C8: "For The Island"

"Good morning, Aurora. How are you feeling?" Maria asked me, she was now taking care of the silverware we used last night.

"Good, thank you for everything, Maria." I answered. "Where's Ares?"

"You're always welcome, dear. He is..."

"I'm here, sorry. It took you so long to wake up, I had breakfast by myself." He answered as he peeked his head through the door.

"It's fine, I'll eat by myself." I answered.

"I'll watch you eat." He answered.

"Don't you have anything to do? I can eat by myself."

"Training is starting by the way, Aurora." Maria interrupted.

"Good, how are they all doing?" I asked.

"Aside from devouring every meal I cooked when they returned here yesterday, they are doing good. The wolves are doing a great job, they might beat you in a war soon." Maria joked.

"Impossible." I chuckled.

"How was your training with Maria, A?" Ares asked from outside the bedroom.

"Good, we had a lot of discoveries." I answered, giving Maria the side-eye look.

"Discoveries, care to share?" He asked.

"Like her new burning flame orange eye color?" Maria answered.

"May I see?" Ares was thrilled, he really left his food just to check my eyes.

"Yeah..uhm..it only shows when I'm uncontrollably letting fire eat me." I joked.

"Then do it!" He exclaimed.

"Are you crazy? Here!?" I asked.

"And if she ruins this cabin, I'll never heal anyone anymore." Maria interrupted. "I have to cook, are you both staying here?"

"No."

"Yes."

We both said in sync.

"Ares, we can't just stay here while everyone else trains, that'd be unfair." I chuckled.

"I said, I'll watch you eat. Come on, get up so we'll get there together and earlier. I saw Vexon observe our training grounds, he was training."

"With them!?"

"Yes, surprisingly."

"No..no...give him another task, don't let him know how we attack!" I exclaimed, fighting the blanket wrapped around me.

"I already did, calm down. He's out."

"What did you make him do?"

"Catch Rikketa." He answered.

I covered my hands with my palm, he really did what you told him to do?" I asked.

"Yes, he's catching a hell of a rooster, Task success rate..I assume, 10%. He could still be catching Rikketa back at the bayou." Ares was laughing.

"You jerk!" I laughed with him.

Rikketa is my rooster, it was sent by Phoebe when she first successfully summoned a rooster from her magic, making an egg crack within a minute.

"He should have fun, Rikketa is a whole mess." Ares continued.

"Okay, stop. Your jokes are hurting my stomach." I gagged.

"Are..you okay?" He asked.

"My stomach hurts.." I answered before running towards the back side of Maria's healing cabin. I vomited water, pure, clear water. Holding my stomach as I do so.

"It's getting worse, third day, right?" He asked.

I coughed and took a deep breath, "Yes. I'm monitoring the elements, I'm pretty sure Kainda told you about it."

"No."

"No? What do you mean?"

He guided me back to the bed,

"I mean, Kainda did not tell me about it..it was Maria." He said, clearly this time.

"Not sure why I asked, her daughter sure takes after her." I chuckled.

"They do entertain me a lot." He joked.

"I know, tell me about it." I rolled my eyes.

"How do you keep up with her, she's such a fast talker!" Ares continued.

"Who keeps up with who?" Kainda suddenly popped out of nowhere, and as usual, Hunts was right behind her.

"Good morning, love!" I greeted her.

"How are you? Is it the third day, or is it all over?" She asked.

"Third day." Ares answered.

"Oh, you poor thing!" Kainda went straight to me and sat on my bed. "Oh right, Hunts?" She called.

Hunts handed her a bouquet of flowers, "She picked these for you." He said.

"Really!?" I took the flowers from Kainda as she handed it to me.

"Yeah, we were going for a walk earlier this morning before training started, and we both came across a field of flowers, I immediately thought of you." Kainda said.

"Both of you went on a walk?" I asked, giving Ares the side-eye look.

"Ye-yes, we had to rewind before another tough day would start, why?" Hunts answered.

"Nothing, we should have come with you." I chuckled. "A few weeks from now." I shrugged as I said in a whispering tone. Ares immediately knew what I meant.

"Yeah, that's within a month...what's within a month?" Kainda asked.

"Nothing, the training should be good to go within a month right? I mean it's not like they haven't had training in their whole lifetime! The wolves train from time to time, don't they?" I changed the topic.

