RIO
It was a struggle but I was finally able to open my eyes after some time. It had felt like scales had been used to seal my eyelids such that they were heavy to lift.However, after a few trials, my eyes fluttered open but I soon shut them because of the sharpness of the sun's rays. The sun was facing me directly and its lights hurt my tired eyes.Groaning loudly, I brought an arm to my forehead, trying to shield myself from the harshness of the sun, but even that was difficult because my arm felt like a weight. It was suddenly too heavy to lift.As if this was not enough, my head was aching badly, like someone was pounding it with a pestle. As I lay there, I wondered what had happened and why I was in so much pain.My entire body hurt. I could not tell where exactly was in pain but it felt like I was swollen everywhere. My body did not feel like mine anymore; it felt so heavy and this scared me.Opening my eyes again — this time, shielding my face from the sun — I looked to the side and my eyes fell on corpses: a whole lot, lying just beside me.Alarmed, my body shot up from the ground and I sat up immediately, ignoring the terrible pain that had consumed my entire body. The violent way I had pulled myself up had caused my body to weep in pain.But that was the least of my problems now, not when I had just woken up to corpses all around me. I could not believe I had been lying with corpses. How was that possible? It was as though someone had dumped us all like garbage without checking for a fact if we were truly dead.My eyes fell on the closest corpse beside me and I gasped loudly, recognizing him as Joe, my beta. It was then that realization dawned on me as the event that had led to this death flooded my mind. How could I not remember?How could I have forgotten so soon about my stupidity and foolishness? How could I have forgotten how I had allowed myself to be deceived by that bastard named Jared, thereby destroying my pack and bringing great misfortune to my people?Countless questions filled my head as I kept staring at Joe. His eyes were wide open but blank. His neck had a deep gash which was now coated with dried blood. The sight was horrible and my heart squeezed in pain as the events from the battle replayed in my head.No one had told me that the battle would be that tough. No one had warned me to get prepared. That stupid Jared had filled my head with lies and flattering words, about how we could defeat Aiden and bring him to his knees.He had drawn me to his side with his well-painted and sugarcoated words. I should have known the moment he ran away from his pack that he was up to no good, that he was just the trouble my father had warned me to avoid.But no. I was so stupid. I had allowed myself to be blinded by my quest for revenge.However, rather than have my revenge, I got myself scarred right where it would hurt. . .Adelia!She was gone. I had lost her. I killed her with my own very hands.Instinctively, my eyes dropped to my palms which were bruised and covered with dirt. A tear I did not know was hanging on my lashes dropped onto my dirty palm and I sniffed. Why had I let this happen to us?Why had I allowed jealousy and envy to rule over my senses? Right now, I see how Jared had preyed on my vulnerability.He knew how jealous I was of Aiden and he had preyed on it, using it to his advantage. I should have known that that bastard did not care about me or his sister. He cared only for himself.I could not even see his corpse anywhere. The dead warriors lying in the dirt were mine and Kappa's. Could it be that Jared had escaped death? Could it be that Jared was somewhere alive after leading us to our doom?Had he taken Adelia along with him — because I could not see Adelia's body anywhere too?"That pig!" I spat in disgust. My hands balled into a fist as the words left my lips.I was evidently shaking with rage as I sat in the dirt. There were dead bodies everywhere: all having nasty cuts and deadly wounds. Dried blood left patches on the sand and body parts lay scattered on the ground.It was like I was in a butcher house and the sight sent shivers down my spine. It was too eerie to look at: I was wrong to underestimate the power of those barbaric werewolves; they were more ruthless than I had thought.Kappa's body was lying face down at a distance. On his head was a nasty wound and in his stomach were three arrows: arrows I had personally ordered to be shot. I did not feel bad that Kappa got killed by those arrows.My only regret was that those same arrows claimed Adelia's life. Would I ever be able to forgive myself for bringing arrows to a fight that was meant to be fought fist to fist? Would I be able to live with this guilt, knowing how my decision had claimed the lives of many people?Truly, I got burnt by the fire I had lit up."Will you forgive me?" I found myself asking my dead beta who kept staring into space as though he was beholding the most beautiful specimen in the world.I tore my eyes finally from his gory body and looked up to the sky despite the sun. The sky seemed like the purest