THE AWAKENING

CHAPTER 21.

The Awakening.

As I walked through the lonely path of the forest, I couldn't help but notice as the sun slowly began to go down. 

At that moment, even the air that I breathed in the bush felt charged and electrifying, like it was going to magnet me at that moment.

Soon, my heart began to ponder heavily, like the weight of our whole city had been placed on it.  

It was already late, and I didn't know what might be lying in wait for me.

As I got close to the clearing that Akira had described to me earlier, the trees began to lean closer, with their branches clapping in mystery. At that moment, the beatings of my heart intensified.

In an overwhelming panic, I ran a hand through my hair, while glancing through my immediate environment.

At that instant, my gut began to twist in uneasiness, as if it was ready for another shocking revelation.

"Rory!"

I suddenly turned. Immediately I heard my name, and lo, it was Akira, standing just beside the middle of the clearing, with her shadow magnified by the dark light.

Suddenly, she jolted up to her feet like she was searching for something. At that instant, her movements were sharp and swift, as she scanned the entire atmosphere, like a bird of prey.

“Akira!” I called out to her in great panic, as I rushed towards her. “Please tell me... What is going on? You look..."

“Shh!” She shut me up with a finger on her lip, and at that moment, I felt shivers running down my spine. "This place isn't convenient for us to discuss.”

“What do you mean by we can't discuss here? " This was the exact spot you asked me to come to!” I looked at her with a puzzled expression, as confusion was beginning to build up inside me.

“No..." Not anymore," she mumbled, while still glancing around in alertness. “They might be watching us from where they're."

Again, another strange spirit of fear engulfed me. “Who are they? Who are you talking about?"

She finally looked at me, and the visible fear in her expression suddenly turned to a concerned look.

“Well, the whole pack, and something even more evil.”

“Something even more evil? " What could that be?” At that moment, I began to feel the intensity of the atmosphere, as I followed the lead of Akira, as she walked me onto the dark path.

Soon, we found a heap of stony chippings that seemed to be covered from the preying eyes of the pack.

“Sit down here,” she signaled to me, and I immediately obeyed her command. 

At that moment, my heart began to panic in great concern and fear.

“Rory, I need to tell you a deep secret about the pack." she began with a calm and firm voice, which was barely beyond a whisper. “The truth is, we founders are not even who we think they are..."

I looked at her with a puzzled expression, as I was curious to hear the rest of the tale. “So, tell me who and what they are..."

“They made a covenant,” she said, and at that moment, my body froze in shock. "With a very powerful creature.”

“What kind of creature?” I asked her with great anticipation. Even though the questions seemed too deep to ask, I didn't have a choice other than to ask.

“An evil creature... " A very evil one at that,” she responded with a firm but uncertain tone. 

"The power and protection that it grants them comes at a very high cost, which is absolute obedience and loyalty from the pack. Anyone who is deemed unworthy or unloyal would automatically become an outcast. A rejected mate.”

Immediately she said that, I stared at her in total shock and panic. The story almost sounded unreal to me, but I knew better than to call it a lie.

“Are you serious? Is this real? Like, is this what the pack is built on? Lies? Deceit?"

“Yes, and probably more than that. " As I told you earlier, when Thane rejected you, it wasn't just his decision," she paused for a short second, as she looked deeply into my eyes to see if I was following her story. “It wasn't just his decision rather, it was the collective decision of the pack. It was the dark forces that were the mastermind behind it all."

Slowly, the whole thing began to make sense to me. “So, was my rejection actually tied to this covenant? Was it linked to this creature?”

At that moment, she nodded with a grave look.

"You, Rory, are deemed unworthy of being his mate, and it's not just about the bond, but it’s about something deeper and more evil than you might think."

Immediately she said that, cold shivers began to run down my spine, and I felt my legs pinned to the ground.

At that moment, everything began to make sense to me. Obviously, we were being tied down by the decisions our ancestral founders had made in the past, and it wasn't supposed to affect us.

“But why is that? Why does this evil creature care about loyalty more than anything else? Why?"

Immediately when I asked that question, Akira looked away, as she began to bite her lips. 

“Well, because loyalty is power. The more loyal the pack remains to this creature, the more protection they will get from it, as it'd definitely do anything to protect them."

