Chapter Two- Concerns

Thoth watched Isis as she left for the palace. She was quite different from other women he had met over the decades. There had been women who were different from the others; ones he thought would accept him and his condition, but when he told them, they ran away screaming or hurled hurtful names at him. It was the latter that tempted him to change and bite them in retaliation. He had found the idea appealing but had refrained as that would likely result in a pack or getting killed by a silver spear courtesy of the woman he bit.

I had told myself repeatedly that I wasn't ready to have a pack or a mate, that I wasn't old enough. When I met Isis, I felt that she was the one. She took my condition in stride and that I had passed it on to her. I think her status as a priestess may have helped her. It also could be that Millennium Item she wears. I understand that it's magical, but she did not elaborate. I plan to ask her in the morning as she'll be busy learning to move her body and I will be enticing her to be a dark wifewolf. He smiled as he headed to his home, fantasizing about him and Isis living forever as dark mates.

Isis studied her shoulder in her mirror. There was definitely no mark; aside from the torn cloth there was no hint of any kind of attack. She knew she had been bitten hard and she hadn't imagined the muzzle Thoth had.

He is a werewolf and because he bit me, I am a wifewolf. I am one of those creatures that people fear and would want to kill. It is true that people fear what they don't know and that leads them to kill or destroy what they fear.

She stared blankly at her image as she recalled a vague vision she had seen a couple of days ago. It had been blackness save for two gold eyes and the sound of growling. She hadn't thought much of it and as it wasn't related to the future of the kingdom, she didn't report it. Today's events caused the vision to come back to her and concluded that she had seen her own future; an immediate future. Those eyes and the growling is either Thoth or me. I can't tell which one, but that doesn't matter. We will both be wolves tonight. She felt her stomach squirm nervously at the thought.

It squirmed again as another thought came to her. She could not tell anyone what had happened to her. She knew no one would understand or accept her condition. They would fear her and what she was capable of. She wasn't even sure of what she was capable of until she had changed and received instruction from Thoth. Even after I find out, I must hide it from everyone. I will likely be viewed as a monster if the court and the pharaoh found out. I would certainly see one of them as a monster if it had happened to one of them. Isis then smothered a yawn before crossing to her bed, lying down in it, and was soon asleep, all thoughts and concerns on hold for now.

Mahad was heading to his own chambers to meditate and study his personal scrolls before choosing to look in on Isis. She had returned to the palace in the early afternoon and a guard told him that she seemed preoccupied and had cloth torn on one shoulder. He had felt concern at hearing that, hoping she hadn't been assaulted.

He paused at her doorway to see her fast asleep. She was peaceful and from his spot, he saw the torn cloth but no sign of injury. Perhaps it caught on something sharp and it ripped. No problem; she can just change clothes or I could repair it. I do know a spell to repair cloth and it has come in handy in the past.

Suddenly, a glow came from the Necklace and Isis' face creased into an expression of fear and concern. He was about to go wake her when she opened her eyes and sat up with a gasp. She sat there breathing fast and hard, her gaze focused blankly in front of her.

"Isis?" he asked gently and she looked around, her eyes looking troubled. He entered and sat beside her as she swung her legs over the edge. "Are you all right?"

"Yes," she said, taking calming breaths. "Just a nightmare."

"Are you certain? The Necklace was glowing just before you awoke."

She put her fingers to it. "Was it? Then, it may be responsible for my nightmare."

"Nightmare or vision?" Mahad asked.

"Nightmare," she said firmly. "That's all it was."

"I was told by a guard that your robes got torn." He lightly ran his fingers over it.

"I…caught it on a sharp corner," she said.

"I suspected as much. I can repair the damage. As you know, I know a spell that repairs cloth."

"I would like that."

Mahad's fingers moved over the ripped edges of the hole, murmuring a spell while taking note of the damage even as it knitted itself back together. It didn't really feel like it caught on a sharp corner; more like sharp teeth had bitten through it, but that would have resulted in a bite mark and Isis' shoulder was clearly undamaged. Once the robes were repaired, Isis squeezed his fingers and smiled. "Thank you."

"My pleasure." He squeezed her fingers back and then left once his hand was free.

Isis' smile faded once alone. She felt awful about lying to Mahad. He was a dear friend to her and lying to him didn't sit well with her nor did it sit well with her priestess training. But I can't tell him. I don't know how he'll react to me. I do know that he would have Thoth found and arrested for assaulting me for that is what he did when he bit me.

Her fingers went to her Item again. Mahad had told her that it had been glowing. She didn't doubt that. Her sleep had been untroubled and then dark, horrible images had flashed across her unconscious mind. Growls, snarls, and flashes of sharp teeth and glowing eyes. These images scared her and resulted in her waking the way that she had.

She had no doubt that the images had come from Thoth telling her that all werewolves and wifewolves become dark killers on the full moon. Her Necklace had clearly shown her full moon future. She would be a killer on the full moon which was unavoidable. She would have no recollection or control over her actions until the following morning. The very idea frightened her.

I hope Thoth can lay some of my fears to rest and that my change will ease some concerns I still have. She rose from her bed, adjusted her clothes and hair, and then went to get something to eat and drink before heading out to a warm late afternoon.

The city was in its normal state of activity and yet Isis felt like something was different. She looked around to see nothing unusual. Perhaps I am what's different. Yes, that could be it. I am approaching my first change to a wolf and my paranoia is no doubt part of my being a wifewolf. Nothing else is different. Everything else is as it has always been. Isis quickly headed for the boundary, the people parting and genuflecting as she passed.

Thoth stood at the border and smiled as Isis approached. She is so lovely and she will be more so once she has changed. I have told her that it will hurt and I intend to be at her side to help her ease the residue pain that will be in her muscles. I know that personally. He put an arm across Isis' shoulders once she was beside him and guided her past the border and into the desert.