Chapter 13: The Creation

Code of the Wolf (3/13):

"Respect the elder." ~Rafhael Vieira

Blake

We're really doing this. This is really happening. We're really doing this. This is really happening.

Why am I here?

We all agreed that even though we are all on board, we still need answers. Now more than ever. So we're visiting the spirit that set all of this in motion, who started all of this. Just like that, she appears out of nowhere. The space I am staring at a collection of mist one moment, a wavering ghost the next. Emerson doesn't look surprised by her sudden appearance, probably used to seeing her by now. He is a bit nervous though, I can see it through his stance and how he keeps balancing from one foot to the other.

She simply nods at him. "Hello Emerson," she turns to look at me, "Blake." I narrow my eyes at her suspiciously, still not entirely trusting her. I turn slightly to Emerson and see that the corners of his mouth have turned down into a deep, steely frown, pulling around the skin of his glimmering lip ring. I turn back towards her, my glare as harsh as ever.

"I see you found your pack." I noticeably cringe at the word, while I see Emerson light up from the corner of my eye.

"Yeah, no thanks to you." I mutter.

"Uh, guys?" Ro says in an unsteady tone. "Who are you talking to?"

I turn around towards the rest of them and blink. "You mean...you can't see her?"

"What is there to see? There is nobody there." Lana chides in annoyed.

I turn back to the spirit. "Why can't they see you?" I question.

"And why can I?" Emerson asks.

The spirit still has that serene calm look on her face. The crinkles around the corner of her eyes tell the story of a life lived full of laughter. Her small smile is delicate, yet strangely soothing, and she seems grounded in a way I've never seen a spirit act before.

"Because you are the Alpha." She answers.

She finishes, and we wait there for a moment expecting her to go on. When it becomes clear she isn't going to, I lose my patience.

"You say that as if that explains everything." I accuse, my palms fisting.

She is not put off by my aggressive demeanor, she takes it all in stride, not reacting in the slightest, which only makes me angrier. "It does explain everything, the whole universe in fact. Which you will soon come to know."

Emerson interjects, which is good, because I have a feeling that if I spoke again I'd regret the words that came out of my mouth. "What does me being the Alpha have to do with seeing you, seeing spirits? I thought only Blake could do that." There is a certain urgency to his voice, almost as if he's desperate to know the answer.

"Blake may be the wolf of necromancy but you are the Alpha of this pack, which grants you special abilities, one of which is being able to channel their power. This means you can use Blake's power, and all of theirs really, to make yourself stronger, but that also means you have a small piece of her power within you. You won't be able to summon armies of spirits like she can, but you can see spirits and do other things as well." She explained, not matter-of-factly but in a conversational way, as if all of this is happening just because.

"Wait, hold up, armies—"

Emerson cuts me off. "How can we make them see you?" He asks.

I turn around almost forgetting the others are here with us. I'm so used to it just being Emerson and I, that it's going to take some time to get used to spending time around other people that aren't him or River. Lana is tapping her foot on the grass restlessly, and her mouth is twisted into a snarl. Titus is just staring at us, eyes void of any emotion, and Zoey just looks confused.

The spirit says, "Blake, take my hand." I take a step back, becoming suspicious again. I have never touched a spirit. First off, I didn't even know that was possible considering they are see through, and are permeable. They can walk through objects and people without being noticed, shrugged off as a bit of cold air and not people whose lives were cut short. Second, I never figured I needed to or should, since that feels like an invasion of privacy. Nonetheless, I take a few steps towards her, Emerson looking on worried.

"Why?" I ask slowly.

"Just trust me." I try to ignore the surge of surety I feel at her words, attempting to push it down. Two weeks ago I didn't even know this woman and now she wants me to trust her, after all the havoc she's brought in to my life. I take one look in to her eyes, and there is something familiar there, so familiar that I reach towards it. Carefully, I take hold of her hand. I gasp, other than it being unnaturally cold, her hand is substantial, and instead of going straight through my hand like I expected it to, it grasps mine gently. All logical thoughts fly out of my head, and my mouth gapes like a fish.

"Now, close your eyes." I can't respond so I just do as I'm told, still in complete shock. "Let my hand ground you. Imagine me in an opaque form, full of color, breathing in life. Picture your powers as a rushing stream, and let it travel from your hand in to my own." I allow my entire mind to focus on her hand. I concentrate and try to dig in deep to this great, unknown power within me that has allowed me to see the unthinkable since birth. I take a deep breath and heat rushes through me, I will the heat to transfer to her.

