Wrestling the Undead

Chapter 10


Willow began to scream as she heard many voices calling out to her.

She couldn't sort them out. They all demanded her attention.

She was overwhelmed by memories that weren't her own. The voices

demanded she give them control over her body. She couldn't let

that happen. Bad apocalyptic things happen when Willow isn't in

control of herself.


She had to hold onto control. This was her body and no one

else's. They couldn't have it. They had to leave. She felt

her beast rise up in response to the perceived danger. Her eyes

bled to wolf amber. Her scream changed to a continuous low growl.

She was now up on all fours. She could feel the bones in her arms

begin to elongate. Her nails transformed to claws. She dug into

the earth as if she could get enough of a grip to force the munin

out. She was now snarling at the voices in her head.


The pack had surrounded her when her first signs of distress had

become known to the group. The weaker pack members had already

transformed into their wolf forms. They whimpered and whined as

Willow began to shake. Some of the braver pack members rubbed up

against her as to give her comfort. Some of the alphas were trying

to speak to Willow but she couldn't make out what they were

saying over the din of the munin.


Willow let her magic build. She had never attempted anything that

directly called her magic while at the lupanar. She had to do

this. She couldn't let the many-voiced presence take over. She

had seen what it made Anita do. She didn't want to be

someone's pawn. Her eyes darkened to black as she forced the

presence out with a resounding, "NO!"


Her eyes went back to amber as she collapsed to the earth. She took

in heaping amount of air and tried to calm her racing heart. She

could still feel the presence of the munin. They were hovering

around the lupanar trying to get back into her. She needed to get

away. Her beast demanded to be set free completely so that they

could escape. She complied with its wishes. Her skin ripped away

from her body in a hot gush of liquid and her furry form was

revealed. She stood up on her paws and howled at the moon. The

pack joined her in song. She raced off into the woods as if the

devil himself were on her heels.

~~~~~~~

Hours later, Willow came back to her human form. She was shaking

with exhaustion. The change and forced expulsion of the munin had

taken too much out of her. Michael found her lying naked on the

forest floor. She was whimpering. He took off his over-sized

sweatshirt and put it on Willow. He picked her up and carried her

out of the woods.


By the time they reached Michael's car, Willow was responding to

his voice. He uttered nonsensical things into her ear in a soothing

tone. She had wrapped her arms around his shoulders and had buried

her face into his neck. She was inhaling his scent and it was

comforting.


There was a small group of people waiting beside Michael's car as

he walked up with his burden. Michael stiffened his posture when he

recognized who was waiting for them. Richard was in a heated

discussion with Sylvie. They were flanked by Jamil, Shang Da, and

Gwen. The rest of the pack had left to return to their normal lives.


The discussion ground to a halt when Michael and Willow were with in

hearing range. Willow looked up to see what had disturbed Michael.

She stifled a groan at seeing the group. Funny, they didn't look

like the Spanish Inquisition. But she had a strong feeling that she

was in for an interrogation.


Gwen approached them. She had a concerned look on her face.

"Are you okay, Willow? You seem to fight the change last

night."


Willow looked into her eyes and felt safer. "Last night was

different. It felt different. There were so many voices inside my

head and I couldn't hear myself think. They wanted to take my

control away from me. I couldn't have that. I have to stay in

control."


Gwen looked perplexed, "Voices? You heard voices?"


Jamil relaxed his bodyguard stance, "She channeled the munin.

She must have forced them out. That is very dangerous."


Richard finally spoke, "Why didn't she channel the munin at

her first lupanar?"


Willow asked Michael to set her down. She turned and faced Richard

and the rest of the group. "I'm right here. No reason to

talk about me like I'm some child." She crossed her arms in a

defensive posture. "I felt them at my first lupanar and at my

second. They didn't bother me. They honed in on Anita. But I

did feel them. I don't like them very much. They're very

bossy."


Richard ran his hand through his long brown hair and sighed.

"You need to learn to accept the munin. They only want temporary

possession. It is a blessing. Most pack can't channel the

munin. Only a few can do what you can."


Willow snorted, "Lucky me!"


Richard gave her a silencing look. She shut her mouth but gave him

a glare in return.


Richard gave another sigh, "You will need a mentor. Anita had

one and that helped her. She could help you learn to control the

munin and not let them control you. You can't continue to fight

the munin every time. Eventually, it will erode your sanity."


Willow gave a frown at the thought of the Anita woman. "I

don't trust Anita. She reminds me of someone I don't like. I

don't want her near me." She placed her hands on her hips

and gave Richard her resolve face.


Richard gave Willow a frown of his own. "Fine, then who will

teach you control? Do you have any suggestions?"


She shook her head no but refused to back down. Anita didn't

seem overtly evil but she didn't seem to be nice either. Willow

still hadn't forgotten that incident at her first lupanar. She

didn't think that Anita had that great a control over the munin

if that was an example to go by.


Jamil again chimed into the conversation, "What about Marianne?

She was Anita's mentor. She could help."


Willow didn't know any Marianne's in the pack. "Who is

she?"


Richard thought for a moment. He spared a look at Jamil.

"Marianne is the vargamor of Oak Tree Clan. She is in Myerton,

TN. She could give you some advice about control."


"Is that very far from here?" questioned Willow. "I

don't have a car and I wouldn't know where to go to meet this

Marianne."


Richard pondered her answer. He seemed to be considering

something. "You're a college student, Right?" Willow

nodded her confirmation. "I'll take you to Myerton after

your finals. You can spend some of your Christmas vacation learning

control before we have another lupanar. Understood?"


Yeah, Willow understood alright. Mr. good-looking but bossy had

made all the decisions. It grated on her nerves even if it was for

her own good. She tossed off a saucy salute with an "Aye, Aye

Ulfric!"


A simultaneous groan was heard from Michael and Sylvie. Sylvie took

charge before her Ulfric could be offended. "Michael, drive

Willow home now. Willow, we'll call you later to make

arrangements regarding the trip. Both of you had better study for

those finals."


Michael and Willow both said that they would. Michael opened

Willow's door and she climbed into the car. They both waved at

the waiting group and drove away. Willow couldn't wait to get

back to Auntie's house. She wanted to have a long hot soak in

the tub and not think of wolfy things. Being a werewolf sure did

suck at times.