Forbidden Forest

Unexpected

My father walked me to a set of doors. I can’t help but gasp at the sight. The greenhouse was filled with beautiful flowers, there were roses, lilies, snapdragons, and blue moon flowers. There were more, but I didn’t know what they were called. My father let me look around for a bit, then motioned me over to a white swinging chair that hung in the center of the greenhouse.

“We have a lot to talk about,” he says, breaking the silence. I nod, but I’m not really sure what to say. “Where have you been all these years?”

I look down, I really don’t want to think about Henry, but I guess I have to tell him anyways. “I was living with Henry.”

My father tenses at the name, anger shaping his eyes. He slams his fist onto the chair, scaring me and sending the chair into a rattling frenzy. I looked up at him, fear evident in my mind. Henry used to hit me all the time. What’s stopping my father? When he sees my fear, his eyes soften and he apologizes. “Sorry, princess. Anger is a hard emotion to change when you are a Lycan.”

“A what?” I said, confused.

He sighs, “I guess we really have a lot to talk about.” He pauses. “Lycan’s are a lot like werewolves, but we are faster, stronger, and more animalistic than werewolves. We have a harder time staying in control of our emotions. Werewolves aren’t as fast or strong, and they have more control over themselves. They are closer to a human than a wolf.”

I nod, it makes sense, I want to know more about me because if he is a Lycan then I’d have to be as well.

“What am I?” I asked, my curiosity getting the best of me.

My father chuckles, “Well, my dear princess, you are a mystery. I can smell the Lycan in you, but I sense more.”

Suddenly, the doors open to the greenhouse and my mother walks in. I instantly tense. She’s going to start shrieking again. My mother walks towards me and sits down next to me and pulls me into her arms. She starts to shake so I know she is crying. “I’m sorry, Celeste, I was horrible and I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay,” I tell her, “I’ve been through worse.”

She looks at me with sad eyes, and the three of us talk. They answered all of my questions about who I was, what they were and what the village contained. They even answered my question about Adrian, someone who my aunt told my father to keep away from me. Apparently, there are four villages; the east village is where we are, the west village, the north village, and the south village. All of them have rulers like my mother and father, and they all have high priestesses that keep a barrier up to protect all the supernaturals within. My mother is a purebred vampire and my father is a purebred lycan, making me a hybrid by birth. I’m also a witch, which was passed down from my grandmother, so I’m a Tribrid and that makes me the most powerful supernatural. In our village, there is a pack of werewolves under the orders of Alpha Adrian, a clan of vampires ruled by my mother, and a coven of witches where Mary is the head of command. Adrian is my mate, that’s why he has been following me, keeping an eye on me. A mate is like a soulmate, except a mate bond is supposed to strengthen the two people within the bond. The more he stays away from me, the more his wolf is weakened. They also told me that I wouldn’t come into my powers until my eighteenth birthday. Mary had put a revoking spell on me because when I was a baby, my powers were out of control.

I had been sitting on the swing by myself thinking about everything they had told me, it was a lot to take in. It’s all so overwhelming, scary even, that I’m the strongest supernatural alive; that makes me a target. I don’t want to be feared, but if I can’t control my powers, I can hurt people. I put my head in my hands, the thought of hurting people brings me a strong wave of anxiety. The door opened, startling me. It’s probably just my dad checking on me. I have been here for a while. Then, a strong smell filled my nose; rainwater and fresh cut grass; it smelled delicious. I looked up and wanted to know where the smell came from, and there was a boy, maybe a few years older than me, standing not too far from me. The smell was coming from him.

“King Erebus told me to come see you,” he says. He seems hesitant, like he’s not sure what to do.

I pat the seat next to me and he smiles like that was the only invitation he needed, he plops down beside me with such force, he sends the chair swinging and I nearly fall out of it. His strong arms wrap around me, and he brings me back to a sitting position.

“Sorry,” he says sheepishly. “Sometimes I forget to be gentle.”

“It’s okay,” I say breathlessly, his smell is so divine, there’s comfort and something else that I can’t pin-point yet.

“I’m Adrian, by the way,” he says, looking at me with adoration in his eyes.

“You’re my mate,” I replied, as I realized who he was. “You’re the wolf who has been following me everywhere.”

His cheeks redden in embarrassment. “Yeah, that was me, I couldn’t help it.”

I laughed, “I gathered as much.” He blushes even more. “So, why did my dad send you out here?"

“He wanted me to introduce myself properly, and to sit out here to keep you company.”

I nodded, I leaned on him, surprising myself. It felt like the most natural thing in the world. Adrian puts his arm around me and we sit there in a comfortable silence.