Kacchan We Were Five

Blurb Ever since the war, humans were no longer the world's dominator. Supernatural creatures broke the peace treaty and colluded together to overthrew humans’ rule. After we failed completely in the battlefield, they decided to ‘purge’ the world of evil humanity. I survived from death in that brutal slaughter but was captured and imprisoned in a dungeon where I had now lived for five years. Business was the only reason why they kept immatures and even spared us shelter and food. When we reached 18, we’d be sold as slaves. That night I was bought by a mysterious guest and taken to somewhere I had never been to or heard of. My work was to serve three noble masters residing there. They were all supernatural, but decent and reasonable. So it’s better for me to carry out the plan for escaping. It all went well until someone attacked me. And the secret behind us began to be revealed.

I loved Stella for five years, and we were even engaged. However, she never helped when my grandfather was dying, all because the adopted son of my family suggested that she should use the opportunity to put me through adversity—so that I would toughen up. After my grandfather died helplessly, I toughened up just as she hoped for, no longer relying on her for everything. Naturally, I no longer loved her anymore either.

We were taken. We were imprisoned. We were starved. We were abused. We were slaughtered. We were hopeless. Then... we were saved. We are a group of women, surviving against all odds against those who oppress us. We don't back down no matter how bleak the odds, and we will triumph against those who wish to use us for their own gain. We are many, and we will not be prey ever again.

When I went to reissue my mate certificate, the Werewolf Affairs Division told me, "Your mate certificate is a forgery. We have no record of your registration." I stared at the clerk, unable to believe what I was hearing. "But Sam and I registered five years ago. That's impossible. Could you please check again?" The clerk gave me a look before double-checking the files. "We found Alpha Sam's record. But the registered mate… isn't you." My voice trembled. "Then who is Sam's legal mate?" The clerk didn't hesitate. "Lily." I gripped the back of the chair, white-knuckled, just to keep myself upright. Until the clerk had spoken that name, I'd still held on to hope. Maybe it was a clerical error. A mix-up. But of all people, it had to be Lily, Sam's childhood friend. And suddenly, everything started to make sense. In five years of being Sam's mate, he had never marked me. We'd only held a mating ceremony—no certificate, no legal bond. I had given up everything for that ceremony, poured all my hope and love into it, believing I was his, only to find the certificate was fake. The five years I'd thought were mine—our happiness—had all been a lie, crafted and upheld by appearances. If none of it was truly mine, then there's only one thing left for me to do. Leave.

My mate's adoptive sister asked me to go for a walk in the mountain forest and we encountered a sudden flash flood. My mate Nathan, the Alpha of Snow Peak pack, rushed to save us. But because we were both trapped on a breaking tree branch above the raging flood, he could only save one person at a time. To save his physically weak adoptive sister, my mate abandoned me - his Luna who was five months pregnant. I begged him desperately to save me. He watched as the flood waters dragged me under. "Sarah has always been weak since childhood. If we leave her here, she'll die." "Your wolf is strong enough to swim, but Sarah can't swim." But after my death, he went mad.

Legora, the largest capital city in the world. Once one of nine, now there are four. We had lost five cities in the great calamity. Creatures from god knows where poured in from a tear in the earth. A dimensional tear in space and time the scientists called it, but really who the fuck knows? All I know is they were bigger, stronger, looked nothing like us and they outnumbered us hundred to one. An overwhelming amount of refugees flooded the other cities, telling tall tales of heroes rising and taking on four to six creatures at a time. they fought them off while the rest escaped. Delusions, false hope, call it whatever you want we all knew nothing was coming to save us. We sharpened our swords and barricade our homes. The creatures would find us, just like they found all the other cities.

My childhood sweetheart who promised to marry me the moment I graduated proposed to Camille Willow, my sister, during my graduation ceremony. At that moment, Dennis Malcolm, the most eligible and admired bachelor in Blington City's elite circle, stepped forward and confessed his love for me immediately after my childhood sweetheart's proposal was accepted. For five years after our marriage, Dennis showered me with devotion, treating me with such tenderness that it felt as though I were the center of his world. But everything shattered the day I overheard a conversation between him and his close friend. "Dennis, now that Camille's on top, are you really going to keep pretending with Tracy?" "It doesn't matter. I'll never have Camille. Besides, as long as I'm here, she'll never disrupt Camille's happiness," he answered. The paper notes he held dear, each one carefully preserved, revealed a harsh truth. Each one carried her name, accompanied by heartfelt wishes: "May Camille be released from her burdens. May she find peace within herself." "May Camille achieve all she dreams of, and may her heart love freely." "Camille, we were never meant to be together in this life. I can only hope that in another, we will walk side by side." … Five years of devotion shattered in a single moment of clarity. I crafted a false identity and planned an elaborate drowning to vanish without a trace. From this day forward, in this life and all others, we shall never cross paths again.

I no longer recognize myself. Not recognizing who I have turned to. Maybe it was meant to be this way. I don’t know how within the space of five years I and Noah turned into something that was never in my imagination. We turned to strangers. At this time four years ago, we were the newest couple, the Hollywood upcoming celebrities that everyone was rooting for, our relationship was the envy of the whole Hollywood… then everything changed. Then I threw it all away… even though I knew that he was ’it’ for me. I got greedy. I tried to match up his fame which was silly. You can’t compare a god and a prodigy. I was a prodigy but Noah…. He was a god.

I dated my lawyer boyfriend for five years. He canceled our wedding. Fifty-two times. First time? His intern messed up some paperwork. He ditched me at the beach to fix it. I waited all day. Alone. Second time, we were mid-ceremony when he bolted. Heard that intern was getting heat from another lawyer and left me to face the guests and their stares. After that, every time we tried again, there was always some "emergency" with her. Always. I finally hit my limit. I was done. Packed up and broke it off. But the day I left Ainsley? He totally lost it trying to find me.

The day I decided to file for divorce, Dean Potter couldn’t wait to draft the divorce agreement. Five years ago, he had been forced to marry me, and now he was finally free. On the day we were finalizing the divorce, Dean arrived with his new flame, radiating delight mixed with a hint of mockery. “Veronica Byrd, look at you—you’re miserable.” I watched his figure fade into the distance, my vision blurring. Miserable? In the next life, it wouldn't happen again.