place to look at: it was not a bloody sight.Then I chuckled, finding it funny how the sky was so bright despite the gruesome murders that had occurred. It was like nature did not seem to care for whatever went on on earth.But it was funny or wasn't it? How that the sky did not share in my sorrow, how that it did not even hint to the world the occurrences of something this grievous.Rather, it was shining at its peak. Birds were singing happily. Nature was busy radiating beauty when my life seemed like it had lost its value. There was nothing to console me. It suddenly felt like I was all alone.What was I going to do now? How would I return to my pack after this defeat? What would I say to them? How would my people view me?My long black locks were all over my face now due to the breeze and I struggled to push them away so I could concentrate on the sky.I had always maintained my status as a powerful alpha, one whose presence commanded fear. But I was not sure if my presence would command fear anymore after this shameful defeat. News must have spread like wildfire.My pack must have been very disappointed, seeing how they had left me and the warriors to rot in the woods without a befitting burial.Already suffocated with the sight before me, I rose to my feet — though with much difficulty. My legs were shaking badly and my entire body was trembling but I remained on my feet, trying to catch my breath.My dark-coloured breeches were torn, revealing a wolf's bite on my knee. It was impossible to tell which wolf had done this because I had been attacked by many at once.I did not even want to think about it.From the way my stomach was churning, I knew I was hurt there too. My back was aching too and my neck felt stiff. I must look a mess now.This thought made me laugh and in no time, I was laughing like a maniac, my voice echoing in the woods. Of course, nothing was funny and that was why my laughter sounded so dry, like a painful cough hanging in my throat.Then I stopped laughing just as suddenly as I started. With one last glance at the corpses, I made a vow. We had lost now but we would have our revenge one day."I promise you all."With that, I limped myself away, having no destination in my mind.FRANCESCA I was out of breath when I finally finished speaking and the old woman was staring at me blankly, like I was a radio she was listening to. I stared back at her. Then she smiled and stood to her feet. I watched her walk to the end of the room and go to a wardrobe where she pulled out a drawer. She picked something from it, closed the drawer, and walked back to me, slowly, her smile still on her face. Her skin was paler than in my dream and her hair was more grey than I had thought it was. I was getting to see her features much better now that she was standing right before me in reality. She sat back on her chair and handed me a necklace with a pearl locket. "Do you remember this?" She asked me and I stared at it intently with my eyes narrowed."Am I supposed to?" The necklace did look familiar but I could not tell where I had seen it or who it belonged to. "Yes," she looked hurt but she smiled again, and the hurt vanished from her eyes, "Well, I do not expect you to r
FRANCESCA "We all knew you were different when you were born. First, you were not born the regular way and second, a light shone on your forehead like a diamond shape when you came out of your mother. You also did not have the pointy ears or paleness of an elf. This had never happened before so the elders claimed that you might be dangerous and should be killed but your parents refused. They didn't want to kill their only daughter. "Zuri, your mother's friend, was not happy about this in particular and she tried to convince your mother. She even went as far as saying that you'll bring doom to Irkstone. She was a seer so she lied to your mother that she had seen into your future. "But your mother could not bear to kill her child. Angry that your mother won't listen to her, Zuri left Irkstone. She was never really part of us. She was a sorceress your mother had found almost dead in the woods. You would think she would be faithful to your mother for saving her, but no, Zuri killed you
RIOI had been running since with no definite destination on my mind. All through, the path had been lonely and as I moved further away, I could sense from within that I was wandering farther away from home. This was scary because I had never had any reason to leave my packland: it was where I had been born and where I had grown up, but I guess things were changing now. I was embarking on a journey of the unknown, a journey in which I did not know what to expect: if I would survive or not.It was a known fact that an alpha should not be out alone, wandering about in the woods with no company but I did not think I had the right to be accompanied by warriors anymore. For all I knew, I had lost that right. I had flouted all the rules my father had taught me: An alpha's duty was to protect his pack. An alpha was never one to run in the face of danger. An alpha was not one to be left vulnerable in the hands of others. But I was not that alpha anymore.Currently thinking about my father
