Here's the update I promised! Took a bit longer than expected, but I got stuck on this chapter and I spent like half the day on Netflix. Anyone else totally addicted to On My Block (I'm wrecked)? And I started 13 Reasons Why (which I'd been avoiding way too long). OMG you guys! 

Anyways, chapter... 

Dedicated to darblegook who found an oddly effective way of getting me to update! 

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Saffron

Wake up child, a woman whispers softly.

My eyes slowly drift open and I look up at the wolf leaning over me. Her ephemeral, otherworldly beauty stuns me. Her coat is a shimmering mix of color, her fur a variety of shades of golden red, white, black, and gray, all competing for space. It's as if someone took all the wolf coats I've ever seen, collected samples, and blended them together.

The wolf stares down at me and when I look at her face, I do a double-take. Her eyes the exact same color as a saffron flower. Light and darker purples swirl in their depths, creating a replica of Mom's painting. If I look hard enough, I can even see gold flecks in their depths.

Who are you? I breathe. I'm in wolf form, so I don't speak aloud, yet I can hear my voice as clearly as if I had. It feels oddly familiar, but also foreign and unnatural. It takes a second, and then I realize that this is linking—the thing Logan's been trying to teach me to do.

I'm Luna, child. But your kinds has many of those, doesn't it? the Wolf replies in a sing-song voice. Her mouth doesn't move, but I can still hear her words dancing in the wind. It reminds me of something... her voice, her words... her.

Luna? I repeat.

Oh yes, but you... you would know me as the Moon Goddess.

The Moon Goddess? I gasp. Am I dead?

I must be. Even in my wildest imagination, never could I have conjured up a multicolored goddess with saffron eyes. Only I don't feel dead... not that I actually know what dead feels like.

You are not dead, the Moon Goddess denies with a quick shake of her head, then adds, and yet you are not alive. I try to puzzle over her words, but then she nudges me gently with her muzzle. Listen.

Dozens of sounds assail me, coming in from everywhere at once. I feel like I'm trapped in the middle of a whirlwind, but one that's faint and diluted, almost like I'm underwater.

The sounds register one at a time. First, there's the ringing: a shrill alarm, like in a school fire drill, only nowhere near as painful on my eardrums. Then, a loud buzzing followed by a thump that makes my heart jolt in my chest. Finally, there are the voices: a guy chanting, his words muffled and unclear; then woman yelling the word breathe over and over again; and finally a familiar voice that makes my heart race. Logan, shouting my name.

Logan? I shout back, heart racing.

He's not here, Saffron. The Moon Goddess tilts her head to the side, and the sounds fade away.

Where is he? I ask. He sounded so upset just now. I want to be there—to comfort him, make sure he's okay.

You can see him soon, if you'd like. The Moon Goddess doesn't quite answer my question, but I feel a sudden wave of peace and realize that there's really no rush. I can see Logan soon, if I'd like.

Where am I? I ask, looking around. I'm lying in the middle of a field, and the familiarity of it sparks a wave of memories. The first is of jolting awake in a hospital bed, where I'm surrounded by Logan, Luna, Jasper, and a doctor. I feel safe at first, but then POW's there, and he forces me to shift.

It's POW's fault that I'm here, isn't it? If I hadn't been injured, I could have fought off his Alpha's order, but I was weak. I'd turn a limb back to wolf form, and his order would win out and change it back to human. I'd win over my legs, but he'd gain my torso. I'd change it back, but my legs would shift instead. It was losing battle, one that POW won when my strength gave out. If he'd just let me stay a wolf, I would have healed. It's because of him that I'm here.

With a whoosh, another memory hits. This time, I'm lying in the middle of a field much like this one. The fight is over, and Zara is... is... I cry her name and look around the empty field, waiting for her to materialize. She should be here too, if we're both dead. Or how did the Moon Goddess put it? Neither dead nor alive?

Hush, child, the Moon Goddess whispers. Only my flowers visit my garden.

What does that mean? I ask. And what does that have to do with Zara?

All will make sense in time.

I nod as another wave of peace fills me. I shouldn't worry about Zara. It will all make sense in time.

