A shrill scream filled the silent night. It was nothing to Waylen at this point. The forest was filled with thousands of screams almost every second. At every minute, there was a fallen hero. The grasses were wet and not from the rains. The blood of the fallen coated every inch of the ground.
Waylen jumped over a body as he ran. He had no care for his life again. The singular thought in his head was to get to his wife. He left her behind when he heard the enemy was in the village, he dropped all and went for his wife. She was his world and he could not continue living if something happened to her.
The village looked even worse than the forest. Bodies were scattered everywhere. The houses were burning and the little children who had been spared were crying. He should stop and console them. Get them to safety. Assure them that everything was going to be alright but he just couldn't.
He saw his home come into sight and he pushed himself further. He ignored the burn in his ribs as he stopped at the front door. The doors were open but no sound came from within.
"Salma... my love where are you" there was no response from her. At this point, he wished he was one of the beasts. Her scent would have led him to her but unfortunately, he was human and he had to keep searching until he was able to find her.
His bedroom was the first place he checked. It was empty. He ran down the corridor and checked his children's room. They were all empty.
Where could she be? He was panicking at this point. Praying silently that the beasts didn't take her.
He heard a soft cry and followed it. The sight he met in the kitchen will forever haunt him. His wife lay lifeless, a giant hole in her stomach. Their four-year-old daughter sitting and staring in the distance. The word mama fell continuously from her lips.
"Salma" his voice broke. He fell to his knees taking her bloody hands in his. He was too late. His wife was gone. The tears fell freely from his eyes. He was supposed to protect her and take care of her.
Their little girl was unmoving. Her head kept replaying the images of her mother's death. She was hidden behind the cupboard and could do nothing but stare as her mother was murdered.
It was only after the men were gone that she crawled out of her hiding place and sat beside her mother.
After sitting beside her corpse for a long hour, he grabbed his daughter and kept her locked in a room. He went for his sword immediately after. The beasts will feel his wrath. He stormed out of the house. Tearing through any beast on his part. He had a single goal. Kill Gael. The leader of the beasts.
He came upon their dwelling and stopped at the sight he met. The proud warrior beast held his dead mate in his arms. His cries were loud, heart-wracking sobs that shook his mighty frame. Something moved in Waylen's heart, his sword dropping from his hands making a loud clatter on the ground. Gael's eyes raised at the sound and met his.
The beast only stared at him. He had no desire to fight anymore.
"We've been so foolish," he said with a humorless chuckle."We've killed for nothing. Look at us now"
Waylen said nothing and just looked at the man. A few beasts came into the area. They paid no attention to Waylen. Either they didn't see him or their entire focus was on their leader who held his dead mate.
"I won't fight anymore. It's either we end this war today or you kill me now"
"I don't want to fight anymore," Waylen said and the beasts shifted their attention to him.
He had lost the most important person in his life because of the war. A lot of his people were gone too. The war won't bring about any change. Just stagnation and more deaths. It was time to put an end to it.
With that, Waylen turned his back on the beasts and walked away from their land.
The survivors in the village looked to him for direction.
"The war has come to an end. Let us bury our own and rebuild our village" the announcement was met with a lot of cheers.
And so the rebuilding began. The dead were buried and slowly, the villagers began to move on.
In the fourth month after the end of the war, Gael visited the small village. The humans watched him in surprise as he walked through the village and to their leader's house.
Waylen was even more surprised to see the man in his office. He reached for his small knife under the table but Gael stopped him.
"There is no need for that. I come in peace" he lifted his hands in surrender and Waylen relaxed.
"Why are you here?"
"I want us to draw up a treaty. Since our war has ended and we silently agreed to live in peace, I think it's only right that we have a treaty that protects our people"
Waylen nodded in agreement. "My people will no longer hurt your people and your people will not hurt mine"
"Agreed. You...."
"Papa?" A small voice called from the doorway interrupting Gael. He turned to look at the small girl with wide blue eyes. The little girl's eyes traveled from her father to the strange man.
"Lucretia. I told you to stay in your room" her father scolded lightly.
"I had a bad dream," she said in a small voice.