"Yes, they certainly do. You could open that special librum of yours, not too long from now." Hunts answered.

"Good, did you hear from Phoebe or the wizards, love?" I asked, referring to Kainda.

"I have, actually." She smiled.

My eyes widened with her response, "Really? When? What did they say?"

"They are ready for war, the training they have now is almost just experiments and stuff. Phoebe said, the wizards are secretly training for war, as for them, the witches, they always train for war almost every single day to enhance their powers. Further training is not needed." Kainda reported.

"Good, then we only have to wait for Warr's sign, and while we do that, I will go train by myself." I said, hopping out of bed.

"Won't you eat?" Ares asked.

"No, I'm full." I answered.

"Can we watch you train?" Hunts asked.

"Great idea, we'll be there for you, just in case you go out of control." Ares agreed.

I looked at their hopeful eyes,

"Okay, sure. You can all come with me." I said as I walked away, hearing their footsteps follow in a hurry to catch up.

I led the three of them towards the very back forest of the glade, a small open space in the deep forest, where Maria and I trained yesterday.

"How do you train?" Kainda asked.

"I do..this." I answered, closing my eyes and feeling that heat, same as yesterday. The bearable pain along with it, the good pain. It slowly started to feel like it was consuming from inside me.

"Is she okay?" I heard Kainda whisper.

"I guess so, she does not look like she is in pain, is she?" Hunts answered.

I started feeling fire coming out of my hands, then my eyes opened. Forcibly, but not painful. Just like yesterday. It opened and I saw how their eyes widened.

"Burning flame orange.." Ares whispered.

"Burning what?" Kainda asked.

"Her eyes, it's what Maria told me a while ago. Her eyes have a new color. A color of her own, not from her mother or her father. It's hers. The Burning flame orange." He explained.

"I did it!" I exclaimed.

"Yes, you did." Ares smiled so widely, walking near me.

"No..don't go near me." I stepped back which made him stop. "You'll burn."

He walked back towards Kainda and Hunts.

"What do you want to do now?" Hunts asked.

"I haven't really explored this element yesterday.." My brows furrowed.

"Well what can you do?" Kainda asked.

"I don't know either." I answered.

"Light up a leaf with fire?" Ares suggested.

"She already knows how to do that." Kainda said.

"Yes she can, but can she light up one single leaf instead of the whole pile?" Ares asked.

I get what he wants me to do, I used wind to gather a pile of dried and fallen leaves for me.

"Ready?" I asked.

"You can do it." Ares cheered me up.

I tried visualizing, the leaf, burning on its own like how I am burning on my own. The leaf, burning, is now different from the pile it once belonged to. Just like I am now suddenly even more different from the pack I was once and always will belong to.

I smiled as soon as I saw the leaf burning,

"She did it." Kainda proudly whispered.

"You can control your fire element now, Aurora." Ares said.

I blinked fast to process what he just made me do..he made me control fire.I can control fire!

"I can..you're right!" I exclaimed.

I ran towards him to give him a hug,

"You're too...fire-y." Ares flinched.

"Oh, yeah right. I'm still burning hot." I chuckled.

"But you can now control your element! Congratulations!" Kainda cheered for me.

"No she can't." Someone interrupted which made us look back to the deep forest.

"Who's there?" I asked.

They were now all in stance and so was I, ready to kick the intruder out with my powers.

A shadow suddenly appeared, I was panicking, I suddenly powered my fire element out, a train of fire path was burning the grass, it ran over towards the shadow. Leaving a trail of fire along with it.

"Stop..it won't stop!" I shouted panicking. "I can't stop the fire train, it's going to kill whoever that stranger is!" I continued to shout.

But suddenly, it was put out by water. It was put out by...Morgan.

"Why are you here?" I asked.

"Phoebe told me about your alliance with us, and the wizards." She started.

"Where's Phoebe?" I asked, worried.

"She's safe."

"I doubt that."

"She is."

"No..I need proof." I firmly said.

"Phoebe, dear?" Morgan called.

Phoebe came out from the deep woods,

"Aurora!" She came running towards me.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

"Yes, I'm very fine..good as I always have been." She answered.

"Why is your mother here?" I asked.

