Chapter 6

Present time.

LYNEXIA

I lurch awake in terror, gasping for air.

Cold sweat slicks my hair to my forehead and chills the skin under my sleepwear. On reflex, my hands extend across the empty bed in search of Felicity.

Relief washes over me when my fingers meet with the familiar curve of her small frame. I pull her close and bury my face in her soft hair.

The same nightmare of someone taking my daughter away from me has haunted me since the day I gave birth to her up until this moment.

Though I don't understand my powers, I just know I have the ability to see catastrophe before it happens. My power is both a blessing and a curse. Because though, I can see the future, I can't avoid the future. I can only prepare ahead for when it comes.

Just like the dream I had five years ago about the Barbarians invasion. At the time I had the dream, it wasn't clear but when the Barbarians came knocking on our doorstep, I knew it was the manifestation of my dream.

So the dream of someone taking my daughter away from me will surely come to pass. It just depends on how prepared I am when it comes. Though I have been taking precautions since then it doesn't stop filling me with dread when I have the same nightmare or when it crosses my mind.

It has become so frustrating because though, I can foresee the future, I don't know in what form it will happen in reality. It's just like having a gun but with a blindfold on. Even with the gun, it still won't know who or what to shoot.

The reason was that the shadow pack didn't hone our skills. It was why the Barbarians were about to invade and take us down in the first place. We only shifted or used our wolf strength during festivals, for fishing, and farming. It wasn't sharpened as a weapon against attacks.

The gentle rise and fall of Felicity eases my frayed nerves. My hand absently strokes her soft hair, watching her peaceful face. She is so young and oblivious to the danger surrounding her and I will like to keep it that way.

If any danger dares reach her, it will find me first. Unwavering. Unbreakable. Even if it means treading my life for her.

I wasn't able to go back to sleep after the night. It would be impossible for any parent to after a horrific dream about their child.

The tick-tock of the clock kept me company until it was dawn. At the first light that creeps in, I rise to my feet but not after planting a kiss on my daughter's cheeks.

Soft music from my favorite band plays in the background to ease my mind as I set to make my daughter's breakfast.

The food choice is pasta salad and yogurt which is one of many favorite foods of my daughter. She is such a foodie and anything goes with her.

When I am done packing my daughter's lunchbox, I walk back to the room. A smile softens my face as I watch her chest rise and fall rhythmically. Then, with a playful nudge, I whisper, "Wakey, wakey, sleepyhead. Time for school."

A mumble I barely heard comes out from under the cover. "No school for me, mama."

My lips twitch with amusement when she stirs and burrows deep into the blanket. Her back now facing me.

"There is school for you today." I tease but she doesn't reply.

So, I start tickling her lightly, sending a burst of giggles erupting from under the covers. Her small body squirms and wriggles as our laughter echoes through the room.

"Alright, alright!" she shrieks, finally surrendering. "I'll go to school, Mom. Just stop the tickles!"

I pull back, a smile warming my face. "That's the spirit," I say, ruffling her hair. "Now, let's get you ready before the school bus arrives."

The city roars around us as I drag Felicity down the sidewalk. Every instruction I gave her was a game to her making us spend an extra hour inside.

She is still in a sleepy mode and I'm practically dragging her down the sidewalk.

"Be a good girl and listen to your teacher, okay," I tell her as I hold her hand tighter, swallowing them with my big hand.

"Okay." She replies with a yawn.

A glance at my watch sends a jolt through me. Shit. The school bus. I scoop Felicity in my arms and begin to race to the spot of her school bus.

On getting to the school bus, I was thrashing for air and Felicity was giggling. See, she thinks everything is a game.

I plant a kiss on her cheek before handing her over to the teacher on the school bus.

It was only when the school bus left did I turned around and headed back home.

I still walk for Sarah and Shay. Both of them have been amazing to me ever since I got into the human world.

I slump onto the bed the moment I get to the comfort of my home. I'm so grateful that I have a day off today, raising Felicity is like raising an army of soldiers.

As soon as my eyes start to close, my phone rings loudly beside me. I press my head deeper into the bed and groan before rolling over to check the caller's ID.

My breath catches upon the band I see.

Why is Mrs. Johnson, Felicity's teacher, calling me?

Is Felicity..? I shake my head off any bad thoughts before reaching out to my phone with a shaky hand.

I answer, blood roaring in my ears. "Hello."

By the end of the call, I already knew Felicity was in fact in the hospital because she just fainted right on the school bus.

My mind turns haphazardly as I run out of my apartment, the door slamming loudly behind me.

Is this the path fate takes to snatch my daughter out of my hand? How can fate be this cruel to me? How could the moon goddess take the most precious person away from my life in this way? In a way that makes me watch from the sidelines, unable to do anything about it.

I don't even know how I do but I got to the hospital with tears-filled eyes and an iron grip fear around my neck.

My legs give away, and I sink onto the admissions desk. "Felicity Silver." my voice sounds breathless.

The receptionist leads me to the children's emergency ward with pitiful eyes due to my appearance.

I met with Felicity's teacher and she explained to me what happened. She also tries to console me as we wait for the doctor but it doesn't work.

Finally, the emergency doors swing open, revealing a doctor whose expression fills me with dread. I rush forward, a splutter of questions tumbling from my lips: "Can I see her? Is she okay? What happened?"

He takes a hesitant step back, adjusting his glasses. "Are you Felicity's guardian?" He raises his head to look at me.

I answer with a simple. "Yes." If I wasn't I wouldn't be here in the first place.

"Follow me."

His small office added to my discomfort as I walked in shortly after the doctor. The air is suffocating and it feels like the wall will close on me.

He gestures for me to a seat on a chair opposite the desk while he circles the desk, perching on the chair behind it.

I sink into the chair with trembling legs. All this just stretches the inevitable further. He could say what he wanted to in the corridor.

"So, what's wrong with her?" I demand, impatience gnashing at my neck.

He sighs before answering. "Your daughter is suspected of a rare blood disease, and the only cure..." He pauses, letting the weight of the next words sink in, "is a blood transfusion from her biological father."

Blood drains out of my face.

My daughter is sick and the only person that can save her is Dimitri. The man I fled from five years ago. The man who doesn't even know he has a child somewhere. The man who believes I'm dead. The man who wants nothing to do with me. The man who has caused me nothing but pain. The fate of my daughter rests in the hands of that man.

Talk about the cruel joke fate pulls on me. To save my daughter, I have to crawl back to the very roots I tore myself from years ago, roots entangled with the man I swore to never face again. I have to go back to the same pack that discriminated against me for something beyond my control now hold the key to Felicity's survival.

The doctor's words reduce to a distant buzz, lost in my drowning thoughts. I have to go back to the shadow pack.