"Wake up, child."

The whisper rang in my ear. Opening my eyes to a pre-dawn lit room, I held my breath until the echo subsided. It felt as though someone was right there whispering in my ear. As my brain woke up, that impression disappeared.

Ezra was still asleep, his arms wrapped around me and his nose in my hair. I rarely woke up before he did. His soft breathing and warmth, the bluish hue staining everything in the room, and memories of last night soon had me forgetting all about the dream.

He had been so happy yesterday. The fact that I had made it happen drew a smile on my face. His smile had looked so carefree, so untainted by the pain of grief.

"'Morning," he whispered. I turned my head toward him. His small smile turned my insides into a fluttering mess.

"Good morning," I replied. The bond between us was almost purring in content.

Kissing my forehead, Ezra whispered. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me. I had my selfish motives."

The bond fluttered under his amusement. His smile widened. "Oh yeah. What are they?"

I poked the uplifted corner of his lips. "This."

His eyes softened. The bond overflowed with love and affection. And it was all for me. "I love you."

"I love you too," I whispered, relishing in the moment before we had to get out there and face the imminent issue.

*** **** ***

The morning of classes went by in a flash. Ezra and I linked the entire day. Mind-link was such a useful trick. How in the world did I live without it?

Blake finally made an appearance. I hadn't seen him since he shifted. He looked better than the last time I'd seen him. Much better, in fact. I could've sworn he was even bigger.

"The guys had to carry me back home because I passed out right in the middle of the woods," he told me as we made our way out of class.

"You really passed out?"

"From exhaustion. I haven't felt that tired since my first shift. We decided to shift back, and right as I lunged into my skin, I collapsed on the ground and the lights went out. Jason and Zach must've had a time carrying me back."

"I can imagine that." I chuckled. "Did your mom find you like that? Asleep?"

"Asleep and butt naked." He shook his head. "Zach and Jason dragged me home without a stitch of clothing."

"Oh my God..."

"I guess it was payback for having to carry my 'heavy ass' back home, Zach's words. But hey, Mom was over the moon."

The afternoon sun peeked through the clouded sky before it hid again. The wind picked up. Shivering, I hugged myself. It had been so sunny in the morning, so I only wore a light sweater. That would teach me.

"Here," Blake said, slipping off his hoodie. I refused to take it at first, but when he reminded me that werewolves weren't bothered by the cold as much, I accepted gracefully. I tucked my hands in the pockets. Mhm. Warmth.

"Just make sure you take it off before his highness sees it," Blake said with a smirk. "I don't think he'd be thrilled. Although I can barely smell anything over his scent when I come near you."

"Do I really smell like him?" I asked, sniffing myself. The hoodie smelled faintly like Blake. But my nose couldn't pick out the layers of smells like a werewolf's.

"Yep. Well, you still smell like yourself, but it's like your scent is wrapped up in his, if that makes any sense."

"I doubt it'll make sense to anyone who doesn't have noses like yours. You guys are obsessed with scents."

"Hey, it's a useful thing. Besides, anyone will know who you are. That's probably one of the reasons he makes sure his scent is on you," he said, sending me a meaningful sideway glance.

I huffed, feeling heat rise to my cheeks. Blake just chuckled.

Someone bumped into me. I almost fell on my butt if not for Blake's quick reflexes.

Again?

"The hell?" Blake growled, glaring at the girl. She was the same girl who'd been giving Ezra googly eyes in our last class together. Joanna, if I remembered correctly.

Joanna just kept walking with her two friends, glancing over her shoulder at us with a satisfied grin.

"Okay..." I drawled out with raised brows. Blake eased his grip on me, his eyes still glaring daggers at Joanna's back.

"Hey," I said, bumping his arm with my shoulder. "It's fine, let's go."

He growled but followed me. "It's not fine."

"No big deal. I think she has a thing for Ezra, that's why she doesn't like me much."

"Yeah," Blake mumbled, his eyes flitting around.

I narrowed my eyes. "Blake? What's wrong?"

"Nothing! Why would you think something is wrong?" His blue eyes refused to meet mine.

"You're hiding something-"

"Oh, look at the time!" He looked at his wrist. It didn't even have a watch. "I have to go! See you later, Orla!"

He jogged up ahead of me, disappearing among the wave of students heading to their cabins.

He knew I would make him tell me, so he escaped. Clever wolf. I shook my head with a fond smile. I would ask him later.

I was surprised to see Ashley in my cabin. Well, it was supposed to be our cabin, but she rarely spent time here anymore. I guess some things changed.

She leaned against the kitchen island, two duffle bags at her feet.

"Hey, are you going somewhere?"

"Just figured I'd move the rest of my stuff to Zach's cabin. You should tell Ezra to move the rest of his in here, as well." She winked.

"Um, I think he got some of his stuff already," I said, dropping my bag on the couch.

Ashley approached and squeezed me in a hug. "We saw Wren. You have no idea how grateful we are to you, all of us. Thank you."

"You're welcome," I mumbled.