"I'd like to help.." Morgan answered for her daughter.

"Morgan Marin would like to become an alliance?" I asked, doubting.

"Yes. You know less than you should. You can do more than light up a single leaf in a pile of dried leaves." She chuckled.

"Are you sure we should trust her?" I asked Phoebe.

"She will gain your trust, right mother?" She asked.

"Of course, I will. I should." Morgan answered.

"What made you think about helping?" I asked.

"If my daughter would risk her life for this war, might as well help to prevent her from dying, right?" She answered.

"What can you do to help?" I asked.

"I can help you with your powers, and your enemies, they know your capabilities." She answered.

"Our enemies, you know who our enemies will be?" Ares asked.

"Her ex-lover, right?" Morgan answered, asking Phoebe.

"Did you..did you somehow pick through our brains!?" Kainda asked, out of all of us, it is her who has trouble trusting easily.

"No..no, dear..we all know only the Aelpha can do that." Morgan answered.

"Then how?" Kainda asked.

"I know, for I see how they prepare for this war, and based on my calculations, you'll win..but you'll lose a lot of lives." Morgan answered.

"Why would that happen?" I asked, swallowing hard. I know what she's saying is not impossible.

"Wrong question, Aelpha..the right question is..how would that happen?" Morgan said.

"How..would that happen?" I asked.

"You'd kill your alliances." She answered, straight forward, looking at me in the eyes.

"I wouldn't.." I whispered.

"You would..now will you accept my help, Aelpha?" She asked.

"Why are you helping?" I asked again.

"I already told you, wherever Phoebe is, there I'll be. I can't talk her out of this war, so I might as well use my powers to good use." She answered.

"Fine..fine. You can help." I answered.

"Aurora.." Kainda whispered.

"I know what I am doing, love." I whispered back.

"So, it's final then? I'll help you with your powers. We can start now if you'd like." Morgan interrupted.

"Sure, I'd love to. But do not expect me to trust you, I will kill you with zero doubt once you make me feel unsafe." I answered.

"Kill me once you feel threatened." Morgan smiled.

I walked towards the middle,

"Fire, it's not just spitting fire." She started.

"How would I know what I can and cannot do with the element?" I asked.

"There's nothing you cannot do, you just have to think of what you want your element to do, it will follow as you'd like." Morgan answered.

"What if I lose control..and hurt them?"

"Control limits you! Go out of control, where no one can ever stop you! It will make you untouchable against your enemies, Aurora!"

"How do I know what to do and what I want to do?" I asked.

"It's more on how you project fire, how do you project the element, Aelpha?" Morgan asked as my friends watched closely.

I still feel their guards are high, especially the never the easy to trust type, Kainda.

"I project fire as a strong element, destructive. It is an element which is known to spiritually represent birth and resurrection. Gives both light and heat, essential." I answered.

"Very good, but fire is more than that." Morgan shrugged. "Fire never surrenders." She started. "Just like you should not, your pack relies on you. Fire, burns anything on its path. It either burns through, or burns around. It never stops unless of course, the element water, comes across it."

"So it means, it is vincible?" I smirked.

"Yes, anything is vincible, Aurora. You were unconquerable hundreds of years ago, until love suddenly made you accessible, and on this possible war that may happen anytime soon, you might be overcome." Morgan answered.

"What can I do to prevent water from stopping me?" I asked.

"The water element is no longer here, you cannot defeat your mother, can you?" She asked.

"No, I would never." I answered.

"And you can't, it's impossible." She continued my sentence for me.

"But, with my elements and my powers, I am stronger than anyone."

"Wizards are here, they were stronger than the island was way before your father was here. Way before he led all of us. The island had to take away their uncontrollable powers with a curse, are you sure you can win this war you're getting your pack into?" Morgan asked.

"You look like someone who knows everything about this island, Morgan. Why don't you tell us about it?" I suggested.

"There are histories that should be left undiscovered and untold. It's something you should know on your own." She said.

"You sound like Warr, you sound like Maria! You just have to sit down and tell." I scoffed, pissed and disappointed.

"No, now we train. If you think that the wizards are your enemies, then they are impossible to defeat." Morgan said firmly.

"How did you know about who we think our enemies are?" Kainda asked.

"I can read minds, Kainda." Morgan answered.

