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Prologue
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2024-10-29 19:42:56"Happy birthday to you..."
The people were clapping while singing in Russian, smiling at her, and loosening up. Anna smiled shyly at everyone singing the birthday song while she awkwardly sat in the middle in front of her three-tier princess cake. Her body's stiffness immediately relaxed upon feeling a peck in her cheeks. She grinned at her father and clapped her hands too. "Happy birthday, Anna!"
"Thank you!"
She was grinning all day. Her parents had the best 10th birthday planned out for her and she was at the peak of enjoyment throughout, it's this joyous every year but she's always thankful every time. At a young age, her parents had taught her to value even the most mundane things in life, and she's still living up to it.
"Anna! Let's play!"
Her playmates invited her immediately after finishing lunch. Despite having a full stomach, she still pushed herself up to burn calories and do some physical things, like her mother always advised her to do to stay healthy.
"Wait!" She giggled. "I want to open my presents first! Can I, Daddy?" She pouted to her father.
Axel nodded, smiling at her while his hands lay at rest around her mother's waist.
"Of course, milaya. Go on."
Anna skipped to the table stacked with presents and eeny meeny miny moed to pick which one to open first. Even in their small neighborhood, she still received dozens of presents, which she is grateful for — as she should. Their small crowd of a pack cheered her on as she picked a fairly small rectangular present.
She was grinning ear to ear as she unwrapped the gift, only to see an almost empty box inside. Her smile fell as she took the small piece of paper, the only thing inside. Is this her gift?
"Cheers to the devastation," she read out loud, her confused voice reigning supreme as silence engulfed the pack neighborhood.
What is 'devastation'? Her vocabulary was still very limited when it comes to English as she was raised in a Russian environment.
"Mamá? Papá?" She frowned at her parents, failing to notice how the air around become heavy and her parents' faces had gone dark.
It only took a heartbeat for her mother to reach for her hand and pull her behind.
"Hide, Anna," her mother's voice was firm and a little bit shaky, far different from her daily voice.
"You know what to do. Lead the other kids. Mamá and Papá will deal with them and I promise to go back to you after."
Even her father, who was always silent yet carefree, was caught clenching his jaw and pulling out a firearm familiar to her. He once told her that those guns only get pulled if a threat is nearby, and she immediately understood the situation—so, she ran to the mansion's small compartment made exactly for her and the other pups.
All before shooting her mother and father a worried look.
When she turned around and ran to safety, an explosion went off behind her. She couldn't bear to look at who survived that...and who didn't.
"We should go out, I think it's safe now," said one of her playmates who had just finished crying silently. There were only four of them that made it, the other dozen or two being shot in the back by masked men while they were running. Anna, who also wanted to cry, couldn't feel her tears threaten to fall from her eyes. They were just not there.
"It has been twenty minutes," another whispered. "They must be gone now."
"No," Anna intervened. "Papá has told me to always stay vigilant even after the noise is gone and wait for thirty minutes before coming out. If the enemy is gone, then Papá will find us soon."
"What if he's dead and won't be able to look for us?"
Anna glared at him. "Stop saying nonsense. Papá is the Alpha. He's strong, and brave, and he's my hero, so he will save us!"
She was about to add more when they heard the floor creaking above them. The four of them simultaneously widened their eyes and looked at each other in panic.
"Find the girl!"
The voice was barely incoherent but she understood their English. As a multilingual at 10, she knew they were fluent speakers — and they were most certainly not her father.
"I smell them."
She gulped.
One of her playmates started crying uncontrollably, desperately trying to bite back her sobs and stay quiet — but it was a futile attempt to stay hidden because the trapdoor they went into had just opened.
"Well, hello there, children."
The baritone voice sent shivers down their spine. The man was grinning wickedly at them, his beard on the full show along with his chest hair. He had a bloody eye but the other one worked fine and was even able to scare them.
Funnily enough, there were still no tears that threatened to spill even when she shut her eyes close and heard his gun fire thrice. She felt the splatter of blood on her pink princess dress but she couldn't find it in her to let a single tear flow. All she felt were her body shaking of sheer anger, and her heart racing wildly.
How dare they crash at her party and kill everyone. It would only take her half a minute to let her inner wolf take control, but it took him shorter than that to place the nuzzle of the gun at her temple.
"Shift and you die," he threatened. "Your Mommy and Daddy can't help you now."
Her former strength for blood retreated and all that was left was the shaky voice of a ten-year-old. They are dead, she couldn't believe it.
