Chapter 003: The Awakening.
1195 Words
Seraphina’s POV
Run, Sera, please. Run."
My body weak, my heart broken, the words hammered in my brain as I staggered across the black wilderness.
To me, you are nothing.
Darius's words tore at the final frays of my soul in my head. I could still see his icy, unreadable gaze and his finality in voice as he threw me aside.
Rejecting anything burnt more deeply than my scars. My bare feet bled as they scratched across the harsh woodland floor, my muscles hurt, and my breath came in jagged spurts.
I was on my own.
Exposed and chased.
My house was the obsidian howl pack. I was delighted. Loving him had been my thing. And he disposed of me as though I were useless.
No, not worthlessness but a danger.
My shiver came from the awareness. He scared me, not simply turned away from me. But for what reason?
One cracked behind me from a branch.
My pulse shot.
My breath hitching, I whirled around.
Though the jungle was quiet, I was not alone myself. I could see eyes staring at me, waiting.
My fingers drew into fists. I would not descend without struggle.
Another snap, then a limited and frightening snarl.
I turned to go, but from the shadows lunged.
Pain burst through my shoulder as claws tore over my body, sending me tumbling to the ground.
Before another attack came, slicing through the air where my head had been a moment previously, I hardly had time to roll away.
Reversals.
Snarling, I got to my feet, but three of them were circling me like vultures.
One of them sneered and pointed at what we had here, his yellowed fangs shining beneath the moon. "A little lost pup."
I started to chew my teeth. "Come closer; I'll rip your throat out of sight."
The king laughed. Feisty. I find that appealing.
Though the others chuckled, I could see hunger in their eyes. They weren't here to chat. Here they were meant to die.
Though my body shrieked in agony, I pushed myself to move. I would not pass away here.
Not as desired.
I swung out and caught one in the mouth with my elbow, but another grabbed my hair and jerked me back. I shouted out, twisted, and kicked, but it was insufficient.
Fangs closed in on one another.
I tuned for the bite; then the air changed.
Heavy and stifling, a tsunami of energy slammed over me.
The interest stopped. Their gaze became wider.
My own body shook as something within me changed. I gasped.
The shadows started to move then.
From the earth, dark tentacles shot around the closest renegade's legs. He yelled as they hauled him down and vanished into oblivion.
The others shot away.
My chest heaving, I dropped to my knees.
What was that?
The shadows vanished, turning away fast as they had arrived. Still, I could detect them waiting, observing.
A power I couldn't grasp.
I had never recognized I had power.
And subsequently—a voice.
Smooth. Deep. Lethal.
"Interesting."
My head shot up.
From the darkness, a guy emerged, his sharp green eyes shining like night fireflies.
Height. Great. Black wrapped with black.
He wasn't a rogue.
He also lacked fear.
He watched me with something between interest and entertainment.
"I expected not to find a Shadowborn here."
Shadowborn?
My throat was too dry as I tried to talk.
He moved in closer, head tilted. "You do not know, do you?"
I ate. "Who are you?"
He curled his lips to smile. Silas Voss.
I felt chills from the name. I knew him from past times. An alpha. A mythology. Something ghostly.
And I had lately drawn his notice.
"You're coming with me," he said.
I staggered rear-on. I'm not going anywhere with you.
He let out a sigh, almost lethargic. "You misinterpret, Seraphina."
He moved quickly before my time to respond.
overly quickly.
He was many feet distant one second, then behind me.
One solid arm encircling my waist. Warm in my ear was his breath.
This is not a request.
Something terrible permeated the air, not tension but something else entirely—not dread. Something drunk.
With his golden eyes shining like molten fire and his lips closed into a knowing smile, Silas stood before me.
"You feel it, don't you?." His voice was mesmerizing and fluid.
I choked hard, my body betraying me as a chill raced down my spine. Emote what? The drawn-in? The link is? The way my heart had begun to hammer the second he touched?
His fingers glided along my arm, light as feathers, yet they generated intense heat waves within me. "The gloom you carry inside you... It is reaching out to me.
I inhaled unsteadily, trying not to let his presence overwhelm me. You hardly know me at all.
His smile became deeper. Oh, but Seraphina, I do.
I became rigid. "How?"
Silas moved in front of us, wiping away the distance. My senses were assaulted with cedar and smoky smells.
"Because, tiny wolf, I have been observing you for some time.”
With patient touch, like he was relishing the moment, his fingers moved a stray strand of hair off my face. "I knew you were unique right from your birth. That you were destined for more than just Darius's thrown-away partner.
The sound of his name cut through my chest.
Silas laughed at the flutter of feeling she noticed in my eyes. "You're still hurt by his treachery. Let me say, though, Darius was never supposed to have you.
I wrinkled. "What do you mean?"
His golden eyes took on darkness. "You are shadowborn."
One chilly sensation encircled my spine. "Shadowborn??"
Silas nodded, his eyes blazing into me. "Your blood runs from old supernatural wolves. Not only are you a werewolf, Seraphina. You are descended from the earliest species inhabiting the magical domain. He followed his fingertips down to my wrist, where my pulse thunders, and that power is just waiting to awaken.
I gave my head a shake. Not one. That is unreal. I would have known—“
Whispering "Would you?" he asked, his breath blowing against my skin. "Did your pack ever provide accurate information about your parents? Darius did?
In my tummy a knot developed. Not at all.
Silas grinned at my quiet stillness. "That's what I assumed."
Lightheaded, I was overwhelmed by what he was saying. Is that accurate? Had my life been a lie from then on?
With his fingers curling beneath my chin, Silas pointed my face toward his. "You need not be terrified, Seraphina. Here I am right now. I will go over everything with you.
It was a bit hard. “Why? What motivates you to care?
His eyes flicked with something lethal. "Because I need you."
Silas's golden eyes were heated, his lips hovering close to me.
"Say yes, Seraphina."
My breathing stopped. Sure about what?
His fingers felt my jaw, his touch light and deliberate. Indeed, for me. Sure, your fate is what it is.
I ought to have moved away. I ought to have fought back.
Rather, though...
I hunched forward.
- Writer
