Forbidden Mate: Awakening

~ADRIAN’S POV~

My eyes fluttered open. The memories of the past flooded my mind. I found myself lying in a dark room, and as my gaze focused, I saw Lily’s father, but a much younger version, standing before him. The air was thick with tension as we locked eyes. Our past and conflicting desires hanged between us.

Henry’s grip tightened around the journal in his hands. He sounded so bitter as he spoke, “You thought you could betray us and get away with it, Adrian? You were a brother to me, and yet you sided with our enemies.”

I looked down shamefully then back at him, “Henry, you must understand. It wasn’t betrayal; it was a choice born out of love. I couldn’t sit by and watch as the violence escalated. I had to find a different way.”

His eyes narrowed, “Different way? You turned your back on your own kind, on your own family. And now you expect forgiveness?”

My gaze softened as my voice filled with sincerity. “Henry, I never wanted to cause harm to anyone. I stood by your side because I believed in what we were fighting for. But as time passed, I started to see that there was something bigger at play in this fight. I began to imagine a world where vampires and werewolves could live together in harmony.”

Henry scoffed, “Vampires and werewolves? Live together? You were always the dreamer, Adrian. But dreams won’t protect our people, they won’t ensure their safety. The only thing that matters is strength.”

My eyes flashed with apprehension as I spoke, “Strength alone will only lead to more bloodshed, Henry. We have the power to break the cycle, to forge a new path. But we must be willing to embrace change.”

Henry’s grip on the journal tightened. His voice grew colder. “Change? You speak of ideals, Adrian, but ideals won’t protect us. They won’t protect Lily.”

My expression hardened and a fire ignited in my eyes. “Lily is strong, Henry. She might be a baby now but her destiny is far greater than you can imagine. She is our hope, our bridge between our worlds. I will protect her with everything I have, even if it means facing you.”

Henry’s face twisted with anger, “You dare threaten me? After everything you’ve done?”

My voice remained steady, “I don’t want to fight you, Henry. But if it comes to it, I will do whatever it takes to ensure Lily’s safety. She is the most precious person in our world right now. She’s too precious… If you are not willing to raise her because you’re afraid, then give her to me and I will give her to the Nim people.”

As we finished talking, our shared past and the choices we had made seemed to set heavily in the air. The things that happened before shaped our lives now, and we were on a collision course. I knew I couldn’t change Henry’s mind, and Henry thought my ideas were just dreams.Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

Deep inside, we both carried the pain of our broken friendship, a friendship that used to be strong. But now, we were enemies, following our own beliefs and loyalties. The memories of what we used to be would continue to affect us, leading to a conflict between two men who once fought together but now stood on opposite sides of a war.

I suddenly snapped out of my thoughts, my eyes wide open and my breath coming in quick gasps. It felt like a shock, as if I had been transported back in time.

Memories flooded my mind once again, taking me back to a significant moment I had shared with Henry.

In this flashback, I and a younger Henry fought together in a fierce battle. We were a team, always watching each other’s backs and trusting each other completely. Our bond was strong, and we fought side by side with a common purpose.

But then something happened. This was after what happened in the previous flashback.

We clashed over a journal that Henry had found. I believed I deserved to have it because of my knowledge of its relevance, but Henry disagreed. The disagreement grew into a heated argument, and our emotions reached a boiling point.

My voice echoed, “You may have the journal, Henry, but mark my words, I will come back for what is most precious to me. I will return to claim your daughter.”

The sudden flashback left me feeling overwhelmed. My heart pounded with the intensity of those memories. I realized that my need for revenge against Henry had brought me to this difficult situation where I was now, trapped and suffering.

Or had it?

I took a deep breath and tried to calm down. I knew I had to focus on finding a way to escape and meet up with Lily again. I couldn’t let my past anger and grudges get in the way of our safety. It was important for me to think clearly and make smart decisions to give us the best chance of surviving.

This hole.

This grimy looking place. Was this a temple or a cave?

I opened my eyes slowly and found myself in utter darkness.

“I have to find-”

But I slipped back into unconsciousness.

•••••••••••

~NARRATOR’S POV~

Tyler was pacing in the hallway, unsure of what he was to do next as the reality of him being the next Alpha became inescapable by the day.

“It’s actually going to happen…soon.” He whispered to himself.

The elders were already making preparations for his coronation whilst Lily’s father adviced he’d first be the general to the army before considering him as the Alpha. I mean, what was the difference? It’s more or less the same position of authority and Tyler was darn well not ready to lead in that capacity.

You would think he was, that’s why he fought his father after all, but he actually wasn’t. Now he came to think of it, “I am not fucking ready.” He angrily said and punched the wall, leaving a dent in it.

His father was right. What had he done? He’d not even seen his father’s face since the last week he put him in that condition, and now reality was heavily dawning on him. All what his father said was correct.

Fuck!

He cursed under his breath and paced down the hallway, severely trying to double down on the mental breakdown he was having.

But then he suddenly stopped. He heard voices, Audrey’s own more pronounced. She was in a room with Tiana and she was the one doing most of the talking.

