Chapter 2 Return to The Past

"Why?" I asked softly. My eyes, which felt very hot, began to shed tears like rain.

"Why did you betray me?"

Alpha Kaelen chuckled. As he was about to deliver a second blow with his other hand, I quickly grabbed his arm.

“Who are you calling a traitor here? Remember, the two opposing factions within the pack were formed because of you. Before it escalates into a rebellion, I must root out the problem completely.” One corner of his mouth turned up. He seemed to be enjoying my pain.

What was he actually talking about right now?

The two opposing factions were formed because of him!

He brought his lover into the pack and didn’t share his affection equally among us. The faction supporting me formed out of sympathy for me.

“How could you think I’d rebel? Don’t you know why I’m enduring this curse’s pain?” My voice trembled. I tried to look strong even though tears kept falling uncontrollably. I didn’t want to make Alpha Kaelen’s smile grow wider.

“Thank you for your struggles and sacrifices all this time. But I still have to solidify my position for myself.” Alpha Kaelen stepped forward aggressively, pushing me back until I was cornered.

I looked back. All I could see was a cloud of mist obscuring how steep the lake below was. I tried to plant my feet firmly on the ground, even though I knew it was a futile effort.

“Do you feel fear? Lyara, a Luna revered by the warriors for her strength. But now you feel fear because you’re at the edge of a cliff?”

His smile widened, matched by the racing of my heart. My breath caught when he released his arm from my stomach and pushed my body with his other hand.

“Goodbye, Lyara.”

My hands reached out for anything in front of me, but all I grasped was air. My body floated, slicing through the air slowly, like a leaf detached from a branch and falling without control. The wind slapped my face, making my hair fly wildly, while the world around me turned into a blurry shadow. A sharp pain tore through my stomach, but it couldn’t compare to the emptiness gripping my chest.

The sound of slaps echoes from my body and the surface of the water colliding fills my ears. A piercing cold sensation envelops my entire body. My vision begins to blur. Exhaustion peaks, making my body reluctant to move.

Although I try to save myself, for whom else am I surviving? Nothing remains of me.

Falling slowly yet surely, piercing the suffocating silence, towards the darkness that embraced me without mercy. A sense of suffocation approached, accompanied by the stinging pain of water seeping into my body.

“This must be the end. A life wasted,” I thought, my eyes filled with the faces of my father and mother whom I longed for. I wanted to return to their warm embrace.

A blinding light made me furrow my brow. Something that had been holding back my healing power, pressing down and hurting my body, released itself without warning. Something inside me surged, thick black fluid flowing from my lips.

“Lyara, hurry up and get out!” Elune, the beautiful and powerful wolf within me, shouted.

“It’s nice to talk to you again, Elune.” The corners of my lips curled upward.

“Swim to the surface quickly! You’ll drown if you keep this up. Do you want this to be our last conversation?!” she snapped.

“How ironic. It turns out the condition for breaking the curse is being at the brink of death.” I laughed at myself inwardly. Reflecting on all my efforts to free myself from the barbed wire tightly wrapped around my body.

My eyes fluttered slowly. Sleepiness began to cloud my mind. “I’m sorry, but it seems this really is our last conversation. I’m sorry you had to have a weak owner like me. I’ve reached my limit.”

“No, Lyara. You must survive. Don’t close your eyes!”

“Elune, my blood has been drained. There’s no strength or anything left in my body. Even if I manage to reach the surface of the water, it won’t work.”

“I’m sorry, Elune.”

I could hear Elune's cries accompanied by screams. My sweet wolf had been through many battles with me since I was a teenager. But of all the things we had been through, there was little happiness there.

My eyes, which were about to close completely, hesitated when I felt someone's gentle touch. He hugged my waist with one hand. Slowly, I felt my body being lifted up.

“Who is he?”

The sound of water trickling from our movements was followed by my labored breathing. I coughed, and that only tore open my already wide wound even further.

“Hold on. Please hold on a little longer.”

He turned out to be a man. The strange yet comforting voice belonged to my saviour. Someone who was now hurriedly carrying me to the edge of the lake.

The loud voices of the people around me were not clear in my ears. My senses were growing dull. I knew there were many people at the lake’s edge, but I couldn’t see them clearly or hear their conversations.

My body was carried carefully, like a fragile branch. Then he sat on the ground, leaning my back against his folded thighs, while one arm wrapped around my neck, supporting my head so it wouldn’t droop. His other hand gently patted my cheek, as if to ensure I was still here, still breathing.

“…Lyara.”

I didn’t know what he was saying. I could only catch one word, my name, which he whispered softly.

Ah, there’s still someone who cares about me like this.

With trembling hands, I tried to reach his face. The sticky sensation flooding his cheeks, I knew it. He was crying. Was he crying because of me?

“Don’t… cry…” I said, my words breaking off.

The pain and tingling in my throat brought back the painful cough. My right hand fell onto his chest. Unintentionally, my fingers touched the pendant necklace around his neck. A unique and beautiful sun-shaped pendant.

“Thank you,” I said with a bitter smile.

My hand fell limp to the ground, and then everything went dark. My body felt light, and the emptiness in my heart brought a sense of calm. A comfort I hadn’t felt in a long time.

SLAP!

My eyes widened in shock. My gaze swept around the room. Strangely, I wasn’t by the lake but inside a closed room.

My flushed cheek throbbed with pain. “Was I slapped? And why does it hurt? Aren’t I already dead?”