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“When you experience something bad on your own, it’s hard to face. It’s even harder to conquer. The weight one must carry to fight against the dramatic experience that leaves open wounds and lingering scars is sometimes too hard to carry, but as a child, we see the future we wish to reach and push forward. No matter how bad the trauma is,” she explained. “As adults, we fear re-experiencing what scared us the first time. Not solely because of the pain it marked upon us physically, emotionally, or mentally, but because despite experiencing it in the past, pain is pain. It hurts, wounds, destroys, and breaks us until we’re nothing but broken pieces of glass scattered across a floor. Then we’re left with two options: to leave ourselves to be nothing but shattered glass or to pick up the pieces and create something new.”
Something…new…
“It’s scary revisiting your past. Frightening to confront those who brought nothing but agony to your life. Those people and instances wait for that striking moment to rear their ugly heads and remind us of our history, but you’re in the driver’s seat, Willow. You get to choose how these situations affect you. They expect you to crumble under the pressure you carried alone long ago, but isn’t it easier to confront your demons with a pack that has your back?”
She had a point.
“How you remind me of Vincenzo. He was just as apprehensive as you were long ago, but if he hadn’t opened the door and faced the trauma of his past, he would have never had the guts to be your bodyguard.”
Vincenzo…
“Really?” That surprised me because the few facts I remembered of Viktor were that he was a perfectionist, confident in his element of protecting whom he was assigned to, and he never fucked up.
“Really,” she repeated the word. “He has to open another door to be able to change your fate.”
“Do you think he will?” I curiously asked.
“I do.” There was no doubt in her voice. “It won’t be long, actually.”
“Why would he do all that for me?” I knew why, somewhere within the depths of my soul, but my ears craved to hear the truth.
To confirm what I hoped could be returned.
“Vincenzo loves you, Willow,” she emphasized as her eyes softened and her smile returned. “My son has loved you for a very long time. He fought every possible strand of restraint, but alas. He has no choice but to accept the truth. He’s fallen in love with you, and I can safely guess you’re smitten for him as well.”
“I believe so.” I couldn’t be 100% sure but it felt that way. Like he carried a piece of my heart along with a few others that I cherished dearly. “If only I could remember all we’ve been through.”
“You will,” she assured me. “The real question is, are you ready to continue this journey?”
I held off from answering immediately, but my resolve was already set in stone. Despite my lack of memory or the trauma I was fighting desperately to ignore for all eternity, I couldn’t brush away the urge to keep going.
There was a flame that was still burning on, no matter the number of attempts made to extinguish its light.
“I have to keep going,” I quietly admitted. “There’s so much left to do…even if it’s overwhelming for me to think about it.”
“Sometimes you just have to shut up all those thoughts that seek to find the reason and go with your gut,” she encouraged. “When there are moments where you lose your way, remember those around you and don’t hesitate to rely on them. They may not see the signs all the time, but time and experience will help them learn from their mistakes and be the shoulders you need to lean on.”
“Are you okay with me being with Vik…eer…Vincenzo?” It felt weird to say his full name.
“You have my blessing, Willow,” she assured me. “Tell him that too, and if he bothers you, I’ll have to come down and slap his head so he regains his common sense.”
That actually made me giggle before I felt a sudden tugging motion. It was faint but captured me like a hook on a fishing line, and though I sought to finish my conversation with Viktor’s mother, I couldn’t.
I need to go in that direction.
“I guess it’s time,” I heard her say, but I rose up and began to steadily walk away. My body stopped at the touch of arms behind me, and for a moment, it felt like I was being hugged from behind.
Something hooked around my neck - the chain thin and almost weightless. The burning sensation on my chest suddenly grew stronger, as if another energy was flowing into the main piece of magical jewelry that pressed against my chest.
“As a Master of the Forbidden Elements, I pass on my power to you, Willow Alundra Phoenix.” The use of my real name tugged my interest, but it was short-lived as the force that wrapped me in its web begged for me to get closer.
To close the distance between us.
Energy rushed through me in waves, to the point that it felt like I was a charged battery and the energy was desperate to buzz through our designated equipment.
“You will be tested, Willow. Things will not be easy. But trust in your Endangered men and your Master. Trust in the pack you’ve formed, and I assure you, domination will be your portion to obtain and conquer. You will be prosperous. May our Goddess of the Moon shield you from death from this day onward. May my power assist you, my knowledge guide you, and my son continue to protect you.”
With one last squeeze, I was let go, and all my attention was on the path before me while I felt as if the presence behind me began to fade away.
