by ClareMarie .
A Panther and a black Wolf stare at me quizzically, then Vincent changes back to man form and Kai follows a few seconds later, both fully dressed. Only strong Paranormals can retain their clothing during a shift.
“What happened?” Kai questions.
“No time. Are your vials still in your pockets?” I hurriedly ask. They quickly nod, sensing the urgency.
“Then let’s go.” I step into the portal, ready to find out what awaits me in the future, and what fate is insisting I discover.
I land in the future on wobbly legs. It takes me a few seconds to stand without being disoriented. When Kai bumps into me from behind, I spin around and hug him tightly, kissing his growling lips. Wolves don't take it well when their balance is off, so I'm not surprised he isn't happy. Vincent is reacting the same, while Anna's fangs are out and she's hissing. They all stop when they can stand straight, looking somewhat green.
“That was hell... It felt like my body was being pulled down, then ripped apart when I was moving forward,” Kai groans.
“I'll say. My Panther was snarling at me and let me tell ya, it ain't fun when you're arguing with your animal. By the way, let me say again, that potion was nasty.
“What did you expect? The word potion should've given that away,” I reply.
“Where are we?” Anna asks, frowning, searching her surroundings.
Before I can check where we are, the darkened room we were in disappears and the room spins around three times in rapid succession. Now we're standing in a living room, where I'm watching myself sit on a couch with my feet up. Future Kai brings me – or should I say, brings her – a cup of hot chocolate. She rubs her swollen belly, knowing it won't be long now until she meets her daughter. Future Kai places his hand on her stomach too, and when the baby kicks, they both laugh in joy.
“I can't wait to hold her,” he whispers, staring at her stomach with fondness.
“Me too...” she trails off. Future Kai looks up at her worriedly, asking what's wrong.
“Do you really think hiding the truth from our daughter until she's eighteen is the best way to protect her?”
“Yes. After everything we know, I think it is. If The Government found out she's special, they'll want to study her, Ari. You heard what the Angel of Destiny said. If she has her powers before her eighteenth birthday, she'll die.”
“I know. I'm just not going to like lying to our daughter for eighteen years, but if it'll keep her safe, then… I will.”
“It feels odd not to be living in Skyline City, or teaching at PSA anymore, but I like New York, too,” Future Kai, says kissing her.
The scene of my future self stops playing, or at least it feels that way. It's strange watching myself as if I'm in a movie. I saw the year on the video wall; it was 2980. I'm standing there, frozen in shock, staring at the place I saw my future play out. When Kai places a hand on my shoulder, I jump.
“What was that?” I ask dumbly.
“Well, congratulations,” Vincent smiles. All three of us turn to him in bewilderment.
“What?” he asks defensively, holding his hand up. “I didn't know what else to say; it seemed appropriate. You're pregnant,” Vincent adds on, shuffling his feet.
“I'm not pregnant now. I will be in 2980, though,” I answer.
“2980?” they all ask in unison. Still in shock and unable to say much, I nod.
“Good thing we're all immortal then, huh?” Anna muses.
I must admit, knowing in 2980 I'm pregnant does make me happy all Paranormals are immortal and age slow, before stopping completely at fifty. And apparently, I stop aging around twenty or so because, from what I saw, I look the same – just a little taller.
“Well, we'll deal with the revelation later when we get home, but I will say this. I told you that you were my mate, didn't I, babe? I knew there was nothing to worry about, and this confirms it.” This does make me smile. When this news digests a little more, best believe I'm going to be so relieved and joyous. Probably the best news I'll ever receive, coming in second to the birth of my daughter, of course.
Werewolves, or Werecats, can find their mates – the other half of their souls – when they turn eighteen, but said mate also has to be eighteen. I think it's nature’s way of making sure the animal half doesn't want to mate and do what's instinctual, which is to breed, until both are of age. Some go for centuries never finding their mates. Since I'm still only sixteen, I would've had to wait two more years to find out if I was Kai's mate. The connection mates share is amazingly strong. To be able to talk telepathically and feel each other's emotions from any distance is unbelievable to me. One day soon, Kai and I will have each other’s heartbeats inside our bodies, and can use that as a GPS to find one another if we ever needed to. I've fantasized about this since I first fell in love with him and feared I wasn't his mate.
