Two Worlds; The Collision

Chapter 7

Rhys Pov

The birthday party went as expected. Dad complained that his cake was destroyed even though it was his fault since he tried to cook an indestructible frog. Alice brought a very large cake with various other desserts while Ulric cooked everyone homemade fried chicken for the dinner. Zain filled with comments the whole time trying to shove my dad towards the kitchen to be cooked. It was fun, it was always fun, but at the same time it was fairly sad. Watching so many couples together constantly. There were a variety of kids my age, well they were all about a year or two younger honestly, except for Arielle and Chris, but I knew none of them were for me. I’m a shifter, and dad said we dreamed about our future mate. It’s kind of hard to know who that’ll be if I’m just dreaming of a black silhouette. I never really talked to anyone about it, there was just something about it that made me want to keep it secret. Maybe I’ll know when I meet them. Maybe it’ll take a while to get to know them. That’s why I dated random people here and there, but in the end, it never worked out, because they never felt right.

After the party was over, it was almost midnight, which wasn’t unusual for us. Our pack was very large, filled with so many people. I know Colt and Julien were talking. Colt was trying to get Julien to combine the packs into one but the idea of so much moving around was annoying, and apparently, it took years for all of the Shifters to relocate, even after eighteen years they weren’t looking forward to doing all of that again. So, in the end, those of the Snow Moon Pack just came to visit, despite having to drive hours away, or the witches teleporting people. It didn’t really bother me as much as others, since I never really was as close to those of the snow moon pack as the others were. I was the one in the middle, and I always ended up feeling excluded. Chris and Arielle were all a lot older than me. There’s Aaron, who is a few years older than me, but he hangs out more with Chris. Everyone else is all younger than me, and being around them always felt like I was babysitting in a way. They haven’t really had their adventures yet, haven't really matured yet…but then again, neither have I.

I didn’t mention Cain, but there was a reason for that. Cain vanished one day when I was fifteen, and he was twenty-five. It was like one minute he was there, and the next he was gone. He had been outside the walls, going for a walk from what we knew of, and then suddenly he was gone. After about a year, he came back and explained…the best he could. It was very cryptic, telling us he’d explain what he could when the time came, that certain events had to pass for him to be able to say more about it and once they did, he’d be able to explain…at least a little. He didn’t want to do anything to change the future, and with that strange explanation he was gone again. I wonder sometimes if he came back again in the future to the time he said he’d talk to us and did so, and we all just were waiting patiently for him to come back once more to explain.

I always felt like there was more out there, more waiting for me, but how? Everything was…peaceful. Sure there were still rogues, there will always be rogues I guess, but I wasn’t training for that. Every day when I woke up at the crack of dawn and routinely trained with everyone else, I always felt like I was training for something else. We still continued the training, because no matter what happened so long ago, there was still the cloud of darkness shrouding us, chilling us, making us feel like there was something coming. Zain and Grayson continued the training with the witches, because we discovered a small gathering of witches that were never with Dani or Jade, and while they hadn’t tried to attack us or anything, we were preparing for anything. Elementals were coming in practically every other day now, seeking answers about randomly waking up one morning with different colored eyes and the ability to do just about any type of element possible. Jack was still around, and despite his old age, he and Chris were working as those in charge of training the new Elementals. Everyone seemed to have a task, to have a purpose, but for me…I was stuck in this state of happiness, with a smile on my face and a laugh that showed how happy I was, but inside I felt like I was drowning. A purpose, a destiny, it was hard to feel truly happy when I felt like there was something more for me out there.

I smiled at the others as they all started to leave, and went to my house, the one I shared with my parents and Jules. She was already there, asleep from the activities of the day, so I was quiet as I slipped into my room and grabbed my guitar, before slipping right back out again. There was just something special about the warm night air, something that called to me. Mom said dad used to randomly go to the maze to sing and play his guitar as well when they were younger, so I guess I got that from him as well. In the middle of the maze, is the tallest tree with the best view of the full moon. I sat back against the large tree on one of the higher branches and started to slowly strum the guitar, no set tune or song in mind as I stared out at everything. From here, I could see certain things. The maze was close enough to my house that I could see it when my parents finally got home. They both paused to look towards the maze, most likely hearing me, but they never bothered me. I wondered sometimes if they knew that underneath my smile was an unexplainable yearning for more. But what more could there be? I was going to be the king soon, a title I was born for, a title I loved and cherished dearly. I was more than ready to be the next king, and the shifters were eagerly waiting for me as well. So…what more could there be? I couldn’t explain it, even if someone asked me, so in the end, all I could do was smile and laugh, push the yearning for more aside, and be who they expected me to be.

I sighed, picking up a tune, changing to a song in the middle of strumming as I tilted my head back and stared up at the moon. What was this yearning for? Who was it? Was it a person, or a thing? Why did it always feel like there was more? I closed my eyes and opened my mouth, singing to nothing, to absolutely no one.

