Susana - Sins of the Mothers

The silver crescent moon hung low in the late summer sky; millions of twinkling stars winked sleepily over Wolf Manor. No candles burned in the great house. No voices stirred the night. Sleep came to all creatures on this night whether they wanted it or not. Wolf was kissing his Virginia. He breathed in her scent from her bare shoulders and hair. Slow, ah, they had all night. Her whimpers and sighs were soft and sporadic. She gasped with pleasure and ran her hand down his tail. With sudden need he moved over her, kissing her eyelids and lips, then pulling back to study her face.

Without warning he threw back his head and howled. He leapt to the tower window. A great gash appeared in his neck, spouting blood. He tried to speak but all that came was a gurgle. The blood sprayed the room as he fell back through the window forty feet to the ground below. His eyes were dead before he hit the earth. Virginia opened her mouth to scream but no sound came, only the taste of blood. Virginia woke sitting up in bed covered in sweat. For a sickening second she thought it was Wolf's blood. Wolf lay beside her soundly asleep. His breath was warm in the chill evening air.

Wolf was dancing around the great hall throwing handfuls of glitter on the tables. Tomorrow there would be a great feast in honor of the birth of his daughter. He had come close to losing his wife this time. The baby had been early. But now they were both fine and happy-ever-after was just around the corner. He could feel it. All was fine, he had everything he had ever dreamed of. Until he saw him.

The Gypsy boy sat a the head table, gazing out of his sad brown eyes at Wolf.

"Friend Wolf, she is not yours to keep. Do not love this babe too well. She has beaten fate this time, but the price to keep her is bondage to darkness. You will chose her or your mate. You cannot have both." Wolf gasped as the boy touched the spreading redness on his shirt-front then smiled a sad, frightening smile and said, "Evil always targets the young first. Innocence is the first casualty of any war. I beg you leave the child with our pack. But I know you won't. Four years are all you shall have my friend. You will remember me when the knife is about to strike."

Now it was Wolf's turn to awake sweating and breathless. "Oh God," he whispered. Mercifully he had forgotten that vision of the Gypsy boy he had seen four years ago. Why did he have to remember it now?

Silvio was running through the forest. He had scented his quarry - a large deer. The full moon lit up the woods like noontime. All of nature called him. His blood boiled, urging him on-faster, faster. Then he heard his nanny calling him for supper, chasing him through the brush, her voice now sinister.

"Come now or you'll regret it boy!"

He stopped, terror gripped him. How could this be? Nanny was old and lame, how could she be...in front of him? He stared at the old woman but as she raised her head it was a face he had never seen before. Cold, evil, but beautiful. She hissed, "I have never missed my quarry yet; a little mongrel shall not escape me either."

A fiery pain shot through his chest and he fell to the ground. As he lay on the forest floor, his life's blood draining away, he looked up at his sister, the crossbow in her hands, blank expression on her face and teardrops on her pale cheeks.

He sat up like a shot and howled into the night.

Victoria slept soundly. No dreams entered her rest. Slowly she rose from her bed and walked to the mirror. Her hand clasped the silver butterfly. Her large green eyes were wide open and saw nothing. The hand reached through the mirror, handing her a long package wrapped in magenta silk. "It's a gift for your mother child, so she will appreciate you and love you more. The special magic is just for her so don't touch the gift. Slide it under her pillow as she sleeps and pull the cloth away. This will make things all better," the voice murmured.

"All better," Victoria repeated.

Wolf and his son bounded in the dark fields. They fought their demons and freed their troubled minds with the fresh air and speed. Nobody noticed the tiny white-clad child place the gift beneath her mother's pillow, then slip back to her own bed, unknowing.