The Lost Werewolf King's Mate

Chapter 44: Elizabeth's POV

WHO AM I: PART I

What we were following was no longer a golden path. It was a path blazing with vicious and intense flames. If anyone else could see what I was seeing, they'd be scared that the fire would burn everything down.

The further along we drove, the more intense and bigger the flames got. My whole body was heating up and there was a relentless pounding in my head like someone was trying to claw themselves out and they were going to do it even if it killed me.

I kept drifting in and out of consciousness. Although the intense heat wasn't causing me any pain, the intense pounding in my head was pure agony.

"Liz! Come on you have to stay awake." I kept hearing Mike yell at me and shaking me while I drifted in and out of consciousness, but he was still driving the car as fast as he could.

The closer we got to the destination, the worse the pounding in my head felt. I was screaming now. It felt like my head was going to explode.

"Mike!", I yelled at him, "please drive faster! I can't keep this up anymore." I was holding my head with both hands, while also directing Mike where to go. It felt like an impossible situation to be in, but he and I always managed to make things work.

The next time I opened my eyes, I saw large open fields. Right in the middle, a swarm of probably tens of thousands of fireflies had gathered. They were flying around so fast and rapidly that it looked like a tornado of fire would rip out of them.

I didn't have to tell Mike we had arrived. The scene before us was magical enough for both of us to understand this wasn't normal.

"Mike", I was speaking through shallow breaths, "no matter what happens, please promise me you'll stay right here. I have a feeling that I will be in a lot of pain, but it won't kill me. I think it's the only way for me to find out what I am." I was trying my best to string sentences together with all the pain that I was going through.

He just gave me his usual concerned look and nodded his head while he helped me get out of the car.

I ran to the tornado of fireflies. My body was almost being pulled into them. The moment I touched the centre of the swarm of fireflies, they erupted into waves and waves of endless flames. The flames engulfed me and spread throughout all the neighbouring fields, burning everything in its wake.

I turned around to see Mike quickly get in the car and drive to get a safe distance away from the fire.

I was in unbearable pain. My entire body was on fire and I could feel every flame burning off my skin again and again while my skin healed itself only to be burned off again.

I finally dropped to my knees out of sheer exhaustion and agonising pain. My body had reached a point where it couldn't heal itself fast enough anymore. I had no strength left to fight this fire.

I saw Mike trying to get to me, but there was no way for him to do that without being burned alive. The entire field was on fire and the fire was just growing. Everything had been burned down, but the fire kept burning like it was fueled by something.

"Mike, no!", I managed to shout at him.

I could feel my body healing slower while the flames burned me quicker. But I couldn't die; not here. Mike would risk his life trying to save me and I wasn't going to let that happen.

I found the strength to slowly stand up and when I blinked, I opened my eyes to find that I was no longer in the field. There was a blinding white light and then suddenly I was standing in the most beautiful and serene garden I've ever seen in my life.

This had to be heaven. I wasn't in any pain anymore and I felt happy and whole here. Every broken piece inside me was being mended. Wherever I was, I didn't want to leave.

"Elizabeth", I heard the most angelic voice I've ever heard in my life. Whoever this was, I wanted her to keep saying my name.

I turned around and found a woman clothed in blinding gold light walking towards me. As she got closer, I started seeing her more clearly.

She had the most flawless dark caramel skin with long, ebony black hair that almost reached the ground. Her eyes, she had the same flames as me in her eyes and was covered in gold from head to toe. Some parts of her body could be seen through the gold coverings, like her stomach, her long legs and arms and her beautiful neck.

I had never seen anyone this beautiful in my entire life.

I instinctively knelt down. There was so much power emanating from this woman that it was even filling me up.

I heard her chuckle when she saw me kneeling infront of her. "No need for that, Liz", she said jokingly. "You can get up."

I looked up and she was holding her hand out to me. I reached for it and touched it. It felt like touching the purest thing on earth.

"I am Azrah, the Sun Godess."

I was struggling to believe her. Everyone we met said the Sun Godess was a myth. People had even destroyed books that had anything to do with her because they didn't want others believing in a god that didn't exist. It turns out they were all wrong. The Sun Godess does exist. She was standing right infront of me and she even has a name.

"Azrah", I repeated her name. It tasted like honey in my mouth.

She smiled. "I can see you have many questions for me. Perhaps even too many for me to answer right now."

She took my hand and led me to a bench.

"Azrah, what am I?" I didn't mean to, but the words tumbled out of my mouth. I was still in awe of what was happening.

She took a deep breath. "The only way for you to understand who you are is to hear the full story of how Jeremiah and Orion were able to defeat Raphael."

I nodded my head while my mouth hung open.

"Jeremiah and Raphael's mother were not fated mates", she started.

"They weren't?", I asked.

"No. They were chosen mates. Their mating bond was the result of an alliance between the witches and werewolves. You see, there were wars between the two species. To end the bloodshed, Jeremiah decided a mating alliance between the Alpha of the werewolves and the head of the witch coven would be the best way to end all the suffering."

"Okaaaayy", I stretched out the word to indicate that I needed to hear more.

"The thing is to do this, Jeremiah had to reject his fated mate; a young she-wolf named Clara. Clara and Jeremiah were the first fated mates created by Selene, the Moon Godess. However, they were also the first fated mates to reject each other. They did this for the good of their people."

"Whaaat?"

She chuckled again and smiled at me. "Yes, Jeremiah and Clara were the very first werewolves to be blessed with a fated mate."

I still couldn't understand what this had to do with me.

She continued telling me the story. "When Selene first realised that Raphael's ascension was imminent, she asked for my help."

