VALERIE My heart shrank and the pieces dropped into the pit of my belly as I stared at the red eyes that glared at me from the dark. I clasped my hand against my mouth as my heartbeat thumped loudly to my hearing. It was so loud that I was afraid that the beastly tiger standing before me would hear the sound. I stepped back, making sure that my feet didn't make any noise. The growl came again, loud, fierce, and horrific. Sweat broke out on my skin and shivers rushed through my body. I kept stepping back until my feet stepped on a dry bone on the ground. I tripped and unintentionally released a howl before dropping down to the ground. The tiger roared upon hearing my yell and bounded towards me. I was filled with fear and struck with horror. An ear-piercing scream escaped my lips. I reached for my flashlight which I had picked up earlier, and turned it on. The rays of light fell on orange and black stripes on a large body. The tiger, which was facing the wall opposite w
VALERIE The door was pushed open and Killian flung me in. I winced in pain as my arm brushed against the rough wall, getting bruised in the process. “Please, don't hurt me," I whimpered, backing away as they approached me. “You should have obeyed when you had the chance to,” Lucian snickered, glaring haughtily at me. “Please, I promise never to attempt running away again, I promise," I cried, rubbing my hands together I wasn't only scared of dying, I was scared of losing my virginity to them, in the most cruel way. No matter how much or long that I pleaded, their expression remained the same. A flash of pity didn't dare dart across their face. Killian took some steps towards me, covering the distance between us. I made to shift back but he grabbed my hand and pulled me up to my feet, dragging me towards the bed. I screamed till my throat burned yet none of them had mercy. “Pull off your clothes," I heard Lucian say from the door. What was the use of making me suffer this wa
VALERIE The cold water that was splashed on my face made me snap up from bed. I gasped loudly and swerved my head, searching for where the water came from. My heart shrank when I saw Bianca staring blankly at me with a bowl in her hand and right behind her was Killian and Lucian. I shuddered, feeling betrayed and used. “It's time for your punishment!" Lucian snapped and my belly knotted. “Get up and get dressed," Killian added. Tears gathered up in my eyes as I looked at Bianca, who kept glancing at other things in the room aside from my face. Who would have thought she would betray me? I considered her a friend and a sister but she ended up betraying me, just like Margaret and Juliet. I managed to get my sore body up from the bed. “Don't be so clumsy!” Lucian snapped and I jumped. I picked up my clothes and pulled them on, subduing the pain that throbbed in my body. Killian grabbed me, digging his nails into my arm as he dragged me out of the room. Once we were out, he pu
VALERIE Gasps erupted from everyone in the hall when she spilled those lies. “I… I didn't…" Bianca held my hand and my lips slammed shut. Lucian's eyes flickered in my direction, and I felt my soul leave my body. Every step he took down the stairs and towards me cut out a piece of my heart. I wondered what he was going to do to me. When he got close to me, I staggered back, shaking my head as tears gathered in my eyes. Bianca stepped away from us, filled with fear and sympathy. I glanced across his shoulder and saw the girl snickering at me. “Did you say that?" He muttered in that icy voice that always made me shudder. “No," I muttered and she frowned, scowling at me. “She's lying…" Lucian held his hand, shutting her up. “I never asked you, Adriana," he muttered in a cold voice and her face reddened. Lucian raised my chin and forced me to look into his penetrating eyes. “You're fond of getting into trouble, aren't you?" He muttered and my belly flustered. “Don't be a f
VALERIE A mine?! I am allergic to smoke and everyone knows. Well… everyone aside from the people who I had come to meet recently. I shook my head and stepped back, glaring at the thick dark smoke in horror. “I can't… I can't go in there!" I snapped, heaving loudly. Bianca tilted her head in confusion at my behavior. "Why?” She asked. I shook my head, taking a step backward. "I can't go to a mine; I just can't,” I muttered, and she scoffed. "Well… you can't do anything about it. It is the Alphas' order,” she snapped a reply, narrowing her eyes in disgust. I sighed and shrugged, helplessly accepting my fate. She glanced ahead in the direction of the smoke and waved her hands forward. “Take that path, you'll find the underground mine," she muttered and spun around, trotting away. “If you need any help, call out to the man who will take you to the place allocated to you," she muttered, cranking her head backward. I nodded, unable to respond. I stood rooted at