"P-Please...Let me go," she couldn't plead to him in English because her mind couldn't work properly, so she desperately begged the mister, mixing Russian with German. "Please..."
She heard him pull the safety of the gun, and it felt as if her whole life flashed before her eyes. It was a short-lived one, but a life worth living nonetheless. If she dies now, she'll be more than excited to be with her parents and playmates.
She didn't even get to blow her candle and make a wish because she wanted to save it for when her mother announced her pregnancy. She almost had a sibling.
"Landon, how many lives did you take in front of the child?"
To her surprise, another person came into her father's office. The man pointing a gun at her temple, Landon, stilled in place as the person spoke. He was of another low baritone voice, but this time more mellow, calmer. Meanwhile, Landon stayed silent and didn't respond.
"Oh dear, lift her to me," the voice added.
She was surprised at the sudden grip on her shoulders and before she could comprehend, she was already in front of another bearded man in a wheelchair. He smiled, one that frightened her and soothed her at the same time.
"Are you Divina Anastasia?" She meekly nodded.
"Oh, aren't you a precious little thing? I'm so sorry for your loss," he sympathized.
"I destroyed your home and I humbly ask for your forgiveness," the old man frowned and sighed. "I didn't mean for everyone to die. I just needed my revenge, my dear, I hope you understand me."
"W-Who are you...?"
"Well, you can call me Minister. That's what I go by. Now, do you want to leave this bloodshed of a tragedy with me?"
Anna really couldn't believe herself contemplating. Although she didn't understand half of what he said, she still felt something was wrong with him. But she was only a little sprout, and barely made her own decisions.
The man who was introduced to be the Minister grinned. "Great, we leave now."
At ten, Anna learned the meaning of survival.
Her life hung on thin string dangerously and she could say that it is the worst way to spend your 10th birthday.
She has witnessed so many of her loved ones pass away. This was a traumatic event she doubted she'd ever recuperate from.
If only she couldn't remember them, then she wouldn't have to re-live this her whole life.
And it seemed as if the skies answered her prayers, because she woke up one day, not knowing a single thing about her.
She woke up, only being told of her name, age, and why she woke up without a single memory—because she needed a fresh start.
She obliged and went by their rules. She trained for a purpose she wasn't aware of; she was just told to train until she becomes the best. And fourteen years later, she became the best. At ten, Divina Anastasia Elcort died and was reborn as Anna.
That was when she started to make history.
Bab terkait
Anna (His Claws On My Neck Sequel) Chapter 1: Double Lives
As the cloak of night fell on the busy streets of Manhattan, a particular manor shone differently with the lavish cars parked around it. The grand ballroom was buzzing with chatter and wine glasses clinking as everyone wait for the birthday celebrant to emerge. The place was filled with business tycoons and big personalities, a sign of the celebrant being an equally heavy personality.A few minutes later, the bouncer met an undistinguished old woman who seemed to be in her late 60s that still wore a red bodycon satin dress.He frowned at her. “Name?”“Annika Merriweather,” her voice was shaky and high pitched, definitely those of an old woman’s. She has a killer body, though, thought the bouncer. The grand double door opened and she was permitted to go inside, the list mysteriously having her name despite it being an unfamiliar one. Once inside the grand ballroom, her eyes scanned the crowd. There were all sorts of famous people dominating different kinds of industries in this room t
Anna (His Claws On My Neck Sequel) Chapter 2: Partners
Somebody snitched. That one was obvious.“How did it get out if you haven’t left your location, then?” Rica asked a fellow agent.Currently seated amid a tension-suffocated room, Anna sat silently as the two repeatedly threw each other under fire for a piece of information strictly prohibited to be publicized that reached the media, thus making it to thousands of headlines in just a matter of a few hours.“I-I don’t know, Rica!” The agent, who was a few years younger than them, was subtly freaking out. Anna could tell from his fidgety hands and the heavy drops of sweat on his forehead. Who wouldn’t, anyway? This will reach the Minister in no time. “I just dozed off for, like, five minutes and I woke up to see the transfer complete on the monitor! It’s not my fault!”Anna scoffed, having to hear enough of his stupid excuses. “That’s entirely your fault. You slept while on duty and completely brought down your guard, leaving the Ministry’s archives open to any hacker. Had you not been h