I opened my eyes once the heat is gone, and turn towards the others. They all mirror my expression from earlier, they look like fish out of water. Lana puts a hand to her heart, "One more scare like that and my heart is going to give out." Ronnie laughs at this, and Lana looks surprised and taken aback. The shock wipes off her face a moment later, returning to their aloof look once more.

Emerson's face pales. "Blake, your eyes. They are black." Titus steps forward wanting to see for himself, and I touch my face.

I quickly twist towards the spirit once more. "What have you done to me?"

"I did nothing dear, this is all you. Whenever one of you uses your power, or shifts into your wolf form, your eye color will change."

Titus nods as if this information isn't new, and a small smile appears on Emerson's face and he visibly relaxes. I blink once, and look towards Emerson. He nods, and I can tell the black is gone for now. I have never liked my silver eyes, but I have never been more grateful to have them back.

"I'm guessing you all can see her now?" Everyone nods.

"Who are you?" Lana asks abruptly.

The spirit's relaxed expression falters. "Rosie S—"

"Cut the crap." I interject, while Emerson shoots me a reprimanding gaze as he always does when I'm not being polite. "I know you are lying. Who are you? Really?"

"I assure you I'm not lying." She says, trying to fake a reassuring smile, but failing.

"Then how do you know so much about our 'powers?" Lana gestures with air quotes. "How did you direct Blake's power just now? Why do you seem to be in the center of all of this?"

I nod agreeing with Lana. Like her, my inquisitive brain is always questioning everything and everyone, never fully trusting situations that seems too good to be true. Wow, I never thought I'd see the day where Lana and I actually have something in common. For someone so annoying she sure knows how to make a point. Maybe, she won't be so terrible after all.

The spirit drops her head down for a moment in defeat, before looking us all in the eyes once more. "You are right. I have been lying."

Ronnie releases a short laugh. "Yeah, we been knew."

Something is jabbing at me in my brain. Pushing me to ask her the very question I swore to myself I would never ask a spirit, because I know, do not ask me how, that it will explain everything. "How did you die?" I ask.

We are all silent for a moment, and the former spirit's skin pales. Her eyes have become withdrawn and a bit glassy, so I guess she is recalling the events that led up to her death. I begin to feel guilty but the question had to be asked.

She gives us all long, hard looks as if she is peering in to our souls. "You all killed me."

Zoey gasps, and I take a step back away from her. "I think I would remember killing someone. Besides my senses are telling me

you died way before any of us were even born so how could we kill you?"

"It wasn't intentional but it's true. You all killed me. Along with millions of others." She says, voice unwavering and with eyes that were gentle yet unrelenting.

Lana shakes her head. "I was a fool to believe any of this may possibly be real. How could we unintentionally kill you and countless of others? Wouldn't something like that have ended up on the news?"

The spirit opens her mouth to answer but I silence her with my hand. "Hold up, when did this happen exactly?" I don't know why my brain keeps pushing me to ask these questions. It's as if I subconsciously know the outcomes of each one.

"Almost seventeen years ago. November eighteenth, two-thousand and three."

Emerson and I lock eyes with each other. "The day we were born?" He questions me, I look back at him with eyes slowly flooding with fear.

Ronnie interjects with a shaky voice, "That's my birthday too."

Zoey shivers, "Mine as well."

I lock eyes with Titus and Lana and they both nod with expressions on their face that make it seem like they've seen the world's scariest monster. I look towards Mason and he nods too, not without giving his shirt sleeve a good tug first.

Lana looks like she's on the verge of freaking out with her gaze set hard on the grass she says, "Why do we all have the same birthday?"

All at once our eyes dart towards the former spirit, practically begging her to throw some sense in to this ridiculous equation. She gives us all gentle smiles to try to ease our minds but it doesn't help. I begin to feel a tugging sensation in my stomach, as if something, or someone is desperately trying to crawl its way out of the endless depths.

She replies, "Because you were all born on the same day."

Lana nods and shakes her head as if scolding herself for not seeing something before. Her solemn expression resolves. "Of course! So this is all just one, huge coincidence." She laughs to herself, but I can still see the terror in her eyes.

"I didn't say that." Rosie smiles softly, while Lana's face falls.

I try to bring myself to get an answer to my previous question. "Let's say for a minute that we believe what you are saying..." Lana looks like she wants to step forward and interject, but Titus gently takes hold of her wrist and pulls her back, clearly wanting to hear the spirit's answer as well. I continue, "How exactly did we kill you? Kill the others?"

