope, to pass on all the information she could. And now her job was over; her task to the Goddess was done.

Theo gently carried her body back into the cabin. He noticed the dried sage hanging from the rafters. The oracle knew she would die here and be burned in her home, and she prepared it for her burning ceremony. He laid her body down on her makeshift bed. He took a stick and let it catch fire in the fireplace. He set the burning stick on the bed with her. Once he saw the bed was in flames, he left the cabin and shut the door.

He looked at Calliope with a sad face. The future cannot be changed, he said to himself. These words ate at him like a knife to his heart. He shifted to his wolf and led the group away from the burning cabin.

*Author's Note*

This was my favorite chapter to write, so I hope you guys enjoyed it!