The house had been smudged before they entered. The scent of burnt cedar and sage lingered in every crack and crevice in the wooden structure despite the fresh air blowing in through the window. The woodsy, yet slightly sweet and astringent mix was somewhat welcoming to Stone's senses. Maybe it was the tea the Spirit Walker insisted he drink, but a feeling of calm began to overtake him.

When they stepped into the Spirit Walker's house, both Aubree and Stone sat together in a large circle made of sand that occupied the majority of the space in the living room. There wasn't any furniture aside from a wooden bench along the wall facing the window into the backyard and the entrance to the kitchen next to it. A closed door that must have led to a bedroom was along the wall facing the front door.

"I've prepared this space specifically for your visit," Clear Waters said as they all sat cross-legged on the wooden floor, drinking herbal tea. "Our land, as well as my home, have protective charms placed all around to keep the Dark out. I have created that space for you to feel more comfortable. Sort of like removing the protective barrier and returning the space to its natural state."

It was true. As soon as Stone stepped into the circle, he could feel his senses sharpen.

He wasn't sure what kind of magic was involved in the sand that surrounded him, but he was curious. There were two colors side-by-side. On the outside was white sand with black on the inside. Light and Dark, perhaps?

The Spirit Walker explained that the tea was to relax, cleanse, and purify their minds, bodies, and souls in preparation for the ceremony he would perform under the light of the full moon. The ritual would be different from those he usually performed, so they could take full advantage of the light of the full moon.

By the time they finished drinking their tea, Stone could barely keep his eyes open. Aubree was leaning her head against his shoulder and already beginning to doze off.

"Rest now," the Spirit Walker said as he gathered the empty mugs to take into the kitchen. "This is the first step. I can't connect our souls to the Spirit World if you are restless."

Thoroughly relaxed, Stone nodded and pulled Aubree down to the floor and wrapped her in his arms, her back flush against his chest. With his nose in her hair, he inhaled and smiled as he let his thoughts go and allowed himself to drift asleep.

Smoke drew him from his slumber, and by the time it registered in his mind that there was a fire, he jolted awake.

Aubree started next to him, her eyes darting around the darkened room.

The window revealed the orange glow and smoke rising from a campfire less than a hundred feet away. Poking the logs in the fire with a stick, the Spirit Walker had his back turned to the house. As if sensing that he was being watched, he looked over his shoulder and set his stick down before making his way toward them.

Stone's heart thundered as he pushed back the oldest memories from his mind.

Memories of fire and smoke smothering him. Of unanswered cries for help. The cheers beyond the snap, crackle, and pop of burning wood. The ache of losing both parents. The bitter taste of betrayal.

Coughing, he rubbed his face, repeating to himself a few times that the fire was outside. They were safe.

Aubree touched his arm as he continued to take in one haggard lungful of air after another.

"I'm fine," he assured her, glancing out the window again to the campfire.

She must have followed his gaze as the next thing she said made bits and pieces of his memories jump back to the forefront of his mind.

"The fire?"

He nodded. "It's out in the open, not a small enclosed space. I'll be fine."

Her brows pinched up and fell as concern and sadness spread through her touch.

He forced a reassuring smile. "Don't worry about it, Röslein. The smell of it startled me. That's all."

The Spirit Walker appeared on the other side of the window and scowled down at him on the floor. "Clear your head, Alpha. I need fire to perform this ritual. I had hoped the blue sage would be floral enough to deter your hard-wired aversion to smoke, but I guess not. Maybe I should add some lavender sage as well? I hope the black sage won't deter your senses... I need that one right before we begin. Can't connect to the Spirit World without a little dream weed!"

Aubree smiled up at him. "That's a lot of sage. What's dream weed?"

His dark eyes crinkled. "Magic."

Stone pinched the bridge of his nose. Never did he ever anticipate having to resort to shamanic practices in his life.

His stomach growled loudly, drawing a chuckle from the old man outside.

"There's some roast mutton in the kitchen for you both to eat. Help yourselves and meet me outside."

Stone nodded his thanks before Clear Waters disappeared from the window.

Rising to his feet, he noticed in the orange glow that an intricate sand design spread out around their circle, covering nearly every available inch in the living room.

Aubree followed his gaze and her mouth fell open. "What is all this?"

He shook his head. "I don't know."