Can you hear me? I’m trying to hear you

Silence strikes like a hurricane

Now I’m singing for you, you’re screaming at me

It’s hard to see your tears in the pouring rain

Take what you want, take what you want and go

I took a deep breath, opening my eyes to stare at the moon. What was the point of praying to a moon that was cold and lonely? Until Lucie and Jasper died, there was no one there to listen to our prayers, no one to hear our requests. Until then, there truly was no one watching us, no one helping us, no one guiding us. Even still, I couldn’t help but pray, praying for answers. For the feeling of unease, for the wanting of something I wasn’t entirely sure if I'd ever have…for a person I wasn’t entirely sure I'd ever find. I wish they’d just take away this feeling, take all of this away, that way…I won’t have to feel like this anymore.

Take it, no reason for me to hold on

Look in my eyes, I’m letting go

Keep it, don’t need it, don’t need it, don’t need it

Take what you want, take what you want and go

I opened my eyes, watching as birds flew through the air, and wondered briefly if any of them were shifters or if they were simply birds migrating. My fingers picked up speed and I grinned, feeling the tune, the words, the melody flowing through me, the songs. Father said when he fell in love all the songs were about her, and I couldn’t help but wonder if I'd ever find someone like that. Someone I can stare at, and just know that all along I’ve been singing to them, singing for them, that everything has always been for them.

Can you hear me? I’m trying to hear you

Silence strikes like a hurricane

Now I’m singing for you, you’re screaming at me

It’s hard to see your tears in the pouring rain

I shuddered, feeling unwanted tears gathering in my eyes, so many mixed feelings flowing through me. Was there ever going to be anyone for me? Was there anyone out there waiting for me? I wished I had some indication, any sign would be enough for me, but there was never anything, not for me, never for me. Just this dreaded feeling of more, this feeling that there will always be something out there just beyond my reach.

Can you hear me?

I took a deep breath, shivering as I let the tune slowly fade away, until the darkness was filled with nothing more but the soft sounds of the wind against the leaves, the squeaks of the bats, the flutter of the owls' wings. Nothing but the thudding echo of my heart, the way I took deep breaths as I tried to calm myself down, and the swish of my black hoodie as I wiped my unspilled tears from my eyes. I followed my father’s love for music, his love for singing and instruments, and his fashion. In a sense, I looked more like my mother, but I had more of my father’s personality. I thought about picking up another song, staying here all night long singing, but I knew there was a meeting in the morning. Once more, the debate of whether or not we were going to move the Snow Moon pack over here or not. I was getting tired of the constant meetings about something we all knew they’d never do, but I was the next king, and I was needed by them. To learn from my father, how he ruled the shifters, how he co-led the pack with Colt. Soon it’ll be my turn, and then Colt’s heir, Tyler. I didn’t have a problem with Tyler, but I couldn’t help but hope he’s going to grow up a little bit more before he takes over the pack.

Despite the knowledge that I'd have to get up early, I still stayed in the tree strumming the strings softly, the sweet melody flowing through the maze, past the maze to the houses close by. My parents had their window open, I could see it from here, and knew they did it on purpose to allow my singing to put them to sleep. I wondered sometimes if dad held my mom close and sang along with me in her ear, pressing soft kisses on her cheeks and tickling her gently, enjoying the tranquility that came from being with the one you were meant to spend forever with. Sometimes, when I was younger and I’d come out here, I used to get so excited to sit on the branch and sing and play, imagining myself giving small concerts to those who live close enough to the maze to hear me. Now, now I just did it because I loved it, because I felt the melody inside me, and if I didn’t sing, if I didn’t play, then I’d feel like I was going to burst into a million pieces.

Finally, I got down from the tree and pulled the strap of the guitar over my head, feeling the familiar weight of it pressing against my body as I started to walk through the maze back home. The maze was almost the exact replica of the one back near the packhouse, but I heard from my parents that it was on purpose. Mother and father had so many memories in that maze, and they wanted to have their own. Even still, there were differences here and there. Different flowers and different placements, more of my parents' favorite flowers here, while the other maze had more of Colt and Emmett’s favorite flowers. There was a large number of yellow primroses scattered throughout Colt and Emmett’s maze. Something about that flower was the very first flower Emmett gave Colt when they were barely four years old.

I walked through the maze without really paying attention, I had it long memorized where to go now, and as the moon started to slowly lower in the sky I stood in front of my front door, staring up at it. “I know you’re nothing more than an empty shell,” I whispered under my breath, taking a minute to run my fingers through my blond hair with a frown. “But even still, could you let me know if there’s more for me? If not, let me accept that this is all there is, that there’s nothing more, so I can move on and finally be happy.” I said, letting out a soft sigh. I shook my head, walked into the house and silently moved towards my room. Gently, I placed my guitar in its case, leaving it against the wall as I slipped off my clothes and went to bed. I turned towards the window, watching as the stars started to glitter in the night sky, glittering and falling gently to the earth, and as I closed my eyes I couldn’t help but wonder if that was a sign or if it was nothing but a beautiful meteor shower.