"You don't have to make a choice tonight," Damion's soft but forceful voice pierced through my thoughts. Standing just a few feet away, his gaze unwavering, he seemed to feel the storm inside me.
I had to pick, though. Every second I spent here, unsure, drew me closer into a future I wasn't sure I was prepared to confront.
"I don't know whether I can do this," I said softly, almost hearing the words myself. "I don't know whether I can give up all I have battled for only to join this... this universe.
Damion moved closer; his presence seemed like a physical burden on my back. I could feel the pull of him, the inescapable link between us, but it wasn't enough to drive away the doubt following me like a shadow.
Missy, you're not giving up anything, he remarked softly. You are not losing your identity. This is not about altering who you are. It's about evolving into your intended self. Whether you choose to be or not, you are already a part of this.
Conflicting feelings made my chest tight as I turned to face him. Damion, I can't just give in. The pack cannot run my life. Unlike the others. My future has to be within my control.
His gaze softened, and for a brief moment, I saw something more than the leader of the pack, someone who knew the burden of my battle, someone who cared. I know you, Missy. You are strong and will discover your path. You cannot, however, accomplish it alone. You must believe me.
Deep breathing helped me to shut my eyes. His hand's warmth grazed my skin and for the briefest time I felt tranquility. Still, below it all, the tempest inside me seethed.
"I'll do it," I murmured, the words feeling sour on my tongue. I will welcome my pack part. Damion, I will not lose myself, nevertheless. That won't happen under my watch.
The weight of his promise resting between us made his eyes soft and his hand lingered on mine. I won't let you lose yourself, We're in this together, then.
Damion had left the mansion earlier to talk with the other alphas, leaving me alone there with my thoughts spinning. Though my earlier choice had calmed some of the chaos, the silence surrounding me now allowed the doubts to return. Was I really prepared for this? Regarding the power that came with my position as the mate to seven alpha kings?
A knock at the door startled me out of my daydreaming. I paused, feeling something was wrong. But when I opened it, all that remained in the frigid air was a piece of paper; no one was there.
I picked it up off the ground. The handwriting was unmistakably Layla's. The one who had previously let me down, my step-sister.
The instruction was clear-cut: Go to the old barn. We should have spoken.
I was aware of the barn she alluded to. Isolated, tucked away at the edge of the territory, far from the pack's view. My stomach knotted. I knew it was a trap. Layla had always been cunning, but this? This seemed unusual.
The night air cutting at my skin made me put on my jacket and go outside. Every instinct told me to turn back, to warn Damion, but I could not. Not quite yet. I had to see Layla. I had to know why she was acting this way and what she wanted.
The sounds of the night appeared to fade away as I moved toward the barn. Every step I made seemed to reverberate louder than the last in an oddly quiet world. Reaching the barn, I stopped the entrance slightly open as though beckoning me inside.
Though it was locked, I reached for the door. Searching for any means to flee, I turned around, my breath coming in quick gasps. All I saw, however, were shadows, forms shifting in the dark.
Before I saw it, I felt the first blow. As one of the rogue wolves came at me, its claws slicing through the air, a stinging agony surged through my side. Heart thumping, I hardly managed to dodge, staggering back. Though I had no control over it, the force inside me grew. It was like a wild, untamed beast inside me that I couldn't stop.
Another wolf lunged, this time biting my arm with its teeth. I yelled, but the blackness consumed the noise. Where were the pack? I could not do this by myself. I required them.
The wolves surrounded me, their eyes shining with malevolence. I could feel the power rising inside me once more, but this time I wasn't sure whether I could harness it. I could not let it out. Not like this one.
A sudden noise, the unmistakable crack of wood splintering, and the door burst open followed just as the wolf pounced once more. Damion's voice pierced the mayhem. Missy
The wolves hesitated, their gaze darting to the fresh danger. Damion entered the barn, his body radiating force and his eyes fixed on me. "Get away from her!"
