Forbidden Mate: Awakening

“War’s looming, time to align our fate.”

~LILY’S POV~

I found myself standing in front my father. He had summoned me that afternoon most definitely because of the war that was just a few days away. Ever since my mom’s passing, I’d not even gotten the chance to talk to my dad well. I was happy he finally called for my presence.

His presence always commanded respect and authority, and yet, there was also a warmth and tenderness in his eyes as he looked at me at that moment.

“Theo has healed finally. We are ready to face whatever comes that day.” I said, trying to sound confident despite the anxiety bubbling within me.

My father nodded, “I know you and the pack are prepared, Lily. But remember, this is not just a battle for power or territory. It’s a fight for our past, present and future; for everything we hold dear.”

I took a deep breath, trying to still my pounding heart pounding. “I understand, Father. I will do what I must to protect our pack.”

He placed a reassuring hand on my hand. “I have faith in you, Lily. I have watched you grown to be very strong and capable of leading the pack hunters.”

Was my father telling me I’d lead our faction during the war?

“Father…you want me to lead the pack hunters?”

“You can and you will.” It was a huge responsibility but where would my dad fit into it?

“Father, what about you?”

“I will listen to the command of our leader.” He smiled at me and I held back tears. He had passed the mantle to me and I couldn’t feel less honoured.

I held back my tears as I hugged him, “Thank you, Father. I promise not to let you down.”

“I know you won’t. Remember you’re also a Guardian. Tap into your powers when necessary. You’re to bring balance into our realm. I don’t want this war to end with just blood shed…” he pulled back from me and held my hands, “Use the journal, use your powers, and use your intellect, my dear. Make your mom proud, okay?”

“Yes, Father.” I said, tears rushing down my cheeks.

I nodded and hugged him again, grateful for his words of wisdom and encouragement. “Thank you, Father. This means the world to me.”

~~~~~~

~NARRATOR’S POV~

Outside their house, Jaxon stood in front of his family with his bag pack around his shoulders. He looked worried and serious about the upcoming battle. Cecelia and Junior, embraced him tightly, their emotions too overwhelming for words.

“I’ll be back,” Jaxon assured them, “I have to do this for our pack.”

Cecelia held back tears, trying to put on a brave face. “Be safe, my boy,” she whispered. “We’ll be waiting for you to come back.”

“Why can’t I follow you?” Junior asked with his bright eyes.

“Because you aren’t old enough yet.”

“But I want to.”

“I’ll be back, J. I promise.” He smiled down at him.

Junior looked up at Jaxon with admiration in his eyes. “You’ll come back as a hero, right?” he aske innocently.

A small smile tugged at the corner of Jaxon’s lips. “I’ll do my best,” he replied, ruffling Junior’s hair affectionately who hugged him.

Cecelia held his arm, “Please be careful,” She said.

He looked at her with a hint of sadness in his eyes he didn’t want her notice. “I will,” he said. “I promise.”

And with that, Jaxon boarded the taxi to the pack, his mom and brother waving at him.

~~~~~

~LILY’S POV~

Sarah and I were packing our luggages as if we were about travelling for a vacation.

“I don’t still get why we’re packing.” She said, trying to hide her nervousness. We were both nervous.

“Some damages could be incurred during the war so we need to keep our stuffs safe in the underground safe houses.” I explained to her, also trying to sound fine.

“You know, Lily,” Sarah said. She finally sat down, “… with the war approaching, I can’t help but feel both excited and scared. Am I crazy?”

I nodded and giggled a little, understanding exactly what she meant. I dropped the photo of my mom slowly into the bag after staring at it for while and said, “I feel the same way, Sarah. My emotions are all over the place. We’re about to actually experience our first war ever.”

Sarah turned to look at me, a small smile playing on her lips. “But no matter what happens, we’ll fight or die together, right?”

I rolled my eyes and then smiled back, feeling warmth in my heart. “Absolutely. We’re besties forever, remember?”