"She picks through our mind, just like you can." Kainda whispered.

"We have a few wizards with us, plus you, and the other witches, and me, and my pack. They'd lose in nothing less than five minutes." I ranted.

"We are not enough, they have an alliance. An alliance greater than you, greater than me. Greater than anyone! Do not put my daughter's life at risk because of that curiosity that you cannot stand beside!" She exploded.

I stayed silent and swallowed hard. Unable to talk. I stepped back and Kainda held my arms.

"She should get the mortiferum order by now, right?" Hunts whispered to me.

"No, the last thing we need is another strong witch against us." I whispered back.

"I'm..sorry." I walked towards her. "Please, teach me."

"Quit stalling, I know you're afraid." She sighed.

And so our training began, there was not much power and skills exerted. She said it was just the first day, it was more about brainstorming.

"Thank you for today, Morgan. I appreciate it." I smiled at her.

"I'll be back for you, I won't go easy next time." She chuckled.

"She should go for a meal inside the glade." Hunts suggested.

"I don't think that's quite an idea for now." I bit my lip.

"Yeah..she's right. Phoebe and I have to go, be careful." Morgan said.

"I owe you, Morgan." I said as we watched them leave.

"No, it's for my daughter. I've waited for this war, for so long, Aelpha." She said before both her and her daughter disappeared.

I walked towards the glade and my friends followed,

"Are you sure we should trust her?" Kainda asked.

"You still doubt her, Kainda? You're impossible!" Hunts teased.

"I doubt you, so why should I trust her?" Kainda smirked.

"Oh I doubt you more!" Hunts fired back.

"Are you sure you don't mean, 'I love you'?" Ares joined the conversation to tease them.

They both went silent,

"You normally would say, 'Ew! I would never!', in this certain situation and tease Ares back, Kainda. What happened?" I asked, a teasing expression plastered on my face.

"It..it's just..the insult grew old on me, not worth fighting for." She defended.

"Ah-huh." I sarcastically answered.

When we got back to the glade, it was still as peaceful and as quiet as it was when we left.

"Are you sure we can leave the glade unguarded?" Ares asked.

"That's why I'm here." I answered.

"And your cabin, Aurora? The possible traitor, Vexon , is there!" Kainda panicked.

"I left three wolves there for the bayou, don't worry, if anything happens, they can handle it." Ares answered.

"So, what is our next agenda?" Hunts asked.

"Surely, we have to take care of Aurora, it is her third day, who knows how long this water element would keep on hunting her!" Kainda answered.

"You can't just waste your time keeping your guards on me, I can puke on my own." I joked.

"And feel like drowning while on land, alone?" Ares asked.

I just looked at him, rolled my eyes and smiled.

"So I guess we can go and leave Ares with Aurora, he'll be fine here, right A?" Hunts suggested.

"That was my plan all along, both of you can go, check on them. We need to be ready for war as early as possible." Ares commanded.

"Yes, Alpha." Kainda answered before Ares and I watched the two leave.

I heard Ares sigh before facing me,

"What do you want to do?"

"Are you okay?"

We both said in sync.

"You ask first, I'll wait for my turn." I said, chuckling awkwardly.

"No, it's fine, really. You can ask me first." Ares smiled.

"Okay, alright..uhm..do you have something in mind? Activities or just something you planned for the day?" I asked, stuttering a little.

"No..no..uhm, I have none, actually. I haven't planned anything today, I'm fine tagging along with you." He answered. "So, my turn, right?" He chuckled.

"Yeah, ask away."

"Are you alright? How are you feeling? Tired, in pain, annoyed, bored?" He asked.

"Nope, yeah..I'm fine. A little sick, weak, but no more than that. And I can tag along with you as well." I answered.

"Do you need to rest?" He asked.

"No..no. Where do you want to go?"

"Roam around the woodland edge, probably. I have to check my pack as well, do you want to go with me?"

"I'm fine with that." I answered.

We walked towards the woodland edge, where it has been chaotic as ever since the training started.

"We're here, we'll just watch wolves getting hurt and winning, tired and sweaty ones." Ares joked.

"My pack, I feel guilty now." I sighed.

He looked at me, his eyes were wide, surprised of the words that suddenly came out of my mouth.

"Why would you feel that?!" He asked.

