A Werewolf Fantasy

Morning came faster than Erin had expected. It seemed as if she'd only closed her eyes for two seconds last night and when she opened them, it was morning. Yes, she'd had a dreamless sleep and now she was awake, feeling refreshed and ready to go to work.

She couldn't wait to gloat at Devon about how she'd known all along that his stupid dream stone was nothing but an ordinary pebble. He had probably picked it up at a riverbank somewhere and transformed it into something special with his fake story about werewolf legends. What a tall glass of horseshit. And to think that she'd nearly fallen for it. Ha!

With an unusual burst of energy, Erin sat up in bed and threw back the covers, but the moment her feet hit the floor, she knew something was wrong. Her energy levels immediately dropped down to zero as soon as she looked at her feet and saw them encased in a pair of primitive leather booties instead of the soft woolen socks she'd worn to bed last night.

The tan carpets on her floor had been replaced with what looked like bear fur, although she couldn't figure out how she knew that particular information. She looked up and to her horror, discovered that she was not inside her bedroom, even though this place seemed familiar, but in a strange room that looked like a wigwam.

Woven mats and leather apparel were hung on the walls, there were three baskets in a corner of the room and what looked like a clay pot with a cover on it, was placed near the entrance of the room. The lingering smell of smoke and roasted meat in the atmosphere made her feel as if she had just woken up at a campsite.

As she continued to observe her surroundings, her confusion slowly gave way to dread, and her brain refused to accept what her eyes were seeing. Where was she? What is this place and why was she dressed in - wait, what was she wearing? A dress made of fur and animal skin? No way!

"This isn't happening," she whispered to herself. "This can't be happening."

Had Devon been right after all? Had she somehow been transported back in time by the dream stone? Was any of this even real or was she dreaming?

She lifted the makeshift pillow on her bed and to her surprise, the dream stone was there. Erin picked it up, staring at it as if willing the pebble to say something to her and assure her that she was hallucinating and that this weird place she'd found herself in wasn't real.

"What is happening?" she asked the stone, even though she knew she wouldn't get an answer from it. "Where am I?"

Erin heard what sounded like the shuffling of feet outside her room and before she could gather her thoughts and figure out what could be going on, the flank at the entrance of her room swung open and a man stepped in.

He was tall and broad, and his presence seemed to fill the entire room even though he was only standing at the doorway. There was something familiar about the man, but she couldn't quite place it. He was dressed in a matching vest and breeches that were made of animal skin and artfully decorated with fur and beads.

His forehead was encircled by a colorful headband with a grey feather stuck on one side above his left ear. The man's dark hair was held up in a half bun and the rest fell down his back in rich waves. He was indeed a sight to behold and she couldn't help but notice the instant physical attraction she felt toward him.

"I have come to fetch you for the morning meal," said the man blandly. "You will have a short time to attend to your personal needs after then before we ride home."

Erin was immediately irritated by the man's rudeness. Not even a 'good morning' or 'hey, how are you?' and what did he mean by riding home? Wasn't this place her home? Strangely enough, he did not speak English, but she understood what he had said perfectly.

"Who are you?" she asked him. She'd spoken in English, but her words came out in the native Athabascan language which the man spoke. How that was even happening was beyond her imagination.

The man blinked and then his look of surprise was replaced with annoyance. "What do you mean? Is this a time to jest?"

"I'm not jesting!" Erin snapped, equally annoyed. "I'm legit confused and I don't even know where I am, or what this place is, or what the heck is going on here."

"Why do you speak so strangely?" asked the man, mystified. "Are you unwell?"

Erin let out a sigh of exasperation. For all his good looks, this man had nothing to offer in the way of intelligence. But... what if it wasn't his fault that he didn't understand her?

What if the dream stone had truly transported her back in time and now she was in her past life just as she had thought about before she fell asleep last night? Could that explain her sudden understanding of the Athabascan language? No way! She thought, rejecting the possibility. Time travel wasn't possible - forget about all those almost believable Hollywood movies about going to the past or the future, but there was simply no solid evidence to prove that phenomenon to be true.

Nobody has ever been able to prove beyond reasonable doubt that time travel was real, because it wasn't. It's simply fiction.

"Look, to be very honest, I don't know who you are and I don't understand what's going on here. However, what I do know for sure is that I am not unwell and I would like to go back home and get out of this place as soon as possible," she said and slipped the dream stone into the pocket of her dress.

"You should keep the stone carefully," the man said when he saw her pocketing the pebble. "I am sure you know how precious it is. I still do not know why Mother chose to give it to you, but I will not argue about that now."

Could this get any weirder? Erin thought. "Your mother? You think your mother gave this stone to me?"

"Indeed. I was there when she handed it to you yesterday night during our mating ceremony," he replied.

Erin's brain seemed to screech to a halt at his words. "Excuse me? What did you just say?"

The man said nothing but continued to look at her with a puzzled expression as if he was staring at an apparition and not a fellow human being.

"What was that you said about a mating ceremony?" Erin asked.

"I do not understand what is happening to you, Edvana," the man said, shaking his head slowly. "I think I should call on your mother to come and see you."

"Wait, what did you call me just now?"

The man squinted at her, probably trying to decide if she was sane or not. "Perhaps you had too much to drink yesternight. Your mother will be here shortly, Edvana. Let her know if you need medicine or anything else to help you feel better. If you are not well enough to ride to Denai' Vena today, we will wait until you can."

"No, hold on," Erin said as the man turned to leave the room. "You don't understand. I'm not ill, I'm just confused. I don't know how I got here and I don't understand what you're saying.

"Listen, my name is Erin Brown, and I think you have me mixed up with someone else. I didn't participate in any mating ceremony last night because I was at home last night. I mean, I went to work, got back home, ate dinner, and went to bed with this stone thing under my pillow, and then I woke up here. What is this place?"

"That is enough, Edvana!" The man thundered angrily, startling Erin. "I have had to deal with your childishness for months and I will not tolerate it anymore. If it were up to me, I would not have chosen you as a mate, but I agreed to be mated with you for the sake of our clans and I thought that you understood what was at stake.

"Now, here you are saying strange words that I do not understand and acting confused. Listen to me, Edvana. You are now my mate, and I expect you to behave accordingly. I will not be embarrassed by you, nor will I allow you to embarrass my father and spoil his legacy. Do you hear me?"

Erin could only nod in response. She could see that this man wasn't in the mood to entertain the possibility that she might truly not be who he thought she was. As he turned to leave, Erin caught sight of his rigid profile and she gasped as recognition hit her.

"Devon?"

The man paused at the doorway and looked back at her, his eyes blazing. "I am Danshak Smallchief, your mate. Never address me by a strange name again." And he was gone, just as suddenly as he had appeared.