The Spirit Walker's practices were foreign to him, but he knew he had nothing to worry about. No harm would happen to them. He could feel that when he connected with Clear Waters earlier that day.

If anything, Stone was more of a threat than the old man, thus the precautions against him and his kind around their territory.

Carefully, he stepped out of the circle and tried not to step on any of the sand. He didn't know what kind of spiritual or metaphysical balance might be upset if he ruined the design with a thoughtless step.

The shift in the air changed immediately as he stepped out of the circle. He tried not to let it bother him.

Aubree followed and they cleared the sand designs in two steps and made it to the kitchen with a third step. An old wood-burning stove next to a preparation counter had roast mutton sitting in a covered pan with small potatoes cut in halves with diced carrots. Two large plates, forks, and knives were set on the countertop next to it with a carving knife.

"This looks good," Aubree commented as she lifted the carving knife and began slicing the meat. "How much do you want?"

His stomach grumbled as he stepped up behind her. "Help yourself first."

He was so hungry, he could probably eat the whole thing. There was about ten pounds of meat sitting there and he had no idea how much Aubree needed. She ate so little it seemed.

"Okay." She grabbed a plate and began to fill it with potatoes, carrots and two small slices of mutton.

When she looked done, he urged her to take more.

Puzzlement met him, making his clear his throat. "I may eat the whole thing."

Her eyes widened. She glanced down at the huge hunk of meat then back up at him. "Damn," she muttered. "You eat a lot."

His face heated up a bit. "It can't be helped. I have a big appetite."

The need to touch her flared up within him. To gather her hair and drape it over one shoulder, exposing her neck. To brush his nose and lips against her delicate flesh. To inhale her scent. To taste the mild perfume embedding in her pores that called to him.

He had an even bigger appetite than she thought now that she was in his life.

It can't be helped, Love.

[Hey, keep your mind clean, will you? We don't have time to perform another purification,] Clear Waters voice cut in.

Groaning, Stone pulled away from her and put a few feet between them.

Even here, with his senses dulled, the matebond pulled him to her.

[Get out of my head and spare yourself the mental images,] he replied, the corners of his lips tugging up as he stepped next to Aubree.

The roast stood before him and he glanced at his waiting plate and back to the roast.

The air sucked from his lungs. Pressure tightened in his chest. Doubling over, he turned to grip the countertop with both hands as he struggled to inhale, but no air would fill his lungs.

"Stone?" Aubree's voice drifted over him with concern before she called his name again. There was a note of urgency in her tone, yet her voice sounded even farther away than before.

His vision blurred, and he still couldn't get air into his lungs.

Something hit him from behind before his vision darkened to blackness.

In the black recesses of his mind, he heard voices, but could not attach meaning to the words. A presence twisted and pulled at him. A thread of warmth coiled around him before coldness splashed over him and a sharp, astringent odor shot up his nose.

His eyes flew open as he jerked up, coughing and wheezing in an attempt to clear his nasal passages of the stench.

The woodsy and fresh smell of burning cedar along with the slightly sweet and spicy aroma of juniper surrounded him. As his vision sharpened, he could see darkness creeping in as the first few stars popped out in the purple sky.

He was dripping wet and a hint of salt covered him.

A sigh heaved behind him. "Finally. I'm sorry, but I don't have time to deal with your high testosterone level induced by the lycan matebond," the Spirit Walker said. "I had to force an immediate purification jab to cleanse you so we can begin."

As he dragged in lungfuls of air, Aubree crouched down next to him and brushed his dripping hair from his face.

He grabbed her hand and pressed her palm to his moist cheek as he closed his eyes and gulped in more air.

"Hey, it'll be okay," she said in a soothing voice.

He shushed her, focusing instead on the feel of her hand against his cheek. Its warmth and softness alone eased him. Her emotions and presence relaxed the sudden shock to his system.

Whatever took place was beyond his cognition and as his heartbeat began to slow, he relaxed with it.

His stomach growled loudly after he'd calmed down enough to make sense of his surroundings. He didn't know how he got outside, but he wasn't too far from the house. A greenhouse stood on his left and some kind of makeshift hut made of earth and clay stood before him. There was a lingering smell of cedar ashes seeping out from within.

Clear Waters strolled up from behind him now and placed the big pot of roasted mutton, potatoes, and carrots in front of him.

