CHAPTER 15
1306 Words
Aura
The pain had been sudden, relentless, and terrible, like a tidal wave. My screams reverberated through the cabin, bouncing off the walls like thunder. In the improvised bed, I had rolled over and clutched my large tummy as if my hands could hold everything inside.
“Kai.” I cried out as the contraction that followed made it difficult for me to hold my breath.
Immediately he was by my side, his hands steady and cool, but his eyes betrayed the panic he was trying so hard to hide.
"I thought it had gotten better earlier," he remarked, sweeping my perspiration-damp hair from my brow. "Hold on, Aura. I’ll call Mavyn."
Mavyn. The old healer who resided on the outskirts of town. A half-wolf, half-human woman who was always by herself and was said to hold power ancient than the forest itself.
I nodded faintly, my claws burrowing into Kai's arm as another contraction poured through me. My baby. My baby wasn't supposed to come yet. Not now. Not like this.
By the time Mavyn came, the ache had stopped.
Just… stopped.
I shivered as I lay motionless on the bed, every nerve in my body braced for the following wave that never came. Kai wrapped a blanket across my shoulders and carefully assisted me in sitting up.
Mavyn didn't knock. She just came in, a tall, rail-thin woman with wiry silver hair braided down her back. Her eyes, which had a sharpness that made me feel both exposed and protected, were a strange shade of pale green, like sea glass.
She simply walked to my side and placed cool fingers across my wrist without saying anything. I felt a weird feeling from her touch, as if she were listening to something more profound than just checking my pulse.
There was a long pause before she spoke, "The child has decided."
"What do you mean?" My question was hardly audible above a whisper.
She looked at me with her sharp eyes. "This child is unique. It has its own will. A strong one. You went into labor because it allowed you to.”
“That’s not possible," Kai remarked, his tone tinged with incredulity. "Babies don’t just... stop labor."
Mavyn laughed aridly. "Not your typical ones. But there is nothing wrong with this her" she said, nodding at me, "and her child is normal."
I felt a chill go through me.
Mavyn leaned closer, eyes narrowing. "Have you been having visions? Like dreams?"
I hesitated. "Yes."
"The wolf spirit?"
I blinked. "How did you know?”
"Because she comes only to those who are chosen." She stood up, the bones in her spine cracking slightly with the action. "This child is not yours alone, Aura. This child is a harbinger. A key. You must let it guide you."
Kai scowled, protective and apprehensive. “You’re being mysterious, Mavyn. She’s been through enough."
"The truth is rarely gentle," the healer said, turning her focus back to me. "But she is strong. She will endure."
I sighed softly, tiredness settling deep into my bones. "So what do I do? Just wait?"
"You wait. And you listen. The child will speak again."
Kai walked Mavyn out, leaving me in the gloomy silence of the room. I leaned back, cradling my tummy with both hands.
“What are you, little one?” I muttered under my breath.
~~~~~
The days went by.
Kai kept near, hovering without smothering, always within reach. He gave me tea mixed with relaxing herbs, cooked meals even when I barely had the appetite to eat, and helped me move around carefully to keep my muscles from turning rigid.
At night, he often slept on the little couch or the floor, giving me room but always within earshot. I was glad to have him. More than I could possibly say.
The dreams came and passed. Sometimes they were simply flashes—Ryder's eyes, the sense of hands holding my throat, the frigid silence of the packhouse. Sometimes, they felt like something ancient speaking in a language I couldn’t comprehend.
Then I heard it one night.
My name.
A voice. Tiny and gentle. I was broken by how innocent it was.
"Mama."
I opened my eyes and put my palm to my tummy, startled. The only light in the dark room came from the heated embers in the fireplace. However, I sensed the change. The shift.
The child spoken.
It wasn't a dream.Unlike the others, this actually happened. Deep, pulsing, alive. It came from inside of me.
"Mama." The voice called out again.
I gripped the blanket tightly as my fingers shook. My eyes welled up with tears of awe rather than dread.
I wasn't alone by myself.
Kai, whose instincts were usually on edge, woke up from the floor by the fireplace. He rubbed his eyes and slowly sat up.
"Aura? "Are you alright?"
Unsure of how to express the impossibility, I gazed at him.
"He spoke to me," I muttered to myself.
He scowled. "Who did?"
"The child. He called me as "mama."
Despite his widening eyes, he didn't appear to be doubtful. Instead, he got up and moved to kneel beside the bed. After a brief moment of hesitation, his hand fell tenderly on my stomach.
"That child," he remarked in a hushed, almost polite tone, "is going to change everything."
I believed him.
And I was afraid of that.
The next morning, Mavyn returned without being called. She stepped into the cabin like she knew something had changed. Her eyes found mine instantly.
"He spoke, didn’t he?"
I nodded. "He called me Mama."
Mavyn exhaled, as though something heavy had just been confirmed.
"He has chosen her path," the healer said. "Now you must choose yours.”
"What do you mean?"
"Soon, you will be put to test. The Alpha is drawing near. The bonds you thought were broken will try to reclaim you. But this child... she will break chains older than any pack."
Kai stood protectively near me, his posture stiff.
"If Ryder comes near her again..." he growled.
Mavyn raised a brow. "You will have to be more than strong. You will have to be unshakable."
I was shaking, though.
I was a jumble of anguish, astonishment, terror, and hope inside.
"What if I can't protect him?" I muttered.
Mavyn came forward and covered my heart with her palm. "You already are."
I had another dream that night.
It was more than a whisper this time.
In the sparkling moonlight, I found myself in a forest. The leaves of the trees remained motionless and silent. And I saw him in the clearing.
A young boy, maybe three or four years old. His eyes gleamed softly, the deepest violet I had ever seen. He had my curls and my nose. And there was something about her features that made me think of Kai.
She reached out tome.
"Mama," he said with a smile. "It’s almost time."
My eyes were filled with tears when I woke up.
“It's almost time.
But not yet.
I'm not ready.
The next morning, the air was heavier. Even Kai noticed it. A storm was coming. Not one of thunder and rain, but something more dangerous.
And as I sat in the quiet of the cabin, staring into the fireplace with one hand resting over my stomach, I knew one thing:
I would burn down the world before I let them take him from me.
But the real fire... it hadn’t even started yet.
That night, in the dream realm again, he spoke more clearly.
"Mama, he's coming." His small voice trembled.
I reached for him, but he vanished in a swirl of mist.
And I woke up breathless, the scent of danger strong in the air.
The baby wasn’t ready.
But the Alpha was.
- Writer
