~Layla~
Nathaniel was telling me about Sabrina, and he was mentioning so many things that I didn’t know. Analise hadn’t told me half of the things about this woman that Nathaniel was.
She had this vision for the world where everyone was strong, and nobody had to be helpless. A world for werewolves where strength wasn’t a projection of where you came from or our physical abilities but rather something you could choose. She wanted everyone to be a warrior, a pack that always fought together against a threat, but she didn’t want another werewolf to be said threat. No, she wanted all werewolves to work together, and that by doing so, the threats would dissolve. A world where peace was the new normal. It went against our nature; we fought, we bled, and we healed, but she didn’t want it to be amongst other werewolves. One strong species working together.
“She wanted a world of peace. She knew the powers she held, and she wanted everyone to feel as powerful,” He said and smiled.
“What happened to her?” His smile dimmed and his eyes read over the lines on the torn paper.
“She was hunted down by other packs. They felt she was getting too powerful, and she was preaching her beliefs about a peaceful world where Alphas didn’t have to challenge each other, where packs didn’t have to kill off their members in the countless fights that broke out, and rogues didn’t have to live in seclusion. She was telling them about her visions of this alternate reality where they all worked together for a greater good, but you see, the Alphas didn’t like that. They like being in charge of other people’s lives. They like being in control of their members, and more than anything, they love power. This vision she had would take away their power and their control; they wouldn’t be the strongest anymore, nobody would be. Everyone would be equal, and all ranks would cease to exist. When word spread about her hopes and wishes, they saw her as a threat against their way of living, and they killed her. Several packs joined together in the hunt, and many died trying to get to her. Sabrina was an Emberclaw, the first one and a very strong one; she had this fantastic ability to project images into other people’s minds.” My eyes widened in disbelief, and I stared at him blankly.
“She could do that?” He nodded his head.
“And she was the only one. Nobody else was ever seen with that power. It was believed that one day someone would be born who would carry this unique gift, and that person would be Sabrina’s personal pick for who would lead her cause and make it a reality. And then you came along, Layla Lecruest, a direct descendant of the very first Emberclaw. You are very special, and you will be the one to make her wishes a reality. You will be the one to make sure that she didn’t die in vain.” Nathaniel spoke with such vigor; it was like he spoke of a goddess, the moon goddess, but it wasn’t her. This woman was something else; she wasn’t a saint who wanted well for everyone.
It all sounded well when he said it, but there was just one huge problem: I knew he was lying. There were things he wasn’t telling me, truths that laid hidden in his sweet words about a peaceful life. “How exactly did she plan on making that happen?” I asked him and swallowed the lump that was building in my throat. He broke eye contact and shrugged a shoulder.
Nathaniel rolled up the scripture again and put it aside.
“There are always sacrifices that have to be made for the greater good,”
“Which sacrifices was she planning to make for this one?” I asked and leaned back against the chair. The danger of talking to a person who is good with his words and who believes blindly in a fairytale is that you never know what is hiding behind his words.
“In order to make the werewolves superior to any other species and to ensure a peaceful life for them all, they all need the strength of an Emberclaw.” My jaw dropped to the floor; the crackling of the fire seemed to echo into the hollow shell of my mind as all thoughts vanished like puffs of air. My body fell heavily against the chair; my arms felt limp, and my lips were getting dry from the air brushing against them.
“You can’t make Emberclaws; they are born,” my voice was a hoarse whisper.
Nathaniel sat upright and moved in closer. He pushed his chair up in front of mine and grabbed my hands.
I looked down at our fingers intertwining and I gulped.
“Which is why a new breed needs to be birthed. Imagine every wolf being born as an Emberclaw,”
“You can’t guarantee an Emberclaw being born from a regular werewolf,” I defended.
“But what if I can?” His hands grabbed harder onto mine; I felt his speeding pulse and the excitement that glimmered in his eyes.
Nathaniel wasn’t telling me a story, he was telling me his plans.
“I need to go.” I pulled my hands back and stood up, all the blood rushed from my head, and I spun on my feet in dizziness as I tried to locate the door.
I heard how his chair dragged on the floor as he rose to his feet, but I didn’t turn around; I couldn’t look at him. How was I supposed to do the right thing and know the truth without him knowing that I know?
“Layla,” his voice was smooth like silk, and he said my name with more compassion than I had heard anyone say it for so long. I missed my name being said like that, loving and warm.
“No, please, I have to go.” I forced my feet to take me to the door, but as I pulled the handle, it was locked. The cold metal felt like ice against my heated body, and it helped ease my spinning mind.
“Layla please,” I shook my head and closed my eyes when I heard his footsteps nearing me.
I didn’t turn around; I couldn’t because I knew he was standing right behind me.
His fingers came up to brush the hair away from my neck and he sighed.
“Unlock the doors.” I heard the click, and it felt like freedom; that sound had the tears pressing against the back of my eyes.
She opened the door, her sheer fabric barely covering anything and that sweet smile as though nothing was out of place.
I stepped over the threshold and held my breath.
“Remember, Layla, Justin asked you to trust me. Don’t neglect his wish, even if you don’t agree with mine.” I walked down the hallway, and only when I stepped outside did I release the breath I was holding. The door closed behind me, and I ran back to my own house.
I slammed the door shut behind me and clutched my stomach as the tears began to stream, and my stomach started turning.
“Oh no,” I ran through the house and into the bathroom where I fell to the floor and hunched over the toilet. That’s where I sat for the next two hours as my stomach emptied all contents from the day.
I turned around and wiped my mouth as I pressed my body back against the wall and my legs laid limp on the floor. I cried, harder than I had for a long time because everything suddenly dawned on me all at once; I was alone, there was nobody here on my side, nobody would come and ask how I was feeling. Nobody here cared about me, and I had no way of connecting to the ones who did.
I sat on that floor until it got dark, throwing up in waves and feeling too weak to lift my body.
“What is happening to me?” I whispered and wiped the tears but knowing that nobody would answer me only had the tears streaming harder. My eyelids grew heavy, and my head leaned on the cupboard.
My hands rested on my knees, and my breathing grew more shallow as I was whisked away from the reality that was suffocating me.
