Tempting Danger!

Chapter 17

It was pretty simple. All I had to do was train twenty four hours seven days a week until my mother saw me fit.

Did you hear the sarcasm.

It's actually really horrible!

Day and night I was always busy working my ass off. If my brain wasn't being over fed with information than my body was being beaten to a pulp. Who knew being human would be so hard.
I had morning and evening classes where I learned more about talents of werewolves and vampires.
In the morning I would sit with Luna Melody and she would teach me about wolves and in the night I would sit with my mother and she would teach me about vampires. So far I've only been taught things I already know.

The sun was barely over the horizon when I bounced my way downstairs. It felt great to be able to sleep in my room and do things myself. I was going to appreciate my ability to walk. You never know the value of something until it is taken away.

Dante was sitting at the kitchen table eating cereal when I entered the kitchen. His hair was still dripping from the early shower and he was lost in his thoughts but undoubtedly aware of my presence.
"Hey" I said sitting beside him. He glanced at me before giving me a slight nod.

I looked to the side awkwardly unable to handle his change in behavior. I knew Anna probably had something to do with it but I didn't want to bring it up unless he did. I coughed awkwardly and stood up to make sandwiches. Even though I had lost my beasts which gave me the excuse to eat a lot I strangely still had a very huge appetite.
"So what are you doing up so early" I asked taking out six slices of bread from the basket.

"I'm training with you today" he said. He had finished his cereal and went to the sink to put his bowl in.
"Dad said I have to start training for beta" he sighed.

Dante wasn't one to value responsibility. Sure he was a great leader and all but he didn't want to lead under rules. He wanted to be his own person and becoming beta would prevent that. So I figured he wasn't really happy about taking the position.I bid him goodbye and told him I would meet up with him in a few hours.

I took a slow jog to Luna Melody's glass hut. When I got there she was sitting on a bench waiting for my arrival.
"Morning" I said, checking out her appearance. She was wearing a fighting suit. Something I didn't even know she had.

"I want to teach you about hidden gifts of a werewolf" she said standing up and beckoning me to follow her down my running trail.
"You only know about mind linking and your eyes being able to switch between yours and your wolf's" she said beginning to pick up the pace "but you do not know about the other five talents of the wolf"

"Are you talking about half shifting" I asked.

By this time Melody was in a full run. We were running down the same path we always did when she suddenly took a wrong turn. I almost slipped at the curve. I followed her down the rocky slope when she suddenly disappeared. I was running when the rocky slope ended and I slipped off the edge of a cliff.
"Dammit" I screamed trying to hold onto the sharp rocks but failing miserably. My hand even got cut. I was falling off when a hand reached out and grabbed me.

Alpha Christian pulled into the dark cave he was standing in. It was just on the side of the cliff. I wrapped my arms around him in a panicked state. My breathing was harsh and my heart was beating violently.
"I thought I was going to die" I said.

"Are you coming or are you going to keep holding onto my mate" Melody says somewhere in the dark.

I remove my arms and watch Christian disappear into the darkness.
"Come on" he said.

I walk further into the cave kicking multiple rocks on the way.
"I can't see anything in here" I grumbled "how am I supposed to avoid getting hurt"

"Silence" her voice says in the emptiness "follow your instincts and call onto your beasts"

"How am supposed to call something I don't have" I asked frustratedly.

"You have them Minala" I hear my mother say "they are just in deep slumber"
Listening to Lowain's words I close my eyes and search my mind. It takes about two minutes before I feel them. When I open my eyes. I can see clearer in the dark.

I walk faster to where I see a light. When I get there I enter into a ring of some sort. They are all sitting there and watching me. The cave is more open in this section. Torch fires align the moist walls of the cave.I try to step out of the ring but a force pushes me back throwing me off balance. My ass meets the ground painfully.

"You can't leave the ring until your trial is complete" my mother says.

"What trial" I ask, looking around me when hooded figures appear. Circling the ring.

"You're gonna try to merge" she said.

Merge.

Merge?!

How can I possibly do that. I was nowhere near ready.
"These are conjures of the vampire elders" Lowain said "the most powerful spell casters"

"Where are they now" I asked. My mother could heal and create. Her powers were extraordinary. If only she could keep it up for a long time. She could bring an image to life. Even conjure up people or other things. That is what she did the first time she came.

"The elders have been imprisoned" she said "the prison cells are powerfully enchanted that even their powers are defenseless from the inside. They were caught off guard"

There were ten elders around the ring.
The first one was an elemental. The second was a barrier former and the third one was a commander. I had studied day and night on all the types of vampires you could find. It was from non-casters like my father to the most powerful vampire of them all.

The life forcer.

A vampire with a gift that could absorb any power and make it their own. Killing the owner in the process.They were dangerous. Over the centuries there have only been a hand full in order to keep the balance.
"In order for the merger to work you have to be on the brink of death" Luna Melody says.

At her words Alpha Christian stood up from his chair. He growled lowly and took a step into the ring. The barrier letting him through. I rose my hands up.
"What's going on"I asked laughing nervously "I thought I needed to be strong for it to work. Brink of death seems kinda dead to me"

Luna Melody gave me an unamused look. The very same look which said that I should just trust them and not question their methods. Amidst my temporary distraction, Alpha Christian lunged himself at him.He started beating me up but not using full force. I had no chance but to try and defend myself.He sent a final punch to my face and I heard my jaw snap before I fell to the ground. I started spitting out blood. Black spots were clouding my vision but I didn't pass out.
Alpha Christian stopped and returned to his seat. I could see the pained look on his face. Hurting me was not an easy thing to do for him. I tried to push myself and get up but a heavy force was pulling me down.

The fourth elder. A restrainer.

"If you have any of the powers you will be immune to them" Lowain says "but if you don't then you will experience pain, enough pain to make you force a merger but if you are unsuccessful you will unfortunately die"

What did she say?

All the vampires used their powers against me as I was held down by invisible chains. I screamed my lungs out begging them to stop. I was being burned alive and commanded to feel twice the pain. I tried to endure the agony but it was just too much for me to bare.

My screams were the only thing I could hear until a growl ripped out through my panting mouth. I felt my canines extend, burning my gums in the process. I started feeling my bones crack when suddenly all the vampires' powers stopped working against me. I fell forward onto my hands before a beam of power exploded from my body, making all the conjures disappear. My shift stopped and my wolf and vampire reclined back into my mind.

"No no no" I cried. The barrier around me fell. My skin was seared and blood was trickling from my mouth and ears. I really was on the brink of death.

My mother rushed to my side and began healing me. She had a proud look in her eye.
"I think we figured out the kind of vampire you are" she said.