Chapter 5: GIFT OF THE GODS

FIVE YEARS AGO

“Mum”, “why are you the only one with this mark on your skin”?

“What mark my child”?

“this one here,” Zara said, pointing at the left hand of her mother. “My friends said you are a witch, and that's the mark of a witch, but I didn't believe them.” “ Is it true”?

“It's not the mark of a witch Zara” Tira chuckled

“Then why don't I have them?” Zara inquires with curiosity hovering in their face.

“Let me tell you a story,” Tira said as she sat up and turned to her curious daughter “This, is the legend of our people, this..” she said pointing at the tattoo, “This is a legend of my clan, it might be too big for you to understand now but, I hope the god's help you understand it”

“Tell me, mother”? Zara braces her ears.

“It is a story of the gods of old, of power and betrayal, of injustice and revenge.

“In the dawn of time, when the gods still walked among mortals, five brothers ruled the heavens. Each was mighty and revered, but one, the youngest, was different. His name was Akiri, and he was often overlooked and underestimated by his brothers.

Despite his small stature, Akiri possessed a kind heart and a deep love for humanity. He spent most of his days watching over the mortals, learning from them, and teaching them the ways of the gods.

But as time passed, Akiri's brothers grew jealous of his connection to the humans. They saw it as a weakness, a flaw in his character. And so, they began to plot against him.

One fateful day, a great atrocity was committed in the heavens. A sacred temple was desecrated, and the gods were outraged. But instead of seeking justice, Akiri's brothers falsely accused him of the crime. Hi

Akiri, heartbroken and betrayed, pleaded his innocence, but his brothers would not listen. In their anger, they banished him from the heavens, casting him down to the mortal realm.

As Akiri fell, he collided with his brother, Koro, who was also cast out of the heavens. Together, they entered the womb of a mortal woman, and Akiri was reborn as a human.

He grew up among mortals, but he never forgot his divine heritage. He formed a tribe, and as a symbol of their connection to the gods, every child born into the tribe was marked with a lion-head-like tattoo on their upper arm.

But as the years passed, the tribe became shunned and rejected by the other mortals, They have been scattered and are forced to live hiding the mark. They were seen as outcasts, as if the mark of the lion head was a curse…”

“Was that why Papa banished you”? Zara cuts in curiously.

“Hmm,” Tira breathes in slightly, wondering why the sudden incessant inquiries from her daughter.

“that is not why the council banished me” she lied, throwing her face off the locked eyes of her daughter while trying to hold the tears forming in her eyes “Someday, you will get to know why”

“You know what else Akiri gave us”?

“He gave us Gifts”!

PRESENT

Zara's POV

“Awooooo!!!” I heard a great howl from the camp.

“Oh poor Ren” Loren smiles mischievously as he hears Ren howl from the camp “he believes in you, you know, he thinks bringing the whole pack here would save you”

“One thing I promise you, Loren,” Keal groaned in anger “You can never get away with this”

“Not if I kill every one of you, Haha,” Loren words are unbearable, and obviously, the odds of winning are very low.

I couldn't help as my heart raced through the memories of my life as if to come up with a quick solution to eliminate Loren and everything about him.

“One thing I ask of you Kael,” Loren said circling us “You will obey my every command without question, your unwavering obedience is all I ask expected submit to my rule, and you might survive”

“You will have to kill me first,” Kael said angrily in uncertainty.

I was just there, Loren and his bloodthirst pack before us, Ren and a few behind us, Was this how I was fated to die? Loren looks unbeatably strong, as well as Kael, but what would be my fate after this?

Filled with rage at Loren's incessant derogatory words, I suddenly feel a guts in me stirring something very weird; I have never been this angry before; it feels very overwhelming inside, but it seems like nobody noticed.

I feel a sudden, thrilling surge of power within me. It's like I've discovered a whole new part of myself, and it's both exhilarating and terrifying.

As I explore this new ability, I feel like I've unlocked a secret door in my mind. I'm empowered, yet wary of the weight of this power. I mean, what does it even mean to be able to control people's minds? It's a little scary, but very useful.

I lowered to the ground as the two packs warmed up to devour each other; I focused my mind on what Mama had told me long ago: “Akiri gave us Gifts”. Could this be a Gift or a curse?

Bewildered in my one sense, I could feel the strange, tingling sensation of my power reaching out. I concentrated on the rival pack, my thoughts piercing the distance between us like a cold, double-edged sword.

Loren's rogue packs, one by one, began to fall under my control. I could sense their minds, rough and unyielding, but I probed deeper, finding the threads of their thoughts and twisting them to my will.

