The Oralei

Twelve; Unbound

*Unknown POV*

I rush downstairs, panic consuming me. I practically leap down the stairs and round the corner towards the back door, but it quickly opens before I can reach it and my mate rushes through it.

“What is it? I could feel your panic through the bond?!” He asks me quickly, his face lined with worry.

“The spell! The binding spell has been broken!” I rush out. I can feel tears pricking at my eyes and my heartbeat quickening at the thought.

“How?! I was positive it would last until I unbound it myself, until we had a plan in place.” I start to cry and my mate wraps his arms around me and pulls me close.

“It’s alright…she’ll be alright. She’s strong; everyone knows that. Now is not the time darling, now is not the time,” he murmurs close to my ear.

I couldn’t believe it. That spell shouldn’t have undone itself, not yet. Nobody else had the power to do it apart from the person who had originally cast it, well apart from one other person. My head is spinning with possibilities and potential outcomes this development could bring.

“No,” I say firmly. “I’m going. I’ve had enough of this, of everything. It’s time to stop hiding in fear and finish this once and for all. She needs us.” I lock eyes with my perfect mate and his gaze was one of understanding, but also hesitance.

“I’m sorry, but I will do this with or without you.”

He closes his eyes and sighs deeply, opening them with a new look of determination in his eyes.

“No, you’re right. It is time to finish this once and for all. Let’s go and find her, no more hiding,” he says to me, cupping my face with his hands and kissing my forehead.

“Let’s go and find her.”

*Avianna’s POV*

The pain is excruciating. Aurelia told me she would meet me sooner than she thought, but what the f*ck does that mean?! Is the other half of me she inhabits going to exit from my own body?! Whatever this is, it is hands down the most pain I have ever experienced in my life.

I’m not even registering what is happening around me. I’m doing my best to breathe through the pain and Aurelia is trying to reassure me within my mind.

“Don’t panic Avi, it will be over before you know it. To answer your thought, no, I will not be protruding from your body like some sort of possessive demon,” she chuckles at me. I inwardly roll my eyes at her, not even having the strength to do it physically.

“What’s happening to me, Aurelia?” I ask her quickly while my mind was still functioning enough to communicate.

“You’re transforming Avi. You’re shifting into me, your wolf. This is what happens when you have a wolf spirit. In time, you will be able to do this swiftly and with no pain whatsoever. The first time is always painful, more so as this isn’t supposed to be happening yet,” she tells me quickly.

Great. So I’ll be turning into some wolf beast on a regular basis from now on. Not what I imagined would be happening when I woke up not even an hour ago.

“Hey! Offence taken! Beast I may be, but we are beautiful if I may say so myself!” She says while puffing her chest out and standing tall, head raised upwards like she was accepting some kind of imaginary award.

“Just you wait and see!” She smiles. Did she just smile at me?! Animals can’t smile!

“You obviously haven’t looked at a wolf closely enough before then,”she chuckles lightly, “I can in fact smile, roll my eyes, smirk, laugh, whatever you want really,” she boasts.

“Well no, I don’t tend to make a habit of examining wolves and whether they can smile or not Aurelia!” I say sarcastically.

“Regardless of all that, we are special, one of a kind! Just you wait and see! Oh, and you might wanna brace yourself! Remember to breathe!” She says quickly.

I’m not even sure how I am still able to communicate with her with the amount of pain I’m currently in, but it is serving as a small distraction.

Instantly, a rippling, burning pain shoots through my body, interrupting our little charade, and I feel myself roll onto the floor of wherever I was, shaking violently with the new wave of pain I am enduring. I begin to hear multiple cracking sounds, like my bones are breaking and I feel like I am in the midst of an inferno. I scream and scream in pain until my throat is hoarse, and I convince myself that this must be the end, I am doing to die any second now.

“Breathe Avi!” Aurelia’s voice enters my head once more.

“I am f*cking breathing!” I scream back at her, breathlessly.

The seconds pass by - although it feels like hours, - and I feel as if I am…growing?! I no longer have the energy to scream, and I am trying to concentrate on breathing in and out, so I don’t pass out from this ordeal. Sounds that are a lot like growls begin to resonate from my chest and throat. Finally, the pain stops. I breathe a huge sigh of relief, thankful that I am still alive…at least I think I am. I open my eyes hesitantly and what I see before me is unbelievable. I am literally towering above the others who are stood there, with their jaws on the floor and their eyes are wide as saucers.

“Aurelia? Are you still there?” I ask her.

