Hunted

Chapter 24

Chapter 24-Amias' POV

“Why hasn’t she woken up yet?” I asked, pacing the length of the cave. A fire near the entrance allowed me to see the pallor of her cheeks. I would have thought her dead if I couldn’t hear her quiet breaths and heartbeat. Other than that, she was a living corpse.

                “Just give her time,” Dobry soothed. “It’s barely been half a day yet!”

                He knelt beside her and placed a gentle hand to her forehead. Aku growled possessively inside me, but I forced him back. Now wasn’t the time.

                “I remember my first encounter with the spirits,” Dobry continued, not taking his gaze from Azula. “I was out for a full two days! But Azula’s strong, stronger than most Shaman’s I’ve come across so she should-“

                “Shaman? She’s a Shaman?” I stopped my pacing to stare at my Beta in shock.

Dobry rolled his eyes. “Well obviously. Do you think the spirits can work through just anyone?” He shook his head. “In any case, either her mother or father must have passed the gift onto her.” I might have imagined it, but I thought Dobry’s voice was slightly bitter when he spoke of her talent as a gift.

                “If she’s a Shaman, then why hasn’t she-“

                “Tried to escape?” Dobry finished when I cut myself off. “She probably doesn’t even realise she has the gift, poor thing. I certainly didn’t see the knowledge when I was in her head earlier.”

                “How can that be possible? How can you not know that you have that much power?”

                “She’s moved around nearly her whole life. She doesn’t know normalcy. Hell, she’s never even known a pack life until she came here, and I’m sure you’ll be the first to admit that her introduction to it hadn’t been the best.”

                “Are you telling me that she thinks the power she has is...normal?”

                It was hard for me to believe, since it had been drilled into me since I was a boy that to be a Shaman was a great honour, a gift from the Moon Goddess herself. A Shaman was nearly as powerful as the Alpha himself in many ways, and so they automatically demanded respect from the pack.

                Dobry just nodded, his mouth twitching into a little smile.

                “She’s definitely something special. You should hold onto her, Amias.”

                “I plan to,” I muttered, my voice so soft I’m not even sure he heard me.

                I resumed my pacing again, thinking hard. Somehow, I had to make things right with Azula. There had to be a way to show her how much I cared for her. To make her trust me.

                There was a part of me, a horrible cold part that argued with my fanciful thoughts.

                “There is no fixing things,” it sneered. “She hates you. And why wouldn’t she? You were the catalyst for her being raped, for her being captured and snatched away from the only life, probably the only family, she’s ever known, and thrust her into another one, practically demanding that she just adjust and accept it. And now you think you can fix it?”

                My heart pounded, because I knew how true all of those things were. Moon, did I know. But there had to be a way. There had to be! We were mates, for crying out loud. We were meant to be together. It’s what the Moon Goddess intended. Who were we to disagree with the Moon Goddess?