"Go back to your room" he snapped at the little girl. She turned away but not before Gael saw the tears in her eyes.
The treaty was finalized and Gael returned to his land.
For six generations, the treaty remained in place. The two species lived together in harmony until the reigning human leader, Carwyn murdered the mate of the reigning beast.
The beast went on a rampage, killing everyone and everything in his path.
Tue treaty was destroyed and the beasts began to terrorize the humans. The humans now lived in fear of the beasts.
Pushed by his advisors, Carwyn tries to make amends. In a letter addressed to the beasts, he stated that;
'The human village will provide a female for the reigning beast'
The beasts accept their offer.
And so it began. The choosing of females. A family will be selected to provide for the female and when the girl comes of age, she would be sent to the Beasts as a mate.
The villagers were against this development but nothing could change it. The girls who refused to go were dragged forcefully by the human guards to the borders where the beasts would pick them up.
The girls taken were never seen again and the rumors started. It was whispered that the beasts killed the girls and disposed of the bodies.
Each family dreaded the choice. For they were scared to lose their daughters and even more scared of the consequences that would follow if they failed to provide a mate for the beast.
I removed my shoes at the entrance and rushed into the house. "Mama...Papa" I called but there was no response. The house was unusually silent and I wondered where my family could be. With a full house, it was rare to find the house empty or silent. I moved further into the house and realized the lights were off. My heart thumped in my chest. I easily got frightened and I was starting to feel some type of way. My hands trailed against the wall as I tried to find the light switch. My fingers found it but there was another finger there already. "Ahhhh" I screamed and jerked back. At the same time, the lights come on. "Happy birthday Paisley" shouts erupted from all corners of the room. I looked around and saw the whole family I had been searching for. They were holding a cake and flowers and sweets. "You frightened me" I scowled at them. The waves of laughter couldn't be stopped now. Everyone was laughing at my expression and soon enough I joined them. "Happy birthday my love"
The rest of the night was gloomy. The morning was even worse. So far, our family has never been selected but what if we were unlucky today. Nevaeh was quiet. Mama chewed on her fingers. It was a nervous habit. Papa was his normal self but I could tell he was worried. Coulter on the other hand was indifferent. I know he cared about us but right now he wasn't thinking about it. I took my shower quickly and wore a yellow dress. The hand straps were thin. The sun was already shining brightly. I was the last to join them in the living room. It was a bad habit I had. Coming late. Papa scolded me often but today he didn't spare me a glance. We started our trek to the town hall. Mama walked beside Papa and they talked in hushed tones. Coulter walked far ahead while Nevaeh and I walked together. The hall was full and our family took the vacant space by the window. Our leader Silas and his beautiful wife Harriet were not here yet. They had three daughters. They were below the age of twent
The house was silent. I thought the morning was bad, it was even worse. My mother silently cooked in the kitchen, father locked himself in the bedroom and Coulter was nowhere to be seen.I opened Nevaeh's bedroom door. She wiped her eyes quickly. "Nevaeh? Are you crying?""Of course not""That's a lie. There's tears in your eyes""I said it's nothing" she snapped. I plopped in her bed but she remained seated with her back facing me."You don't want to join me?" I asked and she sighed and lay down with me."I'm sorry for snapping at you""I'm not offended""Still. I shouldn't have. It's not like it's your fault""What do you think is going to happen" I asked her instead."We are the only daughters papa has""But I think something can be done. Maybe we can speak to the alpha and make him change his mind about it, maybe he can choose another family"She scoffed. "It doesn't work like that Paisley""But if...""Stop it Paisley" she said angrily and sat up again."Do you think the other f
