Chapter 8 - It Hurts! Stop It!

In a fit of anger, Adrianna drove far away on her motorcycle. Far from the boundaries of the blue moon pack and deep into the jungles. She stopped at her favorite spot– a tranquil lake right in the middle of the mountains. The stars glimmered softly in the deep dark waters as though they had created another sky of their own. The mountains were stark against starry night, their dark peaks jutting sharply into the sky.

Adrianna perched over a stony outcrop as a soft breeze lifted the ends of her hair and brought the smell of summer. She held her breath before exhaling softly, calming herself and letting her anger simmer down. Closing her eyes to focus on her power, she felt it strain against her control, begging to be released. Reaching deep within her, she found a pool of white light that was her wild magic. Unable to deny that pool of fire any longer, she crouched and threw her hands forward, releasing light that scattered across the surface of the lake as though thousands of stars had fallen there.

The water of the lake became crystal clear as if someone had lit it, and put the life inside on display.

Out of nowhere Adrianna heard voices in her brain. Some shrieked while some clicked, and some bellowed sharply. They were begging her to stop it.

"It hurts! Stop it!" one of them snapped at her.

Adrianna's concentration broke and she opened her eyes. The fire within her body immediately subsided. What was that? She was suddenly scared of herself. This had never happened before. She felt drained, and her energy was depleted to the point that she had to rest. After some time she stretched, and stood. The night was beginning to get chillier, but it felt pleasant to her wolf. A cool breeze grazed her cheeks and soon she felt sleepy.

She would never marry someone she didn't know. She thought of her father's command. Next waning moon, the Supreme Alpha would come to meet them to take her officially but she would run away before she would acquiesce to a forced union.

She didn't know when she fell asleep but a strange movement made her open her eyes. She looked around sleepily — not finding anything untoward, she went back to sleep. She dreamt of someone stroking her hair, her cheeks and then taking those long fingers softly down the contours of her body. Her body felt strange and she wanted to wake up, but the touch was so relaxing that she felt intoxicated. Was it real? Unable to get up, she sank back into sleep.

Her eyes fluttered open as dawn broke, sensing the morning light. The mountains rose in front of her, their high peaks shrouded in mist. The sky was a vast expanse of blue, and below the lake reflected the sky's color, slowly bleeding golden as the sun rose. Aa rug of vivid greens, deep yellows, bright scarlet, and burnt orange glinted in the lake, looking out-worldly. The lush green trees stood as silent observers of the snowy peak of the mountains, the clouds, the lake, and the river flowing out of it..

She stood there in awe of her surroundings, her red jacket flowing flimsily around her.

Adrianna dusted her clothes and got on her motorcycle to go back to her grandfather's cottage. She had to attend university today and make up for the classes she had missed in the past week. Revving up the engine, she drove back quickly.

She parked the motorcycle in front of the cottage and as she walked towards the portico, she saw her grandfather glaring at her. His eyes were red and it looked as though his wolf would come out at any moment. She neared him slowly and as soon as she was in distance of the front door, ran inside quickly to escape his wrath.

He followed her and before she could close the door of her room, he growled, "Adrianna!"

She stopped midway and turned around slowly. Meekly she asked, "Yes grandpa?"

"Where were you the whole night? Do you know how worried I was?"

She looked down at her muddy shoes as she tucked her hair behind her ear, and said, "I'm sorry, grandpa. I cannot marry someone unless I fall in love with him." Her wolf patted her for being so resolute. Her best friend Okashi had asked her to never trust anyone other than her own instincts apart from everything else she tells her. Of course, Okashi knew the best in these matters, being judged the most beautiful girl of the college. There were hundreds of boys who wanted to be her friend.

"Foolish girl,werewolves are different!" he shouted, exasperated at her lack of knowledge about werewolf mating and his inability to talk to her about it freely.

"Different? How?" she asked making her large brown eyes wider than they already were.

His hands fisted and, with a lot of effort, he said, "The mates are strongly attracted to each other when they meet!"

"In that case, Kayla can meet that pack's alpha. She' is looking for a mate, I heard it from her nanny. When she meets him, they will be strongly attracted to one another and I won't have to marry him," said Adrianna triumphantly before turning to her room. She locked it from inside, grinning at her fantastic reasoning and went to the bathroom to get dressed for the university.