Anna (His Claws On My Neck Sequel) Chapter 3: New Agent in Town
Max went directly to his car after they were dismissed. He zoomed through Manhattan traffic and reached the HQ in less than an hour. He was still five minutes late, despite him leaving the campus as early as he could."I apologize for being late."Multiple pairs of eyes fell on him as soon as he entered the room. Its windows were covered by thick curtains, almost cloaking the entire room in darkness, if not for the hologram screen on one end of the room. In the middle was a long table full of men in suits, and a man in a wheelchair at the end.Max skimmed the looks on their faces—curiosity, disapproval, nonchalance, and many more were present in the faces of over twenty men at the long table. He tried to catch sight of the man at the end’s face, but thought it’d be nothing he wants to see, so he decides against it.“Take a seat, Agent Gomez.”He accepted the offered seat to him, and the meeting commenced. He listened quietly to the updates for the recently completed missions. The usua
Anna (His Claws On My Neck Sequel) Chapter 4: Blurring Lines
It had been three days after the partners for thesis work were announced. Three days since he asked for her email. And three days… of her waiting.Anna is not the ideal woman to be kept waiting. Her patience is as short as the lifespan of her victims—which is not long at all. Does he intend to be one of her victims? She’d gladly kill him off for wasting her time.Rica caught her sharp glare as she placed down their lunch. “You look like you’re enjoying our day off,” she greets sarcastically.She quietly looked away and took a burger from her plate.“Is this still about your thesis partner? That hot foreign exchange student?”“He is not hot,” she sourly argued. “He looks unkempt. His hair looks like a muddy mop.”“He is hot,” Rica counters, munching on her own burger. “He’s already famous, too. Still not as famous as Yezekael, though.”Ah, Yezekael Ferrer. The campus resident playboy. She knows him. She needed to know about him if she wanted to stay under the radar. Getting anywhere ne
Anna (His Claws On My Neck Sequel) Chapter 5: Free Therapy Session
The email was, to say the least, brilliant.It contained a list of his proposed topics for their thesis—complete with the problem, its background, and his proposed ways to mend the problem. There were also some case studies with supporting materials. There were ten proposals. She read through all of them and was thoroughly impressed.They were interesting, unique, and meticulous proposals. They could win as the best thesis for each one of these. They could land the top marks if the results were just as interesting as the study.However, she couldn’t help but list down each proposal’s flaws. New and fresh, yes, but they had their own reasons as to why they weren’t studied enough, or why his proposed solutions won’t work. He was smart. But she was smarter.She starts typing her reply, commenting on every proposal, and articulating her thoughts as best as she could. Now that she knows her partner is actually competent, perhaps just a little slow, she is relieved. His proposals were also
Anna (His Claws On My Neck Sequel) Chapter 6: Visions
“I think we’ve got a pretty chill mission this time,” said Rica as they sat next to each other on the couch, sharing a tub of ice cream, and watching the nth episode of some mystery crime series they found on Netflix.They were both in their pyjamas, as it was a weekend, and their faces were unrecognizable with the animal-patterned facial masks occupying their entire face. Rica’s hair was additionally curled around heatless curlers.“Right?”“Mhmm.” Anna unintelligibly hums in agreement, her mouth full of ice cream, her eyes glued to the screen. “That murderer’s quite intelligent,” she comments, her attention focused on the show.“As long as he hides the body correctly, he could be hired as part of the Ministry’s clean-up department.” Her friend beside her agrees, her attention smoothly shifting from one topic to another. “Ah! By the way, do you know Mika, my partner?”“Who?”“Mika, my partner in the thesis.”“Ah. What about her?”Their eyes remain on the TV as they conversed, easily
Anna (His Claws On My Neck Sequel) Chapter 7: Antifan