VALERIE The sunlight that streamed into the room forced me to snap my eyelids open.I groaned loudly and snapped my head to the side, slamming my eyes shut.“How do you feel?" A voice muttered and I fluttered my eyes open again.I stared at Bianca's pale face and a lump formed in my throat.I couldn't remember how I got to the bed as all I could hear in the back of my mind was an explosion and a yell for help, a voice that I recognized after a while as mine.“Bianca? I'm not dead?" I whispered as she forced a smile into her face. She shook her head and strode towards me, then sat down at the edge of the bed before clasping her hands in mine.“No, the miners were able to get you out on time; it's all thanks to Miranda; she noticed your disappearance and alerted some of the miners," she replied, and my brows raised in confusion.Miranda? Who was that?I parted my lips to ask the question when the door opened and the grumpy girl sauntered in. She looked up and her feet froze.“Oh… she i
VALERIE I dropped the mop in its rightful position before sighing loudly, my body aching with tiredness. My eyes were heavy, screaming for a short nap or if possible, a nice long sleep. But unfortunately, none of the two options was possible. “Done with the cleaning?" Julianna's voice growled behind me and I felt my heart twitch in fear. I gulped hard and spun around, forcing a smile into my pale face. “Yes," I replied. She narrowed her large owlish eyes, chuckling loudly. Her chuckle made her sagging breasts and protruding belly bounce and quiver. I snapped my eyes away from the unattractive sight, wondering why she would work around like that giving off orders and declaring what a tyrant she was. “Alright, come with me!" She hissed, waving her large hands ahead. “Don't be sluggish," she added as she forced her fat-filled legs to move forward. I trudged after her, silently enduring her annoying words and sneers. As we walked along the large passageway, my gaze fell on the
VALERIE My lips opened and slammed shut, I batted my lashes, my heart twitching in pain. Her eyes narrowed intimidatingly around my body and she chuckled. “Who are you?” She asked and my brows raised in surprise. “Huh?" I stammered, wondering if I heard right. Who am I? Has she forgotten me? I felt relieved and grateful that she didn't remember me. “Oh, me?" I stammered and gulped hard before glancing up at her beautiful face again. “I'm a maid. Julianna sent me over to have your room cleaned up," I said and bowed, making sure to sound as polite as possible. “I don't like it when people bow before me, so stop it," she muttered, and I snapped my head up in surprise. “Huh?" I mumbled again in confusion. I felt confused by her strange behavior. She wasn't acting like the girl I met earlier in the hallway. She sounded different; she smelt different, and she acted different. I parted my lips and spilled out the perturbing question in my mind. “Who are you if you don't mind?” I
VALERIE I swerved my head around, my heart thumping loudly in my chest. I could feel my breath leaving my body as I stood in that dimly lit hallway. "Is someone there?" I asked, going against the warning that echoed in my mind to keep silent.Silence followed my question and lasted for over three minutes. I shot my head back, slowly realizing that I must have been hallucinating. My mind was probably making voices up in my head out of fear.I sighed in relief and turned around, continuing my walk to wherever the antidote might be. My heart skipped when I heard footsteps echo in the hallway. I stopped walking, my hands trembling violently beside me. I leaned on the cold wall and gripped the hem of my shirt as I tried to control my fast and ragged breathing. The footsteps stopped and I heard a grunt. My eyes widened, and my jaws dropped in dismay. My mind snapped back to the boatman and chills rushed down my spine.What if the whole story about demons eating up people in the Isle
VALERIE The faces of ghosts surrounded me, their mouths wide open and eyes as white as snow even though they had no life in them. I raised my hand, struggling so hard to survive the water. Is this where it all ends? I remembered my promises to Jasmine, Lucian, and Alexander. Even the promise I made to Renee and myself. Will it all end here? In the dark waters? I pinned my lips against each other, daring not to open my mouth. One of my hands touched a skull in the water and a sickening feeling inhabited my body. My heart had stopped beating, and the dull light that sneaked into the water was slowly fading away, making the underneath as dark as the surface. Just as my eyes were about to slam shut forever, a hand delved into the water, and I was grabbed by the collar. I felt myself being dragged up and out of the water before the ghosts could find a way to enter my body and eat me up from inside. I parted my lips and breathed heavily, my life returning to me as I hit the surface.