Damion's fierce gaze fixed on mine, the home felt claustrophobic. In the stillness of the corridor, we stood, the tension between us thick and apparent. Louder than the thumping of my own heart, the words he had spoken before replayed in my head.
"You can't trust them, Missy," he replied, his voice quiet yet forceful. Paul, Layla... they have their own goals. You cannot let them use you. Not any more.
His words hung in the air like a weight, and I felt them like a physical strain on my chest. I wanted to refute it, to push back, but deep down I knew there was truth in his comments. The individuals I had once trusted most, my family, had already let me down once. Did I stupidly allow it to occur once more?
Whispering and clutching the table's edge, my hands shaking, I said, "I don't know what to believe any more." My feelings were mixed; my ideas whirled. Paul claims the rogue alpha controls him. Layla... she's my sibling. I don't know whether I can simply turn my back on them.
Damion's voice stayed steady while his eyes melted. You have to, Missy. This is not only about them. This is about you, the pack, and all we are struggling for. The rogue alpha wants to rip us all apart beginning with you; he doesn't only want to wipe the pack.
His remarks pierced me, and for a brief time I felt as though I was sinking in a sea of uncertainty and bewilderment. I had always attempted to guard myself, to prevent my heart from becoming entangled in the turmoil of it all. But suddenly the lines were unclear. It was all knotted together in a manner I could not flee from: my family, my past, my future.
Looking at him, I stepped back and my breath was unsteady. I don't know whether I'm strong enough for this one. To be with the pack, to welcome what I should be.
Damion reached for me and softly rested his hand on my arm. You need not be strong by yourself. Missy, we are in this together. I will direct and assist you. You need not go through this alone.
Though his touch was soothing, it just served to remind me of how much I had to lose. The decision's weight killed me. The pack's promise, of the future we could create, seemed to be slipping away from me. Could I rely on Damion to let go of what I had known?
Just as I was about to talk, something in the atmosphere changed. A sudden, overpowering feeling seized me and my breath caught; I fell back looking for something to steady myself.
My heart pounding, I clutched the table's edge. Then came a soft voice.
Missy, hear me out.
My heart raced and I stopped. Soft, nearly inaudible, the voice was unmistakable.
My mother was it.
A vision flashed before my eyes, causing my sight to blur and I blinked. The environment around me seems to melt away; all I could see was my mother, her face pallid and tired as if she had been carrying a load too great for far too long.
Though brief, the sight left me with a bone-chilling sensation. She was attempting to inform me of something. Some aspect of the prophesy. Something regarding my fate.
Turning to Damion, my voice quavered. My mother... she is attempting to say something to me.
Damion's expression grew more serious as worry crossed his features. Her remarks?
"I don't know," I said softly, my thoughts racing. Yet, deep within, I sensed the need of the message. "But I believe... I believe it is a cautionary tale."
The gravity of the scenario sank in and I tightened my hands. This was no longer only about survival; it was also about... This was about all I had come to care about: Damion, the pack, my own future. Losing it all, though, seemed to be a suffocating pressure on my chest.
"Missy, you're needed," Damion said, his gaze unwavering interrupting my musings. You have to rise to the occasion now. The pack wants you to lead, to help guide them through this."
I shook my head, my throat clenching. I am not quite ready. I don't even know what I'm meant to do now. This prophecy hardly makes sense to me. How can I guide them?
Damion moved closer, his hand grazing mine. You are more powerful than you think. You have already shown it. We all have to believe in you right now.
I wished to fight, to escape the burden of duty he was putting on me. But when his hand rested on mine, something inside me changed. Perhaps it was the link between us; perhaps it was the burden of all I was going to confront. But for the first time, I grasped Damion's meaning. This was not only about making it. It was about accepting the part I had been assigned, about walking into the future, no matter how unclear.
Suddenly, a shadow moved at the door and the mood in the room changed. I turned, my heart racing as a figure emerged into the light. It was a scout from the pack, acting as a message.
His eyes were wide with terror and his countenance was somber. Damion, we have found them. The forces of the rogue alpha are drawing near. They are not far away.