The Rejected Werewolf Princess by Didiadeyemi

RYKER'S POV

I choose Ryker.

Those were three words and on paper they looked simple enough but the truth was far terrifying. Who was choosing and why did they choose me? There were so many questions running through my mind but I didn't have an answer for any and it was maddening. I walked closer to the writing on the wall, most of it had faded off due to nature but it was still readable.

“Did Reina write that?” Juan asked and although I knew he was talking aloud, I couldn't help but respond with a shrug. “What do you think she meant?”

“I don’t know,” I mumbled as I stepped in front of it. I lifted my hand to it and felt a tug in the center of my gut and was pulled to it. I lifted a hand to it and no sooner than the moment my finger touched it, it felt like I was sucked into a void.

At first, all I saw was darkness and then I heard a sound. I turned to it and found Reina there. She was mumbling to herself, her hands were pressed hard against her head as if she was trying to shut out some noise. She looked insane, there was blood dripping from her nose and she was stumbling around like she was drunk or hurt.

“No!” she screamed. “Stop talking. I can't, I'm not ready.”

“Reina?” I asked but she couldn't hear me. It was almost as if she couldn't see me. I tried to move closer to her but I couldn't move. It was almost as if I had been glued to the ground. “What the hell is going on?"

“Itis time. Reina,” I heard an audible voice in my head. I was sure it was whatever was inside of her that she had passed down to me- the magic. It sounded different though, almost darker and more sinister than what I was used to. “This is what we agreed on. You must pass it on." “Please,” she looked like a child begging on her knees like that. Her hands were still pressed over her ears and drool fell from her lips mixing with the pool of blood in front of her. I almost felt bad for her because in this moment, she looked nothing short of human. She looked like a fragile girl who was scared.

“Enough!”

Even I shook from the force of the order. It took everything in me to not fall to my knees and cower. There was sheer and undiluted power in that voice. It was the kind of power that you knew could hurt you, the kind that you knew would unleash years of misery and torment. I couldn't imagine that Reina lived with this for years and I couldn't imagine that this was what was inside of me. It was far greater than what I had bargained for.

magic. It was fun at first, almost light hearted, the power made her drunk and heady, but now, she was paying for her actions. Magic always came with a price and now,

she whispered. “I don’t want

died the moment you killed your entire coven,” the voice laughed. “I told you Reina, dark magic comes at its own cost and you said

I signed up

I need to choose my next vessel, Reina,

were six in total and they each had strands of hair inside. I knew without a doubt

of anticipation despite already knowing what it chose. After two long minutes, Reina’s eyes darkened and she started to move. She moved in a daze, like she wasn't in control of her own body. I watched as she walked past where I stood and withdrew a knife

I couldn't stop her. She drew the knife across her skin and with her forefinger, she wrote on the wall in blood. I stared at the writing, fresh and dripping in contrast to the faded mess Juan and I saw and then the most absurd thing happened. Reina turned and with her dark eyes, she looked pointedly at me as if she could

or rather- something said through her. The voice was guttural and otherworldly. As soon as she said that, it felt like I had been thrown out of

the past and I had seen and felt the potential power that could be brewing inside of me. Was that how I was going to be when the time came? Was that how I was going to beg and plead for

Juan and walked over to where I had seen the vials of hair. They sat in their place just staring at me and before I could think, I had shattered each bottle on the ground. It did nothing to calm the raging storm of emotions inside of me but it was the only outlet that

is going on? You stood there for like two minutes, I couldn't get to you, I couldn't touch you and now

Juan's brows furrowed. “Reina didn’t choose me. She offered us all up like prized pigs to the magic and it

if Juan understood the fullness of what I was saying but he

my head. “It just looked at me and- fuck. I need to

“Ryker-"

but it chose me, Juan. I don't know why but maybe it thought I could be the next