CHAPTER 110: THE AWAKENING...

Charis

When the lights went out, I was too stunned to move.

The pain that had been building all evening seemed to have spread from my chest to my limbs, leaving me frozen in place. I just stood there, trying to understand what was happening, then suddenly, I felt multiple hands grabbing me.

"What—?!" My protest was cut off when someone lifted me from the ground, and before I could fit back, I felt myself sailing through the air. Bracing myself for the impact I would feel hitting the ground, I closed my eyes.

But instead of the ground, my body hit water with a loud splash. The shock from the icy water shot through to my brain, making me sink to the bottom of the pool. For a moment, all I could feel was the burn in my lungs and the deeper, stranger burn in my veins.

As if realising that I was at the bottom of the pool, I suddenly pushed myself upward and in seconds, I’d broken out of the surface of the water, sputtering, shivering violently and gasping for air.

The lights had turned back on, and everyone was standing at the edge of the pool holding up their phones with smiles on their faces. When I came to the surface, they all started laughing as if I were entertaining them.

Marcus also stood at the edge of the pool, with both hands in his pockets and a satisfied smile on his face.

He knew.

This was his idea, no doubt.

I saw Slater making his way angrily to where Marcus was, and before anyone could do anything, he grabbed Marcus by his collar, forcing him to look at his face.

"Did you put these students up to this?" Slater demanded angrily. "What if he had drowned? Would you take responsibility for that?"

"Relax, Riggs," Marcus replied calmly, pulling Slater’s hands away from his collar. "What werewolf doesn’t know how to swim? Besides, this is a normal ritual for every first-year, remember? Though I’d say he came a little late to the party."

"You’re sick!" Slater yelled at Marcus, taking a step back. "That tradition is done on sick people at night."

By this time, the pain coursing through my body had doubled in intensity. My joints were locking, my chest felt too tight, and I was slowly losing my vision. Through the blur, I saw Rhett and Kael at the empty side of the pool, stretching their hands to me.

I could see their lips moving, but the roaring in my ears was making it impossible for me to understand what they were saying.

I was suddenly angry.

I didn’t even know why, but I was mad.

Furious and in agony now, I started swimming toward the opposite end of the pool, ignoring the way the cold was making my teeth chatter and also ignoring Rhett’s and Kael’s outstretched hands.

I heard another splash behind me and turned to see Slater swimming towards me.

That was all the encouragement I needed.

I swam as quickly as I could to the end of the pool and hauled myself out as water streamed from my soaked clothes. I walked—no, stalked—past the entire crowd, without so much as a glance at anyone.

"Eamon, wait! Stop," Kael called after me.

"Come back here, Eamon," Rhett added. "You’re going to make yourself sicker!"

The sound of their voices calling out after me was making me angrier. I ignored all the calls and continued walking toward the garden next to the pool, leaving a trail of water behind me as I moved away from the party and the crowd of students, who were still filming and laughing.

As soon as I had put enough distance between me and them, I crumbled to the ground and started crying.

Hot tears spilt down my cheeks, mixing with the freezing water still dripping from my hair. The combination of the pain I felt, plus the emotional exhaustion and the humiliation from moments ago, was suddenly too much for me to bear.

As I continued to cry, I felt something shift inside me. The pain hit harder this time, making me scream out and curl up on the ground. I rolled on the grass, gasping for breath. Every second felt like torture. It was as if the more I tried to bear the pain, the more it came.

My vision at this point had gone completely black, and my body was shaking with strange sensations I’d never experienced before. I felt both hot and cold at the same time.

The distant voices from the poolside and the laughter were beginning to fade as the world around me grew still. My heart was pounding so hard I could literally hear it echoing in my ears.

I clutched at my chest, trying to force air through my body, then suddenly...it stopped entirely.

The pain just went like that.

I lowered my back on the grass, looking up at the sky, still wondering what had just happened, when suddenly I heard a voice ring clearly in my mind.

I’m here, Charis. It’s me.

My head jerked up in surprise as I sat up, looking around, trying to understand what was happening. The world around me was changing too. I could hear every rustle of grass in the garden. I could feel the earth pulsing with life beneath me, and the insect sleeping.

Every scent in the garden wafted through my nostrils, and what was more, I could tell every scent apart, but one scent stood apart. It was so sweet that I could literally taste it.

I closed my eyes, savouring this new connection to the world around me. The sweet, intoxicating scent was becoming stronger, swallowing every other scent around me.

My name is Rhyme, and I am your wolf.

The voice repeated it, this time clearer.

Before I could even process it, I heard branches breaking nearby. When I turned around, I saw all three boys—Slater, Rhett and Kael standing at the edge of the garden clearing, staring at me with shock written on their faces.

"That—That’s not a Shadewolf," I heard Slater murmur. "That’s a Direwolf—the first in centuries."

The sweet scent from earlier was emanating from all three of them.

"No," Kael breathed, shaking his head in denial. "It’s not possible."

"All this time..." Rhett took a step forward; his eyes were locked on me.

"He’s—" Kael’s voice faltered as the rest of the words died on his tongue.

Slater just stared at me. He looked stunned.

And then it hit me. The scent, the wild pounding in my chest whenever I was around them, the restlessness of my wolf, and the magnetic pull I’d been feeling way before today and right now.

Everything suddenly made perfect sense.

Mates! I heard Rhyme purring with me. They’re our mates.