Chapter 3: The Overtaking

The vision of Jacques appeared before her in all his bare-boned beauty. Half-exposed yet so ethereally beautiful, Aeliana simply stood there in complete awe.

In spite of herself, she knew absolutely nothing about wolves of any kind. Seemingly warm and inviting, yet cold and clammy at the touch, Jacques made his way toward Aeliana in stiff and feeble admiration.

“Do you know who I am?” Jacques inquired enigmatically of Aeliana.

Hesitating for a moment, Aeliana took him by the paws and gently said, “Can you show me the way?”

“Who is she?” Jacques sang, his soothing voice like music to Aeliana’s ears.

“I don’t mean to intrude upon your space or privacy, but,” Jacques took his time in seeming contemplation of his every word, “you and I must unite, as one, together.”

But suddenly, a sea dragon had no sooner begun to run toward Jacques than he had mounted Aeliana on his back, making him seem so self-assured and convincing — at least, in Aeliana’s eyes.

“I’m so sorry, dear,”Jacques said, tipping his wings toward the sea dragon that was Aeliana’s mother as he reveled in the beauty of the Sun Goddess on his back. “But perhaps we can achieve some semblance of normalcy as soon as we move toward the light that transcends beyond us.”

Aeliana shook her head in disbelief. She knew full well that she shouldn’t have felt so at home with this darkly beautiful, mythical creature. And yet… She could not contain her deepest, most unhinged feelings toward this unseeable, unknowable being of darkness and mystique.

“Forgive me, but do we know each other?” Aeliana shyly asked. She typically didn’t feel quite this quiescent or subdued, but she felt such a strong pull in her soul toward the wolf that she could not quite fathom.

“You do,” Jacques breathed back. “Ever since the dawn of time…”

Jacques paused dramatically for effect.

But Aeliana couldn’t help but glance over toward her mother. She felt protective of him. She didn’t know why, but somehow… She just felt like she owed him at least one piece of herself.

She knew that it had to be this way. Fated, destined as one.

“Aeliana, do you even know him?” Her mother’s voice interjected in her ear.

But if this didn’t work out, then the world as she knew it may as well not have even existed. Since the very dawn of time, it seemed as though Aeliana knew full well that she was meant to be with Jacques. No matter what anyone said, or how “obvious” it might have seemed for her to mate with Jacques first.. Nothing could have possibly stopped her encounter with him.

It simply seemed as though her beauty could not remain as long as she was still bound to Jacques.

“Now, remind me of your name?” Aeliana’s mother asked Jacques, although Aeliana knew that she should have known.

“Jacques,” the wolf breathed, taking Aeliana very much off guard. “Of course she knows me, but she long ago lost her innocence when we combined the forces of Dark Masculine and Light Feminine.”

“What do you mean?” But Aeliana knew the story full well from Jacques’ haunted retelling.

“Have you not heard…?”

But Aeliana’s attention had already been taken. Gazing over distantly toward where Jacques now stood, Aeliana jumped abruptly away from him and raced passionately toward this other creature that she now beheld.

“Who are you?” Aeliana defensively inquired of this other wolf that presented herself to Jacques.

“Well, who are you?” This new wolf echoed Aeliana’s words. It was quite painful for Aeliana to hear them, given that she so strongly desired to be with Jacques.

Or at least, to find her way with him.

“I am Faye. Now, who might you be?” The female wolf sneered in jest back at Aeliana. Her words might as well have been an avid source of torment for Aeliana…

“Aeliana.” There was no telling as to whether she would get along well with this seemingly youthful wolf or not. But she almost did not want to know. Pangs of jealousy shot through her, and so she remained stiffly standing nearby Jacques as he grinned knowingly at her.

“What is it?” Aeliana glared darkly at Jacques, not knowing whether or not she should continue on here with him.

“It’s Faye. She, quite literally, comes from the realm of the fae.” Jacques gazed at Aeliana — this time, creating a vivid picture in her mind as to how serious he truly was about this supposed new creature, whom she had originally mistaken to be another wolf.

“I do apologize. I can only hope that we’ll find our way with one another in due time.”

But Faye, shaking her head in solemn silence, didn’t seem to agree.

And then, just as soon as Faye had appeared… She completely vanished from thin air. Aeliana observed cast shadows where Faye should have been standing.

“What did you do with her?” Aeliana demanded of Jacques This had to have been his doing…

“Maybe she’ll show up for you another time. But at this moment, she and I have some business to attend to.”

And with that, Jacques vanished into seeming thin air as well.

Aeliana could not hold back the tears. She had been holding them in for quite some time now, but without Jacques- What would she do? Who would she be?

“I know what you’re thinking,” Her mother gently purred, her sweet-smelling, cinnamon-like aroma wafting over toward Maelyn. She could almost taste the putrid “pleasantries” that her mother, Raina, would have to offer.

And yet…None of it seemed possible. It all seemed too surreal as she averted her gaze past her mother and toward the lovely Ethereal Realm.

“Have you ever been here before?” Aeliana offhandedly inquired of her mother.

“What do you think?” Raina astutely replied, with a serpentine look in her eyes. Aeliana never realized it before, but the gaze in her eyes was very similar to that of a snake.

Aeliana was still at a loss. She knew deep down that she felt a familiar tug or pull in her soul toward Jacques, but all in all, she could not decipher what it was exactly that connected her with him.

Nevertheless, Aeliana found herself wishing she could only unite with him. Whether Dark or Light Feminine, she’d always be at one with the forces of nature that surrounded her.

And that’s when he overtook her.