The Unexpected Mate

Chapter 13: The Awakening

A cold silence settled across the training grounds.

And for the first time, Tiana truly understood how dangerous her power might become.

Nobody spoke.

Nobody moved.

The wolves who had witnessed the silver light remained frozen in place.

Watching.

Waiting.

Wondering.

Tiana wished she could disappear.

Sarah's words echoed through her mind.

She may not have enough time to learn how to control it.

The statement terrified her.

Because Sarah wasn't someone who frightened easily.

Neither was Marcus.

Neither was Timothy.

Yet all three looked deeply concerned.

That alone was enough to make her nervous.

"Tiana."

Timothy's voice pulled her from her thoughts.

She looked up.

The Alpha's expression had softened.

"Are you alright?"

The question almost made her laugh.

Almost.

"Do I look alright?"

A faint smile appeared on his face.

"No."

"Good."

The smile vanished.

The concern remained.

Timothy stepped closer.

Close enough for the bond to react.

Warmth spread through her chest.

The familiar sensation steadied her racing thoughts.

A little.

Not much.

But enough.

Sarah finally broke the silence.

"The training ends for today."

Several wolves looked surprised.

Marcus looked even more surprised.

"Sarah."

The elderly woman shook her head.

"Not today."

The firmness in her voice ended the discussion immediately.

Tiana frowned.

"What happens now?"

Sarah exchanged a glance with Timothy.

Then Marcus.

The look made her suspicious.

Very suspicious.

"What?"

Nobody answered immediately.

Tiana groaned.

"Everyone does that."

Marcus blinked.

"Does what?"

"The secret looks."

Several wolves nearby laughed.

Even Sarah looked amused.

The elder sighed.

"We need answers."

"What kind of answers?"

Sarah looked directly at her.

"The kind hidden by your mother."

The statement instantly erased every trace of humor.

Tiana straightened.

"My mother?"

Sarah nodded.

"Before she died, she left something behind."

Tiana's pulse quickened.

"What?"

Marcus answered this time.

"A journal."

The world seemed to stop.

A journal.

Her mother's journal.

Something written by her.

Something personal.

Something real.

For eighteen years, her mother had been little more than a photograph and a collection of stories.

Now there was something else.

Something she could actually touch.

Something that belonged to her.

"Where is it?"

Sarah's expression darkened.

"We don't know."

The hope inside her immediately deflated.

Of course.

Nothing was ever simple.

Marcus folded his arms.

"We've searched for years."

Tiana frowned.

"Years?"

The older wolf nodded.

"Your mother hid it before she died."

The information only created more questions.

"Why?"

Sarah's eyes became distant.

Lost in memories.

"Because she knew someone would come looking for it."

A chill ran through Tiana.

"The Shadowborn."

Sarah nodded.

"The journal contains information."

"What kind of information?"

Nobody answered.

Again.

The frustration returned instantly.

Timothy noticed.

His lips twitched.

The Alpha was trying not to smile.

Trying and failing.

Tiana narrowed her eyes.

"Don't."

His amusement disappeared immediately.

Mostly.

The council elder looked toward the mountains.

"The journal may explain your power."

That got her attention.

Immediately.

Because nobody seemed capable of explaining her power.

Not even Sarah.

Not even Timothy.

If her mother had left answers behind...

Tiana wanted them.

Needed them.

The determination must have shown.

Because Marcus smiled faintly.

"That's exactly the look your mother used to get."

The statement caught her off guard.

The older wolf laughed softly.

"Stubborn."

Tiana pointed toward herself.

"Me?"

Marcus looked completely serious.

"Very."

Several nearby wolves immediately agreed.

Timothy included.

Traitor.

The Alpha looked entirely too pleased with himself.

Tiana rolled her eyes.

Then something occurred to her.

"Wait."

Marcus looked up.

"If nobody knows where the journal is..."

The older wolf immediately understood.

"Then how do we find it?"

Tiana nodded.

Sarah smiled.

A knowing smile.

The kind that suggested she already had an answer.

The elderly woman slowly approached.

Then stopped directly in front of Tiana.

"The same way your mother intended."

A strange feeling settled in Tiana's stomach.

