Chapter 41 Discovering Elemental Powers

• It was still early when I slipped out of the small wooden cabin I’d been staying in, the first blush of dawn just starting to creep over the tops of the trees. The air was crisp, with that lingering coolness that always comes before the morning fully wakes, and it filled my lungs like a jolt of pure energy. The Red Moon Pack was still quiet, the peaceful lull of a world not yet stirring, and for once, I felt almost… normal. Like maybe this could have been my life all along.
• The path led me through a dense part of the forest where the canopy of trees hung thick, creating a tunnel of green. I followed it to the clearing where Elder Alara, one of my birth mother’s closest friends, was waiting for me. She was a slender, ethereal figure, with eyes that seemed to hold the secrets of the forest and a voice that was as gentle as it was commanding. She was one of the few who knew about my lineage, about the powers that might be lying dormant inside me, waiting to be awakened.
• When she saw me approaching, she offered a warm smile that immediately put me at ease. "You’re ready," she said simply, her words carrying an assurance that made me believe I could actually do this. That maybe I could become the person I was meant to be.