Sam burst through the back door just as we pulled away, followed by Hayden and Zach. The vampire took one look at me and laughed. "Oh, Ezra is going to love that."

Zach nodded his agreement. Then, he, too, was hugging me. "Thank you," he whispered.

The amount of thanks I'd been receiving made me a little uncomfortable. I wasn't used to it, and it must show on my red face.

"You're welcome."

Sam lounged on the armchair just as Ezra and Haley got in. Gray was held like a baby in Haley's arms. A big baby.

Ezra's eyes zeroed in on Blake's hoodie and frowned. Oh, so that was what Sam was referring to.

I bit back an amused smile and shrugged. "It was cold," I linked him.

He sighed. Wrapping his arm around my shoulders, he kissed my temple. "What am I going to do with you?"

"I already told you. Give me lots of chocolate," I suggested with a cheeky smile.

His lips lifted in a smile. "Come on. Let's talk."

We turned to the others, who were all seated and looking at us with confused expressions. Except for Sam. He grinned at me. "You can link."

I nodded.  Gray squirmed in Haley's arms. When she let him go, he trotted to me and rubbed his length against my legs. 

"What? How? There's no mark on her neck!" Ashley exclaimed, wide eyed.

I filled Gray's food bowl, then Arthur and I sat on the island stools, facing everyone in the living room.

"I've been feeling her emotions for a while now, on and off. I could feel the bond more strongly a couple of days ago. I tried linking, and it worked," Ezra said.

"Well, I can't say I'm surprised anymore," Haley said. "I mean, you can tell me that she could make it rain and I'd believe you at this point."

I snorted. I couldn't possibly control the weather! Silly Haley...

"Well, that's that," Sam said, leaning forward in his seat. "But what do you think happened yesterday?"

Silence claimed the cabin. The laughter and loud voices of the students outside seemed like they were from another world, a normal one where a human wouldn't be able to use some odd form of energy to heal a werewolf fallen by silver.

Ezra and I exchanged a look. He'd felt the energy through the bond, so he was the only one who could understand what truly happened.

"It was some form of energy," he said snatching his eyes away from mine to look around. "I felt it through the bond. It was an energy... a power that flowed from Orla's end of the bond. I don't even know how to describe it. I never felt anything like it before. But my wolf and I didn't feel it was threatening. It actually felt soothing, as if it was trying to comfort us."

Sam narrowed his eyes. "The energy was trying to comfort you? Not Orla, but the energy?"

Ezra nodded.

"I remember I felt Ezra's concern," I added. "I was too focused on trying to channel the energy to Wren. I wanted to comfort him but I was afraid if I lost my focus, the energy would stop flowing to her.

"And the energy... it was as if it read my mind and did what I wanted. It kind of... acted on its own?"

Sam froze. He looked like he'd seen a ghost.

"What is it, Sam?" Ezra asked.

Sam shook his head. "Nothing you should worry about. Yet. Hayden, why don't you see if Hale can come down here?"

"Dad?" Haley asked.

"Yes. I think it's a good idea he comes to see things for himself," Sam mumbled.

"Sure," Hayden answered with a frown.

Ezra tensed. He dragged my stool closer to him and wrapped his arm around me, drawing in my scent.

"You said you wanted to channel the energy to Wren," Hayden said, his blue eyes swirling with gold. "How did you do it? How did you know it would work in the first place?"

Creasing my brows, I tried to remember my frame of mind the previous evening. "I don't know... I just followed my instincts? I felt that it would work, it was like the energy knew what was happening?"

I chuckled to myself. "I know it sounds absurd, but it just felt that way. Like it was alive."

Haley and Hayden looked at each other for a moment. Gray strolled toward Haley and plopped down on her feet, his cute head on his paws.

"Magic," Haley said. "It was magic."

My eyes bugged out. "What?"

"I thought about it too, at first," Ezra said. "But I know what magic feels like. I can recognize it. That energy was something else, it was much more....raw, and pure."

As Ezra uttered the last two words, I felt something like realization dawning on him through the bond. He looked at Sam, the feeling of realization turning into dread.

Sam averted his eyes from Ezra's, a silent understanding between the two guys. No one seemed to notice. I only did because I could feel his emotions through the bond.

"Just think about it," Haley said, oblivious to the exchange.

"Think about it. An energy that has a will of its own, an energy that could heal. It matches perfectly!" Haley said.

"What do you mean a will of its own? Magic has a will of its own?" I asked.

"It does," Hayden replied. "Magic is not just a tool. It's an entity of its own. It has its own will."

"Witches and wizards use the magic that exists around us," Hayden said, holding out his palm in front of him. A little flower; a miniature red tulip, slowly rose from the centre of his palm making me gasp. It glowed as if it was made of light. "It's everywhere, especially strong in more natural places. For example, cities don't have as much magic as forests do.

"Anyway, like I said, magic is a being of its own. We can use it because the moon had blessed us with the ability to wield it. We train from our childhood, for years, in order to know how to bend it to our desire."

