Forbidden Mate: Awakening

~LILY’S POV~

I had been in the mercy of this forest for about a day and I was already drained. The spooky quiet wrapped around me, and all my sense of security left me. Even using a motorcycle to navigate my way in these bushes were the least of my assurances that I’d make it in time to help retrieve the ring. The thick trees blocked the sunlight, making everything look gloomy. The air smelled earthy and rotten, reminding me of the secrets hidden in this old place our mothers always sung to us about. It was actually true.

My senses were on high alert and fear and determination battled inside me. Every sound, like leaves rustling or an owl hooting far away, made my heart race, but I kept going. Alone…. I wished I had went with someone. I wished I was with Adrian. The thought of him always made me feel sad and hopeful at the same time.

The darkness that came with the night seemed to whisper, warning me about the dangers hiding in the shadows. I had continued to search for Sarah and Theo, being careful with each step and looking around for any signs of them.

At a point, I got down from my bike when I felt it’s fuel had almost finished and pushed it along as I was walking. The twisted branches of the gnawy trees reached out like they were teasing me, and the tangled plants threatened to trap my feet. I had never been more anxious than I was at that moment. I could only worry about what happened to Sarah and Theo and the dangers in this strange forest. Did it have magical creatures? More vampires? Or stupid talking trees? Oh, I dreaded that the most.

Those stupid trees. The more I walked, the more I felt them looking at me, taunting me. The forest played tricks on my mind, with the trees moving and changing, almost like they were teasing me for my desperate search. Time felt weird. Every minute stretched longer, making me feel more alone and desperate. But I refused to let despair take over.

I needed to call out their names. Maybe if they were near, they’d hear me.

“Sarah! Theo! Sarah!” My voice echoed round the forest back to me.

I continued to call out their names, but my voice got swallowed by the heavy silence. I held to the belief that I would find them, that the forest would let them go and let me find them, as if this Forbidden Forest was a Friendly Facade. I scoffed at my own sarcasm. No matter what, I had to keep going.

Hours passed, like I knew if they were really hours, and finally, I saw some hope.

“Statues or…” They were huge tall pillars of rock that looked like statues. They looked pretty intimidating from afar so I wondered how they’d look upclose. At least, I knew I was making progress.

I decided to ditch the bike and leave it by a tree. It was slowing down my pace and draining my energy. I kept it with the helmet and continued walking alone with my backpack. Suddenly, I felt it. That very sick presence that was only accompanied by…vampires! A whole bunch of blood sucking creatures that looked like birds appeared, their sharp teeth shining in the half moon’s glow.

Fear spread through my blood, but I noticed they weren’t after me. They were after two people running in front of me.

I looked closer and saw the tint of a girl’s hair, Sarah! I found them! Sarah and Theo! They were both running away from the creatures and Theo tried to fight them off one by one but they were clearly outnumbered.

Out of impulse, I sprinted after them. The size of the beasts were scary but I refused to let it control me. With confidence burning in my chest, I lunged at the first beast, my claws slashing through the air. Surprising them gave me an advantage of catching them off guard. The beasts scattered the formation they used to chase after Sarah and Theo and more and more of them started turning their attention to me.

Sarah had already gotten into hiding while Theo stood in front of her, fighting off any beast that lunged at them.

I thought of what to do. I had no weapons except my claws which were transformed for no reason. I needed to summon this Guardian energy in me. I breathed in carefully, concentrating on the power coming out from me. Five of the creatures came quickly at me to attack me but as soon as I looked up with my golden eyes which were now shining with a blinding glow, they immediately disintegrated into ash. The others who saw this scurried back in fear. I lashed out my hands and a dozen more met the same fate. The creatures started realising the danger and slowly but surely, they flew back into the woods.

I looked at my hands, the lines appearing just like current. A surge of power coursed through me, electrifying every fiber of my being. It was like a current, fierce and untamed, flowing through my veins. In that moment, I felt unstoppable and invincible. The energy radiated from within, filling me with a renewed sense of strength and purpose. It was both exhilarating and overwhelming, like a wild storm raging inside me. With each surge, I embraced the untapped potential within, unleashing a force that defied all sense. In that moment, I felt like a she-god… I really liked it.

But as the power flowed through me – the electric current running through my veins – I struggled to control it. The raw energy consumed me and started to overwhelm my senses. I desperately fought against its pull, trying to ram it in, but it proved too much.

Just when I thought I would be lost to its intoxicating grip, I heard Sarah’s voice. Her warm and familiar voice cut through the chaos going on in my body and mind.

“Lily? Oh Lily!”

I was brought back to reality. I regained control and the power subsided as I refocused my thoughts.