"Turn on yourselves," I whispered, my voice echoing in their minds. "Show your alpha the true meaning of loyalty."

Entranced by my control, began to attack themselves. They clawed at their flesh, bit into their limbs, and screamed in agony. Loren horrified and helpless, watched as his pack destroyed themselves before his eyes.

He tried to intervene, to stop the carnage, but his pack members wouldn't listen. They were too far gone, consumed by the madness I had instilled in them. Loren's eyes were wide with shock and despair as he realized he was powerless to stop the slaughter.

I watched, a detached observer, as the pack members killed themselves in a frenzy of self-destruction. Loren's face was filled with grief and horror, but I felt no pity for him. He was, after all, the one who asked for it, a threat to the people I now call mine.

As the last of the pack members fell, Loren turned to me, his eyes blazing with hatred and impotence. I smiled a cold, calculated smile, and nodded in satisfaction.

I tried manipulating his mind as I did with the others but there was something off with Loren, Something more than meets the eyes.

I felt drained; my energy was all gone, and my mind was foggy; my body suddenly became weak and trembling. The weight of my powers crashes down on me, leaving me exhausted and vulnerable.

Kael, surprised by what just happened, masked it with confidence. “Now Loren,” he posed as he walked closer to a fallen Loren. “What is a wolf without his pack?”

Keal chained Loren and ordered Ren to watch over him.

—

As if being subconscious, I could feel myself awakening to a new reality but still drained; lying down in the shelter of the big Oak tree, I heard Kael's Beta, Maddie's discussion with Brody, and Ren’s Gamma, and I kept low to filter more of what is said.

"I'm telling you, Maddie, there's something off about her. The way she always seems to confront Kael, the way Kael reacts to her...it's like she's casting some kind of spell."

"That's ridiculous, Brody. You're just being paranoid. She's just a normal wolf as you are, maybe a little strange, but that's it."

"Normal wolves don't make you feel like you're under their control just by looking at them. And have you noticed how she always seems to be around when strange things happen?"

"Coincidence, Brody. You're reading too much into it. Besides, even if she was a witch, which I highly doubt, what's the harm? Besides she just saved us from Loren"

"Saved?? You don't know what you're dealing with, Maddie. Witches are dangerous; they can manipulate and control... don't you see how she controls them all to kill themselves? What do you think she would do to us one day? We can't just ignore this."

I still lay low, pretending to be unconscious, then a sudden abrupt silence in the pack as Kael made his way into the pack, with overwhelming dominance, bent down where I was laid and gently, his hand reached out, his fingers brushing against my blonde hair. The touch was gentle, almost reverent as if he was handling a delicate flower. His eyes, a piercing yellow, gazed into hers, filled with a deep admiration.

As his fingers tangled in my hair, he felt a strange sense of calm wash over him. It was as if my presence soothed his savage beast, quieting the dominant instincts that usually drove him. He breathed deeply, taking in my scent, and felt his tension ease.

“You need to stop treating her like some queen” Miera’s voice cuts in with Jealousy “Besides you barely even know her”

Kael's silence cuts her even deeper.

Miera has been the pack's visionary for years of exile. Before exile, she was the only remnant of the Visionary clan; when they were invaded, Kael saved her secretly, unknown to his father. Rumors had it that they both nurtured something for each other for quite some time, but Kael's action proves different.

“I have to tell you something” Miera fumes with Jealousy

“What must that be that can't wait,” Kael shot back abruptly, standing and turning his gaze to her.

“I saw something, something about her,” she said, referring to me.

What! Something about me, I'm bursting with curiosity about what she's hiding about me, but I'm forcing myself to keep quiet for now. It's not the right moment to speak, so I'll keep up the charade and pretend I don't know anything. Maybe I'll even gather more information by playing dumb.

Kael becomes more curious “What did you see”

“We can't talk about it here, it's confidential,” She said

Kael flashes a thorough gaze on her as if scrutinizing her inner thoughts to see her sincerity.

The campsite erupted into chaos as a snarling, slavering werewolf burst into the clearing, its eyes blazing with urgency. The beast's massive paws tore up the earth as it skidded to a stop,

The packs were caught off guard and stumbled backward in surprise, alerting all senses of action.

"Maddie, what's wrong?" Kael shouted, trying to make himself heard over the commotion.

"It's Loren!" Maddie shouted. "He's escaped...and he's taken Ren with him!"

The camp fell silent; the only sound heard was the heavy breathing of the Alpha, Kael.

The pack's beta, Ren, had been one of the most loyal and

trusted members of the pack. The thought of him betraying them and escaping with the enemy was unthinkable.

Could this possibly be true?