AKIRA'S POV
It has been four days ever since the witch saved my life and it turns out that pain infliction, telekinesis and element control were not the only powers I was blessed with. There was also channelling, spell casting, mind compulsion, healing, superhuman strength and of course, longevity.
Elizabeth mentioned earlier how the powers of a witch don't just come at once and how she was sure I still had a long way to go.
Living with Elizabeth has been much of an eye-opener for me. She didn't just teach me how to control my powers, she also thought me how to fully nurture them.
I was seated on the porch outside her house. Apparently, Elizabeth was an old witch. She has been in existence way before Ares was born– during the reign of his father, the Alpha King– and I knew Ares was thousands of years old. She was an ancient witch blessed and cursed with immortality, she had said.
I sighed out loud and stared ahead. All I could see were plants and flowers, from where I was seated it looked as if we were in the outside world as if we were visible to the outside world but it was an entirely different situation because to the outside world there was nothing but tall trees and grasses right where Elizabeth's home was located.
Elizabeth had explained how many supernatural creatures who were seeking her for one problem or the other, often thought she was across the country. But all they had to do was perform certain tasks and her home would be visible to them in seconds.
It was really that simple. She had said, shaking her head with her lips tilting up into a small smile.
I let out another long sigh and rubbed my protruding tummy. If a human saw me they would probably think I was about four or five months into my pregnancy but I was only a week in. I quickly learnt that Lycans grew rapidly. And Elizabeth had gone into a laughing fit when I began to complain about how I was adding weight.
"It comes with the pregnancy," She had said then, desperately trying to stifle her laughter before she got dressed and went out for the day.
She was summoned by the Alpha of a pack faraway. His son needed healing and she was the only one who could help them.
My mind went to Ares. I missed him so much, the days went by excruciatingly slow and I often wondered if this was how my life was going to be without him; bland, boring, lack of warmth.
Sure, life with Elizabeth was nice. Although I had the freedom to go out, it would only be after I got used to my powers and I knew how to control them.
I had mastered the spells Eve's mother taught her fully and it was through the help of Elizabeth that I now knew why it was easy for me to do so earlier on, it was because I was a witch.
I rubbed my tummy and my thoughts turned wistful. I thought about what would happen if I was still with Ares and how he would react if I told him I was pregnant with our first child.
Would he be happy and overfilled with joy and tell the whole pack that I was his mate and we were expecting a baby? Would he scowl and ask me to get rid of the baby because I was human? Would he ask me to keep the baby but as a little secret?
The thoughts were bouncing on the walls of my head. They were rampant and my chest tightened as I imagined the last two options.
Lord help me but if he asked me to get rid of the baby, I reckon that I would still be in this situation– trying to run away– because there was no way I was going to get rid of my first child.
But I knew Ares wasn't all that heartless. Behind that huge wall guarding his heart, was a loving and caring man and I could only hope he found someone who would break down his walls.
My fist clenched and I shook my head.
No. I didn't want him to find someone else. Ares was mine and we were mates, we were made for each other.
But why can't he get rid of his damn law and announce to the pack that I was his?
There was no way I was going to agree to be his little secret. His little human slut. I was human with feelings after all.
While a part of me agreed with that fact, another part still longed for him, for his touch and intense eyes that always knew he to draw me in.
It was late afternoon before Elizabeth got back home. I quickly helped her place some herbs in the warm tub of water before making dinner for the both of us.
We were done eating dinner and we were seated in her cosy living room. The small but cosy space reminded me of Nana's house. It was small but filled with so much warmth and love that it felt big enough.
Elizabeth seemed to be thinking of something as she stared at me.
Finally, she spoke, "Why did you run away from your mate?"
I sighed. I knew she was going to ask about this sooner than expected. I had told to her that I ran away from my mate but I didn't tell her the reason why I ran away. But I had a feeling that she knew. She was a witch after all.
"I'm certain you know why," I told her.
Elizabeth smiled. "I do. But there's something about hearing it right from the horse's mouth."
"The scary Lycan everyone knows of? Ares? Yes, he's my mate."
She nodded while humming, an indication for me to continue.
"And I'm sure you've heard about his 'no human mate' law, right? Well, it turns out that the Moon Goddess decided to punish him by making me his mate."
Elizabeth laughed at that.
"Yeah. Well, I was kidnapped from a party and taken to his pack. The first few weeks were hell for me, Ares loathed my guts and couldn't even bear to look at me for some seconds." I left out the scene in his study and office. "He acted on like that until another man came into the picture, Orion, I'm not even going to lie, Orion was a good guy, different..." I laughed but then frowned when I realised that I still didn't know where he was. "But he just... vanished all of a sudden. Ares and I grew closer and he started to accept the fact that a human is his mate. He never told the rest of the pack about me but I know that they knew I was his mate because I was attacked. And it dawned on me that we would never be happy because there are too many people who are hurt by his 'law'. Staying there and waiting for a miracle to happen was almost laughable because by the end of the day he was going to choose his pack over me," I smiled sadly. "A little human."
Elizabeth stared at me for long seconds. I wondered what she was thinking about as I stared into her forest-green eyes. I waited for judgment to cross her face but none came.
"You miss him." She mused.
It was surprising how she didn't mention anything regarding what I just said. She only searched into the depths of my soul for one answer. And she was right.
No matter how much I tried to deny it, it was the truth. I fucking miss him. So I said so. "I do. Very much so that it hurts."
"You should go back to him, Akira," Elizabeth told me.
I swallowed. "I... I don't know if I can." I whispered.
I really didn't know if I could. Would he accept me back with open arms? Would he chase me away? Would he prosecute me for running away?
"He would do no such thing, dear." Elizabeth soft spoke.
I then remembered that she could read minds.
