Chapter 6 Awakening The Beast

"Hide Sasha! Take her away from here!" Ryan's voice thundered, shaking with urgency as he raised it so loud, it echoed through the night.

Sasha, trembling, could barely breathe. Her body froze. "What's happening, Ryan? Am I going to be safe?"

Ryan grabbed her face in his hands, his eyes locking with hers. "Trust me, you're safe. I promise, nothing is going to happen to you."

His voice was a soothing whisper, but something flickered through his eyes, it was comfort mixed with unspoken fear.

"Mama Liana, take her away from here!" Ryan's demand came out sharp, desperate.

Just as they were about to move, the ground seemed to tremble beneath their feet, and from the shadows, a massive black wolf emerged from the trees. His eyes gleamed a deep, unsettling red. He looked ancient, like something straight out of a nightmare.

He stopped in front of Sasha, blocking their path. "Leaving so soon?" the wolf growled, his voice gravelly and cold. "Wow, you've grown so fast."

Ryan's posture stiffened, his eyes flashing dangerously. He stepped forward, the muscles in his body tensing like a coiled spring. But something was off. His eyes started to glow black. Not the reddish brown he had before. It was as though his very soul was starting to shift.

Ryan's breathing grew ragged, his body shuddering with the effort to hold himself together. The wolf's presence seemed to trigger something in him, and it wasn't just rage, it was something deeper, darker, something more primal.

"Ryan!" Sasha cried, her voice cracking. "Your eyes they're glowing... black?"

Ryan's teeth gritted together. He was fighting to keep control, but she could feel it. The rage inside him was almost tangible, and it was building by the second. Mama Liana stepped forward, her eyes wide in recognition.

"She's changing him," Mama Liana whispered. "The prophecy... it's already begun."

Ryan's body shifted violently again, his fists clenched as he prepared to strike, but before he could lunge, a voice rang out from behind him.

"No! Stop, Ryan!" A figure darted in front of them, the same dark-haired man who had appeared moments ago.Derick.

"That's what he wants," Derick's voice was firm, his eyes cold with warning. "He wants you to fight. Don't give in to it."

Ryan froze, his gaze flickering between Sasha, the wolf, and Derick. He stepped back, his rage still palpable in the air, but something in him obeyed the warning.

The two wolves, the black one and another with fur as white as snow, began to circle Sasha, their eyes unblinking. A cold dread gripped Sasha's heart, and she felt the fear slowly creeping in.

"Please..." Sasha's voice trembled, a whisper of panic escaping her lips. "I know nothing about this... I'm human... please don't hurt me."

The wolves did not answer. The black wolf, whose eyes never left Sasha, let out a low growl, his gaze fixed on the mark on her arm.

Sasha's hand instinctively went to the mark, and she gasped as it flared to life, burning with a severe pain she couldn't explain. It was shifting before her eyes. The once faint design now changed into a crescent-shaped symbol, surrounded by ancient markings flickering silver-blue light.

The black wolf staggered back, his growl turning to a desperate, disbelieving howl. "No... this can't be... The prophecy... it's coming to pass."

The ground beneath Sasha's feet trembled violently, the trees swaying as if caught in an unseen storm. The air around her crackled with power, like the very earth itself was responding to her.

She gasped, her breath catching in her throat as she felt an overwhelming surge of energy flood through her body. Her skin began to glow, a soft gold at first, then escalating until it burned bright, her eyes flashing with an inner light.

"She's awakening," the black wolf growled, his voice laced with fear and urgency. "We're running out of time."

The two wolves exchanged a glance, their lips curling back to reveal sharp fangs, their bodies tense as if preparing for something worse. They circled Sasha once more, but this time, they began to back away, reluctant but fearful of the power now radiating from her.

"We'll be back," one of the wolves spat before they turned and disappeared into the woods with a flicker of dark movement, vanishing as if they were never there.

The silence that followed felt deafening.

Sasha stood in the middle of the clearing, her body still glowing, her mind reeling. She glanced up at Ryan, who stood beside her, his chest rising and falling in rapid breaths. He was bruised, bloodied from the confrontation, but his focus was entirely on her now, his eyes wide with a mix of awe and fear.

"I saw it," Ryan breathed. "I saw it, Sasha. You made the earth shake."

Her heart raced in her chest, the weight of everything crashing down on her. "But... what's happening to me? My powers... they're awakening."

Behind her, Mama Liana stepped forward, her face pale. Her fingers reached out, trembling as she gently touched the glowing mark on Sasha's shoulder. "This can't be..." she murmured, awe and dread in her voice. "It matches the prophecy exactly."

She turned to the others, her voice low but urgent. "We need to summon the ancestors."

