Forbidden Mate: Awakening

Theo and Sarah looked dead-on at me. It felt like a huge weight came off my shoulders and I slowly breathed out.

“Stop fighting, please.”

Sarah rolled her eyes, “Lily, I know you-”

Suddenly she stopped then pointed at my right shoulder. “Lily, what’s wrong with your shoulder?”

I looked down and saw one of the guardian marks on my shoulder glowing. It was in the shape of the crescent moon. It was different from the others I got that day I first transformed into an eagle. It looked like I had recently gotten it and it kinda hurt my skin.

Theo stood up and looked at me, shocked, “It’s the mark of the chosen one. The Healers told me that the person who bore the mark of a crescent moon on their right shoulder is the chosen one who will reclaim the ring.” He looked into my eyes, “Lily, you really are the chosen one.” Well, yes, that’s what I just said.

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Sarah looked at both of us then at me,.”What? What?! Lily…why didn’t you.. when did you…what-”

“It’s been some months since I found out, Sarah. I told you about me being a guardian because you were there to see me transform but I couldn’t tell you about me being the chosen one. It was too much bear at once at the time, besides I wanted to be sure and I have been getting signs one after these days.”

She wanted to ask something again but I cut her off again, “No, Sarah. Please, I’ll answer all your questions later I promise…As for now, let’s focus on getting the ring and getting the hell out of here.” She reluctantly nodded but it was obvious she had a million questions in her head.

Once again, there was a tricky puzzle blocking our way to the ring, and we didn’t know how to solve it. Focused on getting things done, Theo took out the ornate box given to him by the Black Healers. The box had intricate designs, hinting at things we didn’t understand at the moment..

“It’s what the Healers gave me. They said it will help the chosen one in getting the ring, so I guess, it’s yours…” He handed it to me and I took it, the atmosphere still awkward.

When I opened it, there was a secret compartment with a piece of paper inside. It had markings that looked like the ones I had seen once in the journal father gave me.

“What?” Sarah asked me.

“I’ve seen these markings somewhere in the journal before.”

“Which journal?” Theo asked.

“The one my dad gave me. The one I showed you yesterday…wait, a second.” I reached into my backpack and brought it out.

We carefully read through the journal, looking for any clues that could help with the puzzle. I ran my eyes over it trying to find where I saw the similar markings before. I continued flipping through pages, “I saw it somewhere…”

After flipping through multiple pages, my eyes landed on a page written in ancient language, talking about an old symbol that matched the one in the box.

“Got it!” I exclaimed. The note was stapled to the bottom right corner of the page. I felt thrilled because we knew we at least got an answer to the puzzle.

I carefully detached the paper from the page. When it came off, we compared the one on the piece of paper to the one in the box.

“So, what are we to do now?” Sarah asked me.

Theo was examining the encasement the ring was in and then called something to our attention. “Hey, that symbol…it’s the same thing on here.”

We looked at him.

“The same symbol is on here too.” He repeated.

“But what are we to do? The same symbol is in 3 objects now.” Sarah sighed.

I flipped the piece of paper over and stretched it out in front of me, trying to see if I could understand what I was meant to do with it. Suddenly, it hit me.

“It reflects!” I told Sarah.

“What?” She asked.

“Look.” I placed the paper a considerable space away from the paper I found in the box and it reflected. Then I noticed the same paper at the bottom of the box. But this one was glimmering.

“Hey…the symbol here is glowing.”

Sarah and I looked at the compartment then at the box and we clicked at that moment.

“You thinking what I’m thinking?” I asked her and she nodded. We walked towards Theo and aligned the symbol on the ornate box with the matching one on the encasement. We waited for a while for something to happen but nothing did.

“Shit.” I cussed but then we heard it.

A gentle clicking sound echoed in the clearing. The encasement started moving, uncovering a complicated contraption of gears and hidden compartments. It was like a puzzle within a puzzle.

“More puzzles? Holy hell.” Sarah threw her arms up and sat on the ground.

“Let’s see what we have here.” Theo started to examine the gears. I helped Sarah back up and we joined him.

Using our shared understanding, we examined the gears and compartments with care. We looked for patterns and tried to figure out what each part was for. With every step, our anticipation grew. I knew we were getting closer to reaching the ring but I didn’t want to be too optimistic lest something terrible happens all of a sudden to ruin all our progress.

Our teamwork then paid off. We finally identified how the gears fit together and how the compartments opened. The ring was within reach, and I wouldn’t give up until we had it in our hands.

“Careful…” Theo said as we worked on it.

With each twist, turn, and adjustment, the gears clicked into place, unlocking another barrier. Finally, the encasement opened, revealing the shining ring of Lythian. Its glow reflected our victory.

