Page 81 of Wolf's Whisper

Ashleigh stood up from her stump to hug me. "You'll get it, I'm sure of it."

I sighed as I let myself melt into her embrace. "I hope so too."

A sharp voice close to my ear suddenly chirped in: "I'm sure you'll figure it out!"

It took me a moment before I could place the voice, but when I did, I immediately turned in Ashleigh's arms, hoping I was mistaken. It couldn't be.

Out of thin air, a shape took form and before me, long waves of hair appeared. Cece. No. Chesca. Unmistakably Chesca.

How could this be? I thought she was dead? No, I didn't just think so. I knew so. I’d seen her corpse. I watched the life drain from her eyes. I'd been there when she lost her life.

"I... But... What..." I stammered, staring at the young girl who was happily waving at me. "Huh? I thought... Wait... Huh?!"

"Hi, guys! It's me again!" Chesca chirped, grinning broadly as she threw her hair over her shoulder. Very Chesca like. Definitely the real deal.

"I thought you were dead... I know you’re dead. I watched you die!"

The girl in front of me giggled. "Yes, oops, that did not go over well. I was a bit careless there."

"Not you again!" Ashleigh exclaimed, protectively wrapping her arms around me. The Puma's appearance finally elicited a reaction from Aspen. He jumped up and strode towards her.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't just kill you all over again," he growled darkly, his lips curled up in an angry snarl. A small shiver ran down my spine at his display of anger. So even without his necklace, his Alpha hadn't completely disappeared.

Chesca giggled. "Because you could use my help?"

Danny threw her own hair over her shoulder. "What makes you think we'd even listen to you?"

The young girl turned towards me. "I can teach you."

Ashleigh growled. "She doesn't need your help. You can't teach her a thing."

The Puma laughed out loud, her head thrown back. "Oh, but that is where you’re mistaken. I think you could use my help. I watched you down at the lake, Akira. That didn't really work out for you, did it?"

I felt my cheeks heat up. Damn it. Why was I such a failure?

"We've got it covered," Darren argued, but I could tell from his voice that he wasn't so sure of himself.

"You haven't got a clue on how to manipulate magic," Chesca teased, raising her eyebrow.

Darren scoffed loudly. "If we can't, how would an outsider like you know?"

Chesca snapped her slender fingers, a little puff of smoke appearing. "You might possess magic, but I know how to use it. Not just that. I dance with it. I play with it. Magic is my mistress."

I could hear the group collectively grind their teeth down as they realised Chesca was right. If they couldn't teach me, the necklace would keep corrupting Aspen. Nothing would change and he desperately needed it. We all looked at him, waiting for his answer. With or without his wolf, he was still the Alpha of the group.

He clenched his strong jaw. "Just this once. But we'll be watching."

Chesca clapped her hands. "Lovely! Akira, I can't wait to teach you all my tricks. Let's go down to the lake again."

I sighed. I really had no other choice. So once again, we descended down to the secluded valley.

"Let's sit here." Chesca pointed at a small patch of moss and made me sit down. "Look at the water. What do you see?"

I stared down at the blue mirror, the constant stream rippling my reflection. "I see me. And rocks."

Chesca sighed. "Look further. Imagine your wolf. What does she look like?"

I peered down at the water again. "I don't know. She has ears, I imagine. I hope?"

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