Chapter 2 - Dimitri

Chapter 2 - Dimitri 

After meeting Sadie and Jake, I left the meadow in hope of finding their location. Many hours past, days even, still no sign of them. Never did I see Sadie or Jake, never did I see another wolf. 

I couldn't catch my prey anymore. I felt so weak, so emaciated...How I kept on running, how I carried on, I had no clue. I thought that I would get anemia, if I didn't already have it, from low lack of iron. I was starving, maybe my stomach was already eating iteslf? 

Weight didn't seem an issue to me now...

My only hope was to wait and survive till the full moon. 

Or was it?

Something was tugging at the back of my mind, as if to tell me that there was another option. I couldn't reach it, and that annoyed me to the core. Whenever I tried, I would get dizzy, and my head would start hurting. If there was another way, then I couldn't reach it.

So I only had one way after all.

I rested my head on my paws in frustration and sheer desperation. I didn't think that I could survive till then, but only because I pushed myself was I alive for this long. The last time I ate...was that only a few weeks ago? It seemed like I hadn't eaten in months. My body was already in starvation mode, and you could see my ribs.

My fur was starting to lose it's brilliant sandy shine, and now it was no more than a dull, pasty color. I was emaciated, almost gone. I was a goner.

Yet the only thing that kept me going, that kept me alive was that even for one day, if I were human, I could eat and enjoy my life. That one day, I wanted to go party in a club, be reckless, have some sort of freedom. After that, fate could do what it wanted. 

After that, I wouldn't care.

As my mind started to edge towards happy thoughts of unconciousness, I surveyed my surroundings one more time. There was nothing to see but the cold, wintry landscape so I let myself be at peace. It was now time to head to the dream world.

 

*************

"Uncle Dimitri! Uncle Dimitri!" I was calling excitedly. I was only about 20 months old, jumping around and waiting for my favorite uncle. We were in our den, but mom and dad had gone out hunting, leaving just the two of us here. "Uncle Dimitri! You promised that you'd tell me a story!"

I heard my uncle pad over to where I was, amused by my excitement. "Yes, I suppose I had," he mused. Seeing the way I was jumping about, he laughed. "Alright Jeremy, just calm down."

I eventually stopped bouncing and laid my head on my paws expectantly. I heard Uncle Dimitri chuckle at this and I wiggled my tail.

"Peace young one, let me get settled," my uncle said. He laid down on his stomach with a grunt and looked at me full in the eyes. "Do you have any requests?"

I thought about it for a minute. "Oh! Oh! Tell me about the full moon legend!" 

"Alright," Uncle nodded. He looked at the ceiling of our den, as if trying to remember exactly what the story was. Before long, he was staring at me right in the eye again. "Jeremy, we're not just normal wolves. We're special."

I nodded my head impatiently. "Yeah, I know that. We are werewolves, servants of the moon."

Uncle Dimitri nodded. "Yes, we are werewolves, but we're not servants, nor slaves of the moon. In fact, the moon doesn't enslave us, but gives us one special night to walk on two legs."

"With only hair in certain places of our body, with the appetite to eat anything we want, or human food. To go and drive machines, watch moving pictures, and do many things," I added on to the list. 

"Yes. Now, are you going to let me tell the story, or do you want to say it?" Uncle laughed. 

"Why can't we do both?" I pouted. 

"Okay, we'll do both. I'll tell the first part of the story, and you'll tell the second part."He cleared his throat before beginning. "We didn't know that we could phase out of being wolves, until one wolf discovered it. Can you name that wolf, Jeremy?"

"Sir Thaddeus Grant, first werewolf in existence," I announced proudly. "He was born in the middle ages, and he was walking along a trail, when the rays of the full moon hit him and he discovered that he had become human."

"Right. What happened after that?"

"Well, after he discovered that he could become human, he courted this one girl and asked her to be his mate. Of course she didn't know that he was a werewolf till after he had bitten her and she had become one herself. Of course, she freaked out and killed herself, and Thaddeus went into a great depression."

"And how many women did Thaddeus turn to try to become his mate?"

"24." 

"What happened to the 24th one?"

"Well, she didn't care if Thaddeus was a werewolf or not, and so Thaddeus then had found his true mate. True mates were soul mates, who knew exactly when they had found each other. Thaddeus's true mate was named Ingrid and she was the one that bore his children, Orif and Isabel. Unfortunately, Ingrid died in childbirth, leaving Thaddeus to take care of their cubs. Since Thaddeus couldn't bear the loss of his true mate, as no wolf can, he was driven towards maddness, and he disappeared, leaving the two cubs to fend for themselves."

"And what happened to the cubs?"

"A normal wolf adopted them, but soon the cubs discovered that they could turn into humans for one night. They found their mates, and then created a pack of their own. That is how the race of werewolves was born, and it is believed that each werewolf is a descendent of either Orif or Isabel."

Uncle Dimitri nodded. "Yes. You do tell a good story Jeremy."

I smiled. "Thank you Uncle."

Right then, my parents entered the cave, and noticed me and Uncle Dimitri.

"What story have you told Jeremy now?" My mother asked Uncle.

"Jeremy actually told me the story this time," Uncle chuckled. "We were just talking about the full moon legend."

"It's not a legend, brother, it's true," dad told Uncle. Uncle was at least five years older than him.

"Yes, it is. Jeremy thinks it's a legend though," Uncle nudged me gently. 

"Well, I haven't seen it happen, so I don't believe it," I said crossly.

Everybody in the cave started laughing. 

"You'll know in time, Jeremy,  you'll know in time," Uncle chuckled.

*******************

That was the last time that I had seen Uncle. The next day, he had just vanished. I remember asking about him, but my parents just told me that Uncle Dimitri had gone to explore the world, and he would come back a little later. I didn't know that they were lying. I was only two years old.

"Momma, Daddy?" I had woken up to a new day, only to realize that Uncle Dimitri wasn't there. "Where's Uncle Dimitri?"

"Oh, he's gone out exploring. He won't be back for some time, honey," my mother soothed me.

I frowned. "How long is SOME TIME?"

"It's a couple of weeks, baby," my mom murmured. She padded over to me and began licking my face. "Ick, when was the last time you washed?"

"Ummmm...a few days ago?" I smiled innocently. I knew that I was going to be in a LOT of trouble.

My mom wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Jeremy Alpha Bane! Go and wash right this instant! You know better than not to wash every day! By the name of Isabel, how on earth will you find a mate if you do not wash yourself?!"

"Because I've got skills, mother," I replied smoothly. "That's how Daddy said that he had attracted you."

My mother gave me a death glare and i knew that if I didn' t get on the move, she would let me starve for a whole entire week. With a sigh, I headed off to the river. 

***************

My eyes snapped open. Was this the memory that was in the back of my head? I didn't feel that strange feeling there anymore, so that must've been it. 

My thoughts jumped back to Uncle Dimitri and I realized that all those years my parents had been lying to me. Uncle Dimitri wasn't gone...my dad had banished him...just like he had banished me.

I guess we were on the same boat, both of us being loners. I suddenly realized that I needed to find Uncle Dimitri...the only question was, was he alive?

If he was dead, it was useless, but right now, Uncle Dimitri was my only chance of survival. Maybe he already had found another pack, or made another pack with another loner...if that was the case, then I definately could survive, if he recognized me.

My heart started beating faster as I started running. I ignored the aching in my stomach, and pushed myself, running to Uncle Dimitri.

I had to find him.

Author's Note

Chapter 2! Hate it? Like it?