Chapter 3 Just A Dream

• AVA
• No.
• Not exactly...
• I watched as the man I had called my father for the last nine years turned into something... different...
• What was left of his clothes tore into pieces as golden scales appeared on his arms... his legs... His usual grey eyes, which were home to me, glowed a strange purple.
• Was I dreaming?
• Hanging in the air, my mouth, which was already dropped open, gasping for air, opened wider in shock.
• What was this? Was there a side like this to everyone?
• His nails grew as the mark of a dragon appeared on the side of his neck, but he retained his human form.
• My father spun, the action sending a heavy breeze which swept my captor off his feet; he had no choice but to let go of my mother.
• "I've had enough of you rogues." He seethed. "If you want to die by my hands, then so be it."
• I was still processing the scene below me... the strange image of my father as he battled the creatures when the blue shimmer which I had become accustomed to, enveloped my mother. It pushed and pulled, displaying a rhythmic dance around her. By the time it disappeared, she had changed, too.
• Unlike my father, she had a cloak on and her hair in a fancy, historic updo, emanating a strong feeling of darkness. If I thought the blue in her eyes was unusual, it was nothing compared to its new shade, darker than the night itself.
• A cloak... glowing eyes... like something out of Mum's stories.
• But those were just stories... weren't they?
• They stood side by side in a tense stance, two against the nine monsters, as the stench of death overpowered the air.
• "What do I expect from a f*cking witch and puny dragon?" The leader sneered. "Have it your way then." He stretched forth his hand. "Guys...
• His followers howled in reply.
• -Feast."
• That was the last visible sight I saw as chaos ensued.
• The scene below me became a blur.
• I could only see splashes of blood and patches of torn skin... hear snarls and growls, painful cries, but I had no idea whose. Whatever was happening was serious, yet it only lessened the hold on me, and I remained in the air. My heart was in my throat, still reeling from my parents' identity reveal.
• How long had they been that way?
• Dragon tattoos... a witch's cloak...
• This was real... shifters did exist, and my parents were...
• I recalled the tales I'd been told daily for the past seven days. Each day. Each description. The desperation in my mother's eyes...
• No way.
• How could...
• Was that what she meant by "my powers"? If my parents were both of different types, what did that make me? Whatever it was, I didn't get the chance to think about it. Because at that precise moment, a loud shriek split the air.
• And when I looked down –
• My world stopped.
• The fight had halted. Five of the creatures were lying dead on the ground, guts open. Two others were barely alive, lying in pools of their own blood.
• That left just two.
• My parents have fought well. They were winning this. I should be relieved.
• But the sight in front of me showed something else.
• My father stood between my mother and the man I'd come to know as the leader. His hands spread out in front of him as if to protect his love. Then there was blood... so much blood... dripping from his mouth, and the cause was the foreign forearm of the monster who had me in the air, completely buried in his stomach.
• I watched in agony as he twisted it, earning a painful groan from my father and a cry from my mother.
• Yet he didn't stop, pushing it in deeper. He laughed, throwing me a quick, victorious glance before yanking his arm out.
• I screamed. My mother screamed. My father's mouth fell open, but no sound came out as he fell to his knees, his face an unhealthy shade of white.
• "You should've handed her over when you had the chance." The evil man chuckled. "However, it's too late. You lost. I'm going to kill you and your lovely mate. Then take your daughter as a mate for me." He spat, sending a kick to my already injured father.
• That was the last push I needed.
• The next thing I knew, I exploded.
• A searing pain erupted from my chest, tearing through my spine... my skin... my bones. It felt like the feeling within me that had been burning had reached its limit and couldn't be suppressed anymore.
• I crashed to my knees, screaming as blinding light blazed around me; a combination of red, blue, and crimson fire surrounded me, licking at the air. The ground trembled as it finally settled into a raging purple flame.
• And then –
• I lost control.
• I couldn't think. This wasn't the time to...
• But if I could... I'd wonder if this was really me. If I truly was the one lifting over a hundred trees into the air. If I were truly the one controlling the haywire lightning. The sky turned dark. Everything around me burned. Wolves screamed. Trees caught fire as the ground split into two.
• Somewhere in the chaos, I heard the soft call of my name, but I was too far gone to understand.
• I just wanted them all dead.
• They started this. They attacked my parents and me. They were going to pay.
• "Ava..." I heard the soft call again.
• It sounded like my mother, but could I be sure? If there was one thing this night had taught me, it was that there was more to what a person sees.
• My whole life was a lie. What if the call was too?
• "It isn't." A pained voice replied, the words sounding choked.
• I paused.
