Awakenings: The Rise of an Empire

Introductions Part 2

Marcus

     Once inside the confines of the pack office, Ohaval grabbed Marcus and hugged him tightly. “You have no idea how long I have wanted to do that, my son. My world hasn’t been right since the moment you left our arms.” Marcus reluctantly hugged him back. He took a few steps back and eyed his parents worriedly.

     “You cannot expect me to accept this all at once or to understand your motives completely. I felt alone and different until I met Annie and the others. It's not that my adopted family treated me badly, it’s that they just seemed so removed.” Marcus slowly began to pace back and forth. “We all felt like we were different like our parents were fulfilling a duty, some sort of obligation.” Marcus’ eyes began to glaze over as the realization of his own words began to set in…. He growled loudly. “Dannie and Matt, they are the other two AREN’T THEY! He shouted! “Tell me the truth! NO MORE LIES!”

     Aditi walked over to Marcus grabbed his hands and led him to the sofa. She sat with him and held his hands. “Yes; my son, Dannie, and Matt are the other two." He was amazed at how the touch of his mother's hand and her presence alone calmed him. “It is my gift from the Goddess,” Aditi said as she smiled at him.  "As pack Luna, it is my job to bring peace and unity to the pack. It is also my gift as your father’s mate to calm him. You two are much the same. You have inherited his temper, and as a future Alpha, you have also inherited his strength and conviction. We are not asking you to accept us overnight. But what we are asking, is that you give us a chance.”

     “Ok, Marcus sighed, I will.”

     "Son, for now, I need you to vocally accept to become a member of the Black Moon Pack,” Ohaval said. "Can you do that?"

    “Yes; I can, father.” Ohaval walked over to Aditi and Marcus and asked them to stand. They linked hands and Ohaval led Marcus in the saying… “I Marcus Black, accept my role in the Black Moon Pack, as a loyal pack member, a descendant of the royal line, and future Alpha.” Once Marcus said the words, he heard thousands of voices link in his mind, they all said at once with a shout….

     “We the Black Moon Pack Accept you, Marcus Black as our future Alpha, Welcome Home, welcome to the pack!!”

      Marcus heard their cheers erupt, he was permanently linked to each member of the pack; he finally felt whole, he knew he would never forget this day. He let out a load Howl as tears of joy ran down his face. Finally, whole, he grabbed Aditi and Ohaval in a tight embrace and whispered in their ears… “finally I am home.” The three held each other in a tight embrace overwhelmed by the joy they felt. 

Annie

     I sat in the garden room with my parents, discussing the events that unfolded. We sat gazing out the large windows at the beautiful lands behind the mansion. The beautiful scenery was enhanced by the afternoon sun and the endless fields of wildflowers spread across the land. With all the myths I heard about vampires I was overjoyed to know that I would not be subject to death by sunlight. Besides my heightened senses, bright glowing golden-brown eyes, enhanced strength, and my link to Marcus; I still felt like myself only stronger.

      “So, are the other two Dannie, and Matt?” I asked, though I already knew the answer. I figured we might as well deal with the situation. My father walked over to where I was standing gazing out the back windows.

     “Annie,” he said patiently, as he reached for my shoulders and turned me to face him. “Yes, the other two are Dannie and Matt. There is so much we need to still explain.  Let us have a seat so I can explain.” They shared how the people who were chosen to raise us are part of the alliance. That each set is trained warriors, and their job was to pose as our parents, appear human and protect us until we turned 18. That explains why we felt safe with them, but also why the connection felt like a sense of duty. I believe they cared for us in their own way, but their priority was our safety and their duty to our parents.

     “Do understand how lonely we felt. We bonded with each other because we all felt like our parents did not know how to express affection. I always thought it was strange how we were all experiencing the same circumstances.” I stood and walked back over to the windows, I held myself trying to stop the emotions that were bubbling up to the surface. I remembered the pain I felt the first time I expressed to my friends that maybe our parents had a hard time loving us because they could not have children of their own, and maybe our presence caused them more pain.

 “I don’t know if you can understand the pain of feeling not wanted by the people who adopted you, and not knowing why the people who brought you into the world rejected you as well.” I was trying desperately to try to prevent the sobs from escaping but the flood gates broke through, I fell to my knees overwhelmed with grief, my mind was racked with memories of the pain and rejection. I felt my mother’s arms wrap around me, she pulled me close, my father knelt and engulfed both of us.

     As he gently rocked us he whispered, “I hope forever is enough to make up for the loss, because if forever isn’t enough, we will never give up on showing how much you are loved and wanted.” As we sat there holding each other and watching the sunset on this day, I finally felt the beginning of the healing I so desperately needed.

Dannie

 Dannie sat in the back of her parent’s car contemplating the events of the past twenty-four hours. How did life go from being completely normal to absolute chaos? Two weeks ago, she was celebrating a graduation, and two days ago she was sitting with Annie discussing their future, giggling about her feelings for Marcus, and making plans with Annie for the summer. Now she was headed to some unknown destination with her parents, and Matt along with his parents in the car in front of them. She wondered why she has not I heard a word from Marcus or Annie, she kept starring at her phone at the numerous messages she sent them with no response. Now her parents were acting weird. When she came down to talk to them before dinner, they interrupted her and told her there was somewhere they needed to take her, and that Matt and his parents would be joining us. She was grateful for the summer months and the long nights, but this was not how she was expecting to spend them. She gazed out the window at the passing scenery and noticed the familiar the road they were traveling on. Where are they headed, she thought? 

     “Mom, where are we going?” she asked anxiously. She noticed her mother stare at her father and sigh before responding.

     “Dannie, we are taking you to get the answers you deserved to have a long time ago.” Her mother said as she turned to look at her. “There are questions you have, and the answers are not ours to give. We are taking you to meet the people who will fill in the blanks.”

     “What... what are you talking about?” Dannie began to panic slightly as she took in the familiar scenery, they were heading down the same road she was on the other night with Annie and the others. “Wait, wait how did you know about this place! Why are we here! Before her parents could answer they car was headed down the long driveway, and Dannie spotted Annie, what looked like Annie but somehow different, the strange boy from the other night, and two groups of Adults, one set that; as she looked harder, she gasped they looked like her.

     She jumped out of the car, and felt Matt beside her, he was shaking; probably experiencing the same shock she was feeling. As she went to approach, the door of the mansion flew open, Marcus came rushing out staring at her like he was seeing for the first time, somehow, he seemed even bigger than he was before. Before she could react, a loud growl erupted from him… MINE!!, he roared.  He grabbed her and ran for the forest.