Come Morning Light

There wasn’t one thing about Louisiana that Andre didn’t love. It was his home. Just being in the state put him a little more at ease, since going home made things feel better. It had comfort here. Maybe not for Addie, since he could feel her tension in the car, but it offered a sort of mother’s embrace to Andre.

The wolf got out and walked around the car to open the door for his wife. He could feel her uneasiness and it made his wolf restless within him, so he extended his and to help her out of the car. “You have to have faith, Adella.” He spoke his strange French again, it felt so long since he’d spoken it to her. “This is the only option we’ve got. You have to give it all of your faith.” All and then some.

After coaxing her out of the truck he went to the woman and nodded his head, extending a hand to shake. She took his large hand and pulled it closer, examining him as though she was feeling something deep down to his soul. “Hello, Andre. It’s good to see you again. You’ve change since we last met.”

The last time Andre had seen this witch was when they were both young. He had been a teenager, and his father had needed protection from a fleet of vampires in the area. The memory flashed through his mind and gave him a little more hope that she could help them. “You don’t know how good it is to see you, Miss. Chloe. This is my wife, Adella Louvel. Addie, this is Ms. Chloe.” He had been holding her hand the entire time to reassure her, but now he turned to her and let go. The witch reached out for her hand, and felt her distress before she even touched her.

“It will be alright, child. There’s no need to worry now.” There was a warmness in the witch's voice and a friendliness that reached her eyes, but she was still a strange character. As they stood on the porch the frogs began their choir around them again, having stopped when the truck pulled in, and now brought the swamp back to it's natural harmony.

As the swamp around them seemed to ease back into it’s natural state with creatures croaking and chirping it put the wolf at a little more ease. Black magic caused animals to stray and stay silent, as if they knew what was going on. It put the man’s mind at ease to know that the magic Ms. Chloe was about to use wasn’t so terrible after all.

“I can’t promise to save your baby, Mrs. Louvel, but I can redirect your wolf.” She held her hand and looked the desperate woman over, feeling her character and heart beat through her hand. “It’s yours and your husband’s job to take care of the baby. I’m just here to tame the wolf.” She smiled then, her eyes trustworthy to them but from the look of her it was clear she wasn’t friendly to many.

“Come inside, child.” Finally Chloe let go of Adella’s hand and went inside, leaving her door open for Andre as he followed and held Addie’s hand to guide her. Inside there were even more strange things hanging. Candles lit around her wooden home, leaves, flowers, bones, and other assorted witchcraft things hung from every hook on the wall and were in interesting little jars upon the shelves. “You understand the price and outcome of this, little Andre, don’t you?”

“Yes.” He replied, holding Addie’s hand tightly. “Can you reverse it once the baby is born?”

“I can, if you can hold yourself until then.” As she spoke she was stirring a mixture in a small stone bowl, adding a few leaves and the mixture steamed. “The other’s that I’ve done this for have only been able to handle it once, so I advise you to take more precaution after this child.” Andre nodded and looked down, feeling guilty that he had put Adella into this mess by being careless. He looked to Addie and leaned over to kiss her cheek, then motioned to a stool nearby.

“Have a seat, Addie.” He didn’t want her to get too tired. The wolf then looked to Ms. Chloe. “Can you explain once more, so that Addie understands what’s going to happen?”

“Certainly. Mrs. Louvel, ” She started, pouring one last thing into her bowl. “I’m going to transfer your wolf’s energy into your husband. Your wolf will still be in you, but will be more or less lifeless. It’s life and energy will reside in your husband until you can bare the weight of the werewolf again.”

Things like this never came for free. Magic never came without a price, but luckily enough Andre had worked out a deal with Ms. Chloe that it wouldn’t take a magical price tag to save his child. It would only cost him the amount of a new car, but those were menial details he would worry about later. So he shook his head to Addie, giving her a look to not worry about it as he did whenever she spoke about money. He didn’t want her to worry.

The witch laughed at Adella’s questions. “Wolves don’t shift until they reach puberty, my dear. Babies don’t have the strength to shift.” They didn’t have the strength, knowledge, or even the urge to shift until they were at least ten years old. Boys changed even later.

