After the movie, Taylor and I ordered dinner. It wasn’t anything special, just a pizza and some breadsticks. As we ate dinner, we talked about the fact that we would probably have different hours once I got a job. We also talked about having lunches together if we had the same break times. It was just small talk. After dinner, we headed to bed. I was ready to sleep off the exhaustion of the day. Laying in our new mattress for the first time felt amazing. The pillow-top offered more support than I had ever thought on either of my beds. It didn’t take long for me to pass out.

            I was floating in the white room again. I turned to find the wolf lying in her usual spot. I wondered why I was hereafter everything that had happened. I didn’t want anything to do with her, but it seemed I didn’t have a choice. I maneuvered myself so that I was sitting in front of her.

            “Ah, my child. It is good to see you again. I first want to apologize for what happened to your mom. I wish that I could do something, but unfortunately, I can’t bring people back from the dead. I also would like to congratulate you on finally unlocking your true power. However, you were still too weak to use it yourself, so I did what I had to,” the wolf said, staring at me. Anger grew inside me with her words. How could she just brush off the fact that it was her fault that my mom died? I know she apologized, but it was like someone saying: Hey, sorry this happened, but on the plus side. It was infuriating.

            “I don’t know what is going on between you and whoever is after me now, but if it wasn’t for you, my mom would still be alive,” I said. As she looked at me, I could feel the sorrow in her. This link between us still made me feel weird. It was as if we were the same person. I could feel what she felt, and I am sure she could feel what I felt.

            “It was not my intention to bring this on you. The dark god of our universe started all of this when he tried to enter the realm of balance. I did what I had to, to protect every universe from being plunged into pure darkness. Please understand that if there had been any other way, I would have done it. Though I am a goddess, my powers were no match for his alone. However, with your changes, and your growth, we just might stand a chance.” She said as she moved until she was standing. Her wings stretched out. Then she looked at me.

            “Once I have helped Esme get her brother back and Maddison rescued, I am done playing the hero. All it has caused me was grief and pain. I just want to live a normal life.” I said, standing up so that we were eye to eye. There was a brief silence. Then she looked at me and opened her mouth so that her teeth were showing.

            “You don’t get it, child. There is nothing you can do to deny your destiny. The dark god is coming. He will find us, and he will try to destroy us for the key. Many people in your world will die if you don’t do anything. Others have already committed to saving lives. You need to learn to accept it as well. Remember, we are bound to one another.” She said.

            I stood there for a moment, thinking. I didn’t want to be a hero, but I wasn’t going to stand around and let innocent people die. That isn’t what my mom would have liked. “I will do what I can if a problem presents itself, but I am not going to go looking for trouble. They have Mandy and them for that.” I said. She just stared at me.

            “We have time before the dark one arrives. For now, you must train your body and your mind. I am not ignoring your plight, but we do not have a choice. Just as I didn’t when I destroyed my world to protect the balance.” She said. I was starting to get irritated. It was as if she just let what I said go in one ear and come out the other. Rather than argue, I sat back down and thought to myself. Then a burning question hit me.

            “What happened to my body? For so long, I looked like a wolf, but now I look human. Is that something that you did?” I asked as I glanced at my human hands. She laid back down, keeping her eyes on me.

            “After you unlocked my true form, your body was trying to fight for supremacy. Once your energy returned to normal, the body that you had grown accustomed to sealed itself away, leaving you in your current state. However, you will be able to call upon your full form whenever you need it,” the wolf said. It was good to know that it wasn’t a fluke, but I hoped I would never have to use that form again.

            “There is much that you will learn as we grow together, but until then, you must be careful. You are my vessel and my only hope at stopping the darkness,” she said. I sighed and laid up against her. There was no point in arguing with her. It was like arguing with myself. If it really was my destiny to stop this supposed darkness, then there wasn’t anything that I could do.           “It is time for you to return to your body. We will talk again,” she said. Then I started to fall away. I could feel myself floating back into my own consciousness.

            The sound of the alarm woke me up. Looking around, I noticed that yet again, Taylor wasn’t in bed. She was probably making coffee. Slowly I got out of bed. Putting on my nightshirt, I headed towards the kitchen. The smell of cooked bacon intruded my nose. I swear you would think that Taylor and I were already married.

            “Good morning Angel,” Taylor said as she put five strips on my plate along with eggs and a biscuit. Then she made herself a plate. Sitting down at the dining room table, she smiled. “I hope you don’t mind breakfast. It’s been a while since I cooked something other than noodles in a microwave. Taking a bite, I nodded happily. She was a great cook as well as an amazing girlfriend. One of these days, I would have to return the favor.

            “So what were you dream about? Whatever it was, it sounded important,” she said before taking a bite of her egg. I looked at my plate. I didn’t know if I wanted to tell her about my conversation with the goddess. However, I needed someone I could trust to talk to, and she was the only one I had right now. After eating a piece of bacon, I looked at her.

            “I was talking with the goddess again. She said that I still had to take on that dark god that everyone keeps calling master. She said that there is no way for me to escape my destiny.” I said before eating a piece of egg. She nodded and looked down at her plate as if she was thinking about something.

            “Well, whatever you have to do, I will be right there by your side. I promise that,” Taylor said before reaching over and placing her hand on my leg. I knew that she was not lying. It was comforting. I didn’t do anything to deserve her, but I was glad that she was my girlfriend.

            After finishing breakfast, we headed outside and got in my car. I had more applications to turn in, as well as find some more places hiring. About an hour into finding places that I might be able to work, Taylor got a phone call. It was her sister. I waited patiently for her to get off the phone. I tuned out the conversation because I felt that it was rude to eavesdrop. When she finally hung up the phone, she looked at me.

            “Ashley and Esme want to know if we wanted to go to dinner. I told her that it would be nice to see her and Esme. I swear those two are inseparable. It is a strange union, but it seems to work for them.” Taylor said. Part of me still wasn’t ready to really hang out with the others. Taylor was different because she was my girlfriend. But at the same time, I knew that Taylor was dying to see her sister. I decided to put my feelings aside for the rest of the day. “We are supposed to meet them at Western Sizzler around 2:00.”

            We spent a couple of more hours finding places to fill out applications. A couple of places threw us out because we were different.  Despite MOER, some people still discriminated against people like us. It was about 1:30 when we finished filling out applications. Getting back into the car, we started heading towards Western Sizzler. I could see the anticipation written on Taylor’s face. Today was going to be fun.