Olivia’s Hunt - Ch 5
Copyright © 2025 Michelle Bolanger
Who was the wolf that spoke to me? My wolf growled in response, almost eagerly. I waited for more from Her, but there was nothing. She should be part of me now. A constant voice in my mind, guiding me, seeing things my human senses couldn’t. But until I shifted, until I let Her loose, She would be nothing more than a shadow lurking in the corners of my mind.
Even though I wore the Linjal around my neck, marking me as not just a Chosen one, but the female half of the Härskare, I felt more distant from Her than ever before. She was pressing at me, urging me to act, but without my mother to show me, I didn’t know how to let her out.
A low howl sent goosebumps across my arms, and Her restlessness increased. I stood and moved to the window beside my bed, pushing it open. The first cool breeze of fall made the hair of my arms stand up, and I listened intently. The howl came from close by, and wasn’t one I recognized from the pack.
It didn’t come again, and I chuckled when my stomach reminded me how long it had been since I ate. I glanced across the rocky slope of the hill outside the house, hoping to see a glimpse of the black wolf. To hear his voice again, but there was nothing moving, and no sound besides the soft rustling of leaf litter along the stones.
My stomach growled again and I headed for the kitchen. Dad was already there, his stark white hair wet and free down his back. I approached and wrapped my arm around his waist. He leaned into me.
“I’m grilling steaks. Do you feel like eating?” Crystal blue eyes, exactly like mine, searched my face with concern.
“I don’t feel like it, but I’m starving.” I let go of him and opened the refrigerator. “I’ll make some broccoli and potatoes to go with it,” I said. I set the ingredients on the counter and watched him season the two slices of venison. “Dad?”
He rubbed the spices into the meat, and glanced at me. “Hmm?”
I pressed my sweaty palms against the counter, trying to come up with the words I needed to ask. “Mom can’t help me.” My throat clenched and dad’s hands stilled.
“I know, sweetheart.” He set the steaks on a platter, and rinsed his hands. The sadness in his expression tightened, and he leaned back on the counter. “Usually mom’s teach their daughters and father’s teach their sons.” He clasped his hands in front of him. “I promise I will do my best to help you. You need Her now more than ever.” His eyes dropped to the Linjal laying at my chest. “Your mother is proud of you.”
I blinked and looked up to the ceiling. “I know. She always believed in me.”
“She still believes in you,” he said firmly.
I nodded and met his gaze. “I need to be able to talk to Her.”
His lips thinned. “You do.”
He wanted me to outright ask him to help me shift. I tried to form the words, and he must have seen my struggle.
“No one can make the choice for you, Olivia.” His voice was firm. “I know losing mom makes this harder, but you have to decide. You have to say it.”
Staring at him, I opened my mouth, then closed it. His face fell and I turned back to the counter where the food was spread out. “Can we eat first?” I asked quietly.
He lifted the platter with the chink of glass against stone, and rested a hand on my shoulder. “Whenever you’re ready.” He went out the back to the grill, and I stared at the counter for a long time after he went out.
I steamed the broccoli and boiled the potatoes in the time it took him to warm up the grill and cook the steaks. We sat opposite each other at the table and he reached for my hand. Instinctively, I reached to my left for mom’s, then fisted my fingers. Dad laid his hand over mine and squeezed. “Lord, thank you for protecting Olivia and myself in the fall. Thank you for providing the food for us to eat, and thank you for choosing my beautiful daughter, and I pray You will give me the strength to give her back to You.”
Stunned, I reached for knife and fork when he released my hand and set into the food in front of me. I glanced up at him and he was watching me thoughtfully. My heart raced at the prospect of truly meeting Her, of hearing Her words and not just feeling Her presence. I’m sure the steak was delicious, but I hardly tasted anything.
Dad cleared his throat. “I know neither of us wants to talk about it, but the burial is tomorrow at sunset.” He pushed the potatoes around on his plate. “The pack will be here before dinner.”
I shoved my chair back and stood to get a glass of water. “Do you want anything to drink?”
“Honey, we can’t ignore this.”
I set the glass on the counter harder than I should. “I’m not ignoring it. I just asked if you wanted anything to drink.”
His silverware chimed softly as he set it down. “No, I don’t want anything.”
When I came back to the table his face was hard. “Help me a little will you, Olivia? I know you’re upset, and so am I, but this isn’t the way your mother would want you to be.”
“What would she want, dad?” I snapped. Tears instantly filled my eyes. “Because I don’t know. What was supposed to be the best day of my life was the worst. Is that what she would want?”
He recoiled, then leaned forward. “You have every right to be upset, angry even. But we will get through this, and you will become everything she dreamed you would. It was an accident. You can believe the Creator will use it, or you can let it make you angry. It’s your choice.” He softened. “Do you want to know what I believe?”
I didn’t, but nodded anyway.
“I believe He wanted you to rely completely on that.” He pointed to the Linjal hanging from my neck. “He wants you to depend completely on Him, but He knew you would rely on mom instead. She wasn’t chosen like you are chosen. He wants you to make your own path, and He believes you’re strong enough and smart enough to trust Him.” He sat back. “He wants you to have faith like no one we’ve seen in a long time, and He doesn’t want anyone’s opinion to distract you.”
“So mom’s death is supposed to help me?”
“It can, if you let it.” He shook his head. “You two are so much alike.”
'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.