Viraai: (Book 4) Adversity

Kayla’s heart races in her chest, beating 120 times a minute as she sprints through the Black Moon Packhouse with a river of tears running down her face. It can’t be true… it can’t… She doesn’t know where she’s running to, but all she knows is that she has to get out of this house, and fast. Her skin burns harshly and her Wolf stirs within her, feeling her newly found power course through her body as she fights to maintain control of it, her body experiencing a series of emotions all at once. Her Mother… has been lying to her her whole life. She’s not her biological Mother… But how is that possible, how could she lie to her? After all this time? If it is true, then who are her parents, and what does Elder Raymond have to do with this? Nothing is making sense and the fact that she doesn’t have any of the answers only serves to drive her completely mad. Kayla finds herself sprinting outside and into the open woods, stopping right in front of the Packhouse and looking back at it as she tries to catch her breath. She’s not far enough. Kayla then shakes her head before she continues to run further into the woods, hoping that a run would help her clear her head and at least help her calm down before she can get some answers from her Mom... Her… ‘Mother’… “Argh!” Kayla screams as she pushes herself to run even faster than before, growing agitated as she recalls the conversation her Mother was having with Elder Raymond, moments before she walked in. They were talking to Naomi as well, and judging by her reaction, she didn’t know the truth about Kayla either. She heard her Mother tell Naomi that ‘it was the order of the Alpha...’ which makes Kayla question what exactly did she mean by that. After Naomi left, she heard Elder Raymond tell her Mother that there was a reason he didn’t want to give Kayla to her, and the whole reason she was made an Omega was to subdue her power. He told her that Kayla would only bring nothing but harm, just like her parents before which only solidifies the fact that Trina is not actually her Mother. She can’t handle any of this… Kayla brings herself to a stop once she feels she’s covered enough distance between her and the Packhouse, breathing heavily as she sobs quietly and grunts frustratedly. She needs to speak to Naomi, as soon as possible. She’s the only person she can talk to who’s close enough, and who she guarantees she won’t lash out on. Kayla then turns around and considers going back to the house to look for her, but every single inch of that place brings back a memory she would rather have stay buried. The only reason she still comes here is because of her Mom and Naomi, and right now, it seems like she’s about to narrow that down to one reason. Kayla then remembers Naomi saying she was going for a run so she must be somewhere in the woods as well. Kayla is about to call to her through the Mindlink but then she quickly remembers that she and her are no longer in the same Pack considering she left for the Red Dawn and Naomi remained in Black Moon and eventually became their new Alpha. Kayla then grows increasingly frustrated and collapses to the soil beneath her, wailing loudly as she grasps onto her body with her arms, her skin continuing to glow and heat up. She no longer wants to hold back, all she wants to do is let go… As she continues to cry, an aura of golden light slowly surrounds her and her skin begins to glow as a result. The light grows brighter and bright and illuminates her entire surroundings… Meanwhile, in a different part of the forest… Naomi is sprinting through the woods, grunting loudly and angrily as she hops over every obstacle and swerves between trees and underneath branches. She eventually comes to a stop and huffs loudly, angry tears running down her face as she runs her hands through her dark red hair harshly, desperately trying to gain control of her emotions. She can’t believe this is happening… She can’t believe her Mother has been hiding the truth from her all this time… Naomi’s skin burns from the inside out and she finds herself hyperventilating and completely unable to control her breathing. It frightens her, not being able to figure out what is going on with her. Surely this can’t be because of what she just found out… no, this is something else completely. That’s when she hears the phrase in her head, a voice belonging to her Wolf. “Vor budo kes da ruxum de lior..., vor budo kes da ruxum de lior…” Her Wolf repeats and she frowns to herself even more, remembering the phrase from the time she woke up just after defeating Damien in the battle for the Alpha title, a battle she won despite not having any of her Werewolf abilities, something she still isn’t able to figure out till this day… “What’s happening to me…?” Naomi questions out loud, feeling her skin continue to burn before she feels a certain area start to throb harshly, both her forearms and her hands. She holds them out in front of her as panic takes over her entire body, and right before her eyes, she watches as her hands burst into orange flames. Her hands and arms are literally on fire. “Ahhh!” She screams in terror and tries to run away from her own hands, swinging her hands around as she tries to dab out the flames, fear taking over her entire body… But she slowly begins to stop… once she realises… The fire isn’t burning her skin… Naomi stares peculiarly at her hands, her eyebrows creasing in confusion as she tries to figure out what’s going on with her. “Whoa…” Naomi lets out and she can’t help but admit… how cool this is… The flames feel like a heartbeat along her skin and she feels connected to it… She slowly feels the burning sensation go away and in its place is relief, the tension completely leaving her body. She then waves her hands around, watching as the flames follow her every movement, flickering softly as she moves her fingers. Naomi then takes a slow deep breath to see if she can try and control her abilities, and that’s when she slowly closes her hands. She watches as the flames follow her command and eventually die down until they go out, leaving her skin completely unarmed. That’s when Naomi remembers the conversation she had with her little sister. Kayla mentioned that Lycans may develop certain abilities, unlike regular Wolves, just like the Royals… Does this mean that Naomi is a Lycan…? But none of this aligns with what she recently found out from her Mother. If Kayla is not Trina’s daughter, then how can they both be Lycans? Where did these abilities suddenly come from? Naomi’s thoughts are soon interrupted when she hears a distant scream in the forest, making her turn her head in that direction, instantly recognising the voice of the person that has just screamed. “Kayla…?” Naomi says out loud, her feet instantly carrying her forward in the direction her sister’s scream came from. Naomi continues to sprint through the woods, having no clue what could be going on with Kayla. She knows in the past, the woods was a place Kayla would get bullied the most, where no one else could hear what they were doing to her… But she knows that’s not the case. Kayla is a Lycan now and is very capable of protecting herself, in fact, she might just be even stronger than Naomi… As Naomi continues to run through the woods, she hears Kayla’s cries become louder and louder until she emerges from behind a few dense bushes and finally finds her sister. She is sitting in the middle of the forest with her arms wrapped around her body. But that’s not what catches Naomi’s attention. It’s the fact that Kayla is glowing gold, an aura of light surrounding her as she continues to sob loudly. “Kayla…” Naomi lets out, eyeing Kayla carefully as she takes a few steps closer to her, and as soon as she hears her name being called, Kayla turns her head in the direction of the person that called her, her eyes landing on her sister and noticing that she is breathing heavily as well and has tears in her eyes. “Naomi…” Kayla mumbles shakily and as soon as Naomi notices the tears running down her sister’s face, she rushes over to her and grabs her, pulling her closer into a tender hug as Kayla continues to sob uncontrollably into her chest. “It’s okay Kayla, calm down…” Naomi says softly at the top of Kayla’s head just as Kayla’s arms wrap around her big sister’s torso, letting her comfort her and hopefully help her gather her emotions. “It’s not true, it’s not true…” Kayla cries into Naomi’s chest and that’s when Naomi feels more tears well in her eyes, her sister’s voice completely breaking her heart. “You heard everything didn’t you…?” Naomi mumbles and Kayla whimpers softly and nods her head against her sister’s chest. At this point, Naomi isn’t even going to try and tell her to calm down. She is hurting badly, and the only thing she can do is comfort her until they can both get some answers…