Tyler wanted to walk past and continue in his stress-releasing brisk, but something she said made him pause again.

“You know how stupid Tyler is. Even though I wasn’t able to get him to make me his Luna while his father was well and healthy, now the old man is about to die, there’ll be noone to guide him. He’ll be like a puppet… so easy to persuade and control and even now Lily’s gone, there’s nothing stopping from me from sitting on that throne.” Audrey’s cynical voice stated.

Tyler couldn’t believe his ears. Was he hearing correctly or was he just making up things in his head?

“But Audrey, how will you get him back? I mean now his father is likely to die soon, he’ll be so busy with his new responsibilities. How would you fit in?” Tiana innocently asked.

“Tyler is like an open book. If you read and memorize a paragraph of him, that’s all you need to get him wrapped around your fingers and tucked in your bag. It was harder when Lily was around with her foul presence but now the bitch is gone-”

Tyler barged open the door and walked into the room. Tiana gasped as if her soul was about to leave her body. The surprise and guilt on Audrey’s face confirmed his suspicions.

“So now Lily’s gone, then what?! Did you have something to do with her disappearance, Audrey?” Tyler balled.

“What?” She pretended to ask surprised. “Tyler, what are you doing here? Were you spying on our conversation?”

“Answer the question!”

Audrey nervously looked at Tiana and then back at Tyler and tried to compose herself, “No, I didn’t. Why would you think that?”

“Then what where you saying just now about you being happy she’s out of the way so you can easily manipulate me?” His voice got more hoarse.

“So you were listening to our conversation?”

“And I’m glad I did, or I wouldn’t have discovered how sick and twisted you are.” He stepped closer to her, hands curled into fists. “So, you’ve been deceiving me all along, Audrey?”

Audrey, always skilled at manipulation, tried to make him doubt.

“It’s not what you think, Tyler,” she begged. “There’s more to this than you realize. You need to trust me.”

Tyler’s eyes narrowed, disappointment written all over his face. “Trust you? After everything I just heard from your mouth, Audrey? I believed in you, stood up for you, and now I feel like a fool!”

Audrey’s anger blazed in her eyes and she broke the act all of sudden. “You don’t get it! I had and still have reasons. This is bigger than you or Lily. Can’t you see that?”

He glared at her, “So you aren’t hiding it anymore? You’re admitting to it?”

“Well, I mean, if I say you’re misunderstanding me, would you believe me? You’d say you heard what you heard and lying right now won’t actually change anything.” She spat at him.

“Wow. You betrayed us, Audrey. You let us all down. How could I have been so blind?”

His words struck Audrey hard, like a slap to her face She had always prided herself on her cleverness and skill at manipulating others, but she had underestimated Tyler’s reasoning.

“You all in this pack need a reality check. If I’m the one who decieves, then what makes your father who’s stolen power and property to be where he is now?”

“Don’t you dare insult my father to my face! Or do you want to die right now?!” Tyler’s eyes blazed with fire and claws started to creep out under his nails.

Audrey’s eyes shook but fear didn’t enter her. She smirked malevolently, “You want to kill me like you tried to killed your father?”

Tyler’s mouth dropped open. How did she…

“I know more things about what happens within these four walls than anyone else, Tyler. You have no idea how much shit I have on your back. You also have no idea how much I’ve tolerated in this stupid place, trying to get you to accept me… Not any fucking more. Yes, I want power and I’m not a cowardice like you who cowers behind the elders because you can’t handle when your father tells you the truth.” Audrey’s words stung at him.

Tyler’s voice softened as guilt crept in. “Get ready for your banishment, Audrey. You broke our trust, and there will be consequences. And for whatever lies you have concocted, they will be banished with you.”

Audrey’s anger flared up and her lips were in a twisted smile. “My lies are the ugly truth of this pack. Trust me, you’ll regret this, Tyler. Mark my words! You’ll regret abandoning me.”

With a heavy heart, Tyler turned away, unwilling to listen to her lies anymore. He realized the truth about Audrey’s true self right at that moment. But her knowledge of things she claimed noone else knew about the pack… how did she know he attacked his father? How did she know that? Was she an actual witch or something? Banishing her was the only solution Tyler could think of and he quickly made his way to the elders to do so.

He was stumped he had trusted someone like her so blindly. He called Lily and Jaxon liars for trying to expose her…he believed her over them, over Lily. His heart drew weary but his legs hastened to close this chapter of Audrey before she did more damages than she had already done.

Audrey was filled with rage and her mind was consumed by thoughts of getting revenge. Tiana wanted to hold her but she threw her hands up and started destroying everything she could see.

“Audrey please stop.” Tiana begged.

“I will end him! Do you know how much I’ve done and given for him? How dare he? He wants to banish me?! He will regret this!” Audrey cried around the room and beat herself.

“I’ve loved only him. I’ve given him everything. How dare he?!”

The feeling of being betrayed made her even more determined to show Tyler and the pack that they had made a mistake wronging her, in ways we no-one knew yet except herself.

She was confident they would regret underestimating her cleverness.

“Trust me…” she said as she knelt on the floor, her hair already messed up, “he will regret this. They will all regret this.”