I sighed. "You don't know that, Elizabeth. He hates my guts, I ran away from him with his damn child. If he finds out that I'm pregnant..." I shook my head. I didn't want to imagine what would happen once Ares got to know that I ran away with his child in me.
"I know Ares long enough to know that he's the kind of man that sets his sights on something and doesn't let go till he possesses every inch of it." Elizabeth looked at me intently. "I can tell you that your mate is worried sick about you and is about turning the world inside out just to find you. And he's getting pretty close."
I knew firsthand how possessive Ares could be. He was a Lycan for heaven's sake. How could I ever forget?
"I really want to go back to him." I finally revealed after some time. It wasn't something I could question. I wanted to go back to his arms. But I was still damn scared about what people would do once they found out that I was his mate.
Elizabeth laughed and I knew she knew what I just said. "You don't have to be worried about that anymore, I know for a fact that everyone in his pack would know by now that you're his mate."
"It's settled then," I brushed the overgrown bangs on my forehead away. "I'm going back to him."
Saying it out loud felt good. Relief coursed through my veins and I chuckled softly while Elizabeth kept looking at me with a small smile.
"Since I've learnt all about my brand new powers, do you think we could arrange for me to leave anytime soon? Maybe in a day or two?" I asked Elizabeth.
She shook her head with a frown etched on her round face. "No. You still have a lot to learn, child. You can't just up and leave after learning the basics."
I opened my mouth to tell her that I didn't need to learn more than the basics but she stopped me with a raised hand.
"I was once a naive little human too, Akira." She spoke sharply.
My mouth parted in shock and I properly arranged my favourite quilt over my body. "I have a feeling that this is going to be a long story and I'm ready to listen to all of it." I breathed.
Elizabeth smiled. "His name was Miguel. Miguel was a vampire. A devilishly handsome vampire, he was everything the human me wouldn't think twice before running away if I even crossed his path in the daylight. He was everything I wasn't, a rebel, an outlaw, you name it. He represented everything I had read in the thick books in the darkest corners of the library. And he was my mate. Our love was catastrophic, Miguel's parents loathed me, I was the little human who was an orphan. I had no one and I was a nobody. But I had Miguel and he made sure to remind me of that fact whenever my thoughts drifted."
With the way her eyes shone with happiness and love, I knew Elizabeth really loved her mate, Miguel. Was that how expressive my eyes were anytime I spoke about Ares? I hoped so.
"Then what happened?" I asked her.
"Miguel didn't care what people said and regardless of his parent's warning he still went ahead to mark me. He was next in line to the throne and that immediately made me the soon-to-be queen. Then began the attacks, just like you, I was repeatedly attacked but it wasn't because it wasn't just because I was human, it was mainly because they didn't want a human queen to rule over them. Weeks later after Miguel marked me and I turned into a witch and Miguel lost his parents, I guess that was their breaking point because they began to demand that I was to be prosecuted, vampires loathed witches, and they still do, they didn't care that I was their queen. I was to be killed," She paused and I knew the next part was going to be bad news.
"I was young, I didn't want anyone to help with my powers because I was scared they were somehow going to take them away from me. I thought it was the only thing I could call mine since I was about to be taken away from Miguel. So when the vampires came to the mansion and dragged me out to their square to be burnt alive like an animal, I snapped. I lost all control and I burnt everyone present to ashes."
Her face had gone cold. And I knew what came next.
I swallowed. "When you say everyone...does that include your mate?"
"Yes. I killed him, just because I was stupid, naive and selfish," Elizabeth inhaled sharply. "I'm not going to let you fall into that same mistake, Akira. You're going to stay here with me and learn everything about your powers even if it takes forever to do so."
Tears burned my eyes but I refused to let them out. I couldn't imagine what she must've gone through after realising the mistake she made. She must've felt absolutely horrible.
Elizabeth was right. I needed to have full knowledge about my powers before going into the real world. So I nodded in agreement.
But I had some questions to ask.
Elizabeth smiled knowingly. "You're free to ask any question, Akira."
Which meant she knew what question I wanted to ask already but she just wanted me to ask it out loud.
So I did. "What did you do after then?"
I couldn't mention it but she knew what I meant.
What did she do after realising the damage she caused.
"I ran away. I ran far away. I couldn't forgive myself then, I punished myself greatly for my mistakes."
"So, have you? Have you forgiven yourself now?"
Elizabeth nodded. "I have. I realised that it was a mistake and in as much as it was one caused by my stupidity, it was still a mistake and everyone makes those. I couldn't keep punishing myself, so I mastered my powers by myself and I took it upon myself to teach every witch I know because I don't ever want anyone to go through what I went through."
Elizabeth was indeed a strong woman. And I was grateful that I met her so I showed her how grateful I was by walking to where she was seated on the couch and engulfing her in a hug.
And our hug lasted for a while.
"Why didn't you turn into a vampire like Miguel?" I asked once I got back to where I laid down.
"That's because we are cradle witches, also known as The originals. Witches like us obtain our powers through biological genes, like an internal source of power with a natural affinity to supernatural forces within the universe. We usually need a push before we find out about our powers. And it's always a crazy push. Cradle witches are rare and we come from old and powerful bloodlines. And the blood pumping through our body acts as a shield to other supernatural beings, in the sense that even if we're mated to a werewolf, Lycan, vampire and all other beings, and are marked by them, we still wouldn't transform into whatever they are. Instead, we begin to find out about our through nature."
"So... I'm not going to turn into a Lycan?" I muttered.
Elizabeth laughed. "No, Akira. You won't be turning into a Lycan."
I expected instant relief but it never came.
Did I want to be a Lycan? No.
But I guess the idea of running in the thick forest with paws and all was indeed thrilling.
Still, I gave Elizabeth a bright smile.
I was content with what I was.