Missy's POV
"Missy!" Damion's voice sliced through the roar of war, crisp and commanding. "Get in there! Help us!"
I hesitated; my feet rooted to the earth. I wasn't ready for this. Not in the way he needed me to be. But I couldn't stand by and do nothing. Not anymore.
With a hard breath, I pushed myself forward, stepping into the fray. The minute I moved, the force within me ignited, as if it sensed the moment to act. The ground beneath me appeared to throb, and the air around me thickened, crackling with energy. I stretched out, and the world seemed to halt as my hand impacted with one of the wayward wolves, sending it hurtling across the field with a force that stunned even me.
But the strength surged again as fast as it had arrived, and my control fell. There was nothing I could do to stop it. The air around me buzzed with the intensity of my feelings, and before I could consider, a shockwave erupted from my body. Though the blast drove one of the pack members, Isaac, flying backward, the rogue wolves faltered.
Isaac's awful thump on the ground made me freeze and my heart plummet into my gut. Though the battle continued all around me, all I could see was him lying still on the ground.
"No," I said, hurrying to his side, my breath labored. Isaac, I beg you...
Damion showed up next to me, his face tight with worry. Missy, you're not ready. Not yet within your control.
Though the conflict was finished, the atmosphere still felt thick with remaining battle stress. Ethan, the pack's healer, was looking after Isaac; the harm had already been done. My mind was running back over the time my abilities went out of control, and I couldn't stop trembling. The shame was overwhelming since it had all transpired so quickly. I had wronged someone I had no right to harm.
Damion had been with me the whole time, but even his company didn't appear to me the comfort it previously did. I wished to be alone, to distance myself from him, but I couldn't. He was the only one who could grasp the conflict inside me, the only one who could grasp this.
"Missy," Sitting in the tent's corner with my head buried in my hands, Damion's voice was low and his hand rested on my shoulder. You did what you had to do. Isaac will be OK.
But the words didn't comfort me. "I didn't mean to, " My voice cracked, and I looked up at him, my eyes searching his for some form of consolation. Damion, I didn't mean to harm him. I just couldn't help it.
"I know," he replied gently, crouching next to me. "But that's what we have to concentrate on." Your abilities are more than we first thought. Stronger than anyone knew. It will only get worse if you don't learn to manage them.
His comments' reality struck me like a gut punch. I was a threat to my own pack as well as the rogues. The idea made me queasy. If I couldn't even save myself, how could I save them?
As I struggled to control my breathing, Damion's palm found mine and his touch anchored me. You didn't cause it. You'll learn. We will study together.
But even his words couldn't allay the anxiety eating at me. The power within me was increasing, but so was my dread of losing control.
My voice shaking, I said, "I don't know whether I can do this." What if I lack strength?
"You are," Damion said firmly, grasping my hand. "You simply have to believe in yourself."
Standing close to the camp's border, my eyes roving the perimeter, I felt the burden of my duty bearing down on me. The pack was reeling from the fight, but I was no longer just a bystander in this world. I belonged to it. One in charge. But I was unsure whether I could bear the burden of such duty.
Lucas replied, approaching with a harsh voice, "You have a lot of thinking to do." His gaze was hard, but there was something more in his eyes, something almost like understanding.
I agreed, but honestly, I was at a loss for ideas. I had welcomed my position with the pack, but at what price? The power within me was erratic and hazardous; every day I spent in this world I felt like I was drifting farther from who I once was.
Lucas said softly, as if reading my mind, "You are more powerful than any of us expected." "That power is your strength, but it's also your greatest weakness."
I swallowed hard, fighting back the lump in my throat. What if I can't manage it? What if I cause more suffering to others?
"You won't. Lucas responded, his voice firm, "Not if you don't let the fear control you." "You have to be prepared." Everyone of us does.
Damion stood next to me; his gaze fixed on my eyes. His quiet presence was meant to calm me, but it simply increased the pressure I experienced. "Focus, Missy," he whispered quietly yet forcefully. "Don't let the chaos control you."
Fighting to contain the wave of energy, I gripped my hands, my nails piercing my palms. Every day my powers grew stronger, but so did my dread of losing control. The idea of harming someone, of ruining what I valued, devoured me.
Lucas spoke from behind, his voice tinged with agitation, "You're doing fine." "Just let it out. Stop resisting it.
I wanted to shout, to fling my hands in the air, to release everything. But I was unable to. The power would flame out of control every time I attempted to use it, endangering to rip apart all. I had already harmed one of the pack members. Isaac's face flashed in my thoughts, bloodied, unconscious. That recollection by itself caused my heart to race.
Damion came closer; his presence anchored me. Missy, you're not by yourself in this. We're here to assist. You have to believe in yourself. Believe in your inner strength.
I swallowed the lump in my throat and nodded. It was the dread, not only the power I had to control. The fear of letting down their hopes, of failing. The dread of becoming into something I could not control.
I took a deep breath, shut my eyes, and attempted to center myself. Feeling the energy crackle under my skin, I grabbed for the strength inside me. It was not simple. It was like attempting to stop a deluge with only my hands.
"Good," Damion murmured, almost whispering. Let it go now. Let it go.
I let go with a quick exhale. The ground under me shook with the outward rushing strength. But this time, it was unique. I could feel it, like a wave crashing against the shore. It wasn't as disorderly. It was regulated.
Breathless, I opened my eyes. The power had faded, leaving the air still and dense.
For the first time, Damion's touch on my shoulder made me feel something like tranquility. "That's it," he remarked softly yet proudly. You have it. You simply have to believe it.
The training session had finished in catastrophe. The formerly immaculate camp was now strewn with debris; the ground itself trembled under the burden of what I had let free. Damion's arm was steady around my waist, keeping me upright as I tried to recover myself, but the expression in his eyes told me all I already knew, this wasn't simply about control anymore. This was about something far bigger.
"Missy, you have to concentrate," he replied, his voice calm yet tinged with annoyance. "You can't keep pushing your power until you understand it."
I nodded, my heart sinking with the weight of his words. He was correct, but knowing my abilities was like attempting to capture smoke with my naked hands. I could not even believe myself. How could I lead the herd if I couldn't even manage the power inside of me?
Standing there, my mind running over the devastation I had wrought, the words from my mother's vision rang in my head. She had warned me, but I still didn't comprehend what it all implied. The prophecy was becoming less of a guidance and more of a shadow that loomed over me, choking me.
Damion I started; my voice quivering. What if I am unable to accomplish this? What if I'm not the one the prophecy claims I am? What if I let down?
He came closer, his hand gently on my arm, and his look softened. "The prophecy doesn't set you, Missy. You do." You are. But now it's up to you to either accept what lies ahead or flee from it.
I gazed at him, the gravity of his comments soaking in, but the air changed before I could answer. The air was charged with new tension, an alien force. I turned, my gaze scanning the horizon as something in the distant drew my notice.
One wolf. Dark against the dusk sky, a lone man stood at the pack's edges watching us. The figure's piercing eyes met mine and my heart skipped a beat.
That is who? I whispered, my breath catching in my throat.
Damion's face hardened. "This is not one of ours. Missy, stay back.