Farewell

Nyssa ran.

She ran past the servant’s quarters, some servants saw her but were too stunned to stop her. She didn’t stop either.

Late that night, people watched a half-naked slave run towards the forest like she was being chased by death itself. Nyssa didn’t look back, she dared not stop either. She was running far—far from Alpha Mark. From Prince Lucien, Alpha Zane, or any other Alpha, far from a pack she once called home.

“Do not let her get into the forest!” She heard the command of Gamma Hume and her eyes widened.

He was the strongest warrior in all of the West Region. Fear gripped Nyssa like a leech when she heard his voice. She cannot escape, there is no way she can escape this man. It has never happened before.

“You can do it, Nyssa. You are not servant number 16. You are Nyssa Wales” she chanted to herself as she ran.

The full moon lit her path immediately she stumbled into the woods barefooted. She thought they would stop if they saw that she had made it to the woods but that didn’t happen because Nyssa could still hear the hurried steps behind her. She could hear the howling; meaning many of them had shifted into their wolf forms.

They were coming in their numbers.

“Moon goddess, please…” Tears rolled down her cheeks, “Please help me”

Branches whipped her arms as she ran. Her bare feet bled from sharp stones and thorns on the rough ground yet she didn’t stop. Her breath came in sobs, her eyes blurry yet she didn’t stop.

Then, as if the goddess heard her prayers, she saw a river.

A large river. She has never been this deep into the forest before. Her heart leaped for joy.

“You are not servant 16. You are Nyssa Wales” She told herself again, with her hands stretched as though she was reaching for freedom itself—

Then a force yanked her backward so hard that she lost her balance. Her head spun before she could take control of her trail of thought again, she felt a cold metal against her throat.

She stilled.

Her mouth opened to speak but the metal ran through her throat. Sharp and unforgiving.

The world tilted. A warm liquid ran down her throat.

Nyssa’s eyes widened. She looked down. Her blood pooled.

“You could have died those years ago. It would have been easier for you.” Her killer whispered.

He pulled his blade free and her knees buckled before her body kissed the ground. Her blood pooled beneath her, the man turned her over but she couldn’t see his face, he was dressed in a black cloak. Her blurry eyes stared up at the unclear full moon.

Struggling through the blood in her mouth, she tried to speak, “You are… not… servant… 16. You are…”

She stilled, covered in blood and half naked. Eyes empty.

She accepted defeat.

****

Behind closed doors in the palace, were Prince Lucien and his princess, Sarah. While Lucien was seated on the bed restless and bothered for some reason he couldn’t understand, Sarah was in the bathroom changing from her party gown to a nightwear. She kept talking excitedly in the bathroom until she finally came out only to realize that Lucien hadn’t been paying attention.

“Are you even listening, my prince?” Sarah asked. Her lips were stretched wide in a smile and were on the verge of falling.

“Of course, of course,” Lucien replied. Yet he couldn’t stay still. Varn kept murmuring in his head. His vision was clouded by the event from earlier back in the hall. His heart beating fast at how many Alphas must have claimed her by now. Servant number 16

He isn’t supposed to care, he isn’t supposed to think about her even, but he has a wolf that wouldn’t let go of his new obsession. His grip on the goblet in his hand tightened.

“So I need your opinion on the matter,” she asked, clearly noticing how lost Lucien was, he wasn’t listening to her.

Lucien, who couldn’t take it anymore, stood to his feet. “My lady, I think you should rest. I am exhausted, and I know you are too, its late already.”

Sarah stared at him. He had promised her just before the party started that he was going to take her tonight. She frowned at him; she had prepared herself for him.

Lucien didn’t wait for Sarah to protest; he reached and planted a kiss on her forehead before heading out of the room. But Sarah’s words caused him to pause.

“It’s her, right? The servant from the party…” Her fingers clenched, waiting for an answer. He muttered with a rather cold voice,

“The Alpha has ordered that no one speak of the matter again. It is forbidden.”

With that said he walked out of her chambers and sprang to his with hastened steps. Immediately he got into his room, he slammed the door shut. With clenched fists and gnashing teeth, he growled,

“What is it?! What the fuck is wrong with you!”

“Something is not right. Something is wrong with her.” Varn growled angrily at Lucien, “Can’t you feel it? Why are you acting like you can’t feel it?”

Lucien instead began to pace around the room, “Of course not. I cannot feel anything. We rejected her remember?”

“You rejected servant number 16. You fool, she has a name and she is more than a servant.”

Lucien’s breathing became heavier as Varn spoke with more intensity, soon he was growling. Lucien clutched the window ledge even as he heard his wolf hiss in anger, “Find her”

He didn’t want to. He cannot barge into the guest chambers. His father would give his crown to his sisters. He cannot. He is betrothed to Princess Sarah. The two packs had formed an alliance. He cannot turn back now.

His breath turned to steam, his skin itched, and he turned his head sideways,

“No, no, no—” but it was already too late.

Bones cracked, skin hair stretched into fur, his body twisted, canines protruding as Varn finally took control. With a desperate howl, a large black wolf lunged through the window and dashed into the forest with undeniable speed.

The wind went with him as he raced without a care. He immediately picked up her scent the moment he got into the woods. Faint but familiar. He followed the scent in haste but the more he got closer, the more his heart pounded.

The once-sweet scent was now mixed with blood. He tried to block the smell of blood but couldn’t. It was as sharp as her scent now. His heart continued to pound in his chest.

He followed the scent until—

He found her.

Lying on the cold ground covered in her pool of blood. Half naked. Still. Eyes opened empty still staring at the moonlight.

Varn’s stepped slowly towards the cold lifeless body and he whimpered. He nudged her gently with his nose but she didn’t stir. Moving to the other side, he tried again, this time harder, but still. No movement.

Varn let out a painful howl, one that echoed for miles and startled birds into the sky, one that caused the wind to blow violently. He circled her, once, twice before settling beside her.

His paw tried to hold her, to keep her warm. For the first time, tears stung the eyes of Varn. He stayed with her for what felt like forever. From time to time, he would nudge at her, hoping she would wake up. His heart aches more when she doesn’t.

After what felt like forever, Varn rose to his feet. Eyes dark, nose cold, and paws steady, with a slow and reverent motion, he summoned fire from the tips of his paw and set her body alight. Head raised high, he howled in pain, loudly.

A farewell.

Consumed by the fire, Varn turned around and raced back to the pack where his life without a mate awaited him. He didn’t stop, he didn’t look back. He got back into this room through the large window.

Trembling, panting, and shaking with grief, he stood in the middle of his room. His paws were covered in his mate’s blood, his fur wet from tears. He hissed at the pain one more time before shifting back into a human, shrinking himself into the deepest darkest part of Lucien.