He Was The One

Dragana POV

Coming out of the lake, my whole body was burning. I could feel the obvious tension between Art, Roman and me, I could sense the pull to both. I had this urge to simply go to them and hide my face in their chest, held by their arms.. What are those thoughts??? I quickly shook them, ignoring Aisha and Vasilla’s opinions on it, dressed and tried to focus on the present. We needed to get the Blessed Blade, we needed to heal Jasmine. We needed to figure out who the Red Woman was, and most importantly, I needed to know if Cybela was alive. So many thoughts were going though my head, and I was buzzing with the electricity and power I never felt before. “Child… that was something else… You .. You were incredible!”, said Alpha King Jonathan, in his fatherly voice pulling me into a tight hug. “Dragana, I know I asked you before, but I am asking you again… please forgive me… Only now, do I realize what I have held you back from, the potential and power you had… You being here… not allowed to train.. not allowed to access your powers”, he said solemnly, his head hung, shame and despair reeking off him.

I didn't know what to say. It is true that I would have learned of my Tribrid powers earlier, had I been afforded some education on my history and who I was. But what good would that do to an orphaned girl, with no family, no coven, no real pack, no understanding of her powers?? I would have rebelled, and run away, my raw powers on display, for all to see, all to abuse, a tornado in the midst, destroying everything in her path, including herself.

A realization slowly started to dawn on me. Based on all I have learned since I left the pack, is that Alpha King Jonathan and his Luna Queen Angela were our friends, protecting me and my mother, under a guise of holding us prisoners. Seeing my power manifest itself, even though I did not fully understand it, the whole situation scared me. What if my powers ever ended up in the wrong hands??? What if I was forced to hurt others, innocent people, women, children… What if I was forced to use my powers to kill??? Clarity slowly started seeping into me, painful as icicles and feeling cold, but I finally started to understand what exactly they were protecting me from, however misguided, however clumsily, and however it may have hurt.

In addition, I had no real training and no means to control my power. To date, everything I did was out of pure emotion, out of concern, fear, or love – but none of that was controlled: it was raw, reckless, and dangerous. Grasping at all this I nearly collapsed, only to be caught by Lady Asma, who held me in her warm embrace, simply stroking my hair, her warm breath on me, her lips kissing my forehead, her heart thumping in peace and kindness, trying to calm me down. “Shhhh.. Shhhh… honey… I know….. I know…”, she said, gently removing strands of my hair from my face, her honey hazel eyes locking in on mine, speaking to me as a mother would. “I am here baby girl…. I am here…” She looked so much like my mom, save for her eyes. Her face carried that unmistakable kindness, her hands were holding me like mom used to, and her scent was almost identical. “I know you are my aunt”, I blurted out, perhaps scared to finish the sentence, but a lot was happening, and I had no time for theatrics. “Good. Apparently, you have great eyesight, and I guess your wolf recognizes Harrah. After all, she helped deliver you”, she chuckled. We stood there, at the shore of the sacred lake, under the blue-blooming tree, Art watching me with concern, Alpha King Jonathan standing guard, and the tree humming in concert to our conversation. My mother never mentioned any family members, and the more I discovered this whole story, my whole life and all that has been hidden from me, the more it made sense that she chose the life of exile.

“You have been missed.... so missed Dragana. We have all prayed for you, your presence, your soul to come back to us my little one”, she said, her eyes now full of tears. “It was never supposed to come to this, honey. Your mother sacrificed so much to hide you, to protect you. It was not meant to be like this”, she said, holding me tightly as if she were never going to let me go. A swirl of emotions came over me, and for a moment I was unable to breathe, I did not really know what to say. However, I needed to know, I needed to ask some questions, I needed to confirm what I heard, I needed to know that I was not completely insane, that all of this was not a dream. “My father???”, I but whispered a burning question…

Her smile faltered and her energy changed, although she was trying to keep her composure with tremendous effort, but I noticed the shift, the shadow that fell on her. Silence followed and Art put his arms around me, as if he were sure that whatever came next, I would need his love and support. I looked up to him gratefully, wondering how I ever got so lucky to have a support of such a kind, considerate and handsome man. “He loved you… So very much…”, she barely responded. “Auntie…please… please…. What happened??? I need to know.. please… I DESERVE TO KNOW!” I shouted inadvertently, Art pulling me closer into his chest, his wolf purring to calm me.

She did not know where to look or what to do. I could see the beads of sweat coming from her face, her hands nervously moving, her whole being conflicted. I knew, I simply knew, I sensed it in my very soul, in every fiber of it, Vasilla and Aisha screaming in unison confirming my suspicions. “You know something.. And now, it is time to tell me”, I again said softly. Her head fell down, and she started sobbing uncontrollably. She looked as if she would break at any moment, her cries becoming louder, her small frame slouching.. I could not watch her like that. I ran over and held her tight, held her as if my life depended on it. I wanted her to know I was there, there for her, there to love her, there as her family. “Whatever it is, you can tell me”, I gently nudged her. Lifting her head up, her beautiful eyes puffy and red from tears, she looked frail and vulnerable. But nothing prepared me for what she said next. “It was your father Dragana, my princess… my child. It was him. He was the one who killed your mother…”