The awakening

KHALEESI’S POV;

Darkness slowly carried me and I willingly let it, too weak to fight against it. Shadows floated above me and I fought for my consciousness, hoping to bring myself out of whatever state this was. Forcing my eyes open, I closed them back immediately, trying to get used to the sudden brightness that almost blinded me.

I forced them open again, only to see shadows swimming at the edges of my vision, their hands stretching out to me as if asking me to come. Their hands were spread out towards me, inviting me and immediately, I tried to force my eyes open.

“Ah!” With a loud gasp, i sat up on the bed, my eyes flew open, my back cold with sweat and a creepy feeling crawling up my spine. The cold that slowly washed over me was none like no other and the odd scent of burning wood happened to wake my senses.

Staring around me, the first thing that came in sight was a small traditional pot with a small fire burning at the middle. Slowly, I let my eyes roam towards the different leaves that laid around but were neatly arranged.

The only source of light in this room was the moonlight that managed to peek in through the opened window, bathing the entire room in a dim light but bright enough for me to make out certain things.

My eyes landed back on the small pot that was now emitting smoke from it and the familiar scent of burning sage entered into my eyes.

This was neither the hospital and neither was it the afterlife!

Not knowing where I was, my first instinct was to try to stand but it turned out to be a wrong move as pain shot through my whole body, holding me back from moving and restraining me.

I didn’t try to fight it, but instead went on high alert.

The sound of a door creaking open soon caught my attention. I turned to look, only to first see, grey long hair first make an appearance. Soon, the full figure of whoever it was soon came into view and my breath hung in my throat upon staring at the person in front of me.

Tears blurred my vision even before I was able to open my mouth to speak. Familiar green eyes burned into mine and my mouth opened and closed repeatedly, trying to form words but nothing came out of it.

“You shouldn’t be alive…,” he started to say in his all too familiar voice as tears continued to run down my face and memories burned into my mind like a plague. The concern in his eyes, the twitch at the corner of his lips and the resigned look he always had on and had remained permanent over the years was something I’d never forget about this place- about my home.

“Alaric?” After what seemed like hours, I finally managed to call out to him, my inability to stand from the bed a big challenge to my situation when all I wanted to do was to jump into his old arms and allow him rub my hair like he used to.

I watched him sigh before walking to the bed side where I laid, with maternal concern in his eyes. I couldn’t help but take note of how much the Beta of my pack- the one I was born to and the one I should have sought revenge for, Alaric, had changed so much.

If my parents were still alive, then, they would have been of the same age. Alaric had been more like my father’s best friend and the one who had solely trained me to be able to fight before I was sent to get revenge for my parents.

“You are lucky I found you and no one else. I don’t think I would have been able to face your parents in the grave if anything happened to you. I was glad to find you when I did,” He breathed out after so long of not speaking.

It was as if every word he spoke had come from after so long of getting his guts twisted to the point that he couldn’t stomach them anymore.

Listening to him, memories of what happened flooded my head and how I had been poisoned by my ex-mate and left to die.

“Luna Khaleesi, why didn’t you save yourself?” Alaric finally asked the one question I didn’t wish to ever reminisce- the foolish reason why I blindly let the poison consume me, thinking Dan would prove his love and show me care.

Slowly, I didn’t realize how I had been killing myself until it was too late to turn back and heal myself.

I blew out a breath, exhaling softly despite the ache in my chest.

As much as I knew how much these tears weren’t worth it, it still couldn’t be helped.

“H…how did you find me? How did you manage to know where I was?” I asked, turning again to look into his eyes that now held so much pity for me, almost as if he was holding back from spewing out words that could possibly hurt me.

With one look from me to him, he finally sighed for what seemed to be the tenth time, letting me know how quick he had given up on holding back the truth for me.

“Thankfully, you still have a connection to this pack and even if it’s weak, as the Beta, the connection I have with you is stronger than the one you have with the other pack members. When I found you, you were about to be buried in a place with no one there, just stray wolves and bushes. During that time, your…so-called mate announced his marriage to someone else, claiming your illness took you and since he happens to be a childless Alpha, he used the urge of his pack members to rush into the marriage with her. Everything about you in that pack was totally wiped away from existence…,” I knew the words he said were the truth but they only just more. Knowing how many years I sacrificed to Dan and his pack, only to get poisoned by him and his new mate.

“How many days has it been, Alaric?” I asked, amidst the tears forming at the edge of my vision. I was trying everything possible to fight back my tears, with the little hope that this pain I was feeling would die down.

How much would my parents be disappointed in me? I didn’t even want to know this as shame washed over me like never before. Shame of picking love over fighting for their cruel slaughter. Only for me to be treated the same way like they had been treated. It was like the clouds were laughing down at me and mocking me for how stupid I had been.

“Three weeks, Luna,” He answered and my mind spun, with my wound getting freshly opened again.

I held the sheets under me tightly, squeezing like it would alleviate the burn in my heart. If anything, it only seemed more fresh.

After everything, was my tears worth it now? Was that the only thing I could do now? There was the ure to go to visit my parents grave but I wasn’t about to go there knowing fully well how I had fallen into the trap of the enemy.

No! I needed to stand up and fight, take vengeance and this time, there was no holding back.

Knowing the kind of power I had built for Dan’s pack, to the point where his pack ranked the third in the most powerful section, with mine just the second, it was clear to me what I needed to do.

Forcing back my tears, I turned to face Alaric, not even trying to hide the hate that was beginning to grow in my heart.

“How is the pack now? What do we need and what is missing since my absence?”

My question seemed to have thrown him off guard because Alaric who had no problem staring into my eyes before was now looking at everything in this room except for me.

The silence drawled between us and there was a feeling I had, telling me that this wasn't news I was going to like.

