Nine

"Let me get this straight Auntie, you want me to just set out to find this so-called spiritual mother? How though? Where do I go looking exactly? How do I recognise even one and even if by one crazy luck I do meet one, what exactly am I supposed to say? Hi, I'm Kira and I want to know why my mate is my mate and if it's related to a supposed old prophecy?" Kira asked, not bothering to hide her sarcasm.

"You don't need to recognize a spiritual mother my dear. All you have to do is walk deep into the forest and set your mind on finding her, it is said that a spiritual mother will only appear to those who seek her with a pure heart and you may not recognise her but she'll recognise you and if she thinks you're worth gracing her presence then she'll let you recognize her." Layla explained and Kira could not believe the gibberish she just heard. How in the world does any of this make sense to her aunt?

"Hold on a second auntie, I'm a little lost here. So what you're telling me is, I have to walk aimlessly, deep into the forest? You mean an actual forest that's usually dark and creepy where I could actually get attacked by rogues in split seconds?" She asked, still trying to understand whether or not her aunt actually thought this through before presenting the idea to her because, no matter how strong she is, she wouldn't willingly walk into the rogue's territory without actually having an idea where she's headed.

"I get your fear Kira and I know it all sounds like it makes no sense but things like this don't usually make sense at first. You don't even need to pass through any particular forest to find who you seek. Any forest would lead you to a spiritual mother but your purpose and your will will determine whether or not she'll appear to you."

"Also, the purpose of this is because I want you to ask her why your fate has been entwined with that of a pack that we have considered our enemies for years. I mean, think about it, there has to be a valid reason for this."

Kira breathed in deeply as she stood quietly, staring intensely at her aunt before coming to a conclusion on what she should say for now.

"Auntie, I'll get back to you what I'll do before today ends, I believe I need some time to think." She told her and immediately left the room to clear her head and decide clearly on what to do.

She knew her aunt wasn't entirely off her tracks but she just wasn't sure she was ready for whatever trial she would have to go through in the process of digging for answers.

Her mind wandered back to her meeting with the moon goddess and she thought deeply of the meaning of the moon goddess' words.

"There are two doors in your path, one with death and the other with life. As you may know, death comes easy but life doesn't. If you wish to achieve great things in life, accept your fate as soon as it hits you. Move forward and listen to your inner self."

"My dear child, you have so much more to learn and there is so much you do not know. Open your heart and be observant. Always listen to your heart and most importantly, let go of every hate and anger in your heart that doesn't belong to you. Remember, to make a great leader, you need to be wise and you need to know when and who to attack. A greater force is on it's way and you must be prepared. Take care of yourself, my child."

With these words lingering in her mind, she thought maybe, just maybe her aunt was right after all and maybe she really needed to find answers to all these questions that she had running through her mind. She knew it was a risk but just like the mood goddess would not set her fate with Damien for nothing, she also wouldn't visit her to advise her just before she was to meet Damien. They're some things that should not just be swept off simply as coincidences and this she suspects, is one of those things.

Now that Kira had given herself time to think, she decided it was about time she went looking for her aunt so she could finally let her know of her decision and also devise a possible plan on how to go about it.

*****

"I'm so grateful you made the right choice my dear. I know it wasn't easy but I'm happy you decided to heed my advice." Layla said to her niece with a satisfied and proud smile.

"Just remember my dear, once you're deep inside the forest, you'll look out for the trees and when you find a tree that catches your attention, hold on to it and if your intentions suit a spiritual mother's purpose, there's a high chance that she will grant you an audience." Layla instructed.

"Okay auntie, I promise to try to come back with answers." Kira assured her aunt and Layla quickly pulled her niece in for a hug before heading out to help her niece prepare for her journey.

*****

Kira set out to look for her spiritual mother who according to her aunt can also be called the path seeker. Spiritual mothers are werewolves bestowed with the ability to see things further and they're considered to be very powerful and respectable and they live for years and years while protecting the packs that deserve to be protected and also guiding the werewolves spiritual but unfortunately, they do not like to be seen because supposedly, some packs like to get too greedy and try to misuse the powers of the spiritual mothers.

As Kira arrived deep into the forest as instructed by her aunt, she searched for the weird looking tree that apparently had a claw on it but even after searching and searching, she still couldn't find the tree with a claw imprint on it.

Then she remembered what her aunt said about her looking deep inside herself and although she was confused with all of this especially since she hasn't really been the spiritual type, she decided to give it a try as it wouldn't hurt to make an attempt.

She heaved a deep sigh before closing her eyes and muttering a few words, requesting that the moon goddess help her meet a spiritual mother after such a long journey. After a while, she opened her eyes and she could immediately feel it, something had definitely changed about the entire place.

Unlike earlier when the trees looked all closed up, making passing through even more difficult, the trees were now different and her eyes met with the tree with a claw imprint on its stem.

She smiled in relief before walking up to it. She took in a deep breath before touching the claw imprint and to her utmost surprise, she felt herself slowly teleport to a completely different place and shocked would be an understatement to describe how she felt at that moment.

The entire place looked old and different from what she was originally familiar with. Everything about the environment felt so retro and throwback.

The soil was actually clay which she wasn't too familiar with seeing very often and the house in front of her was also made of clay and palm trees for roofing.

The entire environment had this deafening silence that scared Kira a little more than she wanted and she started to wonder where in the world she was in right now and how in the world she would bolt should in case she needed to.

Kira looked around hoping she would at least spot anyone but she couldn't spot a soul and this began to worry her.

She decided to walk around and see if she would see anyone and just then she heard the sound of a hawk.

The hawk was fast approaching her and she's both confused and scared by this. She moved backwards and as far away from the hawk as she could but her attempt became futile as the huge bird suddenly used its beak to hit her on her forehead, more like a painful, unpleasant peck and next thing Kira knows, she's laying flat on the ground.

When Kira woke up, she found herself in a hut lying on a mattress with a piece of slightly damp clothing on her forehead.

She was startled as she looked around and she wondered how she came into the place and who had brought her here as the last thing she remembers was being hit by the hawk and falling to the ground.

Just then a very old looking woman with pure grey hair entered the hut whilst holding what she assumed was a walking stick in her hands.

The woman looked fragile and weak and for a second, Kira had assumed she was actually blind but then she realised that her squinted eyes were a result of her old age.

Kira began to wonder how she came into the hut and why she felt no pain on her forehead anymore.

She wondered if it was the woman who had brought her into the bamboo hut because to her, the woman looked way too weak and fragile and she obviously couldn't move around without using her walking stick.

"Who are you?" Kira asked, perplexed.

The woman said nothing and kept walking towards Kira. Kira was worried as she wondered if she hadn't been taken to a completely different world where she would be completely powerless.

She was wary of her environment and the woman coming closer to her.

"Who are you?" She asked again inquisitively, her eyes not leaving the woman for even a split second.

"I just...I say who are you?" She repeated herself after the lady made no attempt to reply.

The woman said nothing to her and walked past her. It was as if everything happened in a flash as the next thing Kira knew, the old woman had suddenly appeared behind her and now that she thought of it, she didn't actually hear any footsteps sounds from her.

"I..." Kira was cut short as the woman placed her hands on her neck.

"Shush." She hushed her immediately.

Kira gulped. She had found the woman strange but now that she was closer to her, she could smell her wolf scent strongly but it was definitely not a familiar scent.

"Just who are you?" Kira asked in a whisper but loud enough for the woman to hear.

"I am the one you came in search of." She replied, earning a shocked gasp from a surprised Kira.