Chapter 0005

~Daphne~

‘’Run, survive, don’t look back.’’

My mother’s words resounded like an urgent whisper in my mind. The memory of her voice was vivid, and while listening to it, I suddenly felt a searing pain piercing my body, as if arrows had stuck me. The impact felt as if I had been hit by a hot blade slicing through my skin, leaving me feeling shattered. I felt myself falling into darkness as if dragged to a bottomless pit.

Then, without warning, I gasped for breath, my lungs burning as if I had been starved of air. My eyes fluttered open to a blinding light above my head. The intensity of the light caused me to squint. The light was so bright that it made me blink repeatedly until I could finally adjust to it. The pungent smell of bleach assaulted my nostrils, mingling with the antiseptic scent of the hospital disinfectant, and it made my head spin.

The constant beeping of the machine beside me made me know that I was indeed in a hospital. I was alive, but barely, and I was confused about where I was. I struggled to sit up, but a sharp pain shot through my side, forcing me to go back to the pillows. The door suddenly opened, causing me to sit up again, and my heart started racing again when a woman in a white coat rushed in, followed by two men in black suits. My mind raced with questions, wondering if I had returned to my previous pack.

‘’where am I!’’ I shouted. ‘’what do you want from me!’’My screams echoed through the room as I yanked out the dome of the wires from my body. I knew that I was not in the pack’s hospital, but I didn’t know where I was.

Before they could respond, someone walked in. I could feel the power radiating from him as he approached me. His eyes were piercing amber gold, and he had a rugged jawline. He wore a stern expression as he looked at me, then spoke out in a husky voice.

I shouldn’t be here.

I tried to jump out of my bed and ended up falling to the ground, whimpering in pain.

"I should be asking you that," the man growled." What the hell are you? Where did you come from?"

I raised my head to look at him and tried to stand up again but fell. I was supposed to be dead, but somehow, I was alive. It was a miracle, or perhaps the moon goddess heard my cry that night and Saved my life.

‘’who are you?’’ my voice came out like a plead for help. ‘’what did you do to me!’’ I was still on the floor.

The man loomed over me, his eyes glinting with a frown. I scrambled to my feet, every bone in my body screaming in protest for me to stop, but I didn't. I rushed to grab a pair of scissors from the doctor’s tray and pointed it at the man with trembling hands.

‘’Has Dane sent you to kill me?’’ I spat. If he was working with Dane, I had to know so I could end his life at that moment.

The man chuckled in a low, menacing sound and leaned closer to me. He grasped the scissor from me and threw it on the floor. I could feel the anger in his eyes. They bore a resemblance to Dane’s.

‘’I am the one who saved your life,’’ he growled as his amber gold eyes met mine. ‘’you should be on your knees thanking me for saving you from bleeding to death!’’

His words hit me like a punch to the gut, and my eyes widened in shock. I suddenly remembered my baby, and my hand went to my stomach. ‘’my…my baby?’’ I whispered. What about my baby? No one had said anything about it. ‘’Doctor,’’ I turned towards her.

She lowered her head as she spoke. ‘’I am sorry, the baby didn’t survive.’’

A wail tore from my throat, and I yanked my hand freed from the strange man, and I collapsed to the floor. My body shook terribly as I sobbed. I knew that the baby wouldn’t survive when I hit my stomach on the rock. ‘’Dane!’’ he was the cause of this. ‘’you have ruined everything! You’ve taken everything from me!’’

Tears streamed down my face, and I felt like I was drowning in a sea of despair. The pain was suffocating, and it was crushing me. How could this have happened to me?

I shouldn’t be here. I had to make things, so I tried to stand up, but my legs trembled beneath, and I almost fell. The man’s strong arms caught me, holding me upright. Our eyes met, and I looked at him with tears brimming with tears. " Who are you? And where am I?"

‘’Blood pack and I am the alpha.’’

My eyes widened in shock. The Blood Pack was rumored to be the most ruthless pack, and their alpha, Zephyr Blackwood, was said to be a monster with no mercy. But he had saved my life.

I slightly let go of his arm and bowed my head. ‘’Thank you, alpha zephyr,’’ I muttered. If not for him, I would have died. ‘’ I must leave now,’’ I yanked the last wire and tube attached to my body and staggered towards the door.

‘’wait, you are not well,’’ The doctor tried to stop me.

" Let her go," Alpha Zephyr said, his voice harsh, like he didn’t even want me to be there. He made it clear that he wanted me to leave.

I didn’t look back, my eyes fixed on the door as I stumbled towards it. I had to find Dane and make him regret what he had done to me. I walked towards the border of the blood pack until I reached the forest, dragging myself. My body was weak from blood loss, but I continued to walk, hoping to get to my pack fast and confront Dane.

I walked for two days, surviving on water from streams and berries I found on the way. I slept under the shade of trees at night, my body shivering coldly. By the time I finally reached the outskirts of my previous pack, I was already pale and weak. I covered my face with my clothes, trying to hide my identity as I walked through the familiar streets. I didn’t want to be recognized. I didn’t want to face the pack that had betrayed me.

As I walked past the pack houses, I heard whispers and murmurs.

‘’Did you hear? Alpha Dane is getting married to someone else!’’

‘’Finally, we will have a good luna.’’

A new luna? Alexa? The words cut through me like a knife. Dane was replacing me, moving on after ruining my life.

I quickened my pace, desperate to find out if it was true. I dragged myself to the ceremony place and saw them. Dane and Alexa were kissing passionately, forgetting that they ruined my life. Tears streamed down my face as I felt a surge of anger radiating through me. I wanted to attack them, to scratch their faces and tear them apart. But I didn’t. Instead, I turned around and left the pack, knowing I had no hope.

I walked back to the forest, and once I was away from prying eyes, I fell on my knees and cried out in pain. I wept for my lost child, my mother, and my shattered life. My cries echoed through the trees as I let out a loud snarl. After a moment, I stood up and walked towards a cliff at the end of the border. I closed my eyes and spread my arms wide. I wanted to let fall, to let go of the pain and the heartache. Nothing left for me, and I had nothing to live for.

Just then, a horse neighed behind me, and the hair on my body rose. I turned around to see Alpha Zephyr behind me on his black horse.

‘’Do you want to throw your life away like that!’’ he shouted. That is precisely what I was about to do. ‘’while your enemies continue to live?’’

I looked up at him with the emptiness in my eyes. ‘’I have nothing to live for. My mother died because of me. My baby died because of me. I am weak!’’

Alpha Zephyr let out a loud, cold, mirthless sound. ‘’What a pathetic thing to say. You are useless to me anyway,’’ he said, turning his horse around. ‘’You can die for all I care.’’

Do I want to die? No. I want to live to make Dane and Alexa regret everything they have done to me. If I die as he had said, they would only continue to live their lives with no ounce of regret, while I will be the one to suffer.

I fell on my knees and cried out. ‘’I want to live! I want revenge, and I want to make them pay!’’

And then, everything went black as I hit the ground. Was I ever going to get my revenge?