They say to keep your friends close, but your foes closer.Since it’s difficult to distinguish her enigmatic thesis partner, Anna thought to keep him very close, regardless of what he’ll turn out to be.Thus, they spend the next few days together, working on the thesis. She did not know if she could call it quality time, since there were barely any words unrelated to the thesis that were uttered to each other, but nevertheless, they spent long hours of the day in each other’s company. That was good enough.Anna used it to study their research topic, which was duly approved by their professor, even giving them a compliment that said: ‘Interesting. I am looking forward to the outcome of your study.’ Which is no pressure at all.“I have bad news.”Max came in one day, his laptop in his arms and his hair a little bit messier than yesterday. His expression was not so good. He sat in front of Anna with a frown.“Our respondents canceled.”And he had all the right to be problematic. That was
Anna (His Claws On My Neck Sequel) Chapter 8: Dream
Anna looked down and found her feet buried knee-deep in snow. She looks around to see herself in the middle of a snowy taiga, the full moon at its peak and illuminating the dark forest.“Where am I?” she whispers to herself.It took much effort to move her feet and traverse the deep snow. As she walked around, she felt uncomfortable with the eerie silence. There was no noise at all.Still, she kept going.Anna arrives at a small clearing, where the shine of the full moon rests on an array of large rocks. She approaches the rocks for no clear reason and finds a wolf on the ground. Whimpering. Breathing weakly.Its black fur looked as if it absorbed all the light of the moon, but not its energy. It looked almost lifeless.Anna kneels to the wolf. It was breathing shallowly. It was huge but looked so small and weak.“Are you okay?” she asks and tries to caress it, but the wolf weakly opens its eyes and they meet gazes.She saw herself.Anna stumbles back and the world darkens.She sharpl
Bab terbaru
Anna (His Claws On My Neck Sequel) Chapter 11: The Game
“If you want her, just say so.”Jonathan teased as soon as they entered their car. The rest snorted, more openly now.Mark quietly starts the engine and drives them to the field where the match will occur. This year, Columbia University is the host of this rugby union and so they had the home-field advantage. But it didn’t matter. They will win regardless of advantage.“She’s interesting,” was all Kael could say. “Don’t you think so?”“Sure, man. Whatever you say.”Kael looked out the window, the boys noisy and rowdy behind him as he sat on the shotgun. His fingers mindlessly fiddle with his lips.“She’s hiding something. I am almost sure of it.” Mark suddenly blurts out after a few minutes.“How so?”“It’s my first time meeting her, so I don’t know for sure. But she’s too composed and too controlled. She’s careful and tries hard to look… normal.” He glances at Kael at a stoplight. “So, sure, she is interesting.”Mark is the observant type. He’s quiet, but know he’s always watching. I
Anna (His Claws On My Neck Sequel) Chapter 10: Enigma
Yezekael was already awake at 4 AM.He was stretching on the track at East River Park, jogging a few laps around to warm up, and stretching by the bleachers. They have a semifinal match later today for the NYC Rugby Cup, a tournament for rugby teams all over New York. They made it to the semifinals and Kael had no plans to stop there. For the four consecutive years he’d been captain, they always came home with a trophy.By 8 AM, he did a roll call on their reserved field, and they were practicing in no time.The NYU Rugby team used to be a forgotten team. He had been a rugby player before entering NYU, so he was dead set on joining the rugby team. His performance shone through and with his friends, they rebuilt the rugby team. And with his departure in a few years coming fast, he must train his juniors to ensure their team’s longevity.After the practice match, he huddled the team together. They were all drowning in sweat, heaving, and obviously tired, but they were all ears for what
Anna (His Claws On My Neck Sequel) Chapter 9: Rejected
Just this year, the Institute confirmed that her wolf had weakened.They did a test after observing her shortly, and they saw her wolf’s power weakened. They never found out why. Anna also never discovered why, or how, her wolf weakened. But she was the first to feel it then. Back when she was young, she could hear her wolf’s voice. She could talk to it. But after some time, that voice gradually disappeared. And she felt when her spirit would dim—it meant her wolf was struggling inside.She never knew why.But until now, it is one of Anna’s biggest secrets.The Institute’s top agent is growing weaker.If this accidentally gets out and their enemies catch wind of this, they will definitely not sit still. That’s why she’s very sensitive and insecure about this topic. Because she is the Institute’s biggest asset, and if she falters, the Institute will be in danger.After that match, Anna did not linger in the HQ any longer, because if she had, they would’ve suspected something was amiss.