She chuckled softly, then rose up to hug me tightly. I hugged her back with the same compassion . “Forever and always,” she replied.

Later that day, we stared at the setting sun that painted the sky in hues of orange and pink. True friendship was a gift and I was glad to have it. Sarah and I looked at eachother and placed our heads together

But then I remembered Jaxon.

~~~~~

I knew I had to talk to him.

Tyler was talking to my dad when he saw me and excused himself to talk to me outside.

“Hi.” I said.

“Hi.” He replied.

From looking at him, I could feel the amount of pressure he was under.

“You’re doing so well, Tyler.” I said assuringly and he smiled at me.

“Thanks.”

His eyes searched mine, as if trying to tell me something with them. I waited for him to talk.

“I know you love Adrian,” Tyler began, his voice soft but resolute. “And I won’t stand in the way of that. But I just need you to know that…”

I waited.

“That…” He looked down at his feet then at me.

I waited.

“Lily, I need you to know that…”

“Tyler..”

He stepped closer to me, “I still love you, Lily, and I always will.”

My heart ached at his confession, knowing fully well that my feelings for Adrian and our past had complicated things between us. I reached out to touch his hand gently, offering him a small smile.

“Tyler, you know things have been rough for us. You’ve been a constant in my life, and I’m grateful for everything you’ve done for me,” I replied honestly. “But my heart belongs to Adrian, and I can’t change that.”

Tyler nodded, his expression indecipherable. “I know, and I’m not asking you to change how you feel,” he said. “But I promise you this – no matter what happens in this war, I will be right behind you. I won’t let anything happen to you. I’ve hurt you in the past so much and I’m sor-”

Before he could finish, I hugged him. It was like out of impulse. The more I got to know Tyler again, the more I felt I started to forgive him more than I wanted to and I was afraid I’d start rekindling feelings for him. He had grown, had changed and matured. So it was tempting for me to be so close to him, but he was trying his best to make up for his past mistakes. He wasn’t trying too much like Don, neither was he not trying at all like Jaxon. He was just trying and I appreciated it.

“Thank you, Tyler,” I said softly.

He hugged me back and when I started to feel too into it, I withdrew back. As we pulled away from the embrace, Tyler gave me a small smile. “No, thank you for changing me for the better, Lily.” he said firmly.

And I almost cried if not for my phone which buzzed with a notification. It was Adrian.

“Meet me in the garden by 8.”

I blushed shamelessly at the text, forgetting Tyler was still there staring at me.

“I’ll get back in to your dad.”

“Oh yeah…sorry.. I mean, thanks.”

He gave me two thumbs up and went back in.

~~~~~~

~NARRATOR’S POV~

Sarah and Theo stood together on the edge of the camp, away from prying eyes, like they always did.

“I’m scared, Theo,” Sarah admitted.

“So am I.” He said and Sarah hit his arm, thinking he was teasing her.

“You think I’m joking?”

“No, I’m legit scared too.”

“But you’re the commanding general of our grove, and, my man. You aren’t meant to be scared.” She said and rubbed his chest.

Theo gently took her hand in his, offering a goofy smile. “Forget the title. I’m dead scared, Sarah. But I promise you, we’ll get through this in one piece.”

She gazed into his eyes. “After the war, what then? That’s if we come out alive.” Sarah asked softly but stil wearily.

Theo pulled her closer to his side, “Hey…we will come out alive. That’s for sure.” Then his smile grew wider, filled with affection. “After the war, we’ll build a future together,” he said. “I wanna spend the rest of my life with you, Sarah. I promise to marry you.”

Sarah’s face went red and her mouth opened, flabbergasted, “Marry me?!”

“What? Is that too forward?” Theo said, looking concerned at Sarah’s reaction.Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

A spark of hope and joy lit up in Sarah’s eyes, and a smile graced her lips. “No just that…it was so sudden the way you said that.”