We stood in it’s array, basking in it’s aura. It was stunning. We were left speechless.

“Finally.” Sarah said, breathless.

“We did it.” Theo said with an exhale.

I was short of words.

Sarah and Theo looked at me and then I, at them, “What?”

“Well, you are the chosen one.” Sarah smiled at me.

“Only you can retrieve it.” Theo reiterated.

I smiled back at them and then turned to the ring. I exhaled deeply then brought out my hand. My eyes lit up as I reached out to take the ring. My hand shook a little because of my excitement and wonder. Theo and Sarah stood beside me, watching eagerly and holding their breaths. This moment had the power to change everything, to shape the future of our world.

As I gently held the ring, a surge of power sprung through me, filling me with renewed purpose. My eyes shone. The power it radiated sent a shiver through me, making me more aware of the immense responsibility I now carried. I looked at Theo and Sarah, gratitude reflecting through my eyes. I then held the ring in my hand, feeling its coolness against my skin.

“We did it,” I whispered, relief evident in my voice. “Despite everything, we finally found the ring.”

Theo smiled proudly and nodded. “It hasn’t been easy, but we finally got it. This is a turning point for our pack, for all of us.”

Sarah’s eyes shifted between the ring and us. “I can’t believe we almost got killed so many times to get this thing. I need a picture.”

I rolled my eyes. She wanted to touch it but I leaned back, “It’s dangerous for you to wear it, Sarah.”

“But you’re holding it and you seem fine.”

“Cus she’s the chosen one.” Theo dragged her back.

She bit her lip, “Okay then. Wear it and let me take a pic then, Lily.”

“Are you insane? What if it vaporises me?” I eyed her.

“Urhh.. then just place it down then. I just want a picture…” She wined.

“Just take it already. I am holding it.”

She rolled her eyes and took the picture, “Pur -fect.”

“We have to be careful with the ring and it’s power. It can shape our pack’s future and bring immense change. We should give it to your father.” Theo suggested.

I tightened my grip on the ring, “I don’t think giving it to my dad is the best option now. Like you said, it’s very powerful. Now we’re on the brink of war, we’d want to use any advantage to win.”

“Exactly, and that ring is our advantage..” Theo replied.

“But when used selfishly, it will be disastrous. It may corrupt my father like it corrupted the werewolf leader who fought in the Great War. It should only be used to protect, to heal, and to restore balance. Our journey isn’t over, but with the ring, we do have the strength to face the vampires knowing we have something they know has power and they don’t have.” I explained.

Sarah nodded in agreement, “Lily’s right. That stuff does look really powerful. It’s better we don’t give it to anyone else now.”

“So who should keep it?” Theo asked.

Hesitating a little, I said, “Me.”

“But you just said it’s too powerful and can corrupt-”

“But she is the chosen one. She’s destined for this and I’m sure she can handle it.” Sarah supported me and rubbed my arm. I smiled back at her and Theo had to give in.

“Fine, fine. I’ve done my part.”

“Thanks again you guys, for helping with this.” I smiled at both of them.

“Come on, we should be thanking you. You saved our butts.” Theo blushed.

“And if it wasn’t for you, the chosen one, we wouldn’t have gotten this far.” Sarah added

We hugged ourselves and then pulled away. The ring was still wrapped in my palm.

“So now, a way out.” As Sarah just said so, a path opened and it looked like the same entrance into the Forbidden Forest.

“Oh, what do we have here? That’s very convenient.” Theo said and grabbed all our stuffs.

“It was fun being here but alas, every good thing must come to an end. Goodbye, not so dear Wailing Woods.” Sarah said while dramatising and then some echoes shocked her making me laugh.

“You’re such a scaredy cat, Sarah.” I teased.

“You know I’m not…this blasted place.” We joked around as we stepped out of the cave into the sunlight.

The challenge was conquered and mission complete, thanks to my friends, the wisdom in the journal (thanks, dad) and the secrets in the ornate box(thanks, healers. Y’all are still super creepy).

With the ring of Lythian now ours, our confidence soared. We had not only earned the respect of the guardians through our courage and skills, fought against winged blood sucking creatures, almost got trapped in a tree labyrinth but the greatest of all we had retrieved the legendary ring of Lythian, which was now tucked, wrapped and kept inside my backpack.

As we turned away from the ruins, I could feel the weight of the ring settling on my chest. A new sense of determination filled our hearts. We had the ring now, our most important weapon for the upcoming battle but then I didn’t know what would come with us discovering it. What if others who want it for themselves already know it had been retrieved?

Our gaze fixed on the horizon. I felt both uncertainty and hope. With the ring of Lythian in our hands, I was definitely one step closer to fulfilling my destiny and bringing light back to our realm.

But then again, I knew the darkness still loomed over us.