FRANCESCA It has been three days since I found myself stuck in this new world with no way out. Three days yet I was just as confused and heartbroken as the first day. Nothing seemed to make sense: not the ragged dressing, not the buildings, not even the food. That morning, Madam Creese — the old lady had told me to call her that — had made me some pancakes which looked different from what I was used to. They were more like crepes or tortillas, unlike what was made in the future. According to Madam Creese, I was over five hundred years behind time. Living here would require a lot of getting used to and the truth was that I was tired even before I could explore this new world. I wanted to return to my old life. I wanted to live in my house, sit on my bed, read my novels, and go for a walk. I wanted to be able to visit my mother's gravestone anytime I wanted to. I wanted to see my friends again. As I stood by the river, I found myself wondering what my friends were thinking about
FRANCESCA I was right. There was someone behind the tree. It was a man and he was walking slowly towards me, his green eyes fixed on me. I stared right back at him, surprised to see a human being in the woods. Since I found myself here, I had not come in contact with any human except Madam Creese so it was quite shocking yet pleasing to see someone else. I watched him, my eyes taking in his appearance as he approached me slowly. He was dressed in rags just as I was — I guess he was dressed worst. His tunic was ripped by the side and the brown breeches he wore were torn. From his dirty and bruised feet, I could tell he had been walking a lot. Was he a wanderer? Did he even have a roof over his head? I pulled my eyes from his feet back to his face and my heart skipped a bit at the beauty that was now standing a few feet away from me. He had full brows and long lashes. His nose was long and pointed and his full lips were a sensuous sight: they were a light shade of pink; the cup
FRANCESCA Madam Creese did not say anything to me until we got to the cottage. She had simply held me by the wrist and pulled me along as we walked back to the cottage. She was only an old woman but sometimes, her strength amazed me. The walk back to the cottage had been quite long. I had not realized that I had walked farther from the cottage until now. I had simply followed my feet where it led me — and it had led me to the river. Now I knew why Madam Creese was mad at me. She had clearly told me to stay within the confines of the cottage for my safety but I had gone ahead and flouted that rule. "I'm sorry," I said the moment we got into the cottage. "For what?" Madam Creese stared blankly at me, her grey eyes lacking any emotion. I was taken aback by this and I stared back at her, confused. "For what, Mila?" She probed and my brows furrowed. Back there, she had called me Francesca but here she was calling me Mila. I could not understand this old lady. "For leaving the cotta
FRANCESCA Her words were making me teary and I blinked multiple times to stop the tears from falling. "I know you yearn for a companion. I understand that but you must understand that you can't trust anyone, especially not people you find in the forest. Many times, those people are fugitives. Rogues, who had left their lands after committing a crime." "I guess that is how they would see us too because we are not different from them." I found myself saying. Madam Creese frowned at that."What do you mean?" "We are also living in the forests like criminals. I bet Rio must think we are fugitives like you believe he is. But we are not. Why don't you give him the benefit of the doubt? What if he is not any of the things you are accusing him of?" I could not explain why I was suddenly defending a stranger I had just met a moment ago but I did not like that Madam Creese was writing him off before she got to know him. I agree that he could be dangerous but what if he was not? Would I ju
I scoffed loudly as I watched the elf girl walk away with her grumpy grandmother. It was funny how the old woman thought I was interested in her daughter. Though she had not said a word to insinuate that, I could tell from the nasty glares she had thrown my way that she wanted me to be as far away from Francesca as possible. I could not help but find this really hilarious as I watched the two of them leave. Though Francesca kept looking behind her shoulder to catch my gaze, the grumpy old woman was keen on pulling her violently as though she wanted to detach the poor girl's arm from her body. I scoffed again as I stared at their retreating figures. I wished I could tell the old lady not to worry about me because I had no intention of being around her daughter. Of course, Francesca was very pretty — if I was being honest with myself, I had enjoyed the little conversation we had had — She was quite intriguing too. Perhaps, this was one reason I did not want to be anywhere near her. S