"What does that mean?"

Sarah's smile widened.

"You're going to help us find it."

The statement confused her.

"How?"

The elder reached into her pocket.

Then removed something small.

Something silver.

A necklace.

Tiana froze.

The moment she saw it, a strange warmth rushed through her body.

The necklace was old.

Very old.

A crescent moon rested at its center.

Surrounded by delicate silver vines.

The design looked familiar.

Uncomfortably familiar.

As though she had seen it somewhere before.

In a dream.

A memory.

Or perhaps somewhere even deeper.

Sarah noticed her reaction immediately.

"So you recognize it."

Tiana swallowed.

"I think so."

The elder looked relieved.

Marcus looked shocked.

Timothy looked thoughtful.

Nobody looked surprised.

Almost as if they had expected this.

Sarah carefully placed the necklace into Tiana's hand.

The moment her fingers touched the metal—

the world exploded into silver light.

Gasps echoed around her.

The training grounds vanished.

The wolves vanished.

Everything vanished.

Suddenly she stood somewhere else.

A forest.

Moonlight covered the ground.

The air smelled different.

Older.

Familiar.

And standing beneath a massive oak tree was a woman.

A beautiful woman.

Long dark hair.

Silver eyes.

A gentle smile.

Tears immediately filled Tiana's eyes.

Because she knew.

Without being told.

Without any doubt.

The woman standing beneath the tree was her mother.

And somehow...

her mother was looking directly at her.

And somehow...

her mother was looking directly at her.

"Tiana."

The sound of her name shattered something inside her.

For eighteen years, she had imagined this moment.

Imagined hearing her mother's voice.

Imagined seeing her face.

Imagined asking all the questions that had haunted her entire life.

Yet now that it was happening, she couldn't move.

Couldn't breathe.

Couldn't speak.

Tears streamed down her cheeks.

The woman smiled sadly.

"Oh, my sweet girl."

The voice was warm.

Gentle.

Filled with love.

The kind of love that reached across time itself.

Tiana took an unsteady step forward.

"Mom?"

The word came out broken.

Barely a whisper.

The woman's eyes filled with tears.

"Yes."

The answer shattered the last of Tiana's control.

She sobbed.

The grief she had carried her entire life finally broke free.

Years of wondering.

Years of longing.

Years of pain.

All of it crashed over her.

"I missed you."

Her mother covered her mouth.

As though fighting tears of her own.

"I know."

The forest around them seemed unreal.

Like a dream.

Like a memory.

Yet her mother's voice felt real.

More real than anything.

Tiana desperately wanted to run to her.

To hug her.

To feel her arms around her.

But something stopped her.

A strange instinct.

A feeling that this wasn't truly her mother.

Not physically.

Not really.

The woman seemed to understand.

"This is an echo."

Tiana frowned through her tears.

"What?"

"A memory I left behind."

The words hurt.

Because they confirmed what Tiana already suspected.

Her mother wasn't really here.

This was something she had prepared long ago.

A message.

A final gift.

The woman stepped closer.

Though somehow she still seemed distant.

As though separated by an invisible barrier.

"If you're seeing this, then the blessing has awakened."

Tiana's heart pounded.

The blessing.

The silver light.

Everything always came back to that.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Pain flashed across her mother's face.

"Because I wanted you to have a childhood."

The answer stunned her.

"A normal childhood."

The woman laughed softly.

"At least as normal as possible."

Tiana looked away.

A normal childhood.

She had never considered that.

Never considered what her mother had sacrificed.

Or what she had feared.

The woman sighed.

"The Shadowborn were already hunting me before you were born."

A chill swept through Tiana.

"They knew the bloodline would continue."

The words settled heavily inside her.

Her mother continued.

"They didn't know when."

The forest breeze moved through the trees.

Soft.

Gentle.

Almost mournful.

"But they knew eventually another descendant would be born."

Tiana swallowed hard.

"Me."

The woman nodded.

"Yes."

Silence followed.

The reality of it all felt crushing.

The Shadowborn hadn't started hunting her recently.

They had been waiting for her existence long before she was even born.

The thought terrified her.

