6

I often thought of luck as a two sided coin. While some are blessed to always receive the good side, some get both. And for people like me, we received nothing other than ill fate.

I'd always wondered what I would do to have a taste of that good side but recent events have forced me to understand that for some people, ill luck will always be that companion you can never shake off.

The world around me moved but I refused to. Since I'd opened my eyes, I'd known I never made it out of the misty hills packs. How I'd gotten back here, I had no idea.

My mind was mostly a mess. I'd encountered something in that forest. A beast... or man. Or maybe both.

My body had not reacted out of fear but want. Something I'd never felt in Caleb's presence. I remembered the pleasure, the thrill, and the explosive desire that I had felt. It left me feeling confused.

Despite all I'd felt, he was still a beast. So why didn't I run from him?

"Hey" a soft voice called and I tilted my head. A girl was staring down at me. She looked to be around my age and she had a warm smile that instantly put me on edge.

I'd learned my lesson in a hard way. That warm smiles and friendly gestures are only false comfort wrapped like a velvet trap. You get lured into believing the deception and you end up with a dagger stabbed in your chest. And sometimes, you lose your wolf.

I tried hard not to think about my loss. Our wolves were the most important part of us. The reason for our being but I'd lost mine because of my foolishness.

"You've been staring at the same space for quite a while now. Are you okay?" I don't respond.

"I'm Isabelle" she offered her name but I ignored her.

"You must be sad about your failed escape attempt" Her voice wasn't malicious. It conveyed a sense of pity. Her words had finally captured my attention.

"You were in that wagon?" She nodded, her eyes shining.

"You offered me to join you but I couldn't. It was dangerous" she explained in a small voice.

"The beast was moving about" she whispered as she glanced around.

"You know who the beast is?" I probed and she shrugged.

"Everyone has heard of the beast but no one has ever seen him. At least they haven't lived to tell the story" so she didn't know who he was exactly. Only the stories that came from rumors.

"I'm glad you were brought back safely" she added.

"Someone brought me back?" She nodded.

"A guard. You were passed out" I frowned. They had seen that I escaped but brought me back just like that? Something didn't feel right.

"By the way, how did you manage to unlock that door. I've never seen..."

"How long was I out?" I cut her off, changing the direction of her questions.

"Through the night. It's midday now. They should be here to tell us what next to do" a loud sound followed her words and all attention shifted to the man who stood at the door.

He was a man of average height with a stern face. Deep lines graced his forehead. He wasn't frowning but his face seemed to be stuck with that expression. Perhaps years of frowning had made it so.

"I'm Alfred" he announced. His voice was loud, unbroken, and firm. One could tell he was experienced in giving out loud commands.

"I'll be in charge of you and your duties. There's no room for second chances in this castle. Make one mistake and you're done" his eyes gleamed as he spoke.

"For now, you'll be assigned duties randomly until a permanent schedule is fixed. Fill in your name and age here" he held out a long paper sheet.

One by one we stalked forward and penned down our names and then he was gone, leaving us in the same atmosphere he had met us.

Isabelle had gone off to some of the other girls, probably tired of my unwillingness to talk. I was left to my dire thoughts.

I couldn't stay here. I had been kicked down to the lowest I've ever been but I refused to remain there. Fate had decided what would become of me but I was done letting it take control of my life.

Instead of waiting for the coin to flip to my favor, I was going to forge my own path. Leave this pack and get Paula. I won't sit back and wait for my curse to destroy me. I may have lost my wolf and every other thing, but something new had been born within me. The desire to live and change my destiny.

Like Alfred had said, our tasks had been assigned randomly. I got cleaning first and then gardening. It was expected to change every day, and while others complained, I took time to map out the area. The castle was heavily guarded but I knew there had to be a way to leave without getting detected.

My attentiveness didn't go unnoticed. Isabelle was like a hawk. While I watched the surroundings, she watched me.

"Don't bother" she mutters one day when we had a shared duty.

"Whatever are you talking about?"

"Your plans to escape. I see you scanning the environment. It's useless. You'll get caught and punished. Severely" she added for good measure to scare me into giving up but I ignored.

She stuck close much to my annoyance. She wasn't a terrible person but I had no intention of trusting her.

By the end of the week, I'd found something. The gates through the dungeon. We had cleaned there once and I'd seen a guard move things. That was my best chance. Nobody would expect me to go down to the dungeon and make an escape.

That night when others slept, I stayed awake. I recounted my plan in my head and when silence settled over the castle, I moved.

I'd sneaked out of my home a good number of times. Despite her sickness, Paula had sharp hearing so I had to be extra careful.

Of course, that was nothing compared to what I had to do now and so I had to be twice as careful.

I found the dungeon gates and a guard deeply asleep. The key hung off his belt and I crouched to get it.

The chair squeaked as he stirred in his sleep and I stilled, holding my breath until he settled again. I plucked the single key off its belt and then I unlocked the gate.

It creaked and then it went silent. I stared at the guard who remained deeply asleep and then I continued. The dungeon was silent just like the upper floors. Prisoners also sleep. I thought to myself as I continued, following the path that I had memorized.

I arrived in a strange hallway. Two doors on both sides of the wall. It had to be one of them.

I chose the one on my right without so much as a thought and then I pushed it open and my stomach churned as I took in the scene before me.

A man was being tortured.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" A cold voice asked from the shadows.