• "Dad?" Tears were streaming down my face. "Is that you?"
• He grunted, heaved, then spoke again.
• "Yes, it is. Follow the voice of your mother. Let her help you."
• I frowned, lost in the empty world that burned purple until I saw it again. The blue shimmer, standing as a single brightly shining ball, and I grasped onto it. Letting it lead me till I found myself back in the familiar warmth of my mother's arms.
• When the light faded, silence reigned. The hunters were gone. No bodies. Just ash and char remains... The forest was still burning, but nothing moved. I blinked through the smoke, barely breathing... discomforted by the loud ringing in my ears.
• Yet it still felt like I was far away.
• "It's alright." She comforted me, placing one hand on my heart. "Just close your eyes. Let me help you. You won't have to go through this ever again. I promise."
• Her blue shimmer enveloped us both; it felt painless... beautiful... draining... like her soul was wrapping itself around mine.
• Her gaze found mine.
• "I'm sorry, baby," she whispered, "It's the only way to save you."
• What does she mean? What was she trying to say?
• A soft tingle shot through my veins.
• "Mum?"
• "Ava, you're loved. Mummy loves you. So does Daddy."
• Her eyes looked sad and wet; I didn't... I didn't understand. Yet my heart broke from the immense level of sorrow I could feel coming from her.
• "Remember, Ava, we love you so much. Your dad and I. And though things may be tough for a while, you'd always have help. You're more powerful than you think. With time, you'll get to know."
• A bitter smile crossed her face. The more the warmth tightened, the more light left her eyes.
• My lips parted to speak... To ask her what was wrong. But they couldn't. I grew lighter... fainter... I was floating as it all intensified and just before it came to an end.
• My father's last words reached me.
• "Remember who you are, Avalyn Drakara." Their voice echoed as darkness drew me in. "We have always, and would always, loved you."
• By the time I came to, the sun was beginning to rise. The entire forest had become a big blackened clearing, and I was the only living thing present.
• Breaking into a fit of cough, I steadily rose to my feet.
• "Mum? Dad?"
• My voice echoed, giving a reply to my calls, but they were nowhere to be seen. Then memories of the previous scenes slammed into me.
• The stories. The fight. My parents' last words.
• I gasped.
• I was the chosen one... the one the prophecy talked about... the last living dragon-witch hybrid haunted by the world. I was the reason we were being chased... the reason they practised a strange religion they had no belief in. The reason they
• Splash!
• "Get up, you filthy runt!"
• My eyes snapped open immediately, shocked at the abrupt turn of events, as they met a pair of familiar, disgusted ones.
• My mother's voice still echoed in my ear. But the warmth... the ash... they were all gone. All that remained was cold. My stomach sank in realisation.
• I had that dream again, and now I was back to my wretched reality...
• An abandoned, orphaned human girl who was mercifully taken in by a pack of wolves.
• A wave of frustration fell upon me as I glanced down at the mess the skinny woman in front of me had created, watching the gooey greenish liquid slip into the holes in the mattress.
• It might be torn and old, but it was the only one I was allowed to have.
• Why would she do this?
• "Why... ?" Tears brimmed in my eyes.
• "I'm on toilet duty today." Chloe spat distastefully. "You do it. I would know if you told anyone."
• Holding back the words on the tip of my tongue, I nodded. Either way, I wasn't allowed to complain.
• She was just one of the many pack members who had made it their life's mission to make mine a living hell in return for giving me a place to lay my head and feed... even if it was scraps.
• Slap!
• "Are you mute? Can't you say something?"
• I bit down on my lips, holding back the tears that threatened to fall from my eyes.
• "Ye... e... ss, Chloe." My gaze remained on the old, broken floor, taking into account the unspoken rule.
• I wasn't allowed to look at any one of them in the eyes.
• A runt like me wasn't worthy of that.
• Or so I'd been told for the last ten years...
• I should speak up for myself... no one deserved to be treated the way I was, but I'd learnt from experience that it only made things worse. The scars all over my body were testaments to that. If I kept quiet, they'd leave without doing much damage.
• And as expected, she hissed, then turned to walk out of the room I shared with the cleaning supplies, only to halt at the door.
• "I don't know what you did, but you have been summoned by Alpha Dax and Damon." Her lips curled up. "You're so done for..."
• But was I really?
• My heart jumped as my teeth dug deeper into my lips. Only this time, it wasn't in fear but anticipation of what was to come.
• The reason I now bravely survive each day in this pack.
• "Hi, I am Avalyn Drakara. The worthless runt and human mate to the Alphas of Bloodmoon Pack."
• And this is my story...