“You should get some rest, Luna. You only just woke up and don’t need to stress yourself out again,” Alaric Said instead of answering me.

He was prepared to stand to his feet and walk out of the room like I hadn’t just asked an important question.

“Answer me. How has this pack been doing? Is there anything I should know about?” I asked, this time, my voice getting louder than before that it was hard to ignore.

The defeat that slowly leaned on his shoulder was a sign that whatever he was about to say, I wasn’t going to like it.

“Khaleesi…,’ He started,, not even bothering to address me as Luna like he had been doing. This was another way to show me how serious this was and it was the last thing I needed right now but still I couldn’t let the one thing my parents fought to protect till they died just crumble. First, I failed to get revenge and now that the pack they built seemed to be undergoing challenges, I wasn’t just going to hide again.

“Ever since you left the pack on the mission to seek vengeance for your parents’ death, this pack has been under several attacks. Over the years, we’ve tried so hard to fight back but the enemies only just keep coming, knowing that without a leader, we will slowly be weakened and then would have no choice but to bow our heads,” he explained, slowly feeding me with the information I never would have expected to hear in a thousand years.

What had my chase for love cost me? A fail in getting revenge and now, my pack has slowly weakened while I was there, building the enemy’s pack to the point that it was obvious his pack had become stronger.

“Go straight to the point, Alaric,” I snapped, finally having enough of the slow and intentional pause.

“The pack is weak now and the power we hold has been shaking. The only reason why we are still standing is just because of the history we’ve built… The pack is at great stake as it is.”

What followed after his sudden break down to me was for me to just wallow in silence.After what seemed like hours, I managed to draw myself out of that state.

“From the look on your face, it’s easy to tell you have more to say and there might be a solution to this.Don’t hold back, Old man.”

Throwing a conflicted look at me, Alaric, looked like he was battling with certain decisions and after what seemed like hours, he finally spoke.

“I’ll be truthful, the main reason we still seem like we have enough power is only because of the deal we had no choice to make with the BloodMoon Pack. We had no choice but to agree to an alliance with them when we happened to be in a choke hold. We were left with no choice but that. On one condition, the Alpha of their pack only agreed to help fully when…,” the pause in Alaric’s words was no good thing and it was easy to tell.

Bloodmoon Pack? The most powerful pack whose Alpha was said to have appeared out of thin air and suddenly took them to the top in just one year. Of course, how could I forget about this rampant rumor? But what I failed to understand was why he’d assist my pack in any way when we had no sort of connection in the first place.

Turning to him again, I raised my brows, wanting to hear what he had to say.

“Agreed to help if only?”

“If only you unite as mates with the Alpha of their pack, Alpha Aodhàn, that i the only way to save our pack,” he answered.

“Never!’’ I screamed in anger, my hand scraping down the things arranged on the small table by my head side.

“L..luna. I’ve tried,we all have tried to look for ways but this is the only choice, believe me,” Alaric said in what sounded like a plea. If it was possible, his shoulders sagged even further and I finally studied him properly, taking note of how sunken his eyes were.

Knowing the type of person he was, it was clear he wouldn’t have agreed to this if there was another choice.

I couldn’t stop the rage that was beginning to build in me. First, it was getting played and betrayed. Now, I had to be with someone I had no sort of interest in. No! This shouldn’t be like this ! But then, darting my eyes to the window and watching how peaceful the sky was, the weight and burden of this pack fell on my shoulders. Accept this just like that? No. I was just going to take a good advantage of this situation and gain back the lost power of my pack. When all is said and done, I’ll be all too happy to leave the forced relationship.

“Tell him I’ll meet with him but only on one condition…” I said watching as Alaric’s shoulders soon fell in relief again but the worry in his eyes didn’t deter.

“My return should be kept a secret until I’m ready to let it out…,” With this being my only rule, Alaric nodded his head, thanking me before walking out of the room.

With just me and my demons, I closed my eyes tightly, the determination taking hold of me.

Forcing myself, I got out of bed, gritting my teeth and enduring the pain as I made my way to stare out the window.

The stone was cold beneath my feet, a shock that grounded me. I rose, every muscle screaming in protest, but I moved forward, drawn to the window like a moth to flame.

The moonlight poured through the glass, pale and indifferent. I pressed my palms against the sill, the cold sinking into my bones. Below, the forest stretched into darkness, still and silent—but I could feel it, the pull of something ancient, something wild, thrumming beneath the earth. It answered me now.

Behind me, something shifted. I didn’t need to turn to know—the shadows had begun to stir. They slithered along the stone walls, curling, pulsing like they breathed. Like they waited, waiting to show the world what we were.

I inhaled deeply, letting the darkness within me rise. It coiled through my limbs, slow and sinuous, a living thing that had always been there, waiting for release. The shadows reached for me—tendrils brushing my skin, wrapping around my wrists, whispering promises I didn’t dare speak aloud.

The window fogged under my breath, a spiderweb crack fracturing the glass. I stared at it, at my reflection split into fragments, each piece sharper than the last.

And I pulled—called the darkness back into myself, the tendrils slithering into my chest, my throat, my mind. My body trembled with the effort, but I stood tall. Taller than I had before.

Then—a howl. Distant. Haunting. A lone wolf crying into the night.

A smile touched my lips, slow and venomous. My heart beats steady now, no longer weakened by fear.

“Dan,” I whispered, voice low and cold as winter, “you wanted me dead? You should have made sure.”

I looked up at the fractured window. My reflection stared back, but not just me. A darker version of myself, cloaked in shadow, her eyes gleaming, her smile sharper. She grinned at me, like she knew what was coming.

I grinned back.

Let them try to use me. Let them think I was weak.

They had no idea what I had become and what was to come of them.