I froze. I stood at the entrance of the headmaster's office, he stared intensely at me and it felt like he could see right through me. i became scared and something within me kept urging me to run for my dear life, yet I remained there.
"Ava?" Orion repeated, his voice steady but carrying a crispness that I found difficult to pinpoint. "What leads you to this place?"
I opened my mouth, but no noise came out. I had no reason for coming here and even to the point of eavesdropping on a conversation that seemed to focus on me. I felt disturbed, I tried put the piece together, what did I just hear??
"I… I had to talk to you," I uttered, my words coming out as a gentle whisper. "Concerning the prediction." "Concerning all matters."
Orion's face stayed the same, but something changed in his eyes—like he either understood what I meant or was worried about me. He moved to the side and motioned for me to come into the office.
"Come in, then. We can talk," he said, the tone much softer than I expected.
I stopped for a while before entering the office, my heart still racing like I had just ran a marathon. The room was dark except for the light that was shining from a desk lamp on the other side of the room. There was a big map of the packs' territories that was pinned on the wall. It was filled with secrets and I felt like I was about to find out something that would change everything.
Orion shut the door behind me and softly locked it. "Sit," he said, gesturing toward a chair across his desk. "We have a lot to discuss."
I sat down and began to fiddle with my hands in my lap. So many things were turning in my head, and I did not know which one to ask first. "What's going on, Orion? What prophecy? Why does it concern me?"
Orion sat opposite me, his eyes never leaving mine. "You're not just anyone, Ava. You have to have known that, right?"
I swallowed hard, I felt my throat suddenly going dry. "I Really don't understand what you mean, I am the daughter of a common babysitter. I'm nobody. I do not belong here."
Orion's voice was even, without any quiver as he answered, "You belong here more than you think you do, Ava. Your bloodline is way more important than you have ever been led to believe. The truth has been kept from you for a reason."
A chill went down my spine. "What truth?
Orion leaned forward, his eyes blazing. "You're not just a daughter of a babysitter. You're the offspring of a bloodline long ago exiled. One carrying a bloodline that has the power to either bind or break the packs apart.
I couldn't understand what he meant. "What are you talking about? I don't get it."
"A long time ago, when there were four packs and not three. Your ancestors were a part of that fourth pack. They were powerful, but their power was feared. The other packs ganged up on them, and they were struck from history."
My head was spinning. "So, I'm… I'm the descendant of an exiled pack?"
"Yes," Orion said. "And that is why you've been brought here. The prophecy speaks of someone with the power to change everything. Someone who could bring the packs together, or tear them apart. And that someone is you."
I shook my head, I was confused. "But I don't have any power. I'm just a normal girl."
Orion's eyes softened, and for the first time, I saw a flicker of sympathy in his expression. "That's what you think. But your abilities are dormant, Ava. You have the potential to tap into the power of your ancestors, but it's not something you can control yet. And that's why you're in danger."
"Danger?" I repeated, my voice trembling. "From who?"
"From the packs themselves," Orion said, his voice low. "They'll do anything to keep the power in their hands. And if they find out what you are, they'll stop at nothing to either use you or destroy you."
I felt like something was hanging in my throat. "What am I meant to do?, I asked".
"Learn to control your abilities," Orion said. "And you'll need allies. People who can help you navigate this world and protect you from those who would use you for their own gain."
I nodded, but his words hit hard. I knew nothing about harnessing any kind of power, and worse still, I was mortally afraid the people from whom I needed to learn, those I trusted-would most likely hunt me to death.
The following days were a blur. I tried to concentrate on my classes, but it was hard to keep my head with the notion that my whole life had been a lie. Everything I thought I knew about myself, my family, was getting turned upside down.
Damon kept his distance from me, but his eyes upon me in a room seemed tangible. I no longer knew what to make of him. He'd warned me of the danger yet hadn't told me the truth. Now, after what Orion had just told me, I had even less idea of whom to trust.
Of course, Lila picked up that something was different with me. She kept asking me over and over if I was okay, but I just couldn't tell her everything; I really didn't know how. I hardly understood it all myself.
After class one afternoon, I sat alone in the library, trying to make sense of the old books Orion gave me, filled with prophecies and the bloodlines of the packs. They were written in some sort of ancient tongue that I could hardly make out. I didn't know where to start.
But still I know it will be something that would make me stop at those pages, though it was marked by a symbol that looked so familiar to me. Maybe it was a crest, made of four animals, each representing one of the packs, but there was also a fifth animal, a wolf, fur black as night, the eyes shined with some kind of strange light.
I stared at the symbol, my heart hammering in my chest. This was it. The key to everything. The answer I'd been searching for.
But before I could study it further, a voice interrupted me.
"Ava."
I spun around, my heart jumping as I saw Damon standing behind me. His expression was unreadable, his eyes shadowed with something I couldn't place.
"What are you doing here?" I asked, trying to steady my breathing.
"I could ask you the same thing," he said, his gaze flicking to the book in my hands. "Looking for answers?"
I didn't answer, but I could feel the tension in the air between us.
"I know you have questions," Damon said, his voice softer then. "And I know I haven't told you everything. But you need to trust me, Ava. You're not alone in this." I wished I could believe him, but after all that had happened, I wasn't sure who I could trust anymore.
Lying in bed that night, my head jumbled fear and insecurity together. The figure in the window, the prophecy, my hidden bloodline-too much to deal with. Yet, I couldn't turn my back on it either. I was part of this, no matter how much I agreed or disagreed to being so.
I rolled onto my side and pulled the covers a little tighter. Just as I relaxed enough to let sleep overtake me, I heard it again-that sound of footsteps outside my door.
I squeezed my breath tight and listened hard
. The footsteps stopped just outside my room.
Then, the door creaked open.