Chapter 7

From Mind to Soul, With Love

Everyone was silent. The only sound samples that could be heard came from the cutlery colliding with plates, from the glasses of water that awkwardly reached the table a bit too hastily, from her ribcage where her heart was thumping rapidly, struggling to satisfy the two demanding entities that were contained in her body from now on.

Misae didn't know if this silence was linked to the awkwardness of the situation or if the boys were simply too mentally-tired and preoccupied to open their mouth for a purpose other than stuffing food into it. Her alter ego seemed to have quieted down now that their shared stomach was being taken care of.

She looked at each one of them under her lashes and scanned the emotion vibes they emitted. Nothing unusual. Except they were faint. Unnaturally so. She deduced they were trying to keep her away from any source of worry for the moment.

She noted with curiosity that the Moonstone Pack didn't hunt. They fed on human food that they bought from the Human territory. Basically, it meant that they never suffered from the harshness of winter, unlike most of the packs settled in the area. That could explain why they were never involved in any conflict before. Since they lived so quietly, no one knew about their prosperity, therefore no one bothered them. That, and the fact that they were technically protected by the Pack of Tenohra considering that they were staying on one of their lands.

She absent-mindedly directed her gaze to the window on her left. The sunrays casted their glow on the white snow, making it sparkle as if fragments of fallen stars were littering the covered ground. It was beautiful, almost hypnotizing. She didn't know how long she stared outside but at some point the thing stirred in her once again and, without warning, she was propulsed back in time, a couple years ago. It was winter and fluffy white particles fell down from the sky, twinkling in the light of the day. She saw her deceased grand-mother accompanied by a younger version of her parents, Zak, his own parents and herself around a table cattering to her little sister while sharing supper in the Communal Space, where everyone was free to gather, generally to eat, but also to play games, to discuss strategy or problems within the pack. Children were running around, laughing and lively, slalomming between the rare toddlers who were brave enough to wander around without their mothers. Sometimes, one of them would be scared by the sudden, young and vigorous blast of energy and would scream or wail until their mother would come to their rescue. Snuggled into maternal arms, every complaints would instantly die. Amused and soft smiles would grace the faces of several packmates and life would go on. Several images of precise moments flashed in front of her helpless eyes. It was never silent in Tenohra's Pack. Everyday was a cheerful and dynamic routine.

Although it wasn't unpleasant to re-experience all of these good memories, it reminded her that it was just that : memories. Misae also knew that bad ones would also be given their turn.

It was part of the transformation process. The Heritage. All the memories from the birth of the Pack to the day of the Heir's Assignement were transmitted to them. In other words, it was the pack's history. Misae remembered Inyô describing it like “a movie unravelling in your mind, sequence after sequence, bit by bit, until present time is reached”. The young girl was sure it could be a fascinating thing if only she didn't have to experiment her pack's extermination for a second time. She sure as hell didn't want to–

“-sae... Park Misae.”

The girl immediately jolted awake from her daydream at the sound of her name.

“Stop screaming. I'm not deaf.” Misae whispered as she massaged the side of her head to ease the sudden flicker of pain.

“I wasn't screaming.” Zak looked at her, with a blank face. He could only deduce her senses were beginning to develop to their fullest ability now that her wolf had been awakened. “Do you feel weird ? Are you in pain ?”

She shook her head no. The simple movement was enough to provoke a throbbing ache which subsided after a few seconds. She felt dizzy and the world was spinning. Probably the after-effect of her mental time-travel. She took a hold of the table corner to steady herself.

“Stop worrying so much, Zak.” She sighed. “I'm not a fragile little thing. I can deal with a headache, as annoying as it is.” She allowed a tiny smile to settle upon her lips to reassure the agitated male.

“You just saw something, right ?” Kris interrupted the conversation between the two pack members, his eyes pinning hers down, searching for their own answer. There was no doubt that his two lie detectors would catch her red-handed if she attempted to mask the truth. He was not dumb anyway, he was the Alpha of the Moonstone Pack. He went through this as well. Misae nodded once as she stared straight into his dark brown orbs, not the least