"Walk with me, I have a story to tell you", a strange voice said to me in the distance. I saw a frail woman walking towards me with a cane in her hands looking like skin and bones. Where the hell was I? What the hell was I doing here? As the woman came closer I recognized her instantly.

"Mom", I stated. I rubbed my eyes, hoping that I would wake up from this dream, and saw that my mother was still there.

"All in due time you will know my dear Gabriella, although these days you go by Rowen. I think I like the sound of Rowen much better my dear child", my mom said as she patted my head gently. "In the beginning an Alpha wolf met his rogue mate in the trails of a strange forest. After many years of trying for children his mate saw a witch doctor to find answers. The witch doctor predicted the Luna would give birth to one very strong female wolf. The Luna became pregnant a few months later with twins much to her dismay. She remembered the witch doctor's predication accepting that only one of her twins would survive the birth. On the day of her delivery the Luna begged the witch doctor to save the other weaker wolf. The witch doctor agreed to save the weaker wolf but only if the Luna would give her something in exchange. The witch doctor wanted the heart of her strong daughter on her tenth birthday", she spoke in soft tones.

"What does this have to do with me", I said as I walked beside her through the woods. She snapped her cane out to stop me in my tracks in front of a picture of a younger looking version of my mother. It was a picture of my mother meeting with a woman who looked just like Ann dressed in strange garbs. Ann had never aged since that very first night we met. I had so many questions but I waited.

"My dear Child, you must listen to live", my mother said sternly. "The witch doctor wanted the heart of the Alpha's daughter on her tenth birthday. The Alpha convinced his mate that they should accept the witch doctor's agreement to save both their children. The witch doctor said that she would seal the deal only after the children were born. She wanted the Alpha to think it over carefully. On the day the Luna gave birth the witch doctor came to watch the birth of the twins with a special brew on her to keep the one child alive. On the night of the full moon at midnight the Luna gave birth to the little girl. The baby girl slid out so quickly that the nurses had to scramble to catch the child who was so full of life. The baby girl who had a full set of lungs on her was named Gabriella. The second child came out weaker, smaller, and unable to breath on it's own came out lifeless. The nurses scrambled over to save his life but he did not have much time left", she said with a sad expression in her eyes.

"What happened then", I asked her bewildered. I watched the beginnings of my life playing like a movie screen as this my mother started whistling. It was the same melody that played in the jewelry box my mother had used all those years ago. I listened to the music feeling myself drifting through a magical portal of time towards the forest. It was burning the closer we moved to the forest but I wasn't in pain anymore. I wondered if I was dead or if this was hell by the heat surrounding us.

"No this is not hell. You must return. Even if I appear as a shriveled up old prune I am still your mother", my mother said with a twinkle in her eye. Suddenly the mother that was before me transformed. She looked just like she did on that night, that fated night when my life changed forever. She switched back just as quickly into skin and bones with that cane. "It is your mind which has created this image, Ah where did I leave off. Ah, yes. The Luna decided that she would let her son die unwilling to mess with fate. The witch doctor was angered by the Luna's actions but understood her hesitation. The witch doctor was wrong about her prediction; I let your brother survive. I watched The Luna and Alpha as they named the now healthy looking young boy Gabriel. The witch doctor in her anger put a curse on the young boy to keep him alive but permanently cursed with a weak body. The witch doctor died but she had a daughter named Ann who I am sure you know by now", she said sadly.

"I don't understand why you keep telling me these things. I still don't get it", I asked my mother but she was gone. I felt the flames licking against my skin as an uncomfortable taste of human flesh filled my mouth. I shook my head remembering that I needed to get my answers or be damned to surrender to the beast within me. I turned away from the forest towards the blood red moon to see my mother arrive in a car with her cane in her hands.

"Climb aboard and remember. It will give you strength. The story will tell itself", she said as we landed on a cloud. I looked into the cloud to see my mother and I, we were standing in our old house.

"Mom, What if I don't want to shift into a big powerful alpha like daddy. He's not a nice alpha" I whispered quietly. "I wish Gabriel could shift so he could take over as alpha", I started to speak. My mother stared into my eyes with a hate filled expression. It was the only topic we didn't speak about in this house because of Gabriel's current state of health. I knew Gabriel wanted desperately to take his place as the rightful successor of the alpha lineage. Gabriel was the center of my dads' universe so the moment they found out Gabriel was ill my father started to search for a cure. It was abnormal for wolves to be sick but Gabriel was always ailed with numerous incurable diseases.

"Sister", I heard Gabriel say as he emerged in a wheelchair from the other room. I could see the worry in my mother's eyes as she watched her frail son try to wheel himself around this dump of a home. Daddy had made it a point to fund the best researchers for Gabriel to look for experimental therapies that would improve Gabriel's strength. It was his research which cost him so much money so that we were forced to live in the slums.

"Sweetie, go to your room. Your father will want you to stay there. You can relax now Gabriel. You will be able to walk soon enough", mother said. It was thanks to the work of a witch who brewed special herbs that Gabriel would be healthy soon. Mother hated this witch doctor but she never disobeyed daddy. Daddy had announced that a cure would be brewed for Gabriel on the night of our first shift. It would all be performed by this witch doctor in front of certain elite members of the pack. Everyone who knew Gabriel was happy that Gabriel would be a strong alpha soon enough. I heard my father enter the door with a bitter expression in his eye.

"When you shift it will be something special. I'm counting on it", her father said with a wide grin on his face. I never understood the meaning behind his words back then.

I drifted back into the present situation of my sitting on the cloud with my mother. I had more questions but she had flicked her cane towards the next cloud. She was not taking no for an answers as she made the car rush over to the next cloud. I looked down at the fire that was spreading on the earth but I didn't run away from it. I fell towards the memory willing myself to finish watching. I wasn't sure where she was taking me but I needed closure in order to move forward.