“Lily!” Sarah exclaimed, her voice trembling with surprise and happiness. She hurried towards me and wrapped me in a tight hug. “I can’t believe it’s you! We thought… we thought we lost you.”

Tears filled my eyes as I held onto Sarah, feeling her warmth and our strong bond after such a long time. “I thought the same,” I whispered, “But I’m here now. I’m alive.”

I pulled back, examining her face as she did mine. She and Theo looked so exhausted.

“I will fucking kill you if you do any stupid shit like that to me again, Li!” Sarah said with teary eyes and I chuckled.

“I got kidnapped, Sarah. I didn’t technically do the shit.”

She hugged me once again and I didn’t complain, “Still. Do you know how worried I was? I can’t believe you’re okay…”

“I knew you always loved me but not that much…” I teased her.

She pulled away and dragged my ear, “Hell, I do! Seriously, don’t ever go missing like that on me like that.. geez! Two goddamn months! Look how starved you look…”

“See who’s talking, you guys look exhausted.”

“Cause we’ve not slept for days.” Theo joined us, “It’s nice to know you’re okay, Lily.” He looked at us, “What happened to you, Lily? We were sent to rescue you but, we were attacked on the way.”

I took a deep breath, memories of my capture flooding my mind. “You too?… well, I was captured by the vampire clan,” I admitted, my voice shaking a bit. “They kept me prisoner and did dark experiments on me. But I managed to escape.”

Sarah held onto my arm tighter as her eyes shook, “We’ll make them pay for what they did,” she vowed with a strong voice. “They won’t hurt any of us again without paying for it dearly.”

Theo asked softly, “What about Adrian?”

I forgot. Adrian and Theo were roommates…and buddies. I was happy for once someone asked about him but it only made me feel bad.

“He couldn’t follow me. He was badly hurt.” I looked down and Sarah held me. Theo also looked away, disturbed.

“I’m sure he’ll find a way to escape very soon too.” Sarah assured me.

“I’m sure he will.” I smiled back.

Lightening the mood, Theo looked at me with gratitude and asked. “You saved us,” he said, genuinely grateful. “We were about to be attacked by those weird looking creatures, and then you came in, like a guardian angel.”

A bittersweet smile formed on my lips as I thought about his words. “I’m no angel,” I replied sadly. “But I couldn’t let anything happen to either of you.”

“But I saw what you did back there. You legit glowed up like a guardian angel and turned some of them into ashes. How did you do that?” Theo said and Sarah and I looked at eachother.

Yeah, he didn’t know. Now he’d seen it, there was no need hiding anything again. I’d have to tell him since we were on this journey together.

Sarah spoke for me, “She’ll have enough time to talk about that to us later, Theo. She needs some rest.”

I smiled at her gratefully, “Thanks…”Nôvel(D)rama.Org's content.

“Hey, but why are you here, Lily? Have you gone mad?! Did you really follow us?” Sarah lashed out at me.

“Calm down…you’re behaving like Aunt Belinda.” I dug my hand into my bag pack and brought out the journal, “You guys need this to get the ring, don’t you?”

Sarah and Theo exchanged a glance, “I guess so. Theo was already given a box by…”

“I know, I know… Aunt told me everything. That’s why I decided to hurry here.”

“But we haven’t still met the chosen one. He’s the one who’s going to know how to put all these things together to get the ring.” Theo said and kicked a stick.

I didn’t want to tell either of them that I was the chosen one. Even saying it to myself in my head felt cliche and weird. I would just offer to follow them and see what happens.

“Doesn’t mean we shouldn’t continue.”

“We know, we won’t stop… but we’re almost at the Wailing Woods…without the chosen one, it’ll be futile.” Sarah said.

“Let’s first get there, then we’ll see.”

They both nodded.

I glanced at them, feeling a strong connection and a shared goal. “We need to keep going. The Lythian ring is waiting for us, and it holds the power to restore balance to our world. Even if it’s uncertain we’d get it, it’s better to try.”

Cautiously, we treaded through the thick underbrush, our steps light and our voices low. Under the pale moonlight, the dark forest came alive with danger. Sarah, Theo, and I had a mission, a quest to find the hidden ring of Lythian. The weight of our task pressed upon us, and time slipped away too quickly.

With each step we took together, I knew that Sarah and Theo were there for me, sharing the same goal. We were there for eachother. I would reveal what I must to them when it’s time. What we had to do now was just continue and not look back.

The statues were looking larger and more intimidating.

“Look, were getting closer.” Sarah was always fond of being the loudest on trips.

“Let’s get some rest first…” Theo suggested and Sarah and I agreed. This would be our last night in this godforsaken forest.