“Your wolf’s energy and life will reside in your husband. She will still be in you, so you will always be wolf – there’s no changing that… but I can put the werewolf’s energy in Andre so that you won’t feel the need to shift. That’s what ends a pregnancy. That’s what I’m going to stop.” She handed moved through her home to grab a few other things, including a small bucket that she handed to Andre. “Here. This is for when you lose your lunch. It’s no easy task to house the life of two, right Adella?” The strange witch giggle with a twinkle in her eye, then pulled open an old book to the page she had open and put on a pair of glasses to see better. “Everyone ready to begin?”

With his bucket in one hand he took Adella’s hand with the other and kissed her. “I love you, cheri.”

“Child, there isn’t nothing I can do for you there. Your offspring will either be human or wolf, and maybe part fairy if it’s lucky… but you won’t know more until they’re older. Babies are the least of your problems. Just wait until you have a teenager on your hands. Especially a teenager thrown by this one.” She nodded her head to Andre, shaking it as she remembered how he had been in his younger days. The meek little wife was in for a surprise if she had a son.

When Addie continued asking questions Andre squeezed her hand and let Chloe mix her magic. “I’ll be fine, Addie Lou.” He only called her by that nickname when he was doing his damnest to comfort her. “I’ll just be more energetic, that’s all.” She could worry more after they had secured everything. “You need to relax for this to work. Take a deep breath.” Andre was doing his best to keep himself calm, not to mention Addie’s nerves running to their end.

Their fight seemed so trivial now. Andre stood still, feeling his heart race in his chest as the witch began to speak in old tongue he couldn’t begin to understand. He stared at Chloe, watching her mouth as she spoke, his eyes dazed and his body began to feel strange. Things were no longer tense. The stiffness he felt in his neck was gone, and soon the large man dropped to his knees as he stared at Chloe. His breathing slowed and his hand slipped away from Adella’s as his body completely relaxed to allow the excess energy in. Finally he managed to turn his head slowly to Addie, fascinated by the glowing light that surrounded her. The energy of her wolf was so pure, so beautiful and innocent yet still so wild. He stared in wonder like the stoned man he was and watched as Chloe gently guided the spirit. Every candle in the room flickered and went out, giving way for the wild life that floated into a small cloud above Andre. The swamp was silent around them as night began to fall and the light from the lycan’s spirit illuminated the windows of the small home.

With one last chant the witch grabbed Andre and pushed his head back, directing the spirit to slam into Andre and knock him to the ground. The wolf shuddered and rolled onto his side, shaking and convulsing as he gasped for air. His body tensed once again and his grew wet with sweat and the glowing slowly faded. Just as Chloe promised, Andre lurched and vomited in the bucket on hand, growling in between heaves.

“Stay back. Let him get his sea legs.” Chloe said sternly as she held Adella’s arm to keep her away from the wild and sick looking man. “Just let him breathe.”

In the minutes following the spell Andre was lost. His eyes were glazed over, wild and showing his wolf fully every time he managed to open them. Normally the man had so much control over his wolf and werewolf nature, but with the added weight of Addie’s spirit he struggled. His body was laced with sweat and he hardly heard Adella’s voice. He continued to vomit in the bucket until there was nothing left, and the growling took over the sound of his dry heaves. He panted and growled, even snarled a few times with his head down and hair in his eyes.

Chloe pulled Adella back more forcefully. “He needs you to step back. He’ll be alright, but he’s going to lose control of his wolf and you don’t need to be in the way and get hurt.” He would lose control. It was inevitable. He had too much power forced into his body. Chloe was sure he would regain his strength and control, but it would take a few hours. She continued trying to get Addie to step back even further before telling her, “Stay back and let me handle him, honey.”

The witch then went to Andre. She removed his shoes, then tried to help him take off his shirt but he snarled at her and she stepped back. “Easy, boss. Easy.” A low growl was the only sound in the room as Ms. Chloe went and opened the door. The fresh night air called out to the wolf like a siren’s song and immediately Andre turned to look at the open door as he panted. Instead of getting up he crawled to the door, slowly and painfully as he fought his body from shifting. “Don’t fight it, Andre. Just run it out.” She spoke, her Cajun drawl even thicker than Andre’s.

All that Andre could muster was one last glance at Adella with an untamed expression before he lept from the door and shifted mid-stride. The large black wolf shook it’s coat in the warm Louisiana night, then leaned his head back and let out a long, sad howl that sent chills up Chloe’s spine. The creatures of the swamp began to chirp and croak as the wolf took off, running into the woods to fight his own inner battle.

