Kapitel 62: A Gift

Amber POV

Darkness surrounded me, consuming my senses until I felt as if I were drowning in a black sea of abyss. I tried opening my eyes but it didn't make a bit of a difference, still staring at nothing but an all-consuming blackness. Where was I? Had I gone blind?

Fear started creeping in, as I moved my hands to touch my face. I could feel my face so at least my hands still worked. Reaching my hands out in front of me and to the sides I could feel nothing. There was nothing there. I rose to my feet and decided that I was going to find out where I was. Losing my sight increased my other senses, so I opened my ears trying to listen for any sign of where I was. I couldn't hear anything except for the rustling of leaves and a slow trickle of water, most likely a stream of some sort.

"Hello?" I yelled. "Is anyone there? Where am I?" I questioned as I tried to make my way further into the unknown. There was no response, the quietness being the only response to receive from all around me. My heart started racing as the feeling of helplessness started settling in the pit of my stomach. What was I going to do? I couldn't see anything at all, and without my sight how am I even supposed to figure out where I am? Where is everyone? Why am I alone?

Tears started forming in my eyes, slowly trickling down my cheeks as I felt myself starting to become hopeless. Falling to my knees I began to sob, never feeling so alone and helpless in my life.

The rustling of the leaves began to get louder and more frenzied as strong gusts of wind started up all around me. The rumbling of thunder startled me, my heart nearly exploding out of my chest. Rising on all fours I started crawling along the ground, using my hands to feel out in front of me. Suddenly stopping when my hand landed on what felt like a boot. "Hello?" I meekly spoke. "Is someone there? Where am I?"

A deep rumble of laughter resonated throughout the area as the boot was pulled out from under my hand. Large hands grabbed both of my arms and pulled me to my feet, sending shooting pains throughout my arms. I started struggling to get away fro whoever it was that now had me in their grip, kicking and flailing my legs as fast as I could. "Get off of me!" I screamed. "Who are you? What do you want with me? Why can't I see?" I kept screaming like my life depended on it, because well at the time it felt as if it did.

"Stop fighting me you insufferable brat!" a deep rough voice boomed. "Is it sight that you want? I'll give it to you if you stop fighting me!" As he finished that statement I finally landed my right foot on what I believed to be his manhood, because I loud pained groan was heard as he dropped me to the ground. Falling hard on my butt I let out a pained grunt of my own.

"I should let you remain in total darkness just for that!" he sneered. "You really are just like your father aren't you?"

Wait…. what? What does my father have to do with this? Who is this man in front of me? "Who are you?" I questioned, the fear never leaving my voice. All of a sudden I felt fingertips on both of my temples, a warm tingling sensation taking over until it reached my eyes and then there was light. It was blinding at first, I had to close my eyes for a second and slowly open them back up to ease into being able to see again.

When I focused on the face in front of me I gasped in shock as I took it in. To say that he looked like my father was an understatement. It was as if he was a dark version of my father. His skin was flawless, a few shades darker than my own or my fathers. Where my fathers hair was blonde like my own, this mans hair was jet-black, and his eyes. His eyes instead of being an amber color were almost black with a tint of ruby red in them. There was an evil beauty resonating throughout his being.

"Who are you?" I whispered as I continued to study him.

He just stared at me, seeming to be weighing his options on how he should answer my question. Chuckling to himself, he stood up from the ground. Turning his back to me, he started slowly walking away from me.

I quickly stood to my feet and started following after him. "Wait!" I called out. "Wait! You haven't answered my question! Who are you? What do you want with me?" I begged him for answers as I caught up to him and grabbed his elbow. Spinning around he grabbed a hold of both of my arms, this time being gentler than the last time.

"Do not ask questions you do not want the answer to." He spoke gruffly. Letting go of my arms he quickly spun around and started walking away from me again. Oh dear moon goddess, this man is already so aggravating!

"Stop walking away from me!" I yelled, frustration dripping from my voice. "What are you; A two year old? Turn around and answer me you coward!" This had him stop dead in his tracks. Quickly facing me he took slow precise steps towards me. Anger seeping out of him, he was fighting to keep control of himself as I saw the battle between him and his wolf as his eyes kept changing from the almost black with a red tint to a bright glowing red.

"What…did…you…just…call…me?" he gritted out. Coming to stand in front of me, our faces were nose to nose. My heart started racing in fear, however I would not back down or show an ounce of fear.

"I asked you a question." I calmly stated. "You will answer my question now." I ordered as I stared into those beautiful eyes of his.

"I do not take orders from anyone, especially not from the likes of you." He seethed, staring back without a hint of him giving in.

