Chapter 1 : Birth of a Prince

“ASHLYNN, HURRY UP WITH THAT WATER!” A fat woman, with stringy hair and sweating enough to look like she was caught up in a storm, yelled from the small hut. She was the wet nurse of the Royal Pack. They were the direct decedents of the Emperor werewolf himself. Amon-Re, he created the packs of wolves himself from the swamps and brought them their shapes. He is their god and they do everything in his name.
“BY THE LOVE OF AMON, ASHLYNN. YOU GET THAT WATER IN HERE THIS INSTANT OR SO HELP ME YOU WILL NEVER SEE THE LIGHT OF THE MOON AGAIN.” A girl with ashen hair to her waist and icy blue eyes ran into the small hut carrying a large copper pot. Water slopped over the sides as she ran in and almost dropped it on the floor.
“YOUR SLOSHING THE WATER THAT STUFF IS MORE VALUABLE THAN YOU WILL EVER BE.” Ash bowed her head to the irate taunting of the nurse. She had been like that to her ever since her father made her apprentice under her. Lilly, the wet nurse, was a stubborn woman with little patience. Ash couldn’t stand her temper but there was nothing she could do, so she let it wash right over her. Like a duck in the rain, the bad comments and hurtful saying will roll off her back like a droplet if rain.
“I am sorry Lilly. Do you want me to get anther pot of warm water?” Ash tried desperately to cover her mistake but it was no use the baby was coming and Lilly needed her help.
“Never mind that girl and put the herbs in.” Lilly waved an irate hand at Ash and kneeled before the pregnant woman. “Breath honey, the baby isn’t out yet and you both still need to breath.” Ash frowned as she turned to get the dried herbs off the shelf. Lilly was always nice to everyone she met except to her. With a wooden spoon Ash stirred in several dried herbs that will promote health and well being to be baby to be washed in. Lavender, pine needles, amber flakes, small blue flowers and a pinch of springs first grass blades.
Ash stirred the warm water slowly as she knelt on the ground. The warm scent drifted around the hut and out the small hole in the roof to signal to the others that a new child was being born. Howls lifted as the woman screamed and pushed the baby out of her exhausted body. Ash felt shivers run down her spine as the howls were heard through the walls of the small hut and through the thick air. Lilly gasped and guided the baby out of his mother.
“It is a son my queen. A handsome male with black hair. He will make a fine prince.” Lilly stood and shoved Ash away from the pot and washed the baby herself. Ash was thrown to the side and almost trampled on as a tall man with dark brown hair threw the door open. He ran to the woman’s side and held out a bleeding heart to her. The woman’s eyes were pale as she was too weak to move or tint her eyes to the light that poured through the door. She bit into the heart and sucked greedily at the blood hidden with in. Ash looked away from the three of them and crawled out the door and into the strong moonlight. She didn’t like the customs of the wolves she lived with. The eating of a heart after birth, she considered, to be a desperate attempt to regain the lost strength. Ash knew that this ritual should never work but it proved her wrong in each birthing she had ever helped Lilly with.
Crossing her arms over her chest Ash stood and walked away from the hut and into the thick dark forest. The wolf within her paced around and whimpered for freedom. Ash kept her eyes on the ground before her and didn’t look up as she glided through the forest. The path before her was imbedded in her mind from time after time she traveled this way to get away from the others. She walked and made several turns and slipped under the roots of a large hazel tree. There in her secret place she spent time away from the wolves and the humans that she feared. Ash sat upon a stone that she had carved in the shape of a threatening gargoyle. His wings were made out of the roots of her small cave and his body was of stone. She traced his face and smiled. She had carved it herself and somehow she through she knew the face. But she left it up for another day; because she didn’t care she just knew he would keep her safe. Ash curled up in his well carved lap and closed her eyes.

Author's Note

Please tell me if I lose anyone!