"Eat," he commanded. "We're running out of time and you'll feel more relaxed with a full belly. Keep your mind clear and your thoughts pure now. I pray the pull of the matebond will subside for now, or at least until we begin."

Nodding, he picked up the meat in his hands and began tearing off chunks with his teeth.

While the Spirit Walker busied himself with the fire, adding a block of wood here, sprinkling some herbs there, Aubree began to giggle next to him.

He cast her a sideways glance and elbowed her gently.

"You really do have terrible table manners."

Swallowing the morsel in his mouth, he said, "What table? Did you eat?"

"Yup. Clear Waters made me eat in front of the campfire."

He sniffed her and wrinkled his nose. "No wonder you smell like smoke."

She shrugged. "He thought it might help to keep you in check."

"It's also cleansing," the Spirit Walker said as he made his way back to them. He gestured to Aubree with his hand. "Come. While he's eating, I'll start with you."

A growl rumbled up Stone's throat. He couldn't help it. Instinct was kicking in and he didn't want Aubree leaving his side.

Clear Waters took no offense as he paused a dozen yards away. "I know, I know. I'm not going to hurt her. You had your chance to get in on this at the same time, and you lost it. Eat up and join us in the circle when you're done. And no, you can't bring the food in."

"Then, I will sit on the outside," Stone said as he gripped the pan with both hands and rose to his feet.

The Spirit Walker sighed. "I guess that will be fine. Stubborn male."

"You have no idea," Aubree chimed in as she stood up and followed the short man to the fire.

Stone followed after her, and when they reached the campfire, Clear Waters pointed to the circle and ordered him to stay out.

The circle was lined with sand—black, gold, red, white, and blue. It stretched out about a dozen or so feet from the fire with thin blankets laid out on the ground to sit on. A pile of sticks and thin logs rested a few feet from the fire with pots of dried herbs next to it.

At some point when he was knocked out, Aubree had swapped her shorts for a pair of jeans and pulled on a sweater. She would need it in a few hours as the cold desert night air settled in.

She laid down on her back on the covered earth with the Spirit Walker sitting by her side. He commanded her to close her eyes and focus her attention on taking deep, steady breaths.

As Stone sat down a few feet from the edge of the circle, he watched as the Spirit Walker began to chant unusual words softly under his breath, humming here and there as he went. His hands, though a few inches over her body, moved in and out as if he were almost swimming. Sometimes, his fingers fluttered over her as he paused over one part of her body before moving onto the next. He placed dried herbs and some fresh over her body. A braid of lemongrass over her heart, a sprig of rosemary in her hair, and so on until there were bits and pieces of all kinds of herbs covering vital organs on her body.

The sky grew darker and dozens of stars began to appear, unhindered by the lack of light pollution. With each passing minute, he saw stars that he hadn't seen in decades. Stars that he had once gazed upon in his youth, with Adelaide in Schwarzwald, and more recently alone in what was once a grassy knoll at the edge of the city, and was later bulldozed over to build more residences, schools, shops, and streets before the glare of the streetlights hid them all from sight.

Emotion clogged up his throat as his stomach knotted, recalling all the times he had stared up into the sky in wonder and entranced by its beauty. How with each passing decade after Adelaide's death the stars were blotted out and a loneliness like he hadn't felt since he was a pup, fell on him until it almost hurt him to look up at the sky again. It only reminded him of everything he had lost, and could never reclaim again.

His eyes fell on Aubree.

Now, he had his chance to make things right again. To find joy in his life again. To allow himself to breathe again.

The Spirit Walker looked up from Aubree's side to catch his gaze before nodding his head.

[If you are finished, take the pot into the kitchen and cleanse your hands. I'm ready when you are.]

Stone had only eaten half of the meal, but he was satisfied.

An ache filled him as he tore his gaze away from Aubree and the glow of the fire against her smooth cheek. The pull came from within, his soul reaching out to hers.

How much would things change after this?

He closed his eyes and bowed his head. Goddess, have mercy.

---- AUTHOR'S NOTE ----

Clear Waters/Spirit Walker's rituals come from my imagination. I did research a little bit on Navajo shamanic practices, but there's not much information out there because they're very secretive about it. Plus, we're dealing with supernatural beings, so I can get away with it. ;)

*Copyright Jo Lee Hunt (Joflower) 2016*