The room begins to spin again before we can say anything else, and now I'm watching myself in a hospital bed, giving birth. Future Kai holds Future me’s hand as she moans out her last push. She's sweating so much, it's gross and her hair is sticking to her face, but he doesn't seem to care as he kisses her lips, looking down at her with pride in his eyes. It melts my heart as I watch.
“That's it, Ariana. You're doing great. One last push and your baby girl will be here,” the nurse says, whose name is Nurse Whitman, according to her name tag.
“I wish Anna and Vincent could be here,” Future me says, in between contractions. She sounds so tired.
“They are. Remember when we went to the future and saw all of this? They're standing over there right now,” Future Kai replies, looking in the direction we are indeed standing... and watching.
“This is freaky,” Vincent whispers, taking the words right out of my mouth.
“I miss them,” She tells Future Kai.
“I know you do because I feel it, and I miss them too, but we'll see them soon. I love you, babe,” Future Kai whispers into her ear, and it seems as if this gives Future me the strength to push harder. When she does, there's a screaming angry cry.
My eyes begin to water, with an ache to hold the baby, but I have a long time to wait until I can. It's enough for now to see her hold our daughter. Kai, standing beside me, takes my left hand in his and when I look at him, he’s observing me with tears in his eyes too.
“Soon,” he mouths to me, and I nod, placing my right hand over my stomach with that phantom feeling of being pregnant.
Kai covers my hand with his own, and together we rub my empty belly, longing for the baby we see in the future as we take in the scene unfolding in front of us, despite how young we currently are. Anna rests her head against my right arm in comfort, a tear rolling down her cheek. Vincent puts a hand on Kai's shoulder, showing support and friendship, and his eyes are shining too. Clearly, Kai and I aren't the only ones affected.
“The firstborn always hits you the hardest as the emotions of love and protectiveness is new to you. Mind you, any time you meet your child is always life-changing, but there's something about becoming parents for the first time that always remains there with you. Do we have a name?” Nurse Whitman asks as she pricks the baby's finger, drawing blood, placing it on a test strip, and inserting it into a reader.
“Ava James,” Future me answers with a loving smile as she stares down at her daughter in her arms. Future Kai strokes the baby's head. A sob breaks from me upon hearing the name.
Kai lets out a sniffle as tears now stream down his face. We're choked with emotion and overflowing love for a daughter that doesn't even exist yet. My mind spins. My first born in 2980? Why so long to have our first child?
“A beautiful name...” the nurse says, but then trails off, frowning as she stares at the reader's results. “Impossible,” she murmurs.
“What?” Kai asks, looking worried, but almost as if he was expecting this.
“Please. Don't tell anyone. List her as human, please?” Future me begs, eyeing the nurse plead
ingly.
“Don't report this, please. You know what The Government will do if they discover her,” Kai adds.
Nurse Whitman looks at the baby, then back to her and Kai. She nods, but asks, “How can Ava have three Paranormal genes in her DNA, of a Witch, Elemental, and Werewolf?”
“That is a long story. But if you prove we can trust you, and will help us if we need you again, then we'll meet up with you soon and explain,” Kai offers.
“How do I prove myself?”
“List Ava as human in the Specie Database and tell no one. We'll be in touch after some time,” Future me answers.
“Okay,” Nurse Whitman replies.
Then the room spins, and I'm back in the dark room with Kai, Anna, and Vincent. We stare at one another in shock. Not one of us has said a word since the revelation of Ava and her unique DNA. A wall appears, sealing us off from seeing any more visions, which means we have seen everything we're allowed to. So I remove chalk from my pocket and draw a pentagram on the ground.
“In the same order as before,” I say, and throw a vial at the center of the pentagram. The others follow suit, then we each drink our last vial, and step through the portal, for home.
