The Awakening
587 Words
The forest swallowed Ravenna as she ran. Her chest ached, her legs shook, but she did not stop. The battle sounds behind her grew faint, hidden by the thick trees.
Her mind screamed at her. She had left Kael. She had left the wolves. But she could not stay. She could not face Lucian, and she could not face the bond pulling her toward the Alpha.
Her blood still burned from the fight. She could feel it—power running under her skin like fire. Her wolf growled inside her, wild and restless. Her vampire side whispered, hungry and sharp. Both sides pulled at her, demanding control.
She stumbled to her knees near a stream. Cold water splashed over her hands as she tried to breathe. Her reflection stared back at her.
Her eyes glowed red.
Her nails were still claws.
Her fangs were sharp in her mouth.
Ravenna’s breath hitched. She looked like a monster.
“No,” she whispered, shaking her head. “This is not me. This cannot be me.”
But deep inside, she knew it was. The part of her she had always tried to hide was rising. She had killed tonight. She had spilled blood. And worse, she had liked the strength it gave her.
The sound of snapping branches made her head jerk up.
Her heart raced. She was not alone.
Ravenna scrambled to her feet, her claws ready, her body trembling between fear and fury.
A shadow stepped from the trees. Not Kael. Not Lucian.
A woman.
Her hair was long and black as midnight. Her eyes glowed faintly red, her smile sharp and cold. She wore a cloak that shimmered like it was woven from shadows.
“Finally,” the woman said softly, her voice smooth like velvet. “The hybrid. The queen will be pleased.”
Ravenna froze. Her throat went dry.
The vampire queen’s envoy.
The woman tilted her head, studying Ravenna with hungry eyes. “You are stronger than I thought. I saw what you did in the clearing. You are awakening.”
Ravenna stepped back, her claws shaking. “Stay away from me.”
The woman only smiled. “You cannot run from what you are. The queen has waited for you since the day you were born. You are hers. It is written in blood.”
“No,” Ravenna said, her voice breaking. “I am not hers. I am not anyone’s.”
The woman’s smile widened. “We will see.”
In a blur, she moved, faster than Ravenna could follow. Cold fingers wrapped around Ravenna’s neck, lifting her off the ground.
Ravenna gasped, her hands clawing at the grip. Her power screamed inside her, rising, burning, desperate to break free.
The woman leaned close, her red eyes glowing. “Do not fight it, child. Let it consume you. You were made for darkness.”
Ravenna’s vision blurred. Her chest burned for air. Her wolf howled, her vampire blood roared, and something inside her snapped wide open.
A blast of energy tore from her body, throwing the woman back into the trees with a crash that shook the forest.
Ravenna fell to the ground, gasping, her whole body shaking. The air around her buzzed with strange power, the earth itself scorched where she had stood.
She looked at her trembling hands.
“What… am I becoming?” she whispered.
The woman’s laughter echoed from the shadows, dark and pleased.
“You are becoming what you were always meant to be.”
- Writer