“But you asked me.”

“I wasn’t expecting…”

“If you don’t want to, it’s okay.”

“No, no.. I would love that,” she whispered. “Just knowing that we have a future together gives me strength.”

Theo held her closer with a wild smile on his face.

“I’m literally so happy you followed me on that journey to find the ring.”

Sarah chuckled and kissed him softly, “And I’m glad you kept up with my hassle.”

~~~~~

~LILY’S POV~

Finally, I was looking straight on at him after how many months. Tyler had called to tell me Jaxon wanted to speak to both of us, mostly to me.

Tyler stood by his side, a serious expression on his face. “Jaxon,” I began, “are you sure about joining the fight with the army?”

Jaxon met my gaze with determination in his eyes. “Yes, I want to fight alongside you all,” he replied. “I can’t stand by and do nothing when our pack and the grove are in danger.”

Tyler nodded in approval. “You have my permission. As far as you feel you’re strong enough to, I don’t object,” he said, “but be careful. We don’t know what we’re up against, and I don’t want to lose any more of our people.”

I listened to their conversation, my mind briefly recalling what Don had told me about Jaxon. The dream. Adrian told me a recurring dream doesn’t necessarily mean it could happen but he did clarify me;

“All dreams have meanings, Lily. Just be careful, luv.”

But I pushed those thoughts aside and chose to trust Jaxon. He was a part of our pack, and he deserved the chance to fight for what he believed in, even though things weren’t the same between us again.

“I trust you, Jaxon,” I said. “Be careful.”

Jaxon nodded back at me. “I will,” he promised.

It was so hard now trying to figure out what he was thinking and what he felt. He really had changed a lot. Tyler had already gone so it was both of us in the passage way.

Jaxon stepped forward to me when I wanted to turn to leave, “Lily.”

I turned to look at him but then his tongue was tied. He didn’t look at me.

I’m sorry.” He managed to say then walked away.

I stood there wandering what he meant and watched his shadow disappear behind the pillars.

~~~~~

The moon had a red tint to it that night. Our hands were entwined, and our eyes gazed into the the beyond.

We turned to each other and our eyes locked.

“Tomorrow’s the day.” I said.

“Yeah.” He said with a slight laugh. It was a nervous laugh.

“You’re laughing?” I said with a tired smirk.

“It’s a nervous laugh, luv.” He started calling me luv recently and it always tasted so sweet in his mouth.

I ran my eyes as if I was examining his face, “I can’t believe you’ll face your people tomorrow. I can’t imagine what you’re feeling.”

“I’m thinking of the fact that I can’t bear the thought of losing you,” Adrian whispered and caressed my neck with his hand.

“Adrian…”

“Don’t worry about me, luv. I’ve faced worse things.”

“Have you? Really?”

He didn’t answer then kept quiet for a while. He then smiled and looked at me, “We’ve trained so hard for tomorrow. And I know you have too but I won’t leave your side, not even for a second.”

I squeezed his hand on my neck gently.

“I won’t let anything happen to you.” He said.

“I know.”

“I know you won’t need me by your side but I’ll be there anyways.”

“I do need you by my side, Adrian.” I said in a gasp, his eyes staring down my soul and his hands rubbing my neck even more gently.

He leaned in closer, his breath mingling with mine, and our lips met in a tender kiss. In that moment, it felt like time stood still, and all that mattered was the love we had for eachother. I didn’t care if it’d be our last or our first before a new era began. This was right. It had always been right being with him. He was the right one for me.

“I’ve said this a billion times to you already but I hope you know how much I mean it this time, luv.” Our foreheads were touching and our breaths were hot on our faces. “I love you, Lily. No matter what happens tomorrow, just know that I’ll love you forever.”

I couldn’t say it back when he merged his lips with mine again and a tear dropped on my cheek.

I will always love you too, Adrian.

I didn’t want that kiss to be our last.