He closed his palm on the small flower and when he opened it again, instead of a red tulip, a tiny glowing blue light in the shape of a bird stood in its place.

"Make no mistake, though," Hayden continued. "Even if the magic bends to our will, it can always decide not to. It's still a free-willed being."

The little glowing bird fluttered its wings and flew in a circle over our heads. I grinned, watching the little glowing bird fly one more round, than land on my knee.

An emotion leaked through the bond, but I was too fascinated to ponder on it. I reached out a finger and touched the bird's head.

I squeaked and pulled my finger back. It felt like a little electric shock. I put my finger on it again, this time ready for the sensation. My finger went right through the energy. It was warm and a little prickly.

"Why don't you try something," Ezra said. I almost jumped at his voice. Everyone had been so quiet.

"What?"

"Try to see if you can control it."

I cocked my head. Control it? Could I even do that? I mean, I wasn't a witch.

I touched the magic bird again. I had no idea how to go about it. Hmm. I wonder if I could make it change color.

The moment the thought crossed my mind, the energy in my chest sparked to life. It gave a sharp tug, trying to reach for the magic bird. I envisioned the energy flowing through my finger as it touched the magic, and almost instantly, the bird turned green, then yellow, then red.

I smiled. Oh, this was so much fun! What if I could shape it as something other than a bird? I focused, picturing a wolf. The glowing magic shifted and swelled, growing until it was shaped as a wolf pup. Hmm. Just a little bit bigger. The wolf grew until it was as big as Gray. I willed its color to turn the exact shade of Gray's fur.

I grinned. The wolf's glowing ear prickled. I chuckled. "Look, the magic is acting like a wolf."

Silence. I looked up. Ezra's eyes stared unblinkingly at Magic Gray. Everyone else looked in varying degrees of surprise and shock.

Okay... why were they freaked out? They were the ones who told me to try and control it.

"You..." Ezra shook his head.

"What?" I asked. The glowing gray magic suddenly melted away into thin air. "Oh! It's fading. Why is it fading?"

"You lost focus," Haley replied absent-mindedly. She blinked quickly. "Do you realize what you just did, Orla?"

"Um... a magic wolf?" I said.

"You made the magical energy I lent you bigger, you even made it change shape and color," Hayden said. "That means you drew on more magic, not just the amount I gave you."

"Okay?"

"We're surprised because only witches can do that," Ashley said. "Hell, even born witches can't do it unless they have proper training."

"But aren't witches supposed to be able to use magic?" I asked.

"Witches are born with the ability to wield magic, that doesn't mean they can do it instinctively," Sam said. "They need proper training and guidance in order to learn how to draw the magic from our surroundings and bend it to their will."

"We train from childhood to be able to wield magic as easily as you just did," Haley added, green and amber swirling in her wide eyes. "That's a level of mastery we reach only after years of studies."

"But... I was just playing around."

Haley barked out a laugh. "Damn! I wish I was able to play around like that when I was younger. It would have saved me a lot of classes."

I frowned. "But why can I do that? I'm not even a witch. I'm human."

My question was met by silence.

"Right?"

Ezra just pressed his lips to my forehead, his eyes apologetic.

Oh my God. I wasn't human.

"You can't be human," Hayden said, shaking his head like the very idea sounded absurd. "Humans can't control magic like that."

"Could it be that she had a recessive witch gene," Ashley suggested. "Maybe after bonding with Ezra, the gene is waking up."

"Even if that was true," Zach said, "a witch can't just suddenly control magic without proper training. Besides, she still smells and feels exactly like a human."

Ezra stiffened next to me. He was hiding something.

"Oh God," Hayden suddenly blurted out, snapping his head towards me with wide eyes. "It can't be...."

"What? what is it?" Haley looked as confused as the rest of us, except Sam and Ezra.

"That makes sense. It makes total sense. But..." Hayden mumbled to himself, the amber swirling in his blue eyes like a storm.

"What makes sense?" Zach asked.

"The moon..." Hayden breathed out, looking like he was finally putting the puzzle pieces together, a puzzle that Ezra and Sam had already figured out, apparently.

The moon? What did he mean?

Suddenly, everything was starting to clear up in my mind. Like fog being chased by wind to reveal the clear image of a hidden landscape.

The moon....

The necklace that was left with me, probably by my parents. A moonstone and wings.

The moon and an angel. Primus' parents.

I could wield magic, but in a much better way than witches. The only creatures who could utilize magic other than witches were moon children and fairies.

Ezra had told me that the fae were known for their healing abilities. Healing abilities that I had demonstrated on more than one occasion.

Their partial immunity to silver. And I could touch silver.

Wait... The dream! Could it have been a sign? They'd been capturing women and girls. It matched what Ezra had told me about the fae being hunted down and eventually, going extinct.

"Wake up, child."

The man with the wings. The woman with the silver hair. I knew who they were now...

I know what I am.

I was a fairy. 

--- ---- ---

Thoughts?

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Vote and comment if you did!

Also, if you notice any mistakes, please let me know in the comments! I appreciate it <3

Much love <3 <3 <3

M.B.