Her shoulders seem to sag a bit, and a bit of the light, that I've never seen in another spirit's eyes, vanishes from her, now pale, eyes. "For you to understand that, you must understand what came before. What life was like before you seven were born."

I look towards Emerson and walk towards him, knowing I'm going to dread what comes out of the spirit's mouth next. When I finally reach his side, he puts an arm around my shoulder and squeezes gently, reassuring me, like he always does.

I look up at him, and we nod at the same time. Ready to support the other, just like it's always been. We look towards the spirit, and she sweeps her eyes over us all once more. She again, looks at the only blossoming tree in the entire barren cemetery for support. I notice that's become a habit of hers.

"It's time you learn about the era of the Red Moon."

***

Zoey tilts her head in confusion. "But the moon is silver. It has always been silver."

Lana nods in agreement and Titus only narrows his eyes in thought. Mason runs a trembling hand through his hair, clearly feeling overwhelmed.

"That is where you are wrong, my dear. The moon only turned silver when you all were born. It used to be red, and before that a bluish-green."

"What made the moon change color the previous times?" I inquire.

"Well when your parents first made the Creation..."

Ronnie puts a hand on her hip. "Wait, what is the Creation?"

"It is what humans refer to now as the Earth."

"Then why call it the Creation?" She asks with her eyebrows knitted.

The spirit seems a bit annoyed at the influx of questions but answers it anyway. "Because that's what your parents decided to name it."

Emerson's face perks up at this and Mason momentarily stops tugging at his sleeve. Emerson says, "What can you tell us about our real parents?"

"Wait, you are adopted? So am I..." Ro says, her fierce expression leaving her face instead being replaced with one full of sadness. The look almost seems foreign coming from someone with as much energy as Ronnie.

Emerson nods solemnly. "Yeah. So is Blake."

I look around at everyone again and see the same stricken faces. I roll my eyes at the ludicrousy of this entire situation. "So we are all adopted?"

Again, everyone nods collectively. "Well that's great. Nice to know our 'real' parents abandoned all of us. Really feeling the love over here." Emerson looks at me but doesn't say anything.

Titus's jaw is working and Mason's eyes are wide like a deer caught in headlights. The spirit's expression becomes sad. "I'm sure your parents love you all very much but this is besides the point. Like I was saying, when your parents first made the Creation, the moon was blue with hints of green. The wolf of nature and the wolf of the tides then made sure the Creation was made to be a mirror image of the moon. So the "Earth" was created in the moon's likeness."

Lana pinches her lips together before speaking, "That cannot be correct. The moon was created after the Earth. Not the other way around."

The spirit smiled to herself. "And how do you know this?"

"Because scientists—" Lana starts, before the spirit interrupts her.

"So that is your only proof? You will take the word of men who did not even see the world at its beginning? Who did not see it with their own eyes?"

Lana's mouth shuts close at this. "If you all don't mind I would like to get through the rest of this without any interruptions. Can I have your word that you will not ask questions until I am completely finished?" Everyone nods begrudgingly. "Perfect." She smiles.

"Like I was saying, when the Creation was first made the moon was a beautiful mixture of blues and greens which mirrored the presence of land and the seas on the Creation. Before I get into why the moon changed from it's beautiful blue green to the blood red it used to be, first we need to go back to the beginning. Before man, before time, before anything existed."

She gestures to a dying patch of grass closest to where she is standing. We reluctantly all walk over to it and sit down, well, all of us but Titus. She looks him over once before continuing, "In the beginning there was only darkness. It stretched for miles and miles in every direction that it seemed endless. There was not a sound that could be heard anywhere, and it was like that for billions of years before one fateful day. On that day, a breeze went through the darkness, shaking the infrastructure of the entire universe. All of a sudden the darkness became restless as if was desperately waiting for something. Then, a high pitched howl pierced through the darkness.

A pair of golden eyes cut through the darkness like glass. Blinked once, before approaching closer as if stepping through a curtain, and uncloaked herself. There stood a wolf with pure white fur. Being the first born, she would bring balance and stability to the Creation through the flame within her. This was your mother Emerson." She said, looking him in the eye. Emerson immediately perks up at this and quickly opens his mouth to say something, but catches himself remembering his earlier promise. Reluctantly he relaxes once more, but his focus is unwavering.

