The Predator's Invincible Heir

Chapter 7: The Guardian's Secret

Thwack!

A loud, heavy sound echoed through the quiet forest. Before I could even blink, something incredibly strong hit Tiffany. The force of the blow threw her small brown wolf form through the air. She flew backward and crashed violently against the hard trunk of a nearby redwood tree. Then, she slid down into the dirt and went completely still.

"Tiffany!!" I shouted in absolute horror.

My heart jumped into my throat. Pure panic took over my body. I scrambled across the cold ground, scraping my knees on the sharp pine needles. I dropped down beside her and shook her shoulders as hard as I could. "Tiffany! Please, wake up! Look at me!"

"Ha! Imagine a mere pup—someone who cannot even stand up to her own classmates at school—is trying to charge at me."

I heard the voice before I could actually see who was speaking. The voice was deep and warm, like a loving mother, but it also sounded powerful, like a royal queen. I opened my mouth in shock and watched as the empty air began to twist and change. Slowly, the creature became visible right in front of me.

My eyes widened. It was a lioness! Or, at least, it looked very much like a lioness. But no regular animal could ever be this huge. She was massive, almost the size of a fully grown elephant. Her fur was a beautiful mix of bright white and shining gold. The colors glowed under the dark trees, making her look incredibly majestic. She looked completely dominant, terrifying, and dangerous. Yet, even in all her scary splendor, she looked completely magnificent.

'My God, she is beautiful...' I thought to myself. I couldn't help it. Even though I was shaking with fear, I was completely amazed by her appearance.

The giant lioness let out a loud, terrifying laugh.

"Aria!" she said, chuckling deeply. "Even though you are terrified out of your mind right now, you are still standing there admiring me. Go ahead, keep looking, because I really am a sight to behold!"

I blinked, totally confused. My brain stopped working. "Huh... what?"

Beside me, Tiffany let out a tiny, painful whimper. Hearing her voice brought me back to reality.

"Tiff!" I knelt lower, trying to cover my friend's body with my own. Then, I looked up at the giant beast, trying to find some courage. "What did you do to my friend?"

"Nothing," the lioness replied casually, tilting her huge head. "I did nothing but what a true predator should do to its prey."

Horror washed over me. My hands started to shake violently. "Are you... are you going to eat her?"

"Why not?" the beast asked, stepping a little bit closer.

"Please don't!" I begged, tears starting to form in my eyes. "Please leave her alone!"

"Tell me why I shouldn't eat her," the lioness said, looking amused. "You eat chicken, don't you?"

"Y... yes..." I stammered, my voice cracking under the pressure. "But... but she isn't a chicken! She is my best friend!"

The magnificent beast laughed out loud again. The sound made my ears ring.

I knew I had to do something. I couldn't just sit there and watch my friend get eaten. I frantically looked around the forest floor and noticed a long, thick tree branch a few feet away. It looked heavy and strong enough to use as a weapon. Slowly, carefully, I tried to reach my hand out to pick it up. I tried to do it quietly so the massive beast wouldn't notice what I was doing.

"Do not make me angry, Aria," the lioness said, her eyes narrowing slightly as she watched my hand. "Do you really think you can scare me with a simple stick?"

And then, she roared.

It was a sound I had never heard before in my entire life. It was not just a regular animal noise; it was a massive wave of pure power that shook the entire forest. The sound wave hit me so hard that I fell completely flat on my face. I covered my head with my arms, crying out in absolute fear. I trembled so hard from head to toe that I honestly thought I had peed on myself.

The roar did not just terrify me. Every single thing in the woods went completely silent. The birds flew away from the trees in a frantic rush. Even the leaves seemed to shake with fear. The sound traveled so far that I could hear the distant echo reaching the outer edges of the pack territory. In the distance, I could actually hear the faint sounds of front doors slamming shut in a hurry as regular pack members hid inside their homes.

"I'm sorry, please... I'm so sorry..." I cried into the dirt, the hot tears streaming down my face.

I squeezed my eyes shut, completely helpless. 'So this is how I am going to die,' I thought to myself. 'I am going to be eaten alive by a massive monster in the middle of the woods. My poor parents will be completely devastated. My dad will be broken, and my mom might never recover from losing her daughter like this.'

"Aria."

The voice sounded again, but this time, it didn't come from the air. It echoed softly right inside my own head.

Slowly, and very carefully, I lifted my tear-stained face out of the dirt. I looked up at the colossal white-and-gold beast. She was looking down at me, but her eyes were not angry anymore. Instead, they were filled with gentle amusement. Seeing that she wasn't about to bite me calmed me down just a little bit.

"Calm down, Aria," the voice spoke inside my mind again. "I am not going to hurt you."

'I'm... I'm not going to die?' I thought to myself. I was still way too afraid to open my mouth and speak the words out loud.

"No, you are not going to die," she answered immediately.

My eyes went wide with shock. 'Wait a minute! She can actually hear my thoughts?'

"Yes, I can hear them loud and clear," the lioness replied in my head, a playful glint in her large, glowing eyes.

"Who... who are you?" I finally found my voice. It came out as a small, shaky whisper, but I managed to say it.

"I am Astraea," she stated proudly, puffing out her massive, muscular chest. "And I have waited one thousand years for you, Aria."

"For me?" I breathed, staring up at her gigantic body in complete disbelief. "But that makes no sense. I am just a regular human girl. I am only eighteen years old."

"I know how old you are," Astraea chuckled softly, the sound vibrating the ground beneath my hands. "But yes, it is true. I have waited exactly one thousand years for you."

"Why?" I asked, my curiosity briefly making me forget my fear. "Why would a magnificent creature like you wait a thousand years for someone like me?"

Astraea's majestic face suddenly changed. The amusement vanished, and a deep, ancient sadness washed over her beautiful features. She lowered her huge head until she was looking directly into my eyes.

"To ask for your forgiveness," she said softly.

I stared at her, completely paralyzed with shock. I didn't know what to say. My mind was spinning. A thousand-year-old magical beast that looked like a god was standing in front of me, a packless, weak girl, asking me to forgive her? It felt like a bizarre dream. Before I could even think of a question to ask, Astraea's ears suddenly perked up. Her head snapped toward the deeper, darker part of the forest behind us.

"I will see you again very soon, Aria," she said, her voice turning quick and urgent. "But for now, your Pack soldiers are scrambling this way in a hurry. They heard my first roar, and they are armed."

She let out a short, mocking laugh.

"If I stay here," she continued, "they will only end up hurting you while they fruitlessly try to hurt me. They are fools, because they cannot do a single thing to harm a hair on my body. And besides, I really do not want to fight them right now because Liam is leading them. And you love Liam, don't you?"

Astraea smiled a giant, feline smile and actually gave me a slow, deliberate wink.

A furious, hot blush rushed to my face. My cheeks burned red, and I looked away, unable to answer her.

"I will see you again," Astraea repeated, her voice full of warmth. "We have a great deal of things to talk about, little star."

Without another word, Astraea lunged forward. But right before she hit the ground, she unleashed a second roar. This one was infinitely louder and more terrifying than the first. It was a roar meant to confuse and scare the approaching warriors, throwing them off our track. As the sound wave shook the trees, a brilliant flash of white and gold light exploded in the clearing. When the light faded, the magnificent lioness had completely disappeared into thin air.

The forest fell completely still again. The only sound left was the rustling of the leaves above.

I let out a shaky breath, my heart pounding a frantic rhythm against my ribs. I quickly turned my attention back to the ground. Beside me, a soft groan cut through the quiet air. Tiffany was finally starting to wake up, rubbing her forehead in deep pain as she slowly opened her eyes.