Edan & Hima: The Awakening

Prologue

A soft wind howled through the room. This room was dimly lit thanks to the soft lamp that sat on the desk. Along with the lamp sat many papers scattered across the surface. These papers held nothing but words upon words of research. There were even a few images to accompany these words.

A gentle hum echoed in the room as a woman smoothly moved a pen across a new paper. The woman leaned forward to delve into her writing.

"Lost for generations," she scoffed under her breath. "But now they are resurfacing." She dragged her pen over a few words she wrote down. "But why only now?"

As the woman was sitting and completing her notes, she heard a knock at her door. Her hand stopped. The woman looked up, and the light finally hit her face. She was a beautiful woman with a light skin complexion, yet it was a beautiful dark color all at the same time. Her hair was a furl of dark curls. Then her eyes—they were a gorgeous amber color. However, when the light hit her eyes, her pupils dilated into unnatural slits—like that of a cat.

The woman turned to the clock on the wall to take a gander at the time. She heaved a sigh before she pushed her body away from the desk. The woman collected the notes and neatly placed them in a folder. She opened a drawer to tuck the folder inside. She walked out of the room and brought her hands up to collect her curly hair; she tied it with the band from her wrist.

She ventured into the foyer of her cozy home to find a note on the cabinet. A hum sounded as she picked it up. Then there was a chuckle when she recognized her youngest's handwriting.

"I'm going to spend the night at Sarah's place. So, don't worry about me.
Have fun with Luke tonight~!
Much love!"

The woman gave a shake of her head and set the note down. She released an amused sigh from her lungs before she grabbed her purse and turned to the door. Opening the door revealed another woman. She was tall with a snowy white complexion and perfectly blonde hair to complement. Her blue eyes held a mysterious gaze as she stared back at the curly-headed woman.

"Hey there, Cassandra," the woman greeted sweetly. "Are you ready to go meet up with the guys?"

Cassandra did not respond while the woman turned to lock her door. But she then suddenly heard a click of a gun behind her. Her smile slowly vanished. She was still facing her door. The woman dipped her head and a remorseful sigh escaped her lips before she finally turned to face the blonde.

Cassandra was now holding a cold metal object up to the woman's face, and she showed no emotion on her face. The woman's eyes now held regret as she stared down the barrel of a pistol. She knew exactly what this woman was doing.

"I thought you would be on my side," she chuckled dryly. Her eyes were slowly beginning to fill with tears.

"You've gone unpunished for too long, Violet," Cassandra responded coldly.

"Unpunished?" Violet scoffed in response. "What in the world are you talking about?"

"The child that you have sheltered," Cassandra said, "for fifteen years. A child that you stole."

"You don't see it, do you?" Violet calmly asked. "I saved that child's life."

Finally, there was emotion on Cassandra's face with a scowl. She fixed her grip on the pistol and released a shaky breath. "And that child's life could have saved so many other lives!" she snapped.

"No, it wouldn't have," Violet argued. Her anger was growing, and the additional soul inside her was growing impatient. "Everything they told us was lies. They were going to kill that child!"

Cassandra growled and ignored her friend's explanation. She readjusted the pistol in her hand again and prepared herself for when the time was right to pull the trigger. "You have committed a crime that is punishable by nothing but death."

Violet's eyes finally changed, and they widened in fear. She held her hands out cautiously. "Cassandra, please, listen to me. That child was going to be used like a lab rat. You have been fed nothing but lies. You're a mother, too, so you should understand that no child should be treated like that."

Cassandra continued to ignore Violet. "I, Cassandra Thomas, a member of the Council Committee of Shifters," she began, "hereby sentence you, Violet Quintez, to death for the crimes which you have committed."

Tears began to brim Violet's eyes as the fear finally enveloped her entire person. "Please, Cassandra, you can't! I have to protect her. We've been friends for so long, you have to under—"

The time was right, the trigger was pulled, and the sound of the pistol's release reverberated around the small section of the setting. Violet's head had been thrown back. All she could think about in that split second was the sorrow her children now had to endure.

The woman who stood before Cassandra became limp and crumpled to the grassy floor while a red liquid slowly flowed down her face. The bullet which Cassandra had fired had hit its target, making a killing blow to the head.

Cassandra heaved a shaky sigh and dropped her arm. The gun she still held slid from her grip and fell to the floor as she stared at her deed in horror.

Her mission was complete, but she could not shake the unwavering regret filling her body. Cassandra stared at Violet's lifeless body until her shaking legs gave out. Cassandra crashed down to her knees while tears sprouted from her eyes.

"I'm so sorry," Cassandra whimpered. Suddenly, there was laughter coming from the trees beyond the home. Cassandra gasped and turned her head towards the sound. She swiftly looked back at the deceased woman. "Shit," she hissed. Cassandra tossed her body forward to grab the pistol with the sleeve of her shirt. She polished the silver and laid it in the palm of Violet's cold hand.

Cassandra jumped to her feet. She gave the woman one last glance before she fled into the darkness.

The laughter grew louder until two men stumbled out of the trees. One of the men then snickered and jabbed his elbow into the other's arm.

"So, are you going to finally grow a pair and ask her?" he asked.

The moonlight washed over their bodies. One man had a unique appearance, with his silver hair shining a brilliant blue tint in the moonlight, yet he looked young. But his golden eyes stood out more than his hair did.

The other man looked typically average, with a dirt blonde color to his hair, and basic green eyes.

"What?" the second man chuckled.

"You know what I'm talking about!" the silver fox chuckled.

The blonde scoffed in response. "You know I can't do that."

"Why not?" his friend asked as they passed the corner. The man only shrugged his shoulders before turning his head forward. His body froze once he saw the lifeless body.

A heartbroken breath fell from his lips, and he soon rushed forward.

What followed were roars of a broken heart, the cries of orphaned children, and murmurs from shocked residents.

What they all thought was a peaceful village was about to change, but they couldn't anticipate just how drastic this eventual change would be.