I was sitting at the table alone drinking warm chocolate milk. Everyone has gone to bed but I just couldn’t find sleep. “Couldn’t sleep?” I turned round to see mama standing at the kitchen door.“No” she poured herself some chocolate milk and joined me. We sat in silence just staring at the stars.“Nevaeh didn’t mean any of the things she said. She’s only upset”“Why does she have to go. Why does any of us have to go to the beasts?”“It’s how it’s always been. From the time of your great grand parents till now. We can’t change it”“And so we have to accept abnormality as normal? It’s like you don’t even care you’re sending your daughter away”“Don’t say that. Of course I care. I’ll do anything to stop it but I can’t. If we don’t send Nevaeh, the wrath of the beasts will be upon us. Upon the village. Do you want so many to die because we don’t want our daughter taken?”“Why must Nevaeh be the savior?”“Other families have sent their daughters too. If they decided to keep their daughte
The pink place was busy as usual. It was an upscale restraint owned by Edel's sister Rhea and she was a bitch.I searched for Edel and when my eyes found him, I smiled. He waved me over and I joined him at the table. I leaned in for a kiss. He tried to deepen it but I chuckled and pulled away. "You brought cupcakes?" His face lit up as I handed the small bag over to him."I did. Nevaeh asked me to give them to you""Ohhhh. That was sweet of her. I love her cupcakes""You're not allowed to bring food in here" Rhea's annoying voice said from behind me."Don't start Rhea" Edel grumbled."It's the rules""Then maybe we should leave""I'm not saying that" she muttered before leaving our table."I don't know why she likes to act like that every damned time" he said with a frown."You should ignore her""Tell me. What has your family said about the choosing" I looked around. We were at a public place. "I don't want to talk about it here""Come on Paisley. I'm dying to know. We can talk in
"Shit. Shit" I muttered under my breath as I grabbed my bags. I ran out of the room only to realize that I was barefoot. I dropped the bag and ran into the room searching for my shoes. I found them and grabbed them putting them on as I ran out again grabbing my bags."Be careful Paisley" my mother shouted at the same time I hit my foot on the chair."Fuck" I cursed."You have to be careful. You'll hurt yourself" Nevaeh said from the kitchen doorways as she watched me run around like a headless chicken."I'm late Nevaeh. I'm in so much trouble" I hurried for the door."Don't forget to Kamiko" she called out before I slammed the door shut. Shit. I forgot to call her yesterday. The call would have to wait until later today. Firstly, I needed to get to work.I couldn't run on my feet. I was already so late. I took a cab to the office."You're late" the receptionist Patricia said to me cocking her head to the side."I know. My alarm didn't work this morning""You'll have to explain to the
I closed the last folder and grabbed my bag. It was evening already and I was exhausted. Most of the staff had gone home already. The light in the boss’s office was still on so I knew he was still around.Patricia was still at her table and I felt pity for her. I wonder who put up the stupid rule that the receptionist had to be at her desk until the boss decides to leave.“I’m leaving Patricia” she yawned tiredly.“I wish that bastard will finish already. I’m tired” she grumbled lowly.“His light is still on. I don’t think he’s going anytime soon. Give him an excuse or something”“Excuses don’t work on him. I’ll have to wait. Goodbye love”“Goodbye Patricia” I waved at her and exited the office. I reached into my bag and dialed Kamiko’s number. She picked on the first ring.“I’ve been waiting for your call”“I’m sorry. I had a lot to do and there was no time”“I’m upset with you”“And I’m sorry babe. Let’s do dinner”“At the pink place?”“Where else?”“I hate seeing Rhea’s face”“We h
I woke up early today and it didn’t take me long to get ready. I had about thirty minutes before work officially started.I knocked on the Nevaeh’s door but she didn’t respond.“Nevaeh”“Coming” she shouted from inside. Her voice sounded much better so I felt at ease.She opened the door and I entered.“You didn’t open yesterday” I said in an accusing voice.“I’m sorry Paisley. I just… we have only four days until they come for me”“Stop talking about leaving Nevaeh. I’m going to see Silas today”“Promise me Paisley. That you’ll get me out of this”“I promise Nevaeh” I squeezed her hands. My phone rang and I reached into my bag.“Patricia. I’m awake and already on my way”“There’s no need for that” I frowned.“Why? Did I get fired”“No. The boss asked us not to come in today”“What? Are you serious?”“Yes. He said we should consider it an off day”“I can’t believe it”“What’s that?” Nevaeh asked. “The boss gave us an off day” her eyes widened.“I’ll talk to you later Paisley. I have