"You know, they could lose their lives because of me. Imagine, if only I was not so curious about the death of my parents, they should have never even trained this hard anyways." I answered.

"Your curiosity would lead us from one thing to another, and besides, you promised your father that you would find the mystery behind the death of your immortal mother and your mortal father."

"I could lead this pack to extinction because of my personal wants, Ares. They have a family too! A loved one, some of them are mothers and fathers to beautiful new pups and teen wolves. All of them are good friends, lovers, and good wolves. Wolves that has been loyal to my father and mother ever since, and now, their loyalty is still as strong as it was to me."

"Yes, they are loyal to your parents, which means..whatever it may cost for them, for you, for us..they would fight for the truth, Aurora. If it wasn't for that mystery girl who killed your mother by putting a dagger in her heart, the Aelpha and his wife would have been alive up to today." Ares sighed.

"Ares, it was a cursed dagger." I put an emphasis on the word 'cursed'. "And, what happened, happened already. We cannot undo that." I smiled tightly.

"I know, that's why. And, I remember you crying so much after that night, you were crying your heart out as if you wanted to die as well."

"I wanted to die, be with them, wherever the bloody hell they are!" I chuckled shortly. "I did nothing to help them, I had done nothing to prove how much I love them that I am willing to die for the pack." I was getting emotional.

"Your obedience is enough for them, Aurora. They love you and they know how much you value this island." He tried to calm me down.

"Father..father loved doing everything on his own. He loved helping everyone. He loved to protect, honestly, it was all he wanted to do. But it was too much, Ares." I started.

"Too much? Your father only wanted to save us all, he loved this island, Aurora."

"I know, but he doubted your pack, he doubted Warr's pack, he doubted Maria's pack. FAther never let you fight, did he?" I asked.

"Well..I suppose that is true. But, Aurora, he just wanted to assure himself that we are safe. He did that to protect all of us." Ares defended.

"But Ares, he doubted you. And, it is fine! I understand that you want to defend him because he was good to all of us, he was Ares...but after reading that book..The Starting End..I realized, father was not at most and always perfect. He had downsides, he left this pack behind."

"Aurora.."

"Ares, it is fine really. I love my father and if you're scared to admit that indeed he had failures, then indeed you're like agreeing that he did fail."

"What do you mean?"

"A leader and a true Aelpha, should never be perfect, Ares...he should fail, he should have downsides. Because if the leader of a pack never fails, then the pack would be a mess itself. We learn from mistakes Ares, and if, father never had one; then this pack would be as dismantled as a broken twig."

"So you're saying, your father failed?" He asked.

"Maybe once or twice, yes. Maria, Warr, and Morgan knows. I'm sure they have something to comment about father's failures. They lived with it, they lived during his era, Ares. They know how he left them behind."

"He left us behind..." He was confused, brows furrowed. "But he never did."

"He did, Ares. He never lets them fight, because he can do it by himself. He can kill just by visualizing the death of the enemies." I explained.

"So you mean to say, he did not let them do anything to help because he thinks he can handle everything by himself?" Ares asked.

"Exactly! Now we're on one side." I chuckled. "They all were intimidated, some were even annoyed. Father could do anything that he wanted to do everything for everyone. But when he thought he was just caring for them, his care was too much. To the point that the wolves felt chained, the wolves felt powerless, and not needed." I elaborated.

"Just like how I feel towards you.." He looked at me in the eyes but looked away immediately.

"Ares, I'm not leaving you behind." I said in the softest voice I could ever pull.

"You're not, I know. I just feel...intimidated? Is that even considerable." He chuckled wryly.

"Intimidated, in what sense?" I asked.

"In the fact that you can do anything I can. It makes me feel useless. Makes me feel like..you don;t need me. You don't need my protection, my care, and my skills. You can do all that for yourself, by yourself."

"Ares..we're still on that page huh?" I smiled tightly. "Do you need to protect yourself, Ares?" I asked.

He looked at me, confused with the sudden pop up of the question.

"I suppose, yes. Why?" He answered.

"Remember when we were younger? You hate bees but you know you can kill one anytime you'd feel threatened by it, right?"

"Yes..seriously, where are we getting?"

"Okay, now do you remember when you killed three bees in one go?" I smiled.

"Still the highest record." He smiled back.

