Chapter 5 Darkness

Eliana’s POV The elders' gaze bore through me, making me tensed to the core. The meeting had been rather clandestine, and now I understood why. “We have heard things about you Eliana,” Elder Marcus announced, his voice clear and deep in the silence that gripped the audience. “You are the last descendant of an ancient Luna, aimed to mate with Alpha of great power.” His words penetrated like nothing I had ever encountered, strange and frightening. My vision blurred while my heart was about to rip out of my ribs. All my life I had believed I was nothing but a discarded wolf and now suddenly I was someone? I felt the lump in my throat rise as I forced myself to speak. “That’s impossible,” came my whisper. The council didn’t flinch. “It is not,” replied Elder Marianne with a gentle look, almost sad for me. “For centuries the bloodline has been hidden, but fate always finds a way.” A hush came over the crowd, and some of the wolves stared at me as if I suddenly had become something holy. They whispered among themselves with glances of mistrust. “She was meant for greatness.” A voice murmured. “She’s a threat!” groaned another. A threat? I turned to my childhood pack mates, seeking something familiar, some bit of normalcy. All I found were unsure looks and split loyalties. Some think of me as their saviour. Others would like to think of me as a harbinger. I needed to leave. The weight of others’ expectations bore down on me, suffocating me with the awareness that my destiny had been sealed long before I reached an age to comprehend it. My life and my choices—none truly belonged to me. No. I refused to be confined by a destiny not of my own making. That night, I made my escape. I knew there was only one person capable of aiding me in fleeing this fate and it was the pack’s Beta, Roderick. He had always embodied a quiet strength, someone who comprehended the desire for more than what was prescribed. If anyone could assist me in starting anew, it was him. I saw him near the riverbank. Upon sensing my arrival, he turned toward me, his expression inscrutable. “Eliana,” he greeted cautiously. I inhaled deeply, forcing back my rising panic. “I need your help.” He listened intently as I recounted everything about the elders' declaration, the pack's split opinions, and my determination not to be bound by a prophecy I never consented to embrace. After concluding my story, silence enveloped us for what felt like an eternity. At last, he sighed. “I understand why you need to flee, Eliana; however, escaping one’s fate is often far more challenging than it appears.” “I’m indifferent toward fate,” I shot back abruptly as desperation seeped into my tone. “All I want is a life that belongs to me.” Roderick’s eyes softened as if understanding my turmoil. “And where do you intend to go?” For a moment I paused, I had not contemplated that yet. He exhaled slowly. “While I won’t obstruct your choice should you decide to leave now but understand that you must brace yourself for what lies ahead.” Before I could reply further or affirm his words lamentably; from deep within the woods emerged a low growl. My body tensed immovably. I recognised that sound all too well. He gave me a cold shiver as I looked aside-and there he stood. Alpha Justin. He stepped forth from the shadows, a form commanding power, golden eyes blazing with something raw and unbridled. He was barely holding himself together, his wolf prowling at the surface. "Eliana," he said, his voice harsh with a sound of someone who had been battling something inside himself for way too long. "You can't belong to someone else." My stomach twisted. "I don't belong to anyone.“ His jaw tightened, his fists clenching by his sides. "You do belong to someone." His tone was emotionally charged, his body trembling with restraint. "You belong to me.“ "No." My heart hammered in my ears. "No, Justin. I reject you." His whole body froze, and for a second, I could see something flickering in his eyes-pain, anger, desperation. His wolf let out a low growl, and I felt the air shift, heavy with something primal. Henry whispered, "You may not, sweet girl. You can't reject this. To reject the bond between us would destroy us." I shook my head and stepped a pace back. "You were supposed to be my protector. You raised me, Justin. How can you say that?" His face twisted with something almost unbearable. "Do you think I wanted that?" he shouted. "Do you think I chose to feel that way?" He ran a hand through his hair, gasping for breath. "I tried, Eliana. I fought with everything that I had for it. But the more I tried to deny it, the stronger it became." I hated the way his every word made my heart feel tight. I hated that deep inside, I would allow my lower self-the part of me I hated to admit-even take notice when he was around. But I would not allow it. "This isn't real," I whispered, partly to myself and partly to him. Justin's eyes darkened. "It's real. And in the end, whether you like it or not, you will always be mine.” Just then, I felt a sharp pain in my head, and I staggered back. Then came a strange warmth deep underneath my skin. My breath became ragged and it became hard to hear anything beyond the dull roar in my ears. What was happening to me? "Eliana?" Justin's voice was sharp with anxiety. I gasped as I was overwhelmed by the electric energy coursing through my body even as I trembled convulsively. I could barely perceive. For a moment, there were these flashes from another time, from another world. A woman standing amid flames, her eyes gleaming silver. A wolf, larger than I might ever have imaged, howling at the void. Darkness. I came back to myself on my knees, just shaking. Justin was before me, his expression unreadable. "Eliana," he murmured, trying to reach for me but I jerked away. I could not breathe. I could not think. There was something wrong about me. Something ancient. I staggered to my feet. An unfamiliar energy had enveloped me. I turned and began running away with Justin's voice calling after me. I pressed my palm against my chest, feeling my heart beat wildly against my palm. Something is awakening inside me. Something terrifying. And I did not know how to stop it.