Her mother suddenly smiled.

A genuine smile.

The kind that transformed her face.

"You have my eyes."

The unexpected comment caught Tiana off guard.

The woman laughed softly.

"And my stubbornness."

Tiana almost laughed.

Almost.

Apparently everyone agreed on that.

For a moment, the sadness eased.

Only for a moment.

Then her mother became serious again.

"There isn't much time."

Fear immediately gripped Tiana.

"What do you mean?"

The woman looked toward the moonlit sky.

"As your power grows, this connection weakens."

The explanation made little sense.

Yet somehow Tiana understood.

This memory couldn't last forever.

The realization hurt.

A lot.

"I have so many questions."

"I know."

The sadness in her mother's voice returned.

"I wish I could answer all of them."

The woman reached toward her.

Though her hand stopped just short of touching.

"You need to listen carefully."

Tiana nodded immediately.

Her mother took a deep breath.

"The journal must be found."

The statement surprised her.

"The journal?"

The woman nodded.

"It contains everything I learned."

Tiana's pulse quickened.

Answers.

Real answers.

Finally.

"Where is it?"

A small smile appeared.

"The necklace knows."

Confusion filled her instantly.

"The necklace?"

Her mother glanced downward.

Toward the silver moon pendant.

"It belonged to my mother."

The revelation surprised her.

Her grandmother.

Another woman she had never known.

"It will guide you."

Tiana looked skeptical.

"The necklace guides people?"

The woman laughed.

The sound warmed something inside her.

"You'll understand soon."

Not exactly reassuring.

The woman continued.

"The journal is hidden where the first blessing awakened."

The statement only created more questions.

"Where is that?"

Her mother's expression became distant.

Lost in memories.

"A place forgotten by most wolves."

The answer frustrated her.

Of course it did.

Nothing could ever be simple.

Before she could complain, her mother's expression suddenly changed.

The warmth disappeared.

Concern replaced it.

Deep concern.

"Tiana."

The seriousness in her voice immediately caught attention.

"What?"

The woman looked directly into her eyes.

"You must be careful."

A chill ran through her body.

"Of what?"

The answer came immediately.

"Adrian Blackwood."

The name hit her like lightning.

"What?"

Her mother's expression darkened.

"The white wolf."

Fear filled her voice.

Real fear.

The sight shocked Tiana.

Nobody had ever spoken about Adrian like that.

Not even Timothy.

"Why?"

The woman hesitated.

Then answered.

"Because he wants something."

The words echoed through the forest.

"What does he want?"

Her mother looked heartbroken.

"As much as I wish I could tell you..."

She stopped.

Frustration flashed across her face.

"It's hidden from me."

Tiana frowned.

"What is?"

"The future."

Silence followed.

The woman exhaled slowly.

"I can only see fragments."

Her mother stepped closer again.

The sadness in her eyes deepened.

"Trust your instincts."

The words felt important.

Very important.

"Especially when people tell you who to trust."

Tiana froze.

The statement sounded familiar.

Dangerously familiar.

Then realization struck.

Adrian.

Be careful who you trust.

The same warning.

Almost the exact same warning.

A cold chill raced through her.

Her mother noticed.

The woman's expression became grim.

"Good."

Tiana blinked.

"Good?"

"That means you're paying attention."

Then something changed.

The forest began fading.

The trees shimmered.

The moonlight weakened.

Panic surged through her instantly.

"No."

Her mother looked devastated.

Their time was ending.

"No, please."

Tiana took a step forward.

Tears returned.

"I just found you."

Tears filled her eyes.

"I know."

The forest continued dissolving like mist beneath sunlight.

"Mom."

The word broke.

Pain tore through her chest.

The woman smiled through her tears.

"I love you."

Tiana sobbed.

She had waited eighteen years to hear it.

And now she finally had.

The woman placed a hand over her heart, a gesture filled with love, pride and goodbye.

"You are stronger than you know."

The world shattered into silver light.

Everything disappeared.

The forest.

The moon.

Her mother.

And the last thing Tiana heard before reality returned was her mother's voice-soft, loving and certain.

"Find the journal, Tiana."

Then darkness swallowed everything.