Chapter 2

"WHERE IS SHE!" I heard the voice thundered inside the mansion which made me run faster. My tears were falling faster than my sweat so I wiped them off. 

I did not bother stopping to catch my breath. I can't waste a single second. I need to get away from here! My vision is blurry because of my tears but I still kept on running. 

I entered the dark forest as the wind caressed my face. My heart was beating loud, as if a scream held out for too long has now got out. I breathed deeply to stop my tears from pooling again. I need be strong or I'll die right here. 

Barefoot, bleeding, and already running out of breath, yet I know I do not have the luxury to rest. The dress once white and elegant is now ruined and filled with dirt.

The forest was endless and so as the darkness but I am more afraid of the ones chasing me than the mystery waiting ahead of me. 

I don't know who they are... All I know is they want me gone-- or worse, found. 

My adoptive parents... They sold me to someone for money, and now, all I can do is to run for my life and leave the house which is the only memory of my parents. 

The moon, watched me from above as I was trying to fight for life which from the start is already meaningless. I don't know why I am still fighting, I don't know what I'm running from, and I don't know where I'm running to, all I can see is the moon trying to guide me somewhere so I followed it. 

I did not bother looking back nor screaming for help. I have no one now but myself. Shouting for help will only help them find me faster. 

"Just keep on running," I whispered to myself with a shaky voice, already exhausted from the long run but I can't stop now. "Just follow the moon, Aria. That's the only thing you can trust now."

I tried catching my breath without stopping but that seems impossible. 

The deeper I went, the stranger the forest became but I didn't stop because stillness means death. I will suffer more if I rest now. 

A distant howl curled through the air, as if trying to reach me. My pulse stuttered. Is it a human? An animal? I don't know. I don't want to find out and I don't want to look back thinking that someone-- or something must already be behind my back. 

I ran-- half crawling. The sharp stones and branches were piercing through my skin and my dress is already filled with blood but I could not care less. If I die tonight, I will die alone but I still know I fought. 

My heart was thumping loudly but I kept on following where the moon is taking me as if it's the only salvation I have. 

The trees parted, just enough for me to see a clearing ahead as the moonlight kissed my skin. I ran as fast as I can you reach it. 

I don't know what's in there...

I don't know if it's safe but all I want is to escape what might be behind me. 

Please... If someone can hear my thought, please save me...

Tears ran down on my cheeks as I collapsed, not of relief, but of exhaustion. For the first time in hours of running, the forest listened. And for the first time, I breathed. 

Still, I know the night was not done with me yet and the moon will still lead me to something deeper. 

_______

I woke up catching my breath and covered with sweat. My tears are running down on my cheeks as I tried to calm down but I can't. I breathed deeply to stop the fast beating of my heart. 

The same nightmare again. It's still the same memory which has been haunting me for years. The same nightmare who seemed to have not rested yet from going after me. 

"It's better now, Aria... It's not over yet but you still managed to run away," I whispered to myself. The fast beating of my heart was louder than silence. 

No matter how many time I tell myself that I was able to runaway, they still didn't stop. My nightmares never left me. 

I wiped off my tears when someone knocked on the door. There, Jessica entered with the usual warm smile on her face. The only one who knows my story and the one who found me lying on the ground helplessly that night. 

"I brought you a dress." She proudly showed me a dress which I didn't notice when she entered. 

It's a white dress with a blush of dawn. It shimmered faintly under the moonlight entering from the window. It is covered with intricate embroidery and tiny threads of silver and pearl-like beads that are traced along like vines... Like those vines which made me trip over while running. 

The dress... It looks just like the one I was wearing that night. Elegant yet mysterious but was ruined by fear and blood. 

"For what?" My eyebrows furrowed while looking at it. I did not let her read what I was thinking. 

"Everyone is required to attend the banquet. And when I say everyone, I mean everyone, including you, Aria" she gave me a sharp look as if she already knew what I was thinking "No escaping this time," she warned me. 

"No one will notice if I won't attend," I reasoned out even though I know I have no chance to win on her. I don't like balls nor banquets. I don't belong there. 

"Well, I will notice it if you won't come." She gave me a smirk as if implying that she won.

"Fine, then." I sighed out of defeat. "But I won't wear that. I will wear my own dress"

"Oh, come on! I know you have no dresses. You don't even buy yourself new clothes!" She rolled her eyes and pointed at my closet. 

"The banquet is supposed to be for you, not for my kind. I should be the one serving the guests, rather than being part of them," I said as I lied down and covered myself with a blanket. 

"It's the Alpha's order. He wants everyone to attend the banquet because there, he will introduce his mate." This time her voice were like a whisper but the weight of it feels heavy for me. 

"I'll leave this here for you. You should attend because I heard from my parents that there will be punishments for those who failed to come," she continued. I felt her placed the dress on my bed before leaving. 

He'll introduce his mate for what? To let the people know who will face the punishment of being fated with him? As if an offering to the Almighty for the power he gave him. 

I don't think that's something to be proud of... I don't think that's something to be celebrated by everyone. If it's a curse, then let it be treated as a curse rather than a privilege. 

But what if he's one on of them? What if he's one of the people who

were chasing me that night? What if he's here to kill me? 

I hope not.