"Only mere moments later, a second pair of colored eyes gleamed through the darkness. This time being a bright olive green. The first wolf sensed immediately this wolf was family, and howled in acknowledgment and adoration. Sensing the familiarity, the wolf emerged from the shadows revealing her blonde coat. The wolf's uncertainty immediately melted away when she saw the calm and reassuring demeanor of the white wolf. She felt at home, and at peace. Like she belonged. Little did she know she would bring life to the Creation, and bring forth a system of trees and animals and elements that would be called nature." The spirit pauses for a moment before saying quickly, eyes taking in the cemetery, "Zoey this was your mother." Zoey's eyes glaze over with astonishment but I can still see a bit of nervousness in her posture.

"She went to go stand with her sister, and just as she was about to communicate with the white wolf, she was interrupted by a third set of eyes shattering the darkness. This time the eyes were a startling ruby red. There was a clear darkness to them, yet that didn't take away from the beauty of them. The wolf slowly approached from the darkness, eyeing her surroundings with her head held up high. Her black coat may have blended easily with the darkness engulfing them if it wasn't for the shimmer that seemed to exist within all of their fur coats. The black wolf's eyes darted from the wolf of life to the wolf of balance with suspicion. Instead of being put off like the blonde wolf was, the white wolf instead chose to step closer to the wolf, and locked eyes with her. Some of the tension melted away from the black wolf's stance as she moved to stand with her sisters, but her head was still held up high. This wolf would bring about human destruction. Vanity, pride, and lust would be because of her. Men would fight wars for land in her name. She would corrupt mankind and her sisters knew it. But she was their equal, and would be treated as such. Titus, this was your mother." Titus grounds his teeth so hard, I can hear the sound of his enamel grinding together harshly. He says nothing while the spirit just observes him. She decides to just continue.

"The wolves just kept coming, sprouting out of the darkness like blossoms in spring. Next came a pair of blue eyes that resembled the color of the deepest ocean, but a thousand times brighter. The wolf revealed himself to his sisters rather timidly at first, but then worked up the courage to make it in front of them. His coat was white with patches of blondish-tan fur, giving him a mixed look. He would bring tides to the creation, along with the change of the weather and the seasons." The spirit turns her head and looks gently down at Mason. "This was your dad, Mason." It takes Mason two seconds to process what the spirit just told him. After that he knits his eyebrows together and wrings his fingers together pulling on the ends, if anything, the news puts him more on edge.

"Not too long after, a fifth pair of eyes reveal themselves. These eyes are a bright orange with a ring of red circling the pupils. The wolf wastes no time and immediately bursts out of the darkness with his tail wagging and tongue out excited at the prospect of meeting new friends. His coat had vibrant red fur. The wolves viewed this as an act of friendliness and playfulness and each gave the new wolf a cheerful howl. This wolf would being about the foundation of humankind, their emotions, strengths and weaknesses, and like family protects their loved ones, he would protect the Creation from danger." The spirit looks towards Ronnie, but Ronnie is already staring right at her, as if she could tell this one is for her. I can already sense her dad in her. I know we've only just met, but I see the fierce loyalty through the fire in her eyes.

"Veronica, this was your father." Ronnie momentarily winces at the sound of her full name, and her demeanor doesn't relax after that. Like Mason, she resembles a deer caught in headlights. Something tells me there is more there, and with Mason too. Even Titus. But I won't ask, it is not my business.

After all, we are all battling our own demons.

"Just like the former, a sixth pair of eyes were revealed to the wolves. This time being a brilliant vibrant purple. The wolf stepped out of the darkness with its head held a little high and its eyes narrowed; its shaggy brown coat seemed to gleam despite the darkness. This wolf was the most suspicious out of all of them, and did not find the other wolves' presences as calming or inviting. The wolf though understood that the other wolves would be its companions, so it reluctantly bowed its head in greeting, and walked to the end of the line of them. This wolf would bring progress and knowledge to the Creation, while giving his brothers and sisters profound advice."

The spirit had a reminiscing look on her face, while a thousand emotions flashed in her eyes. "This was your father, Lana." Lana just narrows her eyes and does not say a word. Something indiscernible flashes in her eyes. If I didn't know any better, I would say it was hope. The spirit continues.

"The wolves waited a few more seconds. Seconds stretched to hours, and still, no signs of any other wolves, no other colorful eyes breaking the darkness. The six turned to each other, and just before one could even attempt to speak, a low growl sounded through the atmosphere. Loud, deep, and utterly, utterly threatening. The six wolves' heads snapped towards the sound and the hairs on their fur stood up, they were ready to attack. But they did not need to. The growl came to a stop, replaced by slow, emphatic steps so quiet that it would be easy to use to sneak up on someone.