"Excuse me?" I stated in disbelief. "From the likes of me? And what the hell is that supposed to mean? You don't even know me!"

He laughed under his breath and shook his head lightly. "I know everything about you, more than you know about yourself. After all, I am the long lost bastard child of your grandfather."

I gasped at his words. As I studied his features again, I knew that there was no way he was lying. The resemblance was striking, the differences as well. "So that makes you my uncle. Why do you have a problem with me then?" I timidly asked. I couldn't understand why so many people could just dislike me before they ever even met me.

"Come walk with me. We will have a discussion as we walk." He motioned for me to follow him. I quickly fell in step with him as he continued. "I will have to admit, for a long time I disliked you as I watched you from afar. After all, my daughter is one of the main people who tormented you throughout your life. –"

"What?" I interrupted. "Who is your daughter?"

"Do not interrupt me." He ordered. "If you let me finish what I was saying you would know already. But now I will start from the beginning. I was born to King Arturo two decades before he had your father and your other uncle. Although I do not share the same mother as I was born out of wedlock, we do not share the same mother. When my father met your grandmother, she had him banish me from the land because I was not born from the mate bond, and she considered me an abomination. My father being so enamored with his mate, listened and banished me out of the land.

I became a rogue. I was angry at the world because of the injustice that was done to me. I started building an army of other rogues, planning to one day take over the kingdom again and take what was rightfully mine. However, I fell in love. I found my mate; her name was Natalie. She had already had a daughter, her daughter's name was Natasha." He paused.

I turned to face him with a look of pure shock taking over my features. "You…You're…" I started.

"The Rogue Alpha." He finished for me. "Yes I am the Rogue Alpha. Or at least I was. Everything was perfect with Natalie; we were in love and expecting a baby girl. That is until she found out who I was. You see I kept it from her because of all the fear everyone had for me. I was ruthless, evil almost because I felt like the world owed me something for the injustice caused to me by my father and his wife. When she found out who I was, she ended us. She rejected me, refusing to see or speak to me, refusing to even allow me to see my daughter."

I looked down at the ground trying to hide the tears that were forming in my eyes. A dull ache began in my chest as my heart clenched for this man. Everyone seemed to believe he was so evil when they spoke of him before, but I couldn't find it in myself to find him evil. He continued on with his explanation.

"You see I went crazy. The heartbreak was too much for me, and I ended up taking my life so that I didn't have to deal with the pain anymore."

A little bit confused, I turned to him with a panic settling in my being. "Wait…are you telling me that I am dead?"

He turned to me and put his hands on either one of my shoulders. "Amber, you are not dead. I didn't know why the moon goddess put me in this limbo between heaven and hell for years; just to watch the lives of everyone around me go on until now. Now I understand. My daughter was very close to ending your life. Thankfully your mother saved you in time."

"Thankfully?" I asked truly confused.

"Yes Amber, thankfully. I have been watching you as well as everyone else from afar all these years, and watching you become the leader you were born to be is incredible. You are my niece. My daughter holds a lot of hatred in her heart, but she didn't know the whole truth. She joined the afterlife shortly after what she did to you. Your mother had never been so ruthless in her life, but I suppose she needed to make sure there was no continued threat to you. You have already been through so much."

"But…but don't you hate me then? I am the reason your daughter is dead." I stated matter-of-factly looking down at the ground in front of me.

He stepped to me and put his finger under my chin, gently lifting my face so that my eyes met his. "No Amber, I am the reason that my daughter is dead. I should have told the truth to my mate from the very beginning. It took me a long time to figure this out, but I have had more than enough tine. I don't hate you, and I am not mad. I am proud to call you my niece. You have shown incredible strength with everything you have been through. You strive to always do your best and do the right thing, as well as expect everyone around you to do the right thing. You are what is needed for the werewolf race, and you will be a great ruler when that time comes. I will tell you, that time will come."

At that moment, everything started getting super bright around us. I had to squint my eyes so that I could still see. "What is happening?" I screeched.

"Amber, it is time for me to go. My time in this limbo is coming to an end." He explained.

I threw my arms around him, tears falling from my eyes. He wrapped his arms around me, returning the hug. "But, I don't even know your name." I whispered, fearing that my voice wouldn't come out if I tried to speak.

"Augustus. My name is Augustus. I love you Amber, and I will always watch over you." He spoke. "I will leave you with a gift, because you deserve it more than anyone." He said as he put his hand to my temple again. "The gift of sight. Call on this power when you need to know if someone is lying or you simply need to know the truth. You will be able to see through others memories. Take care." He whispered as he started fading out. The light around me became blinding, I closed my eyes as my tears just kept falling.