VALERIE The man rowed the boat slowly and silently, his eyes fixed on the peak of the dark tower a distance away. I itched to say something to him to ease off the tension weighing on me. "How long will it take to row to the other side?" I asked, staring at his scarred face. He darted his one eye towards me, his lips stretched out in a thin line. He seemed to be triggered by the harmless words that I had said to him. "You… you don't have to worry about answering," I quickly added. He grunted and looked away, staring at the tower behind me. We were sitting across each other in the boat and this made it quite hard to notice anything behind me. I stared at the man's wrinkled face again, having a sickening feeling in the pit of my belly. His left eye looked like it was forcefully gouged out years ago. Perhaps, that was how he got the scar that ran down to his cheek. I wondered if it was done by the demons that always wake up when darkness takes over the sky. I didn't ask any que
VALERIE I couldn't overcome the temptation to take a nap anymore. I slammed my eyes shut and dropped my head into his chest, drifting into darkness. I was afraid of getting trapped by the fake Valerie or another creature, but I didn't dream about them. The only thing that I saw was the dark tower standing some distance away. My brows raised as several voices followed a mocking laughter, laughing exactly the way the first voice laughed.Whispers of my name filled the air, making me shiver. I looked down at my feet and gasped when I realized that I was standing in the dark waters. I noticed that I wasn't sinking and I wasn't feeling the water beneath my feet. Everything seemed so real, including my feelings. I looked around and realized that there was nothing in sight aside from the dark waters I stood on and the dark tower some distance away from me. There was not even a single flying insect or bird flying around. The place was as silent as a graveyard— even a graveyard made more
VALERIE I stood at the spot, dazed and confused. "What did you say?" I muttered, my breath almost ceasing. He pulled the prison door open and grabbed my wrist, pulling me out of the cell. A breath escaped my parched lips as my body got dragged out of the suffocating cell room. He swung back into the cell and grabbed Jasmine, dragging her out as well. He turned and faced me, a deep frown laced against his face. "If you have anything to say to her then do it quickly!" He snapped. My heart leaped for joy and my jaws dropped, my eyes widening in surprise. I turned around and faced Jasmine, my hand wrapping around her arm. "I will miss this Jasmine," I whispered, tears gathering in my eyes. She sniffed, her face heating up and tears welling up in her eyes. "Thank you for showing up in my life, Val," she whispered. I hugged her, sniffing in the lavender scent that hung on her. "Don't ever let anyone bring down your esteem. Lift your head high no matter what people think of you
VALERIE "But…" I paused and pouted in anger. He narrowed his eyes and began to trudge away. I huffed in disappointment and forced my feet to shuffle after him. "I need to save someone!" I snapped. His silence only made my heart heavier and almost brought tears to my eyes. I had to get away as fast as I could, even if it meant committing another crime upon the crimes that I had already committed. I clenched my fist, my heart constricting in anger. I looked down at the pants that I wore, and my throat knotted. This was the only way I could escape from him and save Jasmine as well. My hand moved to the belt strapped around my waist and pulled out the blade from its sheath. I took quick steps towards him and raised the blade in the air, ready to sink it into his neck. Jasmine's words snapped into my mind and my hand froze. It felt like a force was holding me back, preventing me from committing murder. "Get back to your senses, Valerie, get back to your senses!" Jade's warning
VALERIE The shock she felt was so heavy that it made the walls of the cell shake when she fell to the ground. I was still for a moment, waiting for the next reaction before jumping to a conclusion. "What did you say?" Her quivering voice filled the dark cell, causing a smirk to tug at the corner of my lips. "You are a witch, Renee. I'm certain about it," I repeated, earning another horrified gasp from her. She slowly gripped the bars and leaned forward, her eyes as wide saucers. "Who are you?" She whispered in a ghostly voice. I smiled and leaned closer, my brows raised in pride. "Someone that you can never beat." I saw her throat bob when those words left my mouth. Silence fell on her and all she could do was stare at me like she had seen a ghost. I got tired of waiting and flickered my fingers over her face.She jumped and blinked severally, trying to put her distorted mind in order. She took slow steps forward, her face scrunched up in a deep frown. "What do you want?"
VALERIE I sprang up, glaring back at Alexander who stood outside the cell. "Are you here to take us away to be killed?" I snapped. He remained stiff, not saying a word as he watched us."You won't say anything?" I snapped, gnashing my teeth in anger. I expected Jasmine to stop me from yelling at him but she did nothing. "What are you going to the Isle of the Blessed for?" He asked after a long stretch of silence. My throat knotted and I blinked severally in surprise. Jasmine jerked up in surprise, hovering behind me. "The– the Isle of the Blessed?" Jasmine gasped, tugging on my sleeve. "Tell him about it quickly!" She whispered. I slowly slipped back into reality and parted my lips to speak. "I have to get the antidote kept in the dark tower of the Isle of the Blessed," I said. "Someone that I love is dying. I have to save him."His lips twitched up in disgust and he scoffed, narrowing his eyes."You are doing this because of a man?" He groused, disdain scrunched up on his
VALERIE The fire spread so fast across the tunnel, causing panic to set into my body. I cried out in fear and cringed back to where Jasmine lay.I gripped her hand, panting heavily, my eyes still glued on the spreading fire that had lightened up the dark tunnel. "Alexander?" Jasmine's horror-stricken voice waved into my ear, forcing me to swerve my attention away from the fire. A knot formed in my throat as I stared at the face that glared down at us. "What are you two doing here?" He growled in anger, causing me to shiver in fear. I exchanged glances with Jasmine, both of us expecting the other to speak up. "I can't believe this," the lycan prince whispered, swerving his head. "The two of you are under arrest for breaking one of the most important rules of the Pack! He snapped and bent over, reaching for our wrist. I snapped my head in Jasmine's direction, alarm laced against my face. She had the same expression too, and her skin was as pale as that of a ghost. I had to do