Chapter 4 THE FIRST MARK

AMIRA'S POV.

"You've chosen wisely, Amira. Very good."

Doreen's voice echoed in my head, calm.. pleased.

I stood frozen in the middle of the room, my fingers curling slowly into my fist.

Four months to endure.

"Now what? I whispered under my breath.

A soft chuckle filled my mind.

"Now...we begin."

A sharp pain shot through my chest.

"Ahhh!" I gasped, clutching my heart as I dropped to my knees.

It felt like something was tearing through me, burning, clawing, awakening.

"What... what's happening to me?"

"You don't know you have power. It's waking up."

My breathing became uneven. Sweat rolled down my forehead as heat spread through my veins like wildfire..

"I can't... this hurts!"

"Pain is part of becoming who you truly are," she said coldly, "Did you think power comes without a price?" 

I bit down hard on my lip to stop myself from screaming.

Suddenly, my vision flickered. The room shifted. Everything changed. For a split second, everything around me became sharper... clearer.

I could hear, but I wasn't seeing anything. It's called mindlinking.

"...Did you hear? The Alpha is throwing a grand banquet tonight."

"....For his new Luna, right?"

Wait.

Could I hear them?

Is this what's going on before my nose?"

Doreen's tone turned proud.

"This should not bother you. You now have enhanced senses, and you can mindlink. I tell you this is just the beginning.

My heart pounded not from fear this time but something else.

Power.

I was still listening to the conversation with the familiar maid's voice when my palm became so hot as though I had placed it on fire. I quickly checked to know what it could be and what I saw marvelled me.

There's this black mark on my palm. It has been there all my life. At a point when I was younger, I would always ask my mother why the mark was there and what it meant. Most times, she would avoid the conversation; other times, she would tell me that I was created that way. She gave birth and she saw the mark in my hand.

This time, the black mark was a flickering light, and as the light was coming, my hand was on fire. I have never experienced that all my life and it looked so strange to me.

“Doreen, please what's this? See, my head is on fire, and it's bringing out light.” I turned my hand and showed it to Doreen.

She let out a smile.

“You're officially welcome to the VUZ.”

I stood still, looking at her with so much confusion.

“Henceforth, you see, this mark would save a whole lot for you. Now that it has been activated, you have to be very excited. One of the things it would be doing for you is to give you a sign of what wants to happen in the future and also signal you whenever there's a danger.” Doreen explained.

“..We need to inform our Amira that she will be helping out with the cleaning as instructed by the Alpha and…

“Will you keep quiet? You now call her Amira because of what the Alpha says about her. Accord her respect. No matter what, she's our Luna.” The other maid rebuked the other.

I could not say a word. Tears streamed down my face like water. As soon as I started sobbing uncontrollably listening to what's going on in a pack I laboured for, the mark stopped bringing out light.

Doreen came closer and curled herself beside me.

“Clean your tears, you will be fine. How would you have felt if you had signed that contract and found out all this about yourself? The pain you're feeling now will be nothing compared to what you would feel. So cheer up.” Doreen said looking into my eyes.

I faked a smile. A whole lot is going through my mind.

I quickly looked at the mark again touching it.

“There's a reason your mother didn't tell you anything about this mark, all the while you were asking, and why she was also avoiding the conversation. The reason was that it was not yet time. This is the time for your manifestation. But there's one other thing…”

Just then, the door creaked open by itself, but there was nobody at the door.

A cold wind rushed into the room, extinguishing the candle on the table. The temperature dropped instantly, and every hair on my body stood on end.

My breathing hitched.

“Doreen…” I whispered, my voice trembling. “What is happening?”

Her face, which had carried calm confidence all this while, suddenly changed. For the first time since I met her, I saw fear.

She stepped in front of me protectively.

“Stay behind me,” she ordered.

The black mark on my palm began to burn again—hotter this time—its dark glow pulsing like a living heartbeat. The pain shot up my arm, forcing a cry from my lips.

Then I heard it.

A voice.

Not Doreen’s.

Not mine.

A deep, unfamiliar voice echoed inside my head.

“At last… the heir has awakened.”

My knees nearly gave way.

“What heir?” I gasped.

The room began to shake violently. The mirror on the wall cracked from corner to corner, and shadows twisted unnaturally across the floor like living creatures crawling toward me.

Doreen turned sharply, her eyes wide.

“They found you faster than I expected,” she muttered.

“Who found me?”

Before she could answer, a dark figure appeared in the doorway—tall, cloaked, its face hidden beneath a hood.

But its eyes…

They burned red.

It lifted one hand and pointed directly at me.

“The mark belongs to us,” it said, its voice like thunder. “And so does the girl.”

My heart stopped.

Doreen growled low in her throat, her body glowing with strange silver light.

“No,” she said firmly. “She chooses her own destiny.”

And just as the figure lunged toward me, the black mark on my palm exploded with blinding light.

That’s exactly where it should go.