𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐀𝐋𝐏𝐇𝐀𝐒' 𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐄 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐: 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥〚 𝕄𝕒𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕖 〛
"𝔜𝔬𝔲 𝔭𝔯𝔬𝔪𝔦𝔰𝔢𝔡 𝔪𝔢 𝔶𝔬𝔲'𝔩𝔩 𝔫𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯 𝔩𝔢𝔞𝔳𝔢. 𝔅𝔲𝔱 𝔦𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔢𝔫𝔡 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔡𝔦𝔡, 𝔧𝔲𝔰𝔱 𝔩𝔦𝔨𝔢 𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯𝔶𝔟𝔬𝔡𝔶 𝔢𝔩𝔰𝔢."
𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐: 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥〚 𝕄𝕒𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕖 〛
Sometimes you feel empty.
Sometimes you feel numb.
Some might say that both the feelings are the same. But are they?
No, they aren't.
Emptiness can leave a person feeling despondent, isolated, and anxious. Some describe the experience as an empty feeling in their chest. Feeling empty can sometimes manifest as a sense of loneliness, confusion about your life and goals, or lack of motivation to pursue anything.
Whereas, numbness can be described as a loss of sensation or feeling in a part of your body. It's often accompanied by or combined with other changes in sensation, such as a pins-and-needles feeling or burning. Numbness can occur along a single nerve on one side of the body, or it may occur symmetrically on both sides of the body.
Marinette felt neither empty nor numb. She felt something in between. Something that she has never experienced before.
She could feel herself burning. She could feel the emptiness in her soul. It was like a part of her was missing, and indeed something was missing. It was her mate. But Marinette didn't know that.
Marinette stared at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were empty and dead, not how they were previously.
She picked her jewels from her dresser and put them on. Again, she analyzed herself in the mirror. Honestly, if you asked someone how she looked, they would say beautiful. But did she feel beautiful?
No. She felt disgusting and foul, not elegant.
She kept gazing at the reflector, thinking about what happened to her. What happened to the bubbly, petite girl who adored everyone?
She was just sixteen when her parents died. And whose transgression was that? It was hers.
She reminisced the day when she, a 16-year-old bluenette, slithered out of her house in the midst of the twilight.
She knew her parents were going to be guarding the perimeter of the pack territory that night, so she had to be cautious while exploring the forest.
Marinette and her pack had moved to America a month ago from France due to a raging war between the packs there.
She had always loved the woods. They were so quiet and refined, but when needed they could rigorously wound someone.
Marinette heard someone move behind her. She quickly took on her combat position, ready to take down the invader.
A black wolf pounced to defend her.
"Father," she susurrated.
Then, another wolf pounced behind her. This time it was a white wolf.
"Mother," she whispered again.
Marinette watched the horror unfold, as a mob of rouges charged her parents, ripping their body parts out.
And then she heard her parents' last words, "Run! Run and get the pack!"
From that day on, Marinette was never the ball of sunshine that everyone knew.
After cremating the Alpha and the Luna, the Beta, Gabriel, took over. He notified Marinette that she would have to go to her Grandfather's place for preparing to become the first female Alpha of the pack.
"Female Alphas aren't very well-known, but they are not unheard of," he had informed her.
The Beta, The Gamma, and the Delta were all tutored and shaped by their fathers.
Deep in thoughts, she fell into another reverie
"Happy Birthday, ma chère Mari," Marinette's Grandma greeted her. Marinette just nodded. Candidly speaking, she never wanted to celebrate her 18th birthday, but her grandparents threw a party anyway.
"Mon amour, let go of the history and focus on the present. You are 18 now. You are going to find your mate and not to mention get your wolf soon. Moreover, let's not forget that you are going to be crowned the Alpha of the Miraculous pack in less than two years. You need to be strong and confident." Her grandfather encouraged her.
Marinette sighed, "You are right, Grandpa, Grandma. I have to stop staying in the past and focus on the present."
"That's my girl!" They cheered.
Marinette snapped out of her daze, as she felt an alone tear stroke her cheek. She swiftly wiped the unwanted tear and headed downstairs for the ceremony.