The Origin

Ending

---POV Esa---

“Urrrgggghhh!” I looked over and saw Johnny and another man – now human – pushing a giant boulder over the entrance. Then I spun around seeing a witch appear out of nowhere.

I growled angrily and barred my teeth at the woman. I guess the intruders did have the tunnels covered. “NO! She is here for us.” Johnny called out to my wolf as a warning.

I spun around to the men that pushed me away from the screams. The screams. I spun around and my medium-sized six-foot wolf was starting to look like a common house pet at this point. Spastically shooting from one concerned face to the bolder blocking our exit to another strained face. I couldn’t hear anything anymore. No mind link…no pain from my pack…nothing. I…I felt like a rogue. I shifted immediately and not caring at all about my nudity, I rushed up to the woman and had her by the throat and up against a wall. “What did you do!” I shouted and my Alpha command rang echoes through the tunnel.

She grinned unphased by my rage. “Ah…so her father was right. She is a loyal one.” I dropped her to the chilled and damp floor before my bare feet. Johnny bowed to me and handed me a pair of faded blue skinny jeans, my favorite logging boots, and a plaid button-up shirt with all the undergarments. This was planned.

“You are right, little Alpha.” Hearing my thoughts…lovely.

Ugh this woman calling me that. Only two people can call me that and she is not one of them. I know I’m short, but this is ridiculous. I’ve had to prove myself one too many times, just because of my height – an average 5’6 – and for her to point it out so nonchalantly is really annoying. I pulled on my clothes and when I reached for the shirt a note fell to the floor. Pulling the plaid over my hair, I huffed, blowing my gently curled-ash-grey hair away from my golden eyes. The hair that made my sister Gwen think I looked like that old holiday song about silver. I can’t believe because of this…I may never see them again. I shifted the shirt around my waste with my free hand letting the fabric fall where it may lie.

‘My beautiful daughter. I am sorry. I am so sorry. I should have told you this much sooner, but you…you were found by your mother not born. You are an orphan my little one. A perfect child of the forest. No parents or loved ones could be found. Don’t hate me or your family for keeping this from you, but we didn’t know if you would be human or witch, or werewolf…or anything. Let alone the next Alpha of our pack and one of the best Assassins I have ever seen. Many years ago, we had the woman you are now probably trying to strangle cast a spell to identify your supernatural.’ It looks like this man knows me well. But what I could not believe, was the part about being adopted. I may look different, but we all do. We all mirror the fur and characteristics of our wolves. It’s not an indicator of kin. My smooth caramel skin and shining silver hair with golden eyes are indicators of my wolf’s grey fur, silver eyes, and light brown paw pads. “It seems you are gifted with great power little one. A strong werewolf, I am proud to call my daughter. Please stay safe and don’t worry about us. We knew this day would come sooner or later. But I know I will not allow you to suffer because of our selfishness any longer. Be free to find your original pack or even your destiny.

Love, Dad.’ Love dad. They pushed me away…they made me abandon my own pack and them. They made me allow my pack…200 souls to sacrifice themselves. I scoffed. Love dad.

“Well, at least don’t hate them. They are trying to protect the Origin. That is theirs, and your…previous pack’s job. At least from the cosmos.” The Witch scoffed.

Previous?! Who the hell…ugh! No! I need to stay focused.

“Name.” I said shortly while I gripped the paper scattered with my…father’s handwriting.

“Excuse me?” She asked coyly.

“Name!” I shouted now beyond a level of anger I didn’t know existed.

“Abigale.” She said poignantly. The other wolves now changed and watching the show unfold frozen for a moment before Johnny cleared his throat.

“We can discuss this later. Let’s not have their sacrifice be in vain. We can’t go back. Abigale placed a barrier on this tunnel. It will only allow us to go forward and away from now on. Trust that there is a reason, and your family loves you.” Johnny calmly noted as he tried to get closer to me. I turned just slightly warning him to give me my space before turning back to the witch.

“Alright.” Was the only thing I could say through gritted teeth. I don’t know what the hell an Origin is, nor do I care. I’m numb at this point. Fine, if they no longer want me, there is no point to push forth to stay. If they are all dead, there is no reason to love what I cannot touch and what apparently is not mine.

I walked toward the exit of the tunnel, far away from our pack territory. I heard the footsteps behind me, so I know we are okay to keep moving. At least these men weren’t leaving many loved ones behind. All single and mate-less. They really did think of everything. The strange thing though, is the amount of strength these men have been projecting. Some are even stronger than some Alpha males I’ve met, but not one of them is higher than a Beta. Another spell I suppose.

It had been at least a couple hours before Abigale cleared her throat. “You all will be living in our coven as of today. We will protect you and your men will become the protectors of the Origin. They were all hand chosen and have been training since your power was identified. Some as babies and some were already much further along in their years. Everyone in your pack was unaware of these men and they did a great job hiding their…extra strength as it is only to be used to protect you. A pact in a sense allowed them this luxury. A pact toward you. That is why only now you can feel the shift in their presence. It is imperative that we never repeat what has happened today. Your family may not have known about this, but you were orphaned for a reason, Alpha. Your pack isn’t the only one that was attacked to get to you. You are and will always be the target of your enemies if you give your enemies openings. I’m not sure how they found out about you this time, but it is truth, and it is known that they will plow through or manipulate anyone to get to you. These creatures are not your friends.”

I growled and slightly shifted my head behind me towards her voice. She seemed genuine and like she was doing her job. It just feels wrong how an entire pack could sacrifice themselves for me. “What makes me so important? What is the Origin?”

“Original bloodline. There is one for each supernatural umbrella. Like, for example, my cousin and the leader of our coven is the Origin of the Witches & Fae, but we just call her Origin Witch. There is one for the Vampires and the humans call him Drac, but his real name is Vlad Dracula. Now, there is you. The reincarnation of the last Origin Shifter. Origin over the shifters in our world. All animal shifters except the dragons. They are a whole other story I will not entertain for now.” I felt my feet come to a stop and I sat down trying to wrap my head around what was going on. Why wouldn’t they have told me this?

I felt a pat on my shoulder and looked up to Johnny, one of my father’s closest friends. “I know this is hard to stomach now, but please. Everything will be answered in due time. Even I was angry for you when they forced my silence to keep everything from you when chosen as a protector. I never imagined the magnitude of the attack would be this bad, but to keep it from you…there had to have been a reason. We will find out together, if you find it in your heart to trust your brethren again.” I turned and looked around at the men that pushed me away from my family. Some even as young as 15. They looked in pain as they had to go against their Alpha and run from the few family members they had. I wasn’t the only one that lost something today.

“Alright…I will…. I won’t forgive my parents for making you do this any time soon, but I will trust you all for sacrificing everything.” I felt the bond reattach toward each of them and their darkness seemed to lighten up a bit as mine did. This bond felt stronger than the ones I had with my pack before.

They are… “Warriors.” I heard in my mind. The voice cooed this over and over and I realized it was Lydia. She was accepting them as our warriors. We may not have our pack anymore, but we have each other.

“Good, now that we have taken care of that elephant in the room, let’s head to my coven.” Abigale raised her hands and spread her arms out, producing a large portal. “Come.” We all looked at each other and realized there was no going back. I sighed and pushed my way through to the other side of the darkness…The darkness I swore would seal my feelings of hope or love toward another again. The Origin…. That is who I am and that is what I will focus on being.