Breaking free

Nia did not know that her mother was acquainted with the pack’s shaman. The same shaman who declared her cursed. The same shaman she was warned to stay away from. Her head spun as she began to make sense of their conversation.

“I fear silverbane would not be enough to suppress her wolf. I do not want her to become cursed like the rest of them.” It was Kira speaking.

“Any additional herb might render her useless and ultimately kill her. Besides, you cannot keep her true identity hidden forever. The truth would soon be revealed. What will you do then?” Nia heard the shaman’s calm but eerie voice this time.

“All I want is for her to never acquire a wolf. If she does it will be disastrous.” Kira expressed her fears as she anxiously paced across the room, her footsteps resounding in the stillness of the night.

“For who exactly? You or your daughter?”

“That does not matter. She must remain without a wolf forever.”

“Being useless in a pack has done enough damage to her. You know the Alpha’s children bully her. Your daughter is suffering and you know it” This time, the shaman slammed her staff on the floor to reiterate her point.

“Since you refuse to help me, Kindly take your leave.” There was an air of defiance in Kira’s voice and her mind was made up to keep Nia’s wolf at bay for as long as she could. At this point, Nia's heart shattered into a million pieces. Her mother had been the source of all her suffering and she wasn’t remorseful. The pain started in her heart and spread to the rest of her joints. It felt like she was being stabbed with thousands of knives at the same time. This pain was worse than the pain of her eighteen-year-long torment at the hands of Lyra. It was overpowering and crushing. A shrill scream tore from the pit of her stomach and penetrated the silence of the midnight. Kira and the shaman emerged from the room in panic.

“No.” Kira gasped just as the shaman took a step back.

“The consequences of your actions have arrived.” The shaman’s gray eyes were wild with horror just as Nia’s forest green eyes turned pitched black and her black hair stood on end. She looked possessed.

“Nia.” Kira reached out to hold her daughter but Nia backed away. Her eyes looked deadly and she did not recognize her mother anymore. The shaman disappeared into the night, leaving mother and daughter to solve their problem.

“Nia” Kira called out again. “You have to control it.”

“Why?” Nia asked in a guttural voice that sounded very foreign.

“Oh, gracious goddess.” Kira clasped her hands in desperation. “please my child” she begged again. “You have to control it.”

“Why? Why did you have to hurt me this much?” At this point, Nia’s claws began to protract. “I tried to hide my pain from you so you would not be heartbroken but you knew all along. Why?” Nia’s pain was visible through her words and her expression. She clutched her shirt and doubled over in more agony.

“I did it to protect you.” This Kira tried moving closer to her daughter.

“From who?” Nia took a step back. She wanted to avoid her mother’s touch. To think that her mother was the root cause of her problems made her crumble. She felt worse than betrayed.

“You do not understand.” Kira cried.

“You have never loved me. All you did was to use me for some sick experimentation of yours. But, not anymore” Nia said with determination lacing her words. Suddenly, She craved the outside air and the woods. She desperately wanted to get away from the restrictions of the wooden cabin. With a final look of disgust at her mother, Nia burst through the cabin and ran off into the woods.

After running for a few minutes Nia collapsed onto the floor in agony. The pain had become unbearable. She curled herself into a ball as she begged the goddess to take the suffering from her. Soon, she could hear her heart pounding in her ears and the flow of blood in her veins. It felt like her time to leave the realm for good had arrived. Just as she thought it was over, her limbs and joints began to stretch, followed by loud cracking sounds. Nia yelled in pain; her voice turning hoarse. The veins in her head and neck protruded with each scream. Gradually, her yells turned to growls as she shifted to the most majestic white wolf ever. One of its kind. It took Nia a few minutes to adjust to her second nature before she took off with joy, basking in the moonlight. Finally, she would no longer Be considered weak. Nia ran through the trees, the branches grazing her white fur. She leaped over logs and fallen leaves, reveling in her new power.

She felt powerful and fast. Nia stood in the clearing Her snout turned upward toward the moon in a howl of joy. That singular act brought the release of her pain and tension. Finally, she lay on her back as she connected with the forest. The warm whisper of the gentle night breeze caressed her fur and she longed to remain there till the end of time. Nia’s sense of smell heightened and she could recognize the faint smell of the Alpha’s scent. She also picked up Lyra’s scent and a few of the other pack members. That meant they were close by. Had there been a rouge attack? Nia wondered. Ordinarily, the Alpha did not come to the borders unless something was up. Or did they Pick up the scent of her wolf and think her to be a rogue?

Nia stood on all fours and prepared to face them squarely. She would not go down without a fight. But, she also sensed a human in their company. Her mother. Nia figured that her mother probably wanted to hand her over to the Alpha as a prisoner and she decided to fight them all. Relative or not.

The air became heavy with tension as Nia’s ears tuned to the sound of approaching footsteps. She stood in battle mode, ready to take them all down. Her mother included. This time, the Human part of her soul, retreated to the corner of her mind and gave the reins of control to her wolf who had no human instinct.

Kira emerged with the pack warriors behind her. She knew that Nia had the power to be a weapon of mass destruction and could kill or be killed. All she wanted was to protect her daughter from the forces that would haunt her. Since the herbs she had been using for eighteen years had failed her, Kira decided to do it the hard way. But, Nia’s wolf perceived this tactic to be the highest betrayal of all.

“Nia” Kira called out. “Shift to your human form, let us talk about this”

In response, Nia’s wolf growled in warning, her eyes turning red. She was beyond livid at this point. At the corner of her eye, she spotted Lyra’s wolf snarling at her and that was all it took for all hell to break loose. Nia lunged at Lyra and clawed at her face. Lyra pushed Nia off and aimed for her heart. It took Nia a millisecond to dodge and claw at Lyra’s fur-covered belly. A payback for the claw marks she received earlier. Soon, Jaxon joined in the fight and Nia bit his leg with her sharp fangs and broke it at the ankle. Jaxon whimpered in pain and retreated. The Alpha growled in an attempt to re reinforce his dominance and make Nia surrender but she growled back at him. She just stood up to the Alpha- An act unheard of for it takes an Alpha to challenge another Alpha. Nia refused to back down. They were all going to pay for what she’s been through all her life.

Even after the warriors lunged at her, she still stood tall with a bloodied snout. Nia bit off the neck of a warrior, clawed the other one’s heart out, and rendered the last one blind. As they lay at her feet, half dead, Alpha Talon decided to end the ordeal with one powerful strike. As he extended his claws to strike her, Nia dodged and pushed him into a nearby tree trunk. The alpha took a few seconds to regain his composure But, it was too late. Nia was about to give him a taste of her fury. All of a sudden, Kira jumped between them and took the blow to her neck. It all happened so fast that it could not be prevented. In an instant, Kira’s blood flowed out of her in torrents as she collapsed to the ground; pleading eyes trained on Nia who shifted back to her human form within seconds.

Nia crawled to Kira and held her close to her chest. “No.No. Mom. Please……don’t leave me. I’m sorry.”

Kira opened her mouth to talk but she couldn’t. Instead, the light in her eyes slowly died out as a shrill cry of regret and despair tore from Nia’s lips. The ground shook and there was a thunder flash. Rain began pouring in torrents, turning the pool of blood from Kira’s body to a running strip. Suddenly, Nia’s airway became constricted and she passed out on top of her mother. Something evil had been born.