Harley~
Gripping the gun in one hand with my finger still on the trigger, I used my other hand to shield my eyes from the flash. As it dimmed, I two-handed the barrel again and tried to focus on the female I could see inside the extraordinary white light. Although she was transparent, I could still make out her features.
My eyes widen and my mouth drops open as I stare at her in awe, thinking she must be a goddess. On her head and waist, she wore a crown and belt of what appeared to be controlled water. The thunderbolt disappeared entirely, and the darkness reclaimed the night as she stepped off it.
The goddess came towards me. "That won't work on me, Harley," she said, referring to the gun I was still pointing at her.
"Look, lady, I don't want to kill you. Who are you, and what do you want?" My voice cracked from my disbelief about what I had just seen with my own eyes. How did she know my name?
She laughed as she took another step towards me. "My name is Lauren. You are just as beautiful as I imagined, and you look so much like your mother."
I searched my memories but couldn't put her name and face together. Still, I couldn't deny there was something very familiar about her.
"How do you know my mother?" I asked, lowering the gun, having a strong feeling that she was correct, and it wouldn't affect her.
"Your mother was part of our Sauther Lake clan before she mated with your father. Was it not a hailstorm that helped you escape Ian's pack?"
How in the holiest of hell could she know that?! I thought. "My mother never spoke of you or this clan. Trust me, I would remember, and you didn't answer my question. What do you want?!"
"Harley, I have no intention of harming you. I'm here to warn you that Ian knows where you are."
'She is being truthful,' Rae tells me, 'or at least she believes it.'
"You should learn to listen to your wolf; she will prove to be a wise source in your future."
Just great, I can almost see Rae gloating. "How can you hear my wolf, and how could you know any of this?"
"I've been watching over you since your mother's death. It was I who caused the storm, and I also keep close watch on Ian. He's hired a bounty hunter to come after you, and there isn't much time."
My heart started pounding in my chest as the notion sank in that my father had found me. I don't want to believe it.
"Even if my mother was part of your clan, that doesn't explain my connection with you." I stared at her, fighting back the unwanted tears. "Why would you be interested in saving me?"
"Do not fear, Harley. You, my dear, are one of the chosen few. We, the Sauther Lake guardians, are a collective of beings united in body and mind with a common goal. My goal at the moment is to protect you. It's time to come home now, Harley. You don't belong here in the human world. The sooner you embrace your true self, the easier you can free yourself of Ian once and for all."
I couldn't make head or tail of the riddles she spoke, though she had raised my curiosity.
"Say, if I wanted to 'go home?" I asked with a smirk, "Where do I find Sauther Lake?" I hurried to the tree to retrieve my clothes, realizing I was still naked as the day I was born.
"All you have to do is follow your heart home. You have many powers inside you besides the ability not to forget, powerful ones." She sighed. "But I can see you aren't ready to leave just yet. Whatever is holding you here, you need to be released soon." She turned away and raised her hand to the sky, and the lightning bolt came back down. "I won't be far. If you believe nothing else of this night, believe you are in danger. Your power is in the wind."
She steps back into the bolt and is gone as quickly as she came. I wasted no time finishing dressing and jumped into my car. As we left the park, I flattened the gas pedal to the floor and gunned it, squealing tires on the asphalt. I kept looking in the rearview, like I expected to see her lightning bolt riding ass behind me. My head is spinning, as my mind is still in compute mode, though I know what I saw and heard.
Then I remembered I was not the only eyewitness. However, she had remained unusually quiet. 'Rae, what do you know?'
'I know nothing for sure. My memories don't exceed yours. If our mother were part of Lauren's clan, I wouldn't know. It's more of a feeling.' She sounds just as conflicted as I feel. 'What if we have a home and a family after all? Lauren said,' We are guardians of what and whom?'
'She didn't exactly give me directions to the place, Rae,' I said with aggravation. 'Follow your heart home; your power is in the wind,' I repeated with a huff. 'What the hell does that even mean?'
'Maybe you should make some time to go see Melinda. She could help us see what Lauren meant.'
Melinda Dancing Feather is a good friend of ours, a shaman healer, and a craft practitioner of the Chusmash Native American tribe. Her specialty is vision quests; she says she uses spirit guides passed down from her ancestors. 'I will think about it.' I pull back into my apartment's parking lot. Benjamin is here. I was relieved I didn't want to be alone tonight. 'Please behave, Raelynn.'
I get to my apartment, open the door, and walk into every girl's dream. Ben has outdone himself once again. He has soft music, low lights, flowers, and champagne waiting for me. "Ben?" I called him.
"In here." He answers me from my bedroom.