I jolt upright, back in my body in my dorm, then moan in exhaustion. I hear similar moans around me as the others sit up too.
“4:53? We've been gone nearly five hours. It only felt like a few minutes,” Anna states in a croaked tired voice, staring at the time on the video wall.
“Wow. Yeah, it didn't feel that long,” I agree, yawning.
When there's no sound from Kai or Vincent, I turn to find Kai smiling at me with tired, bleary eyes. Vincent stands and walks over to Anna's bed, throwing himself down on it, and sighs happily. Anna follows, cuddling beside him.
“Come on. Let's go to bed. We can talk tomorrow because right now, I need sleep,” I say to Kai then, flicking my wrist, the flames on the candles lower and die from my air magic smothering them.
I'm laying in Kai's arms, completely drained, but it's no surprise. To stay in the future for hours requires a lot of power and energy. I kiss the corner of his mouth, too tired to reach his lips. He returns the kiss, to my forehead and we snuggle together, as we drift off to sleep.
I wake up with streams of sunlight hitting my face through the windows, and groggily check the time. 6:36. Kai must have been more exhausted than I thought because, beside me, he reverted to his wolf form. Werewolves and Werecats tend to sleep in their animal forms when too exhausted to stay in their human skin. Kai's wolf has a paw on my stomach, as if protecting Ava who is yet to be conceived, let alone born. I feel his wolf spirit brush against my mind in a hello, as he blinks one eye open. Softly, I tell him to go back to sleep.
I noticed a change between Kai and me when he turned eighteen, in that our connection grew stronger. I think, even though the mate bond cannot be active until I'm eighteen, because Kai and his wolf are already of age, the mate bond is there for them. If I were human, I wouldn't be able to feel his wolf brush up against my mind like that until we were mated but as a Witch, I feel the bond slowly snapping into place.
Unable to go back to sleep myself, with too much spinning in my head, I get up and slip on my shoes and jacket, and walk outside. I head to a spot near PSA that brings me so much peace because of how beautiful the view is. It's so cold out I'm able to see my breath as I trail up the hill in the woods, leaves crunching under my feet. The sound of birds singing their morning song allows me to take a deep breath for the first time since finding out my future, and how scared I am of it. I'm scared I'll fail in protecting my daughter from the evils of the world, who'll want to use and kill her. I'm scared that after seeing her, she may somehow never exist if I steer off course from my destined path.
Finally, the bridge I'm seeking for comfort comes into view and I exhale another deep breath. The view is stunning; all that can be seen for miles are the woods and two bridges. I'm standing on the left bridge, looking out across from me to the other bridge, with a waterfall behind it. I can see the academy from here, and Skyline City in the distance. It's a beautiful sight, especially at sunrise. The waterfall is breathtaking as the water rushing down glitters like diamonds, creating a sparkling blanket in the river below. I lean my elbows on the bridge's rail, and watch the waterfall, thinking of everything but yet... nothing at all. My nose twitches and ears perk up at the presence getting closer.
“Thought you'd be here,” Kai's voice says, coming from behind me. He wraps his arms around me and kisses my cheek. I rest my body against his front, still not taking my eyes from the waterfall. A weighted sigh escapes, full of uncertainty.
“I know. I feel it too.” Kai assures me that I'm not alone.
“So, we have a daughter in the future. One who's special and people will want to hunt and kill her if, and when, they discover her uniqueness.” I finally say aloud what's on both of our minds.
“Yes, we do. But we were brought to the future to find this out as an early warning, to prevent her death and to protect her. Destiny or fate wanted us to save her. Don't forget that, babe,” Kai reminds me.
“I guess me being half-Witch and half-Elemental, and you a full Werewolf, all three potent Paranormal genes transferred to Ava,” I say, with a slight smile of pride.
“We made quite the daughter, huh? She'll be okay. We'll make sure of it,” Kai promises, and some of the worry leaves me, allowing my body to relax.
“I wonder why we don't have a child till 2980, though?” I muse.
“That's something I've wondered too. Either way, we will be parents, that's all that matters.”
