Visions of Wolves

How witches party

The forest was quiet and damp from the night air. The cool breeze was refreshing against the heat of being inside a marquee full of dancing shifters.

We walked in silence, listening to the crickets and other insects sing into the night. The moon illuminated the path but it was still too dark for me to quite see where I was going. Alex led the way, holding back branches and pointing out small rocks and holes to be weary of.

“Do shifters have night vision?” I wondered out loud.

Alex let out a laugh, “no, not quite night vision, we just have very, very good vision.”

He held out his hand to help me over a large rock. 

“We should have gone in and got you sneakers.” He said watching me trudge through the wet ground. “And possibly something a little more appropriate to wear.” Through the faint glow of the moon I could see his smirk.

My heels were definitely ruined, but it was worth getting away from Julz.

“Why? What do witches wear during the full moon?”

“A lot more than you are wearing right now. Ouch!” I pinched his arm and he stepped away from me laughing as he did. 

The sound from the party was now just a faint murmur behind us. Instead I could hear drums and chanting ahead of us, clearly coming from the witches. A light danced above the trees ahead which I imagined was their fires or maybe one really big fire burning.

Eventually we made it through the clearing. The witches had indeed built a large bonfire than everyone had gathered around. All the women wore loose white tunics that were almost see through against the light of the fire, their naked bodies almost distinguishable under the fabric. They had flowers in their hair and bouquets in their hands. 

Most of them, including Aoife were dancing round the fire. They were gliding and circling in beautifully feminine movements, each step in beat with the drums played by some of the men seated nearby. 

They danced with their eyes closed and heads titled back as though they were in a trance or meditating. Their arms were outstretched and flowed in time to the music too. 

The older women sat on the outskirts of the fire chanting and singing happy tunes along to the beat of the drums. Just then the little girl, Bean as Aoife had called her, spotted Alex and brushed passed Aoife to come leap into his arms. He grabbed her and threw her into the air before catching her again and nuzzling his nose in her neck. She giggled and shrieked as he did it.

The commotion caught Aoife’s attention and she smiled from ear to ear when she noticed us. She came running over, giving me a huge hug. She smelt of soap and rosemary, it was fresh and earthy. She then pushed between us, linked our arms in hers and walked us over to some open stumps near the fire.

“You made it! I’m so glad!” She beamed as she sat us down and handed us mugs. She poured a clear liquid into each mug from a nearby jug.

“This feels like something out of a movie!” I said, waving at the dancing near the fire.

“It’s all so beautiful!”

“Not too much for her.” Alex said stopping Aoife from filling up my mug. We both glared at him.

He threw his hands up laughing. “Ok, ok, you think it was tough getting here in those heels, one full glass of this stuff and you will be sleeping out here tonight” he scoffed.

Aoife considered him for a second and decided against filling my mug. Instead she eyed me up and down and tsked. “This won’t do, come along.” She grabbed me by the hand and led me to her cottage, leaving Alex to chat with the others.

I sat on the couch while she rummaged around in her bedroom. I finally took a sip of the drink she had given me. It was delicious. It tasted of lemons and cucumbers, it was refreshing but sweet. It was so tasty in fact, that I had finished it by the time she came out of her room.

In her hands she held another white tunic and some brown boots. “I’m not sure what shoe size you are, but we look about the same.” She handed them to me and noticed my empty mug.

“You were supposed to sip that!” She shot at me, covering her mouth with her hand in gleeful shock. “Thank goodness Alex stopped me from pouring more,” she laughed.

“You didn’t tell me!” I shot back, panicking a little at how strong this must really be. “What is it?”

“It’s…it’s a few things, but don’t worry. You will be fine, just stay close. Let’s just say you’re going to have a really good time,” she added with a wink.

I motioned to pull the white tunic over my head and dress but Aoife stopped me.

“Come on, if you want to experience tonight fully, you’re going to have to embrace the natural side of it. No one is looking I swear. That’s what the elixir does, it helps you tune out the rest of the world and become more in-tune with your body.”

I was sure I went red from my face down to my toes. But I had seen how free those women looked, how peacefully they swayed in time to the music. So I threw the tunic over my dress and then squirmed my dress and underwear off underneath.

Despited the tunic going all the way down passed my knees I felt exposed. A cool breeze swept up inside causing my whole body to stiffen. I squeezed my thighs together as the thought of being naked underneath the tunic sent my mind wondering. What would Alex think? 

I put on the boots and left my stuff at Aoifes. She then led me over to a group of young women who had baskets of flowers in front of them that they were weaving into each other’s hair. 

Aoife sat me down in front of her with my back to her knees while she brushed my hair back with her fingers. The sensation was so calming I closed my eyes and leaned into her playing with my hair. She made two loose braids and placed flowers throughout them. She stopped from time to time to let me smell the flowers she picked. Each one was fresh and earthy and unique. She included rosemary in my hair too after I mentioned how good she smelt when we first arrived. 