“He’s home.” Ms. Chloe said in an almost sad tone as she looked out the door after him, then shut the door to look back at Addie. “How you feeling, my dear? Does it feel like a weight has been lifted?”

“He will be fine. Don’t worry so much about Andre. He’s thick skinned.” Chloe stepped inside and went to get Addie a glass of water from her small kitchen. “You just worry about yourself and try to get some rest.” A few seconds later she offered the glass of water to Adella and smiled down at her stomach. She took Addie’s hand and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath in, then exhaling slowly out. In the distance Andre howled again, then yipped afterwards in a strange way.

It didn’t phase Ms. Chloe. She held still to Adella’s hand then opened her eyes. “Your wolf is dormant. You won’t be able to shift, so you won’t hurt the baby.” After letting go of Addie’s hand she began to clean up the mess that the spell had created.

“I knew Andre when he was a young pup. He’s strong; he’ll be able to hold two spirits. He just needs time to gain control over your energy.” She dumped the bucket of vomit into the toilet and flushed it, then began to rinse it out. “He’s definitely mellowed out since his Pap was alive. He’s cooled even since Nicky was alive.” Oops, was she not supposed to mention Nicollette?

It troubled Chloe to hear Adella say that Andre wouldn’t speak of his past. She stopped in the midst of her cleaning to look up at Addie with a furrowed brow and she mulled over the words, then began to clean some more. “He was a lost soul after the pack was killed. I think he blamed himself for it.” She scrubbed the bucket, then rinsed it again, always keeping her hands busy.

“When he was younger he was a trouble maker, but he got away with a lot of it because he was a charming young bastard.” The woman laughed and shook her head. “I can’t tell you how many times he got into bar fights over girls or gambling.” She then eyed Addie, trying to gauge her reaction over the information. “Nicollette calmed him down some. She put him in his place and reminded him that a strong alpha needs an even stronger woman to hold him steady. After she was killed he wasn’t the same man. He started drinking and gambling, then there were some days he was so stoned or drunk that he couldn’t even recall his own name.” She stopped her cleaning again to take time to really look at Addie.

“You seem to hold him up right. You give him purpose. That’s what he needs… a reason to get up in the morning.” With that the witch went back to her cleaning and laughed at a memory. “Does he still snore if he sleeps on his stomach? He used to wake the whole pack with that grizzly sound.”

“Andre takes the weight of the world on his shoulders. He was their alpha, he was supposed to protect them – that’s how he sees it when really those hunters were out for blood. He’ll let it go, not today or tomorrow, but he’s slowly forgiving himself.” It seemed that he was forgiving himself by putting his energy into taking care of Adella. If anything were to happen to her Chloe wouldn’t know what to do with the mess that Andre would be, but it was better than him drinking. He was in a much better place.

Chloe wasn’t sad for the loss of Nicollette. She believed her spirit would live on in other ways, and that they would meet again some day. In that thought she found hope and there was little sadness left in her eyes when she spoke of her. “She was his first love. She was bold and spoke her mind, and she put him in his place but was ever the lady in front of a crowd. You remind me of her a little. You even look similar.” She gestured to Addie’s hair, then pushed her own behind her ear. “Yes, he had two boys. He loved them dearly, but he was still a spry young buck himself. The three of them should have driven Nicky insane, but she was a patient woman.” She laughed and shook her head. “They were just pups when they were killed… three and five I think. Little Louie and Ace.”

Once the witch was finished cleaning she started a to boil some water to make tea. “Just because you didn’t ‘choose’ each other does not mean you’re not meant to be. You were chosen for each other, but not by conventional means.” She brought out the cups for tea and set them with the bags ready to go. “Andre Louvel doesn’t stick around anyone he doesn’t truly care about. He wouldn’t waste his energy, but he will be fiercely loyal to those he loves.” She gave her a knowing look, then giggled.

“If you plug his nose he’ll roll over and stop snoring.”

There was a light in Chloe’s eye when Addie denied that her and Nicollette were similar. “Oh trust me, child, you’re more alike than you know. I bet Andre would bend over backwards for you. I bet you have him wrapped around your little finger. Why else would he be doing this?” Why else would he be risking his life to make her happy? Men were never as heroic with babies as they were with the women they loved.

