Chapter 3 The Awakening
Amara’s POV
I was unaware of his meaning, but it didn't matter to me. I was worn out. Feeble. After being cold all his life, the warmth of his chest felt peaceful.
I said, "Don't let them take me back."
"I won't," he declared. "I promise it."
I observed how the trees appeared to move away from him as he carried me through the terrible woodland. The fog broke up in his wake.
This dude was who?
And why did I never feel as secure in Rowan's embrace as I felt in his?
Kian gently placed me next to a black vine-lined stone border. It was the boundary of Obsidian Pack territory, he continued. My agony had lessened somewhat, but I could hardly sit up.
He said, "Once I call the healer, we'll enter." But first, take a nap. Simply take a breath.
Still attempting to make sense of it all, I nodded.
Then it did.
The atmosphere surrounding me shifted.
A whisper rode the wind, and the ground shook a little.
"I own you." I sprang to my feet. "What was that?"
Kian's look grew strained. "What did you hear?"
Did you not hear it? Slowly, he shook his head.
However, I did. Once more. "You... belong to me." Around the edge, the shadows grew deeper. A serpentine coil of frigid fog ascended from the ground.
Then I caught sight of her.
Not physically, but mentally.
A woman with ash-like skin, dark robes flowing in smoke, and empty eyes. Although her mouth remained still, I could hear her voice inside of me.
"Both the Priestess and I awaken."
"No," I exclaimed. "Remain away!"
Kian was kneeling next to me. "Amara? What's the matter?
"She's awake," I said. "She's observing me."
"Who?"
My voice trembled as I looked at him.
"The Hollow Witch."
Suddenly, a gust of wind caused the fog to rupture, and far below the cursed country...
A long-forgotten jail broke down.
It was dark when chains snapped.
She opened her eyes, the Hollow Witch.
She also smiled.
I smelled the scent of ash and lavender when I woke up.
Slowly, my eyes opened. Above me, a round window let in soft light. It was warm beneath me in the bed. The pain in my wrapped shoulder has subsided. I felt... more powerful.
I sat up too quickly.
I was halted by a soft hand.
Kian, who was seated next to the bed, remarked, "Easy." "You've been out for just two days."
"Two days?" My voice broke. "I ought to be dead."
"You nearly were," he remarked. "But your body—Amara, you're recovering more quickly than I've ever witnessed."
He regarded me as though I were a miracle.
I looked at my arm. I had already faded into a light scar from the gaping cut that had almost killed me.
"Why?" I said. "How am I experiencing this?"
An elderly woman came into the room before Kian could respond. She had silver hair wrapped back in a braid and aged yet resilient skin. She was dressed in a robe of bone beads and black feathers.
"My name is Mira," she continued, staring at me. "I am the healer of the pack. Additionally, girl, what's inside of you is not typical.
I shuddered. "What do you mean?"
Mira moved in closer and touched my forehead with two fingers. Heat rushed through me, followed by cold.
She let out a gasp.
"Under your skin, something ancient stirs," she said. "Something older than us all. A force that hasn't spent centuries on this planet.
Kian got up. "I am now protecting her."
Mira gave a slow nod. Then you need to keep her safe. Because others will come for her if what I feel is accurate.
Others?
I tightened my grip on the blanket. My heart was racing. I was no longer just a rejected omega.
I was different.
However, what?
The Obsidian land was bathed in an odd hue as the Blood Moon rose high. Around the old circle of stones in the middle of the forest, the whole pack assembled.
Mira stood at the front, holding a bowl of moon water.
Trembling, I stood in the middle of the circle.
"What if nothing takes place?" Kian stood at the edge, observing me intently, and I questioned him.
Then we give it another go," he added softly. "But you have my faith."
I didn't even think highly of myself. It had been so long since my wolf had spoken. Did she exist at all?
Mira raised her arms. "Awaken what sleeps within, moon above." Let her soul be guided by the blood of the stars!
The clearing reverberated with the chant.
I could feel my chest getting warmer. Next, fire.
My knees gave way. I felt like my entire body was on fire.
I heard it after that.
"Amara." an inner voice. "Give it up." With a gasp, I fell to the floor.
My entire body was engulfed in flames. White light spilt from my chest, my fingers changed to claws, and my skin gleamed.
I let out a yell. My body contorted. Changed. And I became her for the first time in my life. My wolf.
She was tall, gorgeous, and as bright as the moon. She had silver-glinting eyes, immaculate white fur, and subtle, star-like markings on her back.
The group let out a gasp.
Mira even fell on her knees.
"Glorious," she said. "A fortunate wolf... It's accurate. She is the one.
My voice reverberated across the mountains as I screamed into the starry sky.
My name was Amara. Selene was the name of my wolf. At last, she had arrived.
After the transformation, I stood near the trees alone, still in my wolf form. Kian avoided eye contact, but I could feel his gaze on me.
Calm and powerful, Selene paced inside me. Now, however, something was different.
The woodland... responded to me.
As I went by, the trees leaned a little. Like it knew me, the wind curled around my paws. From the leaves came whispers that brushed my ears like secrets.
"Priestess of the Moon..." Once more, that name.
"She comes back..."
I transformed back into my human shape, breathless and confused. When my legs failed me, I fell to my knees.
My head was suddenly filled with sights.
A temple made of stone. A circle of women in silver robes. A light-filled golden bowl. And a voice chanting something old, my voice.
Next, fire. Yells. A hollow-eyed witch giggling in the shadows.
I gripped my skull.
What is this?
Something that wasn't part of this life.
A previous existence.
Inside of me, Selene whispered. Amara, we've lived before. We weren't just wolves. We were selected. An interworld guide. A light bridge.
"No," I said. "All I am is an omega. I was nothing.
She said, You were never nothing. You are the Moon Priestess reborn.
In my chest, the word weighed heavily.
Moon Deity.
Why did that sound right yet scary at the same time?
When he saw me collapse, Kian ran over. "Amara!"
I was unable to even speak when he reached for me. My entire body trembled.