CHAPTER FOUR.

ANDREA

The next day was spent going through the medicals and getting me ready to leave the Pack in two days time. I couldn't ignore the tone of the Crescent Moon Warriors as they spoke to me from thereon.

I was respected, and the guards followed me everywhere I went, but that didn't mean a damn thing to me now because I was the only one who understood what things were this way. It was a very bright and sunny day, unlike the dark and gloomy turmoil in my heart.

I could hear the footsteps of the stylists as they walked around the room, chatting loudly and praising me. I sat in front of the vanity as they did their job. But despite the whole makeover, I was still gloomy from the way my destiny or perhaps the course of my life was headed. The stylist adjusted the veil I was wearing, her face spread into a smile.

"You look stunning, your grace." She said, beaming as she found the perfect fit. I wore a flowing white gown of delicate lace and perfect silk. The stylist adjusted my veil once again before quickly adjusting it back to the previous one.

"Thank you." I forced out a smile, doing everything to let them think I wasn't sad and dying deep down. But Jenny seemed to have noticed my internally brooding.

"Your Grace, is everything OK?" She asked, her brows coming together. "Am I hurting you?" She asked, having been in oblivion of how I looked ever since. I shook my head gently, still poker-faced.

"Of course not, Jenny." I added, "Just a bit anxious."

"Oh," she chuckled. "It happens your Grace." She didn't say any other word, probably because she knew my predicament. Marrying someone I didn't want to, so shutting up would be a way to avert reminding me of it. My father walked into the room as soon as they were done.

Seeing him had me sobbing again. I took out my hanky and dabbed the tears. I didn't want to tell him that I wasn't wasn't for this, after I gave him my consent.

"You look stunning." He beamed, chuckling as he walked towards me. But he stopped dead in his tracks the moment he saw me in tears.

"Andrea..." He called, his voice tightening. "It's OK. I know it's hard but sometimes we must make sacrifices. You will be a great Luna, and I'm sure you will bring honor to our Pack."

I nodded, knowing he was only sugar-coating it all, because all I expected was being used as a breeding tool for the Pack, churning up kids when the Alpha needed one. The prospect of such a future made me shiver, but I knew it was so close. But what if I escaped? I thought, but I expelled the idea immediately.

Besides being caught by the guards, that would mean leaving my father in the mercy of those bastards. I nodded, smiling as I dabbed my tears. That's when a knock sounded on the door. The Warriors came to inform us that it was time to leave.

I hugged him again, knowing that this would be the last time we were going to see in a very long time. I already missed him, the Pack, the early morning training, the moments we snuck into the cabin- No! I reminded myself that I'd drawn a line at that. We quickly walked out of the room and descended the grand staircase with my father by my side.

A large crowd had gathered in the courtyard of the Packhouse to send me off. The sea of unfamiliar faces that had known me since birth erupted in shouts of joy when they saw me appear in front of the doorway. And for the first time in a few days, I felt a bit glad, as though I knew someone was rooting for me. But I knew also that it would fade soon, and they would go back to their lives.

They cheered me on as my father and I walked through the space that had been made by the crowd. The three warriors followed closely, breathing down our neck. From the distance, I sighted a carriage, and my heart jumped.

It was a large one, black, driven by three large, white horses. The door was already open from a distance. I knew that that was it. There was no going back now. My heart was beating fast as we got closer.

My father turned towards me. "Be a good Luna, Andrea. I believe I've taught you enough. Serve your Pack with honor and-" He was quickly interrupted by one of the men.

"That's enough." The man commanded, seizing my arm instantly. I tried to wriggle my hand from his grip but he didn't pay any attention to me and began to lead me towards the carriage. I whipped my head around, trying to catch sight of my father, but the guard's body blocked me.

His breathing was furious as we got to the carriage. He held me onto the carriage before leading me to a chair.

"Let go!" I wiggled, pushing him off. He reluctantly left me alone, but there was a snide expression on his face. I turned my head towards the window only to see my father standing there in the midst of his guards. The tears were threatening to spill again but I held them, not wanting to give the guards the satisfaction of seeing me in tears.

Our eyes were locked, and I could tell he was sad as well. That's when the carriage jerked, startling me. One of the warriors yelled a curse at the chauffeur, fuming. It wasn't long before the tires began to roll and the carriage began to move. I shook my head in pain, still angst-ridden about my future.

But I could only wait to find out what it would look like. The ride back to the Crescent Moon Pack was quite uneventful, for the most part. I kept staring out of the window, filled with the angst about my future and how things were going to turn out for me. I had heard rumors about Apha Ronin and his evil exploits.

There was armor about how he had wiped out a whole Pack, how he was very brutal and had no dent of forgiveness in his heart. Thinking about it had my guts churning with uneasiness, and no matter how much I tried to calm myself and remind myself that things would turn out well, I still felt so uneasy.

The silence was very heavy with the weight of the lucid future. We were interrupted when the carriage rolled to a stop. The three men who sat around me jerked up immediately, before one of them yelled at the chauffeur.

"What are you doing?" He asked, staring straight ahead. The man looked back in our direction.

"The horses seem to be scared of your grace. I don't know what's happening." He said, before lashing out the whip on the horses once again. From where I sat, I could see the two powerful beasts neigh before spooking in a totally different direction and no matter how much the man tried to get them back, they reared up before running off madly into another direction.

The carriage kept knocking me around, and it wasn't long before I hit my head on an iron which stuck out of the headrest.

"What is going on?" One of the men yelled again, this time angry. I groaned in pain, but none of them seemed to hear me. The pain was gradually spreading to other parts of my head and the dizziness was starting to creep in.

The yelling men weren't helping matters at all. One of them jumped out immediately once the horses were a bit calm. The rest remained, and that's when they noticed I had been hurt.

"What's wrong?" One of them asked, but that's when someone yelled in front of us. It was undoubtedly the chauffeur. The carriage immediately tilted, causing me to smash my head on the glass. The glass shattered instantly. I tried to push my head back into the carriage but that's that's I caught sight of something in the distance.

There were a dozen men running towards the carriage. One of the guards punched the glass, shattering the edges before drawing me back into the carriage.

"We've been attacked!" The guard that had left earlier yelled. The two guards immediately made their way out, fighting back the enemies that had descended on us like vengeful shadows. I heard growls as the guards fought back.

I was scared for an instant, but my warrior instincts kicked in almost immediately. Without hesitation, I reached for the concealed dagger which was beneath my gown. My fingers were trembling but I was willing to put my life in the line.

I quickly jumped out of the carriage, dodging the knife that nearly sliced my nose off. The muscular man approached me immediately, his knife pointed in my direction but before he could do something, I pierced the skull into his brain and finished it off with a blow that floored him instantly.

That's when I felt a sharp pain on my head. For a second, I blacked out. Another sharp straightened me immediately and in a moment, someone had grabbed me by the throat.

"Let go of me, you sick fuck!" I yelled, struggling but the grasp was inexorable. I reached for my dagger as it wasn't there.

"Leave her alone!' One of them yelled, rubbing towards us but the man that had grabbed me materialized a blade, putting it across my neck.

"Come any closer," he whispered. "And she's dead."