“Just because she came first doesn’t mean he doesn’t have room to love you just as much. You can’t expect a man to stay alone the rest of his life. If that were true men would be rare, because they die off without us ladies. They can’t take care of themselves.” She knew how horribly Andre had taken care of himself without a woman in his life. “He loves you unconditionally. What he did was an admirable thing. It isn’t pleasant. I don’t want you to fret, but it’s not a pretty thing what he’s going through. It hurts, and it’s hard, and a lot of men can’t handle it but I know he can.” She adjusted herself and took a breath. “And he’s doing it for you. If that’s not proof of how crazy Mr. Louvel is about you then I don’t know what is.”

The kettle started to whine and she got up to pour their tea. “Are there any other doubts you have? Any worries you want to share? We’ve got all night.”

There was something peculiar about the salt and pepper witch. She knew things that other’s didn’t, and could see further into people than expected. This had never been announced to Andre, but he had always known there was more to Ms. Chloe than she let on.

She rolled her eyes and shook her head with a smile. “You won’t accept the fact he loves you, will you?” The more she spoke the more she reassured that fact. “You need to fix yourself, Adella Louvel. Build your confidence and strengthen your backbone so you can raise a strong, bold child. Listen when Andre tells you he loves you. Listen when he says you’re beautiful, and that you mean the world to him. If he doesn’t use that choice of words you can look into his eyes and see it.”

The witch handed Addie her cup of tea and blew on her own cup to cool it down. “Couples quarrel. That’s no reason for him to leave, it’s only reason for him to beg for your forgiveness. You have the eggs, you man the rules.”

The calm and seemingly kind witch listened to Adella’s problems as she sipped her tea. She eyed her a few times, but mostly listened with her gaze down and in thought. Finally she looked up to her and knitted her brows. “Oh, buck up, child. You’re loved by a wonderful man. You’re about to have his baby. There’s no reason to be sad. Turn your thoughts around and start focusing on the good in life rather than the bad – that’s how you can fix yourself.” She leaned over and took a long walking stick and used it to reach across and bop Adella on the head playfully and gently. “Pull it together. You’re going to be a mom.” There was only so much love before it became tough love.

After a few more minutes of tough love there was a howl far in the distance. The swamp creatures continued to croak and chirp, singing their nightly serenade and making the witch at ease. “The frogs don’t sing when something’s wrong. As long as you hear a ribbit you can rest at ease that Andre is fine. You should get some sleep before he comes back. I imagine he won’t be back until day break or later.”

Of course she was right. Chloe was the type to only think positively. She was far from overly optimistic, but she was never the pessimist. “It does no good to dwell on downward thoughts, Adella.” She said, digging in her point as she looked her over and sipped at her tea.

“No.” She said calmly, her mouth barely leaving her teacup. “You need rest, and there are wild hogs in the swamp.” Not to mention other creatures, but hogs were the girl’s biggest concern. “They might not sound like much to a foreigner like you, but hogs are vicious. They’re worse than wolves.” She frowned at that thought. “But there are still no wolves in the bayou.” None had returned except Andre and the occasional loner.

Finally the witch caved in and raised her brow threateningly. “Fine. We can sit out there, but if you try and leave to find him I’ll hog tie you.” She rose from her seat and went to the door, leaving it open to let the fresh night air cleanse her house while they sat outside and waited for the troubled wolf.

Ms .Chloe was a force to be reckoned with. If she said no there was little anyone could do to change her mind, but somehow Addie’s puppy eyes worked. She caved and let the girl sit out on her porch, but stayed out there with her. The older woman propped herself up on the porch swing and began to knit. Yes, knit. She wasn’t quite the trooper that Addie was, and soon was asleep, cooed to by the song of the swamp.

In the early hours of the morning when the sun was just beginning to rise and the heat hadn’t quite reached an unbearable amount Andre returned. His body ached and scratches littered his sore muscles. His hair and beard were a mess with dirt and a few twigs here and there, but he managed to pull a pair of shorts out of the SUV before going to his sleeping wife. The wolf walked up to her, then got down on his knees in front of her and touched her arm. “Addie.” He said softly, leaning in closer and ready to collapse completely to the ground. “Addie, wake up.” His voice was a croaky whisper, and after a few short seconds he leaned on the step beside her and exhaled a long overdue sigh. There was still a sense of wild in his eyes, but it went unseen as he shut his eyes and closed them tightly out of sheer exhaustion.