AsaLynn
My mind clears, and I finally sort of understand. I donât understand what my mother was or what that makes me. I do know Flora didnât die for nothing.
It seems as if my memory flashes only lasted but a few seconds because the mad man is still talking to me.
âThe stupid bitch deserved to die. What an abomination to be a hybrid. That stupid wolf that fucked the witch to create her will be the next to die.â
âNo.â My voice raises just a little.
âYou dare speak to me, you slut? Iâll show you what happens when you speak up to me,â the man says as he exits Floraâs cage and moves toward mine.
I donât know what is exactly going on, but I feel something building in me.
My eyes glance back over at Flora, and finally a tear falls. She was my best friend.
She was strong. She was a good person. She showed me I was more, worthy of more. How dare this man talk about her like that? Dishonoring her memory.
The pool of blood coming from her leaks closer now, only centimeters away from my hand. I canât take my eyes away.
I see the pool waver. It looks as if it is liquid metal, seeking me out like I am a magnet.
The blood pushes and pulls like a worm is trying to move. Inching closer. Itâs not normal, but like itâs alive and seeking me out.
I will it to come. I donât know why, but something in me is calling to Floraâs essence.
The crimson liquid touches my fingertips, and itâs like a beast awakens within me. I feel strong, powerful, full of energy.
I feel like every inch of pain and suffering I have felt during this captivity has been erased.
The blood begins to absorb into my skin, and I feel my injuries begin to heal. I look down, and my bruises are fading.
My skin and bony physique starts to fill out to its prior glory.
All of a sudden the anger awakens in me. I see that piece-of-shit man open my cage with that cocky-ass grin. My blood feels like itâs boiling.
Liddia
Everyone was going to run into the bunker in a fit of rage, and I knew we couldnât do that. If Flora has died, I need to see what we are up against.
I hold my hand up and mind-link back to the small army behind me.
~âI go first. Then you all follow.â~
I quickly rush in, not giving them time to disagree.
I make it down the wide stairs, and the sight before me is hard to take in.
I see a girl on the ground with a bloody piece of metal in her hand and a lake of blood surrounding her. Flora.
Then my eyes fall over to the queen. She is lying on the ground.
She looks close to death, but I feel something radiating from her. The blood on the ground is absorbing into her, and her body is changing.
Everything is healing. I canât believe my eyes. As wolves, we heal fast, but she is healing instantaneously.
The power I feel from her is scary. So strong I can barely move. Then I see Marcus inching his way over to her cage.
He looks like a mad man. Like he has lost every sense of his human. How did he get this way so fast?
~âDo not interfere, Liddia. You must stay where you are.â~
I listen. She has never been wrong before.
In that moment, as Marcus opens AsaLynnâs cage, I watch her rise to her feet. A power like no other radiates from her. She doesnât say a word.
Marcus looks angry. He goes to raise a whip to hit her. I see Floraâs blood crawl up Asaâs body like a snake, creeping into her skin.
Her body begins to glow a faint blue. Her eyes transform before my own eyes. They are as pale as ice.
This isnât just AsaLynn and her wolf anymore. There is something else taking control of her. Something ancient. Not Ancient like me, but far older.
Itâs so pure and untouched by modern means.
AsaLynn just smiles with a newfound confidence, almost like a menace. An almost beautifully horrifying look crosses her face as she stares Marcus in the eyes.
AsaLynn opens her mouth, and the sound that comes from it can only be explained as a screech, but amplified by a thousand.
I fall to my knees and cover my ears. It hurts so badly. I look back up through the pain I feel and see Marcus has fallen as well, but his body is paralyzed.
He cannot move to hold his ears for protection. He sits before her, riddled with pain as she pounds the sonic wave of sound directly at him.
He sits on his knees like a stone. You can almost ~see~ the waves of sound punishing him.
His ears begin to bleed. Pouring out of his head. Soon following, his eyes drip the ruby liquid as well, staining his cheeks.
AsaLynnâs body begins to glow brighter. So blue I have to avert my gaze for a moment.
The noise assault finally stops, but Marcus is still not moving. Just staring at her with horror-filled eyes. He knows he is no match for what has just awakened in her.
Asaâs body begins to flex, and she closes her eyes. I rise back to my feet and continue to watch in awe and horror. Not daring to take a single step closer.
Her eyes shoot back open, and every ounce of water in the room begins to crawl to her. Gathering in her hands. I watch the water move as if it is a rope.
She grasps it and flings her arm forward in one fast, harsh movement. The rope of liquid slices through the air and slices Marcusâs throat.
He collapses in front of her, and his body goes limp. Her eyes dart to me. I stand in shock. The look in her eyes doesnât make me feel like I am in danger, though.
âTake Floraâs body to her mate,â Asa commands, and I feel the urgency to follow her order.
I run over and scoop Flora up in my arms gently and bring her out of the bunker where the men are still frozen in place.
I see Zade and lay Flora in front of him. His wolf howls, and he shifts back into his skin form. He caresses her hair and holds her, wishing for her to come back.
Itâs painful to see his hurt, his unimaginable pain.
Everyone watches sympathetically with pain in their eyes and hearts. He lost his mate, but they also lost one of their own.
Then I feel AsaLynn before I see her. All eyes dart to the bunker entrance, and she walks out. Grace and beauty emanate from her being.
I look around, and it seems as if the men are in a partial trance.
Her hair seems thicker. Her body seems fuller. Her muscles more defined. Not a single trace of dirt or evidence that she has been tormented for weeks.
Just a pure vision of wonder.
She holds the body of Marcus in her arms as if he weighs as much as a feather. She tosses him to the ground like a bag of garbage. His heart is still beating faintly.
âOnly an Ancient may kill another Ancient.
âI leave it to you, Levi, to decide who gets the honor. Whoever does it, make sure to do it painfully and ~slowly~.â Asa speaks, and it sounds almostâ¦sexual?
Nobody moves to the body though. All eyes are still on AsaLynn. Silence. Not even a creature of the forest dares to make a sound.
She closes her eyes, and the hue of blue that engulfs her pulses from her body. She begins to shift, and her glorious white wolf appears, still embracing the color and power that showed before.
Eyes like the hottest of flames or a glacier.
I canât take my eyes off of her. I have lived many lifetimes and seen many creatures of myth and legend, but I have never seen or heard of one like this.
Even in her wolf form, she embodies feminine power and sexual prowess.
Suddenly her wolf form thins slightly and stands taller. The light emanating from her blinds everyone, and we have to look away.
It dims ever so slightly, and when we look back, gasps can be heard from every mouth. There she stands.
A beautiful pure white wolf with wings that look angelic but are made of light.
We all feel the hierarchy of the woman before us, and all knees bow. All but Leviathan, who smiles and walks forward to his queen.
She shifts back to skin, and he takes her in an embracing kiss, pride written all over his face.
She kisses him back and pulls away.
âLetâs go home, please,â she says.
Leviathan nods and takes her hand in his and begins to walk through the crowds of men as they part, making way for the king and queen.