Nora's pov
"The journey has just begun Nora" my mother told me as her fingers traced along the crescent mark on my shoulder.
"What journey?" I asked.
"The path you must walk" she answered vaguely.
"What path?" I questioned in desperation.
"The prophecy, it chose you" she replied.
"I don't understand anything. I just learned about the prophecy and if I'm being honest I don't understand the word it's saying except for the fact that a crescent would appear which it suddenly did on my shoulder. What does the prophecy mean?" My words came out as a desperate plea.
"It will all be revealed to you with time" she said cryptically.
"Why did the prophecy choose me?" My voice cracked as I struggled to keep the tears at bay.
"Because it knew you would be capable" she brushed away a stray tear that slipped from my eyes.
"Why am I even talking to you like you are real?" I groaned to myself.
"This is a dream yet I feel like you are still alive, listening to me and guiding me" I gripped my hair in between my fingers, wondering if I was finally losing my sanity.
"I am real Nora and I am right here with you, guiding you as best as I can" she told me softly, raising the sleeve of her shirt to show me a crescent mark which mirrored mine.
"How do you have a crescent?" I asked with wide eyes but she merely smiled at me.
"Mum?" I called out to her but she slowly faded away into nothing as I slowly blinked into consciousness.
'Was any of it real or were my imaginations conjuring her up?' I asked myself.
I brushed away a stray tear that had somehow made it's way down my cheek, ignoring the feeling of desperation at the unknown burden which had been placed on me.
I slowly get dressed and head to the front door, my thoughts occupied with what the future might bring.
"You are late" Ronan's gruff voice pulls me out of my thoughts as soon as I shut the front door.
I slowly turned to him and regarded him blankly. Even in my current sober state I couldn't help the pull I felt towards this dangerous man. It was as though invisible strings were tugging me towards him but I had to resist for my self preservation.
"I had a rough night" I mutter, tearing my gaze away from him before I made a fool of myself like I did at the gym.
I could feel his eyes regarding me as I walked pass him and towards the forest.
"What's wrong?" He asked after a moment, catching up with me.
"Nothing at all I'm perfectly fine" I replied without turning to him.
"As a warrior you can't afford to be temperamental or late to appointments. Anything and everything is of essence to you...let that be your first lesson" he commanded.
"I never said I wanted to be a warrior neither am I being temperamental" I gritted out.
"A prophecy has been placed on your shoulders quite literally, a prophecy which has the power to affect the whole werewolf species and you think you can carry it out without proper discipline that warriors have?" His voice quaked.
"I didn't ask for a prophecy to rest on my shoulders. I didn't ask to be anything but normal", my voice cracked and I close my eyes and turned away from him befthe could see the tears in my eyes.
"Nora-" he began.
"Don't. Let's just begin, you want me to be a warrior right? Fine, train me" I channeled all my frustration into my words.
His gaze burned the back of my head for several moments before he abruptly broke into a jog.
"Try to keep up" he called out to me and I instinctively sprung into action, following close behind him.
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I sighed with relief as the hot water from the shower cascaded down my body. The scalding sensation was a welcome pain against my skin. My muscles protested at every little movement but I ignored the pain and kept on moving.
I was convinced Ronan was trying to silently kill me. After our jog we went into the gym where we proceeded to train till I collapsed from exhaustion, only then did the man reluctantly let me go for the day.
After my shower, I dressed in a plain white top and black shorts before I collapsed onto my bed with sleepy eyes.
I groaned when I heard a knock on my door, I ignored it hoping whoever it was would go away.
"Nora I know you can hear me" Emma's voice called out to me from the other side of the door. With another pained groan, I stood from the bed and made my way to the door.
"What's up?" I asked her as I leaned against the doorframe.
"I came to check up on you. How was your first day of training?" She asked with a knowing smile.
"If he wanted to kick me out of the pack all he had to do was say so rather than try to kill me in there" I commented as I walked back to my bed.
"He isn't that mean" she chuckled as she made her way into the room, closing the door behind her.
"He actually sent me to check in on you" she revealed.
"He wants to confirm if I'm dead get?" I quirked a brow at her.
"Now look whose being mean" she nudged me.
"He cares about you" she said after a moment and I stared at her in shock.
"I highly doubt it. The only think he feels towards me is a sense of obligation" I shrugged unwilling to believe her words.
"He actually told me to bring you down for dinner" she said with a small smile.
"Thank him but I really need to sleep now if I hope to wake up to be tortured once more tomorrow" I said.
"The first day I trained my legs were wobbly for a week. I thought I would fall whenever I walked" her eyes looked far away as though she was reminiscing.
"Well I'm positively sure my knees would give out if I attempted to come down those stairs right now" I retorted.
"Trust me he is being easy on you. Just... don't be too quick to judge him okay?" She looked at me pointedly.
"What secrets does the big bad alpha have?" I asked sarcastically, trying to mask my curiousity.
"That's not my story to tell but if he feels inclined he might share them with you" she replied before she left my room.
"What secrets do you harbour Ronan?" I thought out loud just before I drifted to sleep.