“How can we protect her when we don't have all the facts?” I blurt out the other thing that’s been bothering me.
Suddenly time stops, literally. The trees have stopped swaying in the breeze, the waterfall’s frozen mid-stream, the birds are no longer singing, and on the horizon, everything has stalled. Kai and I stare at each other with the same “What's happening?” expression. Then Kai growls, sniffing the air, as I spin around, sending out my senses, looking for the cause.
“Perhaps I can help with that.” A woman appears out of nowhere, startling me, and I jump back. Kai changes into his wolf and his hackles raise, as he lets loose a growl and stands in front of me.
“Easy there, Kai James. I come free of ill will. In fact, I come bearing news.” Kai changes back into human form, but still takes on a protective stance in front of me, as I try to see around him.
I really take in the woman for the first time and I'm blown away by how angelic she is. She's stunning with mid-length blonde hair, and dare it appears she has a glowing halo above her head. She's wearing white robes and stands perfectly still, with kind – almost black – eyes. Immediately, my fear of her eases, and I relax. Kai senses this change, but remains on high alert.
“Who are you?” Kai demands.
“I'm not a who, but a what.”
“Ok then, what are you?”
“I am the Angel of Destiny, or some call me Fate, whichever suits you best,” she says with a small shrug, and it makes me smile. The Angel of Destiny actually just shrugged.
“No… noooo way? What's your name?” I ask, starstruck.
“That doesn't matter, but what does matter is Ava James, born in 2980. It's vital she lives and fulfills her destiny. For that to happen, she cannot live at the academy until she's fully aware of her destiny, and has agreed to take on the roll.”
“Wha… what?” I stammer, going ashen. Kai growls again, clearly not liking this news.
“I will explain more, but first, we should have Anna Hart and Vincent Santiago here, as they shall help you on your quest.” With a snap of her fingers, Anna and Vincent appear beside me and Kai, looking shocked.
“Hey, that's where you two are. I was wondering where you went!” Anna exclaims, then frowns, seeming to realize that she just appeared here and didn't actually walk.
“How did we get here?”
Vincent asks, but stops talking when he sees the Angel of Destiny and his eyes bulge.
I quickly catch Anna and Vincent up to speed. Both of them nod in understanding but remain silent, staring at her.
“What do we need to know?” Kai demands again, obviously getting impatient and so am I, somewhat, but I’m not eager for more possibly devastating news.
“Ariana, when you become pregnant, you must leave the academy, and Kai, you must go with her.” Kai growls, sounding off his displeasure that she would assume he wouldn't follow me unless told to do so.
Angel of Destiny arches an eyebrow at his display, but carries on speaking.
“You'll have to leave the academy to hide Ava and her uniqueness from prying eyes, until she's able to fight and protect herself when she's older.”
“Paranormals around us will know she's different if we stay here...” I trail off, putting the pieces together.
“Yes, and they will want her. If that happens, she will die before she has a chance to pursue her destiny, and will leave a legacy far too great unfulfilled.”
“Who is she in danger from?” Kai asks, still on edge.
“Paranormals and The Government.”
“What's her destiny?” I ask.
Angel of Destiny tilts her head in thought, as if pondering whether to reveal this or not.
“Ava will grow up and birth a child who will start a new generation of Paranormals. This new race of specie will aid in helping everyone fight off an evil coming in a few thousand years.” I stumble back in shock. Kai reaches out and grabs my hand to help steady me.
Anna and Vincent's jaws drop in disbelief and Kai looks off into the distance in thought, shaking his head in astonishment.
“How… how will my daughter's daughter start a new generation?” I’m barely able to get the words out of my dry throat.
“Ava will have Witch, Elemental, and Werewolf in her DNA, but she'll mainly only take on one specie gene, whichever is the most dominant within her. The other two genes will lay dormant, but will remain in her DNA; whereas, Ava's child will inherit all three genes as her dominant specie, hence creating a new race. A race with the ability to change into wolves, cast spells as witches, and demand air, fire, water, earth, and many more elements, as an Elemental.”