When she was done she helped me to my feet and I swayed so much I almost fell. We both giggled. Clearly the elixir was working. She pulled me over to the bonfire where a young girl handed me a bouquet.

I lifted it to my nose and closed my eyes while inhaling it’s fresh and beautiful scent. When I opened my eyes again I realised I had been standing there for ages. I looked around, everything was a little fuzzy but also had a faint amber glow from the fire.

Aoife was swaying in front of me to the beat of the drum. She motioned for me to mimic her actions as she raised her arms in the air and swayed them in time to the drums. I did the same and felt my body relax and flow in time to the music. 

The cool breeze now flowing up my tunic was welcoming in comparison to the warmth of the fire. I suddenly found myself following Aoife as we twirled and skipped around the fire, giggling as we did. I felt warm and happy. The happiness radiated from inside me. All I could hear were the drums in my ears as I stepped in time. 

I should have been embarrassed by how exposed I was so near to the fire, but I wasn’t. I felt carefree and natural. I had no concept of time, the moment was all I cared about. Oh, wait. Alex? I suddenly realised I hadn’t seen him since we first arrived. I stopped and looked around, my eyes battling to adjust due to the glow of the fire.

When we locked eyes it knocked my breath away. He sat alone, perched on a log on the outskirts of the fire. His elbows rested on his knees and his hands were cupped so tightly I could see the veins in his hands straining. He stared at me. His eyes slowly raked my body before landing on my eyes again. But these were not his usual eyes, they had a faint glow like animal’s in the night. His lips were in a grim line. 

He titled his head ever so slightly. A gesture I took as a sign to keep going. So I did, but this time more sensually. Something about him watching me that way, it felt, sexy. I felt sexy. The elixir had given me a confidence I didn’t know I had. I slowly moved my hands up and down my body while I continued to sway and twirl round the fire. 

My arms did most of the movement. I dropped the bouquet and stretched my arms above me, letting my hands glide up and down them slowly and softly. 

I didn’t see him walk over but I felt as he approached me. Alex stepped behind me, his hands on my waist and our bodies flush together. He moved with me, swaying to the drums. He slowly traced his fingers up the side of my body until he reached my upper arms and folded them back behind my head so that I could hold his face.

He lightly trailed his fingers from the now exposed underneath of my arms, down along the side of my body causing a tinging sensation to radiate down me to my core. I squeezed my thighs together in response to the ache he awoke in me.

“I want you, now.” He growled into my ear before spinning me around and kissing me passionately. We kissed as though there was no one else around. I held his face as he snaked his arms around my waist and lifted me higher to reach his lips, causing the tunic to ride up behind me. I pulled away and straightened out the tunic. 

I looked at him, his face serious against the glow of the fire. His lips were plump and red, his hair a mess. It was time to go. I looked around and saw Aoife chatting to some of the other women. She gave me a knowing smile and blew a kiss before waving us off. 

Alex grabbed me by the hand and almost dragged me to the trail back through the forest.

We had been walking for less than ten minutes, now in the thick of the forest before he turned around pushed me up against a tree. He gripped my face and kissed me. It was hard and rushed. I couldn’t help but reach down and stroke him over his pants, he groaned in our kiss as I did.

Our breathing was heavy and loud as our hands explored each other’s bodies over our clothes. He pulled the hair ties out my hair and raked his fingers through the braids until my hair was flowing over my shoulders. He then grabbed the hair and the back of my head, pulling me closer as we kissed more. It stung in the most delicious way. 

He suddenly dropped both hands to the bottom of my tunic and pulled it up until the lower half of my body was exposed to the icy breeze of the night. Too exposed. I pulled away and pushed him back. He looked at me in shock. 

“No.” Was all I could get out while trying desperately to find my breath. “No, not here. Not out in the open.”

He stared at me for some time as though he didn’t know what to do or how to move. But then he nodded his head and raked his hands through his hair. “You’re right. Yes, you’re right. Just… the dancing…it just…I couldn’t… No. You’re right. Let’s head back.” He turned and started to clear the path, almost too nervous to look back at me.

I straighten up my tunic and followed closely behind.

When we finally made it out the forest Alex grabbed my hand and we made our way, quickly, back to the privacy of the house.

We were both so caught up in what just happened, what was about to happen next, we didn’t even notice Jay chatting to two women who were clearly fighting for his attention just outside the marquee.

“Whoa, whoa whoa, what happened to you two?” He said eyeing us over with a glint in his eyes. I suddenly realised how we looked. Alex’s hair was a mess, his shirt untucked and boots dirty. I was now barely dressed in a white tunic and my hair was a mess around my shoulders with flowers stuck in here and there.

He laughed eyeing us both over. “I told you things could get a little rowdy,” he said with a wink in my direction.

Alex and I both glared at him, causing him to laugh even more.