"Yeah, but how did it feel when I killed one for you? Well..it did not even die." I let out a short laugh.

"It felt..wholesome. Flattering, to be honest." He answered.

"See? Do you understand my point?" I asked. "Ares, it doesn't matter what I can do and what I can't, it does not matter if you can do the same or not! Because to be honest, everybody can do anything by themselves. But it feels wholesome as you say, when you know someone still looks out for you, someone still cares for you no matter how weak they are against you." I explained.

He just smiled at me,

"I'll try to feel less...scared." He whispered. "Thank you, Aurora."

"Anything, Ares. I just wish you'd realize your worth much sooner."

"So that we'd take our relationship a step higher?" He joked.

"Oh, stop." I held my forehead.

"I was joking." He chuckled, removing my palm from my forehead.

"Ares, your self comes first when it comes to love. You can't give out all your love when you have nothing, can you?"

"I know, Aurora. I'm taking my time to understand my own emotions, we can take this friendship slow. It protects both us and the relationship we have."

"I love the way you think, A. War is coming, I'm still guilty about it to be honest." I started.

"Guilty..there we go again huh?" He looked so done with me. "Aurora, it was a declaration. We wanted to do it, they wanted to make themselves ready for war."

"But..they are doing that for me."

"For the island." He corrected.

"Okay," I chuckled. "Fine, for the island."

"Aurora!" We both heard someone call my name, I looked back to see Vexon holding up Rikketa. My eyes widened immediately as Vexon walked towards us.

"Ares!" I gritted my teeth before walking towards Vexon.

"I did not know he'd catch Rikketa!" Ares defended himself.

"What happened?" I asked Vexon as he held my baby upside down.

"The pet..fainted." He honestly answered, scratching the back of his neck.

"Why would you try catching the poor rooster until it faints!?" I took Rikketa from him and tried to wake him up.

"It was Ares' orders, I am already on his bad side. Can't risk failing to catch a rooster!" He answered.

"Yeah, you can't even catch a rooster." Ares was now behind me, chuckling.

"Ares, what if the poor rooster dies!?" I was annoyed at him.

"That is a magical rooster, and to be honest, we wouldn't know if that's immortal or not!" He joked.

"Rikketa is a normal rooster! You jerk, get back to your work." I sighed in disbelief.

"A rooster that Phoebe, a witch, magically hatched." He smirked before dragging Vexon away from the training grounds.

He is still suspected to become a rebel, he cannot be trusted.

"Oh you poor baby." I whispered before walking to ask Maria for help.

Everything went well after that, Rikketa was awake after half an hour. The training was finished and done for the day and the whole pack ate at the glade. Right after dinner, everybody went to their own cabins and so I did the same.

I felt a little drowsy when I woke up, I felt so weak, I never had the urge to stand up.

"Aurora, breakfast!" Ares called from the other side of my door.

"I'm skipping!" I shouted, it sounded so faint.

"You never skip-" He suddenly opened my door to see my super red nose and droopy eyes.

"Fourth day." I explained shortly.

"This situation gets worse day by day, are you sure the wizards are not cursing you?" He asked, sitting next to me on my stool.

"No, I treat them nice enough!" I joked.

"You can still joke in your position, huh?" He put on a blank face.

"No, really..I'm serious. I had to vomit four times last night, pure, and clear water." I reported.

"Stay in bed, I'll let everyone know about this." He stood up to leave.

I grabbed his arm before he could go, "Wait.." I groaned.

"What?"

"The last thing we need is to let the enemies know how weak I can get. This could be a hole for their attack and I could only imagine the aftermath of a sudden war." I warned him.

"Then who do you think should know?" He asked.

"Morgan." I answered.

"Aurora..Morgan?!" He exclaimed.

"Yes, tell her about how I'm doing."

"This could be a hole for her attack too! For all we know, she is behind all this."

"No..Ares. I can pick through the minds of every living here. She has clear intentions, her daughter is at risk as well. And in our situation, only one thing is clear. She can be my substitute while I cannot protect this island." I firmly ordered.

"I'll..make sure she gets the message." He replied in a whispering tone.

"And also, this is the time you and every wolf here on this island can showcase your hidden skills. It's time you show me what you all can do. I'm weak..I can't fight. Please, protect everyone for me." I instructed.