Sasha felt herself sway, dizziness overtaking her. Her breath was shallow, the room spinning. She couldn't process everything, she couldn't wrap her mind around the fact that this was her reality now. Her entire life had shifted in the span of a single moment.

"Who... who was that?" she whispered, her eyes meeting Ryan's, still dazed.

Ryan's voice was distant, as if he was struggling to find the words. "That's... Derick. My cousin. He just got back from his internship program. He's staying for eight months."

Sasha turned to face the quiet man, Derick, who still stood in the background, watching her with an unreadable expression. He gave her a crooked smile, but there was something unsettling in the way his gaze lingered on her fading mark.

Mama Liana's voice broke the tension, her tone soft but heavy with something Sasha couldn't place. "Who are you, child?"

Sasha blinked, confused. "What do you mean?"

"The Blood Pack doesn't just appear for anyone," Mama Liana said, her voice thick with awe and dread. "The ground doesn't tremble for just anyone. And the Moon Mark hasn't been seen in over two hundred years." She paused, her eyes glimmering with a mixture of fear and awe. "You carry the flame of the fallen queen. Your blood is ancient... and cursed. You weren't meant to live an ordinary life, were you?"

Sasha's heart pounded in her chest, the words weighing her down. "I... I don't know what I'm meant for. I don't know who I am. I just got out of a toxic relationship. My father lied to me all this time. I don't know who I am anymore."

Mama Liana placed a hand on Sasha's shoulder, her grip surprisingly gentle for someone with so much power. "Then it's time we find out. Before they return." Her gaze darkened. "They know something we don't."

It had been three days since the Blood Pack's arrival, and Sasha still couldn't shake the feeling of being lost. She was consumed by thoughts of who she was, what she was becoming. Her past felt like a distant memory, a life she couldn't remember and didn't want to.

"I shouldn't have had sex with Ryan... this is all my fault..." she muttered, slamming her fist on the office desk in frustration. She ran her hand through her hair, glancing at the faded mark on her arm, wondering why it no longer pulsed with energy.

A knock on the door broke her thoughts.

"Come in," Sasha called, her voice flat.

The door creaked open, and there stood Derick. His eyes, those dark eyes that seemed to hold secrets, locked onto hers.

"Hi, Sasha," he said, a nervous smile tugging at his lips. "How are you today?"

Sasha raised an eyebrow. "Do you also work here now? Back from your internship?"

"Yeah... just got back," Derick said, his attention elsewhere, as if he couldn't quite focus. His eyes kept drifting to her, studying her, and it made her uncomfortable. He snapped out of it when she made a small sound with her fingers.

"Oh, sorry," he said, blinking, finally coming back to reality. "Just thinking, you know... about what to do for the next few months, before I head out again."

Sasha frowned, confused. "Okay, well, what are you doing here?"

"Just checking up on you," Derick replied, his voice quieter, almost hesitant.

Sasha laughed softly, trying to ease the tension. "Aww, that's nice of you. Thank you."

She hesitated for a moment before speaking again. "Could you drive me to Ryan's?"

He nodded stiffly. "Sure, I'll take you."

They drove off from Opal Skyline, it was Ryan's empire.

The ride to Ryan's felt long, and the silence between them was heavy. They passed the mall, and Sasha's eyes drifted to the window.

"Please... can you give me 10 minutes?" she asked suddenly. "I want to grab a few things from the mall. I need to restock for the weekend."

She stepped out of the car and walked briskly into the store. Heading straight for the skincare section, she scanned the shelves until her eyes landed on the familiar bottle.

She picked it up and nearly dropped it.

"WTF....Centella? Nine hundred dollars?" She muttered, staring at the price tag in disbelief. "I mean, I got it three weeks ago for seven hundred. How come?"

"The bills in the state are insane. How do I even cope?"

She was soliloquizing now, her frustration bubbling to the surface.

Still grumbling, she turned to leave the aisle then paused.

Behind her, a soft voice floated through the air, tugging at her attention. It was a little girl, sitting cross-legged on a bench near the ice cream stand, a vanilla cone in her hand.

Little girl(mouth full of vanilla ice cream): "mommy, do you think Daddy loves you more or me more?"

Mom(laughing gently): "oh honey, he loves us both with his whole heart. But I think he might love you just a tiny bit more."

Little girl( giggling): "Yeah! ' cause I give him the best cuddles."

Mom: "And you're the best part of both of us."

Little Girl (suddenly serious): "mommy... will dad always come back home to us?"

Mom (smiling, brushing hair from her daughter's face): "Always, baby. He's our mom, remember? We're his favorite people in the world.

Sasha froze.

Her chest tightened as she stood there, clutching the overpriced skincare bottle. The little girl's question wasn't just innocent-it was a gut punch. A raw ache bloomed in her chest.

Because it was a question she never got to ask.

She already knew the answer.

No one had ever loved her like that.