Leora

Fear...

So much fear...

It hits me like massive tide waves, one after the other, not giving my mind the chance to calm and think about my next move, Hell I can't even think about my current one, I just keep on running, breathless and terrified beyond words...

While my bare feet make contact with the dewy grass beneath me as I run for dear life, I keep reminding myself not to turn around, I am afraid to look back and find the faces of the ones I once considered as my family with the look of loath and malice on them, I am afraid to look forward and be met with all the horrors I have been hiding from, I am afraid to close my eyes and be met with the nightmares that were hiding in the dark parts of my mind…

Therefore, and for the first time in my life, I am thankful for my tears as they blur my vision and I can't see anything as I ran aimlessly in the night forest, unable to stop myself from wondering…

Was love such a horrible crime for me to deserve such a cruel punishment?

All I did was fall in love with the wrong person who was right in every single way, and because of this love, the one I still carry inside my every cell, because of this stupid heart of mine that refused to surrender when fate said its last word, here I am...

Charged guilty for a crime I didn't commit... An accusation that made everyone turn against me in a second, as if they never knew me.

They just all pointed at me accusingly, blaming the outsider they never wanted since the very beginning…

And it all showed in the way they all cursed me, humiliated me, tortured me, starved me, and then clapped approvingly when the alpha banished me..

The alpha, Axel Silvermoon, my childhood friend, my savior, my one and only love.…

My legs give up on me when I remember him and I can't run anymore, his steal grey eyes hunt me in my escape, the eyes that always looked at me with warmth were filled with anger and hatred, not to forget the betrayal, he thought i betrayed him, he thought I tried to hurt him in that unspeakable way, and it was that look in his eyes that managed to do what his torturing couldn't…

Break me.

A loud howl pulls me out of my miserable thoughts and brings me back to reality, reminding me that I need to keep running if I wanted to live, I know what that howl means, it is a sign for the warrior wolves to begin the hunt, with me being their target.

I must get off the whole area before they find me, or else, I will shredded by their claws, this was the way the Silvermoon pack liked to punish the outlaws, set them free and then send the warriors after them to hunt and kill brutally.

Ignoring the pain and exhaustion, I take off running once again, not sure of the direction I am going for, all i know is that the wolves howls seem a bit farther now which relieves me for a second before I stumble on a bulging root, the cold bushes welcomes my shivering body as i fall down and bump my head on a salient stone, causing an ugly wound to form on my already wounded forehead, I feel the warm blood gushing out of it to cover my face but I don't even bother to wipe it off my eyes, instead I pick myself up force myself to run faster than before as réalisation hits me.

I am bleeding.…

The scent of my blood is spreading in the forest as I run, notifying all the possible predators about my existence.

And just like that, dying by the claws of the warriors became the least of my worries, because I know what is out there, I know what will happen if any of those monsters got to me, I have to get out of here fast...

I must live...

I can't die!

I don't want to die!

Not yet...not here!

"Well, well, well! What do we have here?" I halt in my steps as I hear the angelic feminine voice, the words were spoken with so much 

meekness and softness, but non of that made me feel at ease, if anything, it made the hair on my body stand as I scanned my surroundings, at first, all I see is trees and bushes, but then my eyes land on the slim figure that appeared from behind a large tank...

The woman was gorgeous in her silky white dress, her hair like sun rays shining even in this moonless night, her smile soft on her fair complexions, reminding me of a certain girl I hated, the one I was bannished for, I took a step back, knowing exactly what this woman was...

A white witch...

"Now, now, don't be afraid child, we will not hurt you!" A second woman appeared from my side, and just like the first one, her whole appearance radiated with light and warmth, but I was no fool to fall for their looks, I knew better than to trust a witch, any witch, with the white ones being no exception…

"Stay away from me!" I say through gritted teeth, trying to sound as menacing as I can even though I knew for a fact that I had no chance in defeating a single, let alone two witches, I wasn't a wolf even though I lived in a pack, I wasn't human either, I was just an ordinary person with some unexplainable abilities that were of no use in my current situation, I knew I could not fight them, which left me with no choice but to escape…

And that is what I did,I turned around swiftly to make a run for myself only to be thrown back by something, it felt like a blow of wind but stronger and more solid, the attack causes me to fly back and land right under the first witch's feet, and that is when I realized that I have failed to notice the third witch that was behind me all along.…

A fatal mistake, I thought as I glared at the witch who was looking down at me with a soft smile on her face, refusing to let her see the fear in me, especially when she looked so much like the bane of my existence…

Ciana…

"You can't leave us now! Not after all of our efforts to find you!" The third witch says with a hint of blame and sadness in her voice, as if she was talking to a long lost friend, these leaches, hiding their disgusting selves and intentions behind that polished facade of theirs...

"You must come back with us, dear, to where you belong, your fate is waiting for you and you have been hiding from it for so long!" As I hear those words, I can't help but shiver in fear, my body betraying me while the meaning register in my mind, I know where she is planning to take me, and I would rather die than go back there, to the hell that was my past, what I do not understand though was, what did the white witches have to do with it?

"You can't fight fate, little one, nor hide from it, It will always come back to find you..." The witch on my side steps forward, a chain in her hand and an evil glint in her eyes, I try to stand up but the first which steps on my head, pushing me down against the dewy grass, holding me in place while her sisters circle me...

This can't be it!

I can't die here!

Help!

Someone, please, help!!

Axel! 

I close my eyes as I plea for the love of my life to come and save me, but instead of his delicious scent, I smell a beasty one followed by a horrifying growl, one that breaks all my resistance and leave me sobbing in fear...

I know that growl, It always hunted me in my sleep, but right now, It feels much more frightening, much closer, and much realer...

This all just feels like a never ending nightmare that keeps on getting worse, with my face pressed on the ground, I sense the angry and vicious steps approaching, the air around us change as it is suddenly saturated with a metallic scent, the atmosphere becomes heavy with the threatening aura of the predator...

I take my words back, I no longer wish to survive, I want to die before the creature gets here, I want the witches to kill me instead of being butchered by it...

Please, Moon Goddess, you have been so cruel to me so far, so just this once, please end my suffering…

I close my eyes and don't dare reopen them, not even when i hear the screams and curses of the three witches that quickly fade, but when so much time pass and the voices die, I open them slowly to see it, my worst nightmare, standing in front of me...

All I remember after that is fear, and nothing but fear as darkness took over...