All of a sudden a silver coat with tuffs of white appeared, but yet its owner's face was still unknown. It was not until the last wolf stepped in front of the six that the wolves could discern its face, almost as if the wolf had masked it from them until now. The wolf had eyes of pure black, iris and pupil inseparable, yet there was a glimmer of something in them that made them look unlike two empty sockets in a skull. For a moment, nobody said or did anything. The wolf of nature had to fight back a growl, she felt very threatened by the new addition. The wolf with orange eyes stepped up and gave the wolf a welcoming howl. His brothers and sisters followed suit. A few seconds passed and the silver wolf had not yet replied. It was not until he locked eyes with the golden eyed wolf that the wolf howled back, though begrudgingly. This wolf would bring death to the Creation. He would control what happened to souls in the afterlife. Punish the evil, and reward the good. Blake, this was your father."

A chill runs down my spine. I knew I was the only one left, since she identified everyone else's parents but hearing her say it loud made it all the more real. A part of me could not help but feel excited. To know that someone, or something else possessed the same abilities that I have. That I'm not some freak of nature and that these abilities came from somewhere. Were passed down to me, like some weird supernatural gift. But I can't help but feel like these emotions are betraying my real, or not real I guess, dad. My adoptive dad has always been my real dad, he still is. But is it bad that I want to know more about where I came from? That I don't just want to be the baby girl that was found in a cemetery? But someone more? Someone with purpose.

Why am I here?

"The white wolf howled and immediately all attention was on her. She stuck her tail straight up and lifted her head high, assuming a dominant stance. The remaining six already knew. She howled, and they all bowed their heads submitting to their new leader, their Alpha. They all surveyed the darkness around them and immediately knew what they had to do. But before they could do it, shards of blue and green rock started whizzing through the air. The wolves ducked their heads to protect themselves.

What they noticed first was a bright blue light shining down on them that was not there a second ago. At this, they looked up. And what they saw stunned them. Above them was a great, huge blue sphere radiating bright beams of light. It was the moon.

Just like that the moon was created. The moon not only gave off light, but incredible waves of power and energy. Although, the white wolf was their Alpha, all of them knew who they truly served and that was the Moon Goddess. She had created them, and was now showing them her true form. The wolves bowed their heads down to her, before turning to themselves. The Goddess put in their minds a picture, and they then knew what they had to do. What they had to create.

They immediately went to work. They linked their powers telepathically and began to form what would soon become the Earth. The green-eyed wolf created mountains and planes of luscious, green grass. Then she added all forms of creatures—insects, reptiles, mammals, all of these and more would have a home in the world, and wander freely without a care, in peace. The blue-eyed wolf added the oceans, making the waves crash against one another. He added the seasons, and made sure that as people changed so would nature. The orange-eyed wolf created humans, people that would share the Creation with animals and live together with them in harmony. She filled them with emotion, gave them a heartbeat, and left them with the best pleasures that they could ever dream of. While also putting a barrier of protection around the Creation that would shield the inhabitants of any harm. The red-eyed wolf corrupted these seemingly perfect humans. Filled their minds with lust, and their hearts with greed. She spurred disagreements amongst them, and ensured that there would always be war, sometime and someplace at every moment.

The purple-eyed wolf brought progress to the Creation. Ensured that humankind would always be changing, improving, and evolving. Over the centuries they would form new ways to communicate, to gain knowledge, to modernize the world. The black-eyed wolf was next. He brought death to the Creation. Shortened life-spans and created the after-life. Made sure that if people didn't atone to their sins while they were alive, they would do so after they died. Lastly, the golden-eyed wolf finished it off. She added balance and harmony to the Creation, gave the world a life-line. Through fire, she ensured that there would be a reason for everything, and that the Creation would live on forever as long as there was magic.

The seven wolves looked at what they did and smiled. They wanted so much to bask in the glory of it all, and to see it in person, all the wonders they had created. But as they stepped to take a closer look, they were flung into the air, miles away from the Creation. They tried again, and the same thing happened. Why couldn't they enter the Creation? What they did not know, is that there was a barrier separating them from all that they had done.

The one the red wolf had made to protect mankind.

The darkness suddenly seemed all the more intrusive and cold.

They were trapped."

————————————————————————

Thank you so much for reading this chapter, I hope you liked it. I know it was a bit long, but it really sets the foundation for the whole story. Well this one, and the next one. What do you think about the parents of the seven? What do you think about each of their contributions to the Creation? What do you think about the barrier? Remember to like and comment if you enjoyed the story and share it with your friends! Stay golden:)

~Fallen Rose🥀