Kai stood in a dark forest, the canopy of the trees blocking out what little light that the moon had to offer. This was not a place that he recognized but he knew that it was somewhere deep in the forests of the Crescent Moon Pack by the general topography that surrounded him. The tall trees that were all around him were a deep red mixed with brown. They were so tall that Kai could barely make out the green leaves that grew overhead. These trees were only known in the central region of the country.

Suddenly blue flames appeared, balls of light floating just above the ground creating a trail that went deep into the forest. The flames flickered in a way that seemed to call to Kai to follow them. Before doing so, he quickly observed the surrounding area and with nothing concerning in sight, he decided to follow their flickering light. Taking a step forward, the nearest flame grew brighter before flickering out leaving no trace behind. They continued to do so as Kai took more steps forward.

He continued to follow the blue flames for what seemed like hours before the dense forest suddenly opened up into a massive clearing covered in grass and small red flowers. Kai remembered these flowers from a long time ago, their sharp edges and glossy appearance made them look like glass. They created a natural barrier that separated the central region from the northern region. Some say they are a symbol, each one representing the physical body of a wolf who’s spirit went to the realm above. 

Looking farther into the field, Kai’s suspensions were confirmed. In the distance he could see the vast mountain ranges that signified the Great North. While the mountain peaks varied in height, some went high into the sky, well above the clouds. Folklore told stories of how the Gods themselves lived atop these mountains, one peak even reaching the moon, where the high Goddess herself lived. The great Moon Goddess.

Suddenly, one of the blue flames approached Kai, circling around him before zooming off back into place in line. A clear sign that he was still meant to follow them. Looking forward, he saw that the flames led him deeper into the field and towards the mountains. Looking back towards the trees, he contemplated leaving the field and going back to where he came from but in the end, curiosity caused him to step forward.

After what seemed like a few more hours, Kai noticed that the flames seemed to stop at a large rock formation. As he grew closer and closer, he noticed a large opening in the formation, perfectly sculpted out to form a mouth of a cave, the blue lights continuing into the darkness that lay beyond. Entering the cave, the only light that Kai now had was that of which the blue flames provided for him and as he walked deeper, the tunnel of the cave became smaller and smaller until he had to squeeze his way through.

Just when Kai thought that he wouldn't be able to continue, the tunnel opened up into a large cavern. The walls were covered in glittering gems of every color imaginable, reflecting the light of the moon that could be seen through a large opening at the top of the cavern. In the center was a large pond with water that almost glowed with the reflected light, with flat rocks that broke the surface, creating a perfect path to the center. The blue flames floated above this path, beckoning him forward.

Stepping onto the first rock, Kai looked down into the water and noticed that large fish swam beneath the surface, their scales chiseled out of the same gems that covered the cavern walls. Before getting distracted by the beauty of the creature that swam below, Kai continued to follow the blue flames. It was then that he noticed that a larger rock was situated in the middle of the pond and sitting atop that rock was a man dressed in clothes the same color as the dancing flames. As he got closer, Kai became more and more emotional, tears starting to stream down his face. The man was a perfect reflection of himself only larger in stature and older in appearance.

“Hello little one,” Benji said with a deep voice, “you have grown, my son.”

Kai ran forward, jumping at his father and engulfing him in a tight embrace. The larger man enveloped his son into his arms, as the Kai started sobbing into his chest. After a few moments, Benji pulled back, grabbing Kai’s face and examining him. Tracing his thumb over the scar that ran across the Omega’s cheekbone and staring deep into his eyes, he finally spoke again.

“You have suffered a lot my son and for that I am truly sorry. I wanted to give you a better life, but it seems like fate had other plans,” Benji said, wiping the tears from his son's eyes.

“I never thought I would see you again.”

Benji chuckled at his son’s words, “my love, I never left. I have been with you this entire time. I’ve been the cool breeze of a summer’s day and the harsh wind of a winter’s night. We are not here to discuss the past though, little one. The past is a discovery that you will have to make on your own. I brought you here to discuss the future. You are destined for great things. You must stay strong and remember the things that I taught you as a child. Life as you know it is changing and you must adapt to the new world coming your way. Rely on your instincts and trust in the people around you. Don’t let the past cloud your future, my love.”

As Kai looked deeper into his father’s eyes, he noticed that the typical brown spheres started to turn blue. The same flames that led him here were now encased in two round sockets.

“You may not understand right away, my son, but soon you will. Our time was short but you must go back now. You have everything you need to do what you must.”

“But father! I don’t want to leave!”

“You cannot stay, my love. This place is not for you. You are meant to be out there.” 

Kai started to cry harder. His only wish in this world was to be reunited with his father and now that he was in his arms he never wanted to leave his side.

“Will I ever see you again?”

“Yes my son, our futures are intertwined, but for now this is goodbye.”

As his father uttered those words, a strong gust of wind picked up inside the cave, enveloping Kai in a windy tunnel. He noticed that the fish that were once in the pond, jumped out and floated with the wind, their colorful scales causing light to dance around him. His father leaned forward and kissed him on the forehead.

“I love you, little one,” and with those last words, Kai’s vision became blurry and his father disappeared. The wind picked up and suddenly Kai felt as if he was falling, blue flames, mixed with the color of the gems swirling around him. No longer in his father’s arms, Kai let out a frightened scream.

***

Kai awoke with a start, still screaming from his vivid dream. Hot tears running down his face. He let out a deep sigh at the realization that the events that transpired were all just a part of his subconscious. Sitting up right and moving his legs out of his blanket, feet planted to the floors, Kai rested his elbows on his knees and deeply rubbed his eyes.

“God, I hate this shit,” he whispered to himself as he got up from bed. He looked out of his bedroom window and noticed that it was still dark outside. Shaking his head, he headed out of his room and into the bathroom, quickly relieving himself before walking over to the sink to wash his hands.

He had dreams like this every once in a while, but this dream seemed drastically different. He could still feel the free fall feeling that he experienced moments ago, his stomach upset with the motions. 

“It was just a dream,” he said aloud, “just a dream.”

It was then that he looked up into the mirror and was so startled by what he saw that he jumped back and gasped. Where his normally brown eyes would be, sat the same blue ones that his father had. At that moment, Kai also heard the high pitched howling of a wolf. Startled once again, he raced out of the bathroom before realizing that the howling that he was hearing was inside his head. Frozen with shock, the howling was the last thing he heard before his eyes rolled back and his body hit the floor.