Chapter 7

I felt like evaporating out of the face of the earth as I stood rigid in shock. My eyes were glistening in tears as they fixed themselves on the decorated table. My face was flushed in embarrassment, my blood boiled in anger and my heart was shattered in regret and grief.

The once attractive garden lost its taste, to me, it became a barren garden that will keep springing out unwanted memories to hunt me for the rest of my life.

A warm hand clasped around my cold slumped shoulder. I inhaled sharply and slowly turned.

Nathan’s pale face became paler when he stared into my rheumy eyes.

“Why, why did he do this to me?” I found myself whispering to him, I noticed my voice was quivering as I spoke.

He shook his head and slid his hands down from my shoulder, it moved to my cheeks and cupped it.

“I- I told you, didn’t I?” he stuttered, staring deep into my eyes.

Anger suddenly replaced the bitterness hanging in my chest, I slapped away his hands and stepped farther from him.

“You knew he wouldn’t come!” my voice was raised and demanding, this was the first time I was raising my voice on the Beta.

We’re not on the same level anymore, are we?

I am his Luna and he is the Pack’s Beta, there is a certain difference between the two of us.

“Elena, calm down,” he said, his voice calm and gentle.

“Don’t call me by my name!” I snapped at him and wheezed past him, heading out of the cursed garden.

“And don’t follow me either,” I added when I saw him running after me.

I didn’t look back again as I ran off to God knows where.

Tears blinded my eyes and the chilly air stung my skin mercilessly.

What have I ever done wrong to deserve this kind of lifetime punishment?

Why does everything and everyone always turn against me? I thought the Alpha loved me, I thought he was ready to make me happy.

Was it all out of pity? Is the fears I saw in my parents’ eyes coming to reality? Did he only make me his Luna to die like the two Lunas before I did?

I stopped running and leaned on the wall, gasping raspy for breath.

I looked around the unfamiliar surroundings and cringed when an eerie atmosphere enveloped me.

“Where am I, huh?” I whispered.

My words came echoing back at me, I realized that I was alone in this creepy place.

Has Nathan left me?

I shook my head negatively, trying so hard not to think about him. He doesn’t deserve my strings of thoughts.

A rough wind propelled me further into the unknown, I kept walking till my soul became sour, my throat was parched, and my body was slightly quivering from the cold wind blowing up my hair into disarrays.

“Someone help me!” My voice came out cracked and frail. I didn’t even hear myself speak. I felt lost, lost in a world of illusion and uncertainties.

My life is all jumbled up, it has always been. What am I going to meet now? My death, or worse a monster that will claim me as his out of pity and selfishness.

“I want to live anymore, I don’t want to…” The words got taken in my throat as I saw a dim light in the distance. I staggered up to my feet ( I fell when I couldn’t withstand the torment of the wind), and increased my pace as I sprinted towards the light, my only hope.

I have never been to this part of the Pack before, I do wonder if I am still in the castle because I don’t remember walking past the gate or the gruesome guard.

The closer I got the farther the light seemed to be. I kept walking anyway, I wouldn’t stop until I got to that light and embraced whatever it shone into me.

I’m ready for everything, death, and life.

At a point, I pulled off my shoes and staggered towards the light with every strength left in me.

Blood gushing from my feet left footprints on the rocky ground.

When I was a few feet away from the light, I figured out that the light was emitting from a house, an old retarded house.

I reduced my pace and studied it from a short distance. The house looked old and some of the bricks had fallen away. The annual heavy rain has done great damage to the holed roofs and it seems like no one has lived here for a long time.

An idea crept into my head and I chuckled.

“Don’t do it, Elena!” Oregon warned.

“Yes, I will,” I replied and trudged towards the deserted building.

This is the best place to hide away from Alpha Xander and Beta Nathan. No one will ever find me, I will start a new life, a life away from my family, from the good-hearted Luna, the Alpha, the Beta, and the entire wolf kingdom.

I finally got to the door and pushed it open, the door creaked, got stuck, and finally gave way for me.

I shuddered immediately as I stepped into the damp, cold room.

Candles were fixed on every gem-covered Chandelier. My mouth fell open in amazement as I looked at the red art on the walls.

“What if someone lives here?” Oregon came up again.

The art, Chandelier, and candles proved to me that someone lived there, but I brushed it aside and plodded deeper into the room.

My feet stopped shuffling further when I saw an oval-shaped table in the inner room, a candle was placed in the middle, and covered plates sipping out tantalizing aromas circled the table. It looked exactly like the dinner arrangement in the garden.

My stomach rumbled in delight at the scent of the meal, but my mind wasn’t on the food. My mind was fixed on leaving this place immediately.

I spun around to run out but my head collided with a hard chest. I groaned and soothed it with my trembling hands before looking up.

My eyes popped out of its sockets, my lips dried and my head swirled when I saw the gigantic beast standing right in front of me. Its eyes were glowing red and the hands were dripping in blood. The nose flared out hot smoke furiously, it parted its large lips and released a horrifying howl

My heart gave several sharp leaps and my feet gave way to the rotating ground which plunged me into darkness.