………

“Aurelia?!” Oh no! Can I not talk to her anymore?!

“How can it be possible for you not to talk to me anymore Avi? You literally are me right now,” she chuckles back.

“Well, next time answer me back straight away! I don’t know any of this wolf stuff do I?! That’s your area of expertise!” I scold her lightly.

“Well long story short, we are now in wolf form, we are me. You can see and hear everything I can, only intensified. Your senses will be heightened in human form too, when we shift back,” she informs me quickly.

“Now, where is our mate?!” She murmurs, more to herself than to me. “Aha! There he is, mhmmm, dayum! That is one fine piece of mate we’ve got ourselves there Avi honey! Now, it’s time to make myself known. ‘I’m Aurelia; yes I’m the real Aurelia,” she starts singing a rendition of her own version of Eminem’s ‘Slim Shady.’ Eurgh.

In the next moment, I am looking at Jaxon through the eyes of Aurelia, and he starts to turn… golden? Huh?

“It’s our eyes Avi, I told you we are special!”

Aurelia lifts her…no, our head? Oh, I don’t know. I know I’m looking at the sky anyhow. To my surprise, a ground shaking, powerful howl sounds from within her…us? Oh, forget it.

*Alpha Jaxon’s POV*

“What the f*ck is an Oralei?!” I ask my father in utter confusion, “I’ve never heard of it!”

“Son, THE Oralei, singular, is said to be a powerful hybrid, THE most powerful hybrid that will ever exist. Like I said, it is only a legend, a fairytale story if you will. One has never walked this earth before, not that anyone or anything knows of that is. I will talk to you more about it later. I don’t think Avianna will be ready to know about this just yet, she has literally just been thrown into this world with no memory of her early childhood, her parents or werewolves. Oh, and not forgetting that she has just shifted into her wolf that she didn’t even know she was going to have in the first place,” he sighs.

I nod my head in agreement and go back to staring at Avianna’s wolf, Aurelia.

“Told you she was tough,” Hunter smirked in my mind. “Hey! Do you think she wants to meet me now?!” He begins wagging his tail in excitement, just like a little puppy who wants to play.

“I told you this before Jax, I am not a puppy, I am an Alpha. Also, the type of play I would like to do is NOT with a toy,” he wiggles his eyebrows and flashes me a wolfy grin. I can’t help but chuckle to myself.

“Sorry buddy, you’ll have to wait in line. I haven’t even had the chance to be with Avianna yet.”

He scoffs back at me in dismay and retreats back into my mind, sulking no doubt.

Whilst I was busy conversing with Hunter, I didn’t realise that Aurelia had walked right up to me. Her eyes were no longer glowing, but they were still gold in colour with flecks of chocolate brown, the colour of Avianna’s eyes. She began to nuzzle into my neck and lick my face. I laugh out loud and everyone else starts chuckling lightly.

“She is absolutely beautiful, I’ve never seen a wolf like her!” Morgan exclaims excitedly.

“Oh, Morgan! I didn’t realise you were still here! I think that is the longest you have ever gone without speaking!” Mikey laughs. She responds by punching his arm and sticking her tongue out in his direction.

“Is that all you got Morgan?!” He laughs even harder.

My mother rolls her eyes at them and tells them to behave.

“Now is the not the time to be immature! A lot has happened tonight and I for one, am ready to go back inside and have a nice cup of tea, actually, make that a whiskey,” my mother chuckles.

“Now that, sounds like a perfect idea my love,” my father smiles down at her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her to him.

I look around at my family and smile inwardly. Hopefully, things are looking up. My gaze lands on Xavier, who is gazing into the distance at nothing in particular, with a frown on his face. I just realise that he hasn’t spoken a word since we came out here.

“Xav, what’s wrong? You haven’t said a thing this whole time?” I quickly mindlink him.

He snaps his gaze to mine and his frown deepens, worry lining his face.

“It’s nothing, Jax,” he says to me, rather unconvincingly.

“Come on, I’ve known you my whole life, I know something is off with you. It clearly isn’t nothing Xavier. Please, tell me what’s on your mind, or do I need to use my Alpha aura with you?” I say jokingly.

“It’s…it’s just something I’ve read before. It mentioned what your father has said, about Avianna being The Oralei. Her wolf is beautiful, and probably very powerful, as no doubt Avianna will be. But…” he trails off.

“But??” I press, eager to know what it is he is about to come out with.

“But, if Avianna is what your father thinks she is, this could mean the end of the world as we know it…”