Chapter Five

Three months. That was the longest Andalia and her mother had stayed in one place without moving. It should have been a good thing, a chance to breathe. But trouble always found them.

This time, it was Andalia’s fault. She had carelessly given her name to a masked man without even knowing what he looked like. When her mother found out, panic set in, and once again, they were on the move.

Now, they were inside a truck, heading toward the thirteenth pack after passing through two human cities.

Their belongings were packed behind them, and the road ahead was rough and uneven.

Andalia sat quietly, scrolling through her phone, searching for a decent mall in the new place they were heading to.

She had never heard of this pack before, but from the way her mother spoke, it was clear they had to be careful.

“In a place like that, people could identify which pack you belonged to just by the way you spoke or carried yourself.” she always said.

Luckily, blending in wasn’t a problem for them.

But bad luck had a way of following Andalia.

‘Something is wrong.’

Luna suddenly said out of the blues, finally dragging Andalia's attention to the road ahead.

She squinted and looked around for a while, before replying. ‘What is?’

‘I don't know, but something tells me something is definitely wrong, I just can't place what is.’

‘I see, okay I'll…..’

The truck’s accelerator and brakes suddenly jammed making her pause her statement, and the vehicle sped forward, completely out of control.

The driver shouted for them to get down and hide under the seats while he tried to fix the brakes.

Before Andalia could react, the truck veered off the road, heading straight for a massive tree. There was no stopping it.

Her mother, the driver, and Andalia braced themselves for impact. The moment of collision was brutal.

The force threw Andalia out of the truck, her head slamming against the hard cement l floor again and again.

Then….darkness.

When she came to, everything was a mess. The truck was completely wrecked, the metal twisted and broken beyond repair. The smell of blood filled the air.

Andalia groaned, her whole body aching, but the pain didn’t matter. Her gaze shifted to the driver first. He wasn’t moving. A sharp piece of metal had pierced his head, killing him instantly.

Her mother lay unconscious, bleeding heavily.

Panic surged through Andalia the moment the spotted her mother. “Mom?”

"Mom?" No response.

Andalia dragged her battered body, despite the agonising pain that shot through her with every movement.

She crawled to where her mother laid, tears slowly forming and pouring out of the corner of her eyes, that her vision had started to blur

Andalia, lifted her mother into her arms, making sure not to move her body too much.

She pressed her fingers against her mother’s neck, searching desperately for a pulse. It was there, but weak. Too weak.

She couldn’t lose her. Her mother was all she had left.

Forcing herself to her feet, she stumbled toward the road, her legs barely holding her up.

Her gaze had begun to get blurred, and she could swear the blood loss was letting her hallucinate, but there was a car approaching.

With the last bit of strength she had, Andalia rushed towards the car, caring less about the possibility of them running her over.

She stood right in the center of the road, crying and waving her hands to make them stop.

And when they did, she dragged herself towards the driver’s side of the car and fell to her knees.

The window rolled down, revealing a man with sharp features and dead green eyes.

A chill ran down her spine.

She knew those eyes, the unique set of forest green eyes that had always haunted her memories.

The eyes she remembered seeing before she lost consciousness years ago, even though she couldn't recall all her memories.

She would never forget them.

The bastard responsible for her amnesia. The reason she and her mother had been running like criminals for years.

But none of that mattered now, she didn't even remember, all she knew was that he was very familiar.

She had no choice but to beg him.

“Please… my mom… we got into an accident,” she gasped, her voice breaking. “She’s dying. Please help me.”

Tears streamed down her face, but he showed no emotion, he stared at her bloodied face for a while, and exhaled.

He simply stepped out of his car, towering over her. Then, he held out his hand.

“Make a deal with me,” he said smoothly, “and neither of you will die here.”

Andalia’s stomach twisted. A deal?

Money? Blood? What did he want?

None of it mattered. She would give him whatever he wanted if it meant saving her mother.

She swallowed hard. “What deal?.”

He smirked. “Agree to be mine, and you can have anything you want.”

Andalia froze. “Agree to be yours?” She repeated, her eyes wide in disbelief. Then they darkened almost immediately, showing pure hatred.

“No way am I ever getting involved with a man like you.”

He crouched before her and reached to touch her face, then he smiled. “Do you want to be the reason your mother died?”

She averted her gaze, guilt and possibly grief washing over her at the thought, and he instantly saw it.

“I know you don't,” he continued, “and believe me, I do not intend for that to happen. I searched everywhere for you Andy, and I cannot let this opportunity pass me by, if she dies I'll take you with me by force, so make a choice Andy.”

Her heart pounded in her chest, but her mother’s fading heartbeat echoed louder in her ears.

She had no choice.

Taking a shaky breath, she looked into those cold green eyes, tears pouring more that she hated seeing reflection look so pathetic in his eyes, and whispered, “I agree.”

“Miss?”

“Miss?”

A hand shook Andalia’s shoulder. Her vision quickly cleared, and the forest-green eyes vanished. The stranger’s eyes were plain brown, filled with worry.

“Miss,” he said again, “your mom is bleeding a lot. Do you want help or not?”

Andalia blinked away the haze. The wrecked truck, the smell of smoke, her mother’s shallow breaths, those were real. The offer from the cold-eyed Man was only a dream brought on by fear and blood loss.

“Yes,” she gasped. “Please…please help her.”