Is Jess okay? I ask as I start to remember more. And Joshie? Nisha? Nicki?

They're in the land of the wolves, my child.

I feel another wave of peace. I'm not sure what she means, but the land of the wolves really doesn't sound so bad. Then I remember something else: fighting Beta and the older brother, then flying straight into an oak tree.

I glance up. The tree at my back looks almost identical to the oak, but also entirely different. Instead of dark green leaves, this tree is sprouting flowers. They're my favorite shade of purple, and at this distance—and if I were human—I might think they were saffron. Except that I'm a wolf, and I can see they're longer and more bell-shaped.

I frown at the tree. Can such flowers grow on trees? It seems so surreal, so unnatural, and yet it's as likely as a wolf whose coat is such a vibrant mix of color. If I'm neither dead or alive, who knows what normal is.

Jacaranda, the Moon Goddess whispers.

Excuse me? I frown, wrinkling the top of my wolfy forehead. The way she says it, it sounds like she's casting a spell... or sneezing.

The tree, the Moon Goddess explains, which isn't really an explanation at all. Was she talking to the tree? Is it a word for tree in another language? Or does she mean something else entirely?

Before I can ask her to clarify, my gaze drifts across the field and the colorful garden surrounding us takes my breath away. There are flowers everywhere, and when I take a deep breath, a hundred different scents envelop me in a cocoon.

One in particular tickles my nose, and I turn to look at the row of saffron. The last time I saw one that wasn't a painting was when Mom was still alive. She used to grow it in a pot by the window, so high up that Dad had to lift me so I could smell it. I think Mom used to lift me before—when she wasn't pregnant—but I don't remember. It was all before she died, before the plant I couldn't reach shriveled up and turned to dust.

I stand and pad through the garden toward the saffron. The Moon Goddess joins me, and we stop in front of it so I can inhale its floral scent. It's even more beautiful in real life than I remembered, and it smells even more magical. I rub my cheek against it, and the soft tickle makes me smile. It's a woofly grin, but full of happiness, and the Moon Goddess nudges me playfully in response.

The nudge makes me turn my head and notice another group of flowers, taller and red with thin strips of white.

Amaryllis, the Moon Goddess whispers.

The flowers? I ask, playing with the word in my head, and she nods.

I've been tending this garden for centuries, the Moon Goddess takes a long slow sniff then nudges me again, so I can turn and look around the garden. Hundreds of flowers bloom all around us: red the color of blood, yellow like the sun, and even a pink that reminds me of Nicki's t-shirt on the day we met. Now it's finally time for my flowers to bloom.

They're beautiful, I whisper.

They are, the Moon Goddess tells me. She pauses and tilts her head to the side again. They're calling to you.

The flowers? I asks.

Your pack. Your family.

I don't have a pack, I tell her, feeling a sudden ache in my chest. Or a family.

You have more than one, my child—three, in fact—and there lies the problem. The Moon Goddess moves closer and leans against my side. It's the wolf equivalent of a hug and makes me feel better, even though her words make no sense.

Three? W-what are you talking about? I ask in confusion. How can I have more than one family? Or more than one pack? And how can I have three when I'm not even sure I even have one?

You shall see, my child... but now it's time.

Time?

Yes, time. To choose.

Suddenly, I feel exhausted. My eyes start to droop, and I get a strong urge to lie down. I let out a yawn, and give in to it, resting my head on my paws.

Choose, the Moon Goddess urges.

Choose what? I ask as I slowly feel myself drift away.

You are neither dead nor alive, my child, but you must pick, she says, her words getting fainter and fainter. You'll be safe here, my flower, but on earth, on earth you can bloom.

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Did you guys like this chapter?

What should Saf pick? Stay dead? Or Live?

Do you think this is really the Moon Goddess, or a hallucination? I left clues! 

I also revealed a few things in this chapter. Anyone catch any of them?

Oh, and... 3 packs? 3 families? What are they? I think one is pretty obvious, but the other two? The clues are all here, but can anyone figure it out? 

♥ Also, I hit 3 Million Reads on STAWP and Hunter's Luna is ranked #116. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU FOR READING, VOTING AND COMMENTING TO MAKE IT HAPPEN!!! ♥