I furrowed my brows. "Why would she ask you for help? Isn't she also a Godess?"

She seemed impressed by my question.

"That's a very good question, Elizabeth. Not many people would have asked that. You see, unlike Selene and my other siblings, I have no interest in creating children of my own. Selene has her werewolves, Nayala has her inklings, Maru has his gryphons, and so forth and so forth. I, however, do not have any magical creatures that I created on my own."

"Why not?", I asked her absentmindedly.

"My role is to give my siblings all the magic they need to create their children and sustain themselves. That is all I ever wanted. Seeing my siblings and their children happy is all I need. That is why people think I am a myth."

"That makes a lot of sense." I could feel that slowly but surely the pieces if my identity were going to fall into place.

"Selene was going to let the wolves and witches deal with Raphael themselves. However, she realised this wasn't possible because Raphael had found a way to drain magical creatures of their magic. This might not sound like a big deal, but it is."

She took a deep breath. "I possess the purest and most abundant magic. I am the source of magic. I give it to my siblings for them to use it as they see fit. They keep some of the magic to themselves, but the magic they use to create their children must return to me. That way I can keep supplying them with magic. That is the natural order of things."

I exhaled loudly as the mood was getting very dark and sombre.

"Raphael has found a way to disturb this natural order. Everytime he drains a magical creature of their magic, it means the magic does not return to me. This means I grow weaker, as he grows stronger. And there will come a point where my siblings and I no longer have enough magic to defend ourselves, let alone their children."

I furrowed my brows. "Then stop him! You guys are all gods. Why don't you go down to earth to stop him?"

She had a pained expression on her face. "We may be gods, but like everything in nature, we too are bound by rules. We can only interfere minimally in the affairs of those on earth; and that's where Clara and Jeremiah came in."

I was so engrossed in this story that I almost forgot that it started with Clara and Jeremiah.

"When Selene asked for my help, I searched for a righteous soul amongst her children who would be worthy of being blessed with magic directly from the Sun Godess herself. I found Clara to be worthy of this gift and blessed her with the Phoenix-werewolf."

"What's a Phoenix-werewolf?", I asked.

"It is creature of my very own; a wolf that can shift into a mighty phoenix and is blessed with the power of the sun. This creation was the very first magical creature created by the Sun Godess herself."

"Wow!" That was all I managed to say.

"It was Clara who helped those who survived Raphael's rampage and brought them to her pack; regardless of whether they were werewolves or not. When she told Jeremiah that she was going to find Raphael and kill him, Jeremiah and Orion felt guilty that their fated mate had to carry a burden that they had created. So they told Clara they would go find Raphael themselves and kill him."

"The matebond created by the gods never dies so Clara felt compelled to listen to Jeremiah and she did something that even I didn't know was possible. She blessed Jeremiah and Orion with the power of the sun."

I gasped. "How?"

"Her love for Jeremiah and her people made her do something only I can do."

Then she sighed as she continued her story.

"After Jeremiah killed Raphael, none of the magic Raphael had stolen returned to me. It's lost forever and I will forever be weaker because of it."

I gave her a sad smile.

"The witches who supported Raphael found out about Clara and they started hunting her and her offspring down. They almost ended her bloodline, but her daughter managed to flee into the human world. She begged me to seal her powers and cloack her and her offspring from all magical creatures until such a time as the world needed the Phoenix-wolf again. I knew that I was the one who had put her in danger so I granted her her wish."

"Wait?", I shot up from the bench, "are you saying I am..." I trailed off.

She smiled and nodded her head. "Yes, you are a descendant of Clara and the time has come for the Phoenix-werewolf to rise again."

I didn't know what to say. There were so many people in my family who were ten times better than me. They would all make a much better Phoenix-wolf than me.

As if she heard my thoughts, she continued speaking.

"Do not let doubt cripple you, Liz. I did not make a mistake. I created you before you were even a thought in your parents' minds. Every fibre in your body was crafted by me; not even Clara had that honour. You have exceeded my and my siblings' expectations at every turn and that's why they have all guided you on your long journey to find me. We had to make sure you were worthy, and you have proven yourself time and time again."

She gestured for me to look in the distance and I saw the biggest wolf I've ever seen. It had the same flames in its eyes as me, and thick bright red fur. Its fur caught on fire and a few moments later it transformed into a large majestic phoenix. Both the wolf and phoenix were bigger than any alpha werewolf I've ever seen. They were even bigger than Orion and Taranis.

The Phoenix resembled the wolf. It had bright red feathers that were engulfed in flames.

The creature flew right at me and then evaporated into hundreds of fireflies as soon as it got to me. I could feel that it was a part of me. I saw the wolf slowly stalking in my head before it shifted into the phoenix. I realised this creature had always been with me.

"I am Phoenix, Elizabeth", the creature said in my head. Her voice was so authoritative. I could feel her strength coursing through my body.

I realised that Phoenix had always been with me. She just chose to reveal herself after I met Mathew. I realised she was the one who told me to run out of the bathroom when Jerry wouldn't let me go home. And it was her who screamed for me to leave the office the moment Sabrina walked in. She has never left my side. Her voice just turned into fire or the golden path. She's been right with me this whole time. I just had to be strong enough to finally meet her.

It was Phoenix who made me jump off Taranis' back mid-air because she wanted to soar in the sky. It was her that was pounding in my head and trying to claw herself out of my head on my way here. Every flame that I was able to conjour was Phoenix. She was in my eyes, she was in every flame and every fibre of my being.

I noticed Azrah narrowing her eyes at me; like she was expecting me to have more questions.