"I will do my best, Aurora."

"Call Adoff." I commanded.

"Will do, Aelpha." He bowed before leaving.

I waited for half an hour before Adoff knocked on my cabin's door,

"Come in." I answered.

"You called me..." His eyes widened. "Aelpha.."

"Yes, Adoff. I'm weak, for some reason..the elements are attacking me one by one. For now, the island has less defense." I explained before he could even talk.

"Then what if.." He couldn't seem to finish his sentence.

"I said, less defense. But we are not totally defenseless, the island has you and the rest of the pack. Doesn't it?" I smiled.

"Yes, it does." He answered.

"It's time Adoff, the pack has been too complacent to me and my powers because of how my father treated the wolves. Right, Warr?" I smirked.

I saw Warr's wide eyes from the corner of my cabin door's small glass window.

"Warr, I see you there. Come in." I chuckled.

"Ye-yeah..she is right, Adoff." Warr said as he opened the door and entered.

"Adoff, all of you are too used to having me, when there is trouble, and when there is a problem. Now, it's time to show me what you can do to protect the island, not what I asked you to do." I smiled at Warr as he was smiling from ear to ear.

"I can train the pack, a little faster, the quicker we can be ready..the faster you can open the librum, Aelpha." Adoff answered.

"Good, now off you go." I dismissed him. Warr and I watched as he left. "You, Warr..What are you doing here instead of training everyone?" I smirked.

"I left to check up on you, I know this is the fourth day." He answered.

"Thank you." I smiled.

"No, Aelpha..Thank you." He bowed his head.

"For what?" My brows furrowed.

"You heard the voice that was left unnoticed by your father before." He whispered.

"I'm sorry.." I replied.

"You shouldn't be sorry for how your father used to act! It was his way of protecting us, he had good intentions. But sometimes, your intentions cannot be understood by everyone else. Only those who know you well will understand why you act that way." He held my hand and smiled.

But the smile immediately faded,

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"You're burning hot.." He whispered with pure concern in his eyes.

"Fire?" I asked myself. "That can't be, the wind element should be next.." I was confused as well.

"What do you mean? You have a fever, Aurora." He tried to calm me down.

"But I never get one, I am immune to heat, remember?" I asked.

"Yes, but with your body being too cold from feeling like being underwater for four four days straight..it should release heat to warm you up. You're too cold, so your body needs enough heat, you have a fever." He explained.

"Oh come on! How much worse could this day get!" I groaned.

Our attention went to the harshly opened door, Kainda stormed in with wide eyes.

"Have you heard?" She started.

"Heard what?" I asked.

"Father.." She whispered.

"Yes, Kainda. Can't you talk straight?" Warr's eyebrows furrowed.

"The outside layer.." She started.

"What happened, Kainda?" I asked.

"The thick trees..they are all dying." She exhaled deeply.

"Dying!?" I asked.

"Kainda, that is a bad joke..that will never happen." Warr stood up.

"I'm not joking, father."

"But they were thick-thick trees, standing for hundreds and thousands of years to protect the island!" I forced myself to sit down.

"I know, what's happening?" Kainda was also dazed.

"I-I'll go check." I forced myself to stand.

"No, you stay!" Warr hurriedly said. "Kainda, stay." He commanded before standing up towards the outside layer.

I watched as Warr left in a hurry, my heart was beating so loud, I did not know what to do.

"Are you joking us Kainda?" I asked, brows furrowed.

"How and why would I joke about our protective layer dying, Aelpha?" She answered.

"That is impossible!"

"I know, the training continued yet everyone is alarmed. They are staying far from the protective layer, everyone is afraid and we are all clueless."

"What is happening on our island? I am afraid, Kainda." I honestly said.

"Don't be, why would you be afraid?" She asked, patting my back, and trying to calm me down.

"Everything is now out of my control. Everything that is happening to me, to our island, to my leadership..everything is not under my control anymore. We're not even sure if this is all the enemies' doing or the island's doing itself!" I exclaimed.

"We'll be here with you, right here..by your side. Take it easy, Aurora. Neither of us knows what's happening. We just have to be aware, attentive, and take our guards higher than they already are." She caressed my hair.

"I'm still afraid." I exhaled.

"I'm right here, I'll be right here."