Anna (His Claws On My Neck Sequel) Chapter 8: Dream
Anna looked down and found her feet buried knee-deep in snow. She looks around to see herself in the middle of a snowy taiga, the full moon at its peak and illuminating the dark forest.“Where am I?” she whispers to herself.It took much effort to move her feet and traverse the deep snow. As she walked around, she felt uncomfortable with the eerie silence. There was no noise at all.Still, she kept going.Anna arrives at a small clearing, where the shine of the full moon rests on an array of large rocks. She approaches the rocks for no clear reason and finds a wolf on the ground. Whimpering. Breathing weakly.Its black fur looked as if it absorbed all the light of the moon, but not its energy. It looked almost lifeless.Anna kneels to the wolf. It was breathing shallowly. It was huge but looked so small and weak.“Are you okay?” she asks and tries to caress it, but the wolf weakly opens its eyes and they meet gazes.She saw herself.Anna stumbles back and the world darkens.She sharpl
Anna (His Claws On My Neck Sequel) Chapter 7: Antifan
They say to keep your friends close, but your foes closer.Since it’s difficult to distinguish her enigmatic thesis partner, Anna thought to keep him very close, regardless of what he’ll turn out to be.Thus, they spend the next few days together, working on the thesis. She did not know if she could call it quality time, since there were barely any words unrelated to the thesis that were uttered to each other, but nevertheless, they spent long hours of the day in each other’s company. That was good enough.Anna used it to study their research topic, which was duly approved by their professor, even giving them a compliment that said: ‘Interesting. I am looking forward to the outcome of your study.’ Which is no pressure at all.“I have bad news.”Max came in one day, his laptop in his arms and his hair a little bit messier than yesterday. His expression was not so good. He sat in front of Anna with a frown.“Our respondents canceled.”And he had all the right to be problematic. That was
Anna (His Claws On My Neck Sequel) Chapter 6: Visions
“I think we’ve got a pretty chill mission this time,” said Rica as they sat next to each other on the couch, sharing a tub of ice cream, and watching the nth episode of some mystery crime series they found on Netflix.They were both in their pyjamas, as it was a weekend, and their faces were unrecognizable with the animal-patterned facial masks occupying their entire face. Rica’s hair was additionally curled around heatless curlers.“Right?”“Mhmm.” Anna unintelligibly hums in agreement, her mouth full of ice cream, her eyes glued to the screen. “That murderer’s quite intelligent,” she comments, her attention focused on the show.“As long as he hides the body correctly, he could be hired as part of the Ministry’s clean-up department.” Her friend beside her agrees, her attention smoothly shifting from one topic to another. “Ah! By the way, do you know Mika, my partner?”“Who?”“Mika, my partner in the thesis.”“Ah. What about her?”Their eyes remain on the TV as they conversed, easily
Anna (His Claws On My Neck Sequel) Chapter 5: Free Therapy Session
The email was, to say the least, brilliant.It contained a list of his proposed topics for their thesis—complete with the problem, its background, and his proposed ways to mend the problem. There were also some case studies with supporting materials. There were ten proposals. She read through all of them and was thoroughly impressed.They were interesting, unique, and meticulous proposals. They could win as the best thesis for each one of these. They could land the top marks if the results were just as interesting as the study.However, she couldn’t help but list down each proposal’s flaws. New and fresh, yes, but they had their own reasons as to why they weren’t studied enough, or why his proposed solutions won’t work. He was smart. But she was smarter.She starts typing her reply, commenting on every proposal, and articulating her thoughts as best as she could. Now that she knows her partner is actually competent, perhaps just a little slow, she is relieved. His proposals were also
Anna (His Claws On My Neck Sequel) Chapter 4: Blurring Lines
It had been three days after the partners for thesis work were announced. Three days since he asked for her email. And three days… of her waiting.Anna is not the ideal woman to be kept waiting. Her patience is as short as the lifespan of her victims—which is not long at all. Does he intend to be one of her victims? She’d gladly kill him off for wasting her time.Rica caught her sharp glare as she placed down their lunch. “You look like you’re enjoying our day off,” she greets sarcastically.She quietly looked away and took a burger from her plate.“Is this still about your thesis partner? That hot foreign exchange student?”“He is not hot,” she sourly argued. “He looks unkempt. His hair looks like a muddy mop.”“He is hot,” Rica counters, munching on her own burger. “He’s already famous, too. Still not as famous as Yezekael, though.”Ah, Yezekael Ferrer. The campus resident playboy. She knows him. She needed to know about him if she wanted to stay under the radar. Getting anywhere ne
Anna (His Claws On My Neck Sequel) Chapter 3: New Agent in Town
Max went directly to his car after they were dismissed. He zoomed through Manhattan traffic and reached the HQ in less than an hour. He was still five minutes late, despite him leaving the campus as early as he could."I apologize for being late."Multiple pairs of eyes fell on him as soon as he entered the room. Its windows were covered by thick curtains, almost cloaking the entire room in darkness, if not for the hologram screen on one end of the room. In the middle was a long table full of men in suits, and a man in a wheelchair at the end.Max skimmed the looks on their faces—curiosity, disapproval, nonchalance, and many more were present in the faces of over twenty men at the long table. He tried to catch sight of the man at the end’s face, but thought it’d be nothing he wants to see, so he decides against it.“Take a seat, Agent Gomez.”He accepted the offered seat to him, and the meeting commenced. He listened quietly to the updates for the recently completed missions. The usua