At that instant, I felt a surge of both anger and frustration, running through my veins.

“So, I've been lied to all my life... So, it means that I've been living a lie, all this while.”

“Rory, it's not just about you,” she said as she tried to suppress the frustration that was in her voice. “This is a pattern of control, and it's linked to everyone in the pack, not just you. If we don't break it now, it'll definitely break us.”

Suddenly, a thought entered my mind. 

“Umm... Is Thane aware of this? Is he a party to it?”

At that instant, Akira's focus shifted, as she had a look of sorrow on her face.

“Obviously, he should know. " He's very entangled and involved with the pack’s hierarchy, and, as such, he must know about their mode of operation and the prices involved."

“But... But... He still rejected me…” I paused in fear, as tears began to drip down my eyes. “My mate rejected me...!" I cried out in anguish.

“Truth be told, I believe he was scared,” Akira finally admitted, and my heart skipped.

"He was caught between his feelings for you and his loyalty to the Pack. Frankly speaking, that should be one of the hardest decisions to make."

At that moment, I clenched my jaw in panic, as I tried to process all the things that were happening at the moment.

Honestly speaking, the rejection was quite painful and extremely devastating, and I've been trying to process the pain. However, it turned out to be worse than I imagined.

The sharp pain on the left side of my chest wasn't just towards Thane, but also towards everyone who made my pack experience uncomfortable.

“What are we going to do now?” I finally asked, with my voice sounding like thunder.

“Rory, we'll have to fight back. " We have to gather allies who are willing to fight and break out of the darkness that is trying to overwhelm us, she said in a fierce tone, as the fire in her eyes lit up at that instant. “However, you must take this along..."

She immediately put her hands in her pocket, and brought out a mysterious-looking stone.

The surface looked very smooth and clear, it looked very crystal clear.

In the center, I recognized a painting from one of the pack meetings. It symbolized an emblem of both royalty and classical aura.

“Please, make sure you keep it safe,” Akira said to me, as she pressed it into my palm. "This is a reminder of what the pack truly represents. It is a symbol of their true nature, and the price we pay for their protection.”

I looked at that stone again, as I immediately became overwhelmed with emotions and fear.

“What if they find out about this? What if they discover what we're talking about?”

“Rory, well, once we get to that bridge, we'll cross over it,” she responded with a firm tone. “However, for us to succeed in this quest, you'd have to trust me. We can change these bad rules.”

As she said that, I began to feel a sense of confidence building up inside of me, and at that instant, I realized that I was ready to win this conquest.

Soon, the sun began to shine low, as I could feel its shadows over the trees.

Suddenly, I heard some kind of snap echo through the clearing, and my heart fell into my throat in fear, as I exchanged glances with Akira.

“What was that sound? " What could it be?” I asked with a voice laced with panic.

“Rory, I don't know” she responded with some kind of panic in her voice. “You must listen to me.”

At that instant, we both held our breath to avoid giving our presence away to the strange figure.

Just then, I began to hear the sound of footsteps. The steps were almost very brisk and almost inaudible.

“Rory, we have to leave here, now!” Akira said to me in an urgent tone, as she dragged me up to my feet.

“Which way are we leaving through?” I looked around the entire atmosphere, with fear in my voice.

“We're going back along the way we came”, she cried out, but before we could walk away, a strange figure began to emerge out of the darkness. Suddenly, a rouge pack leader emerged out of the darkness, looking very fierce and dangerous.

“Oh! " I see that someone has been busy gossiping,” the leader barked, with a mischievous grin in his voice.

At that moment, fear engulfed me, and Akira stepped forward to protect me from their preying eyes.

“You don't know the kind of danger that you're in!”

At that instant, the leader's eyes widened in fear and panic.

“Oh, Akira... You're very delusional... We're here to collect...”

“Collect what?” I asked with fear and uncertainty. "What do you mean? What do you want from me?”

Just at that instant, I realized that there was doom that awaited us.

At that moment, I began to feel a s

oft sensation in my palm. The stone on my palm was beginning to sparkle like a diamond.

“Rory, run for your life...!” Akira urged me in an overwhelmed voice.