Olivia’s Hunt - Ch 1
Copyright © 2025 Michelle Bolanger
Leaves crunched under my feet as I followed my Dad up the narrow path along the ridge of the cliff. Behind me came the light footfalls of my Mom and four other pack members. Distinguished from the wolves lighter steps was the heavier tread of Lukas, the brawny, dark skinned elf who carried the carefully wrapped bundle of the Arctos pack’s talismans.
It was my twenty-first birthday. The day I would select the talisman that would allow me to become one with the wolf inside me. Over the last month, her call had been getting louder in my head, the tightness of my skin letting me know she was as anxious as I was. She needed to run, and I needed her guidance.
Creator, I’m so frightened. What if I choose the wrong talisman? What if I can’t shift?
Have faith in me, Child.
My breath caught at His voice. Only twice had I ever truly heard His response to my questions. His wasn’t an audible voice, but I’d known instantly it was the Creator God.
“Olivia.” My Mother’s fingers were warm on my shoulder as we approached the top of the cliff where the Choosing would take place. Her voice was hushed. “Lukas has seven talismans for you to choose from. Remember what I told you.” I turned to look into her steel grey eyes, and drew courage from the pride shining in them. “This is the first test of your connection to Her.”
The Her she referred to was the wolf lurking in the depths of my mind and heart.
Mom leaned closer, speaking into my ear. “She will know which talisman is Hers. Have faith in the words the Creator has given her.” She touched the center of her chest, where her talisman lay at the end of length of a brilliant silver chain.
Lukas’s rich accent sent electricity though my scalp. “The girl must trust Him to guide her. The Wolf inside speaks only what the Creator says. She would do well to spend the next minutes in prayer, and I would recommend you not distract her, Emma Arctos. She will not always have you to guide her. The girl must listen for herself.”
Mother’s hand tightened, then fell. “Of course.”
Lukas nearly black eyes were unreadable, and I shivered. The cool autumn breeze skittered across my cheeks and the thin white dress I wore provided little warmth, but in a few minutes it would be shredded by my shift.
His gaze slid across me and locked onto my Father who was taking the last steps at the top cliff. His white shirt was open at the throat, and I stared at his talisman. It hung at his throat by a short length of white leather, the curved silver emblem sparkling in the moonlight. His face was relaxed, but I read the nervousness in the set of his shoulders.
He reached out a hand to help me up the last few feet, and drew me close to his side. He searched my face, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. My father’s eyes glowed blue with his impending shift, and I exhaled, letting the tension drain from me.
My parents had prepared me for this day, and I knew they had taught me all I needed to know. I knew in that moment I was ready.
Because of the examples You have given me, Creator, I trust you.
I listened, hoping He would speak again. Instead, I felt the pressure of my wolf, almost as though She paced across my skin. The hairs on my neck rose and when my father’s lips expanded into a full smile, I knew my eyes were glowing. Anticipation rippled down my back as the four pack members, two men and their mates, took their places, each ten paces apart forming a square of protection around the four of us in the center.
“Olivia Arctos.” Lukas crossed his arms and all eyes landed on him. In the full light of the moon, the stones and beads woven into the ropes of his hair shimmered the light, while the rest of him seemed to absorb it. As the last rays of daylight faded, he became little more than a voice devoid of form. “Today you must choose. You must choose to listen to the Spirit inside and become a true daughter of the Creator, or forfeit your birthright. I am here not to help you choose, but simply to witness the choice as it is made.” The shadowy form of him held a bound package of white leather and stone, and I watched in fascination as the thin strips unwound and the bundle unfurled without his hands ever moving. The whites of his eyes allowed me to see his gaze move to each of the others gathered before he spoke again. “Olivia must make this choice alone.”
At his words, the four pack members shifted one by one. The leaves crunched under their paws as they fell forward onto four legs, and their quiet breathing became soft huffs from canine muzzles. Closest to the cliff, my mother ran a hand down my back, and I turned toward her.
As I did, my eyes caught a glimmer of yellow peering from behind a tree a few yards away. She must have seen the question on my face because she started to turn and follow my line of sight.
Lukas’s voice stopped her. “Emma.”
My father stepped closer and took her hand. “Trust Him, my love.”
Her eyes met mine, and I watched as the silver melted to ash before the air shimmered around her, and I was looking at a densely coated grey and black wolf. Thick black edged her eyes and ears, fading across her shoulders and down her back into a charcoal grey and further into a pale silver at her belly and legs. In the center of her chest, perfectly outlined in black, was the exact outline of her talisman. The sign she was a true Chosen Child of the Creator. Her proud head nearly reached my chest, and I shivered as my own wolf’s excitement grew.
Lukas hadn’t moved and the white leather bundle he held seemed illuminated by a spotlight. “Buck Arctos, are you prepared to allow your daughter to accept her fate?”
“I am,” Dad replied.
I exhaled slowly and felt Mom’s hot breath against my leg. The thin material of the shift was suddenly stiflingly hot against my skin despite the cool autumn air.
I watched Dad’s face. His lips thinned and his fingers brushed my cheek. “Trust Him, Olivia, and don’t be afraid of what you are about to learn.”
The air around him shimmered and he dropped to the ground a wolf. The hard edges of his talisman also stood out in black against stark white fur the exact color of his white ponytail. His bright blue eyes regarded me, sharp with intelligence and wisdom. Wisdom I wished I could draw from one more time tonight.
A strange uneasiness settled over me, making the wolf within me whine in protest.
“Olivia Arctos, you were born under a Wolfbane moon, and your bloodline is pure. Therefore, you face not two possible outcomes, but three.”
“Three?” I stared at the row of gleaming silver talismans laid out in Lukas’s hands, then up to the hard blackness of his eyes.
“One. You choose not to listen to your wolf, incorrectly identify the talisman She needs, and lose your birthright as a Chosen Child of the Creator.”
A cold finger traced my spine.
“Two. You listen to your Wolf, correctly identify the talisman She needs, and you shift.” Lucas’ voice was emotionless, as though reading from a script.
The air around me grew close, and I sensed someone else watching. Reminding myself to focus on Lukas, the hairs at the back of my neck rose as the restlessness of the Wolf inside me turned to anticipation and excitement.
He continued. “Three. The Laingnach talisman chooses you, you meet your mate, and take your place as the female half of the Faelad Warrior pair as prophesied centuries ago.”
'Olivia’s Hunt' is unpublished and unedited. These stories may or may not be complete and may end on a cliffhanger. All works are the sole property of Michelle Bolanger and published through Risen Fiction. Copyright 2025 Michelle Bolanger. All rights reserved. No portion of this work may be copied or reproduced without written consent from the author.