CHAPTER-2: NIGHTMARE

An agonising cry left by her mouth as she stumbled over the rough and sharp trunks and branches which punctured her delicate skin of feet. But she knew she had only this chance to escape this dark kingdom and its dark lord who had created the bloodbath for her. She could only see the dead bodies around and the stinky bloody smell of those rotten dead bodies invaded her nostrils. She forced down the urge to vomit and gagged up. 

Run! Run!

Her mind chanted as she ran through the unknown lane in the dark forest in dizzy form. She could feel HIM after her but she didn't see anyone around her, only the powerful and deep howls and growls could be heard which shook her soul to the core. She didn't care about her bloody feet and ran as fast as she could. Her breathing Laboured and body was exhausted to the point of giving up but she didn't give up. 

Suddenly something struck hard on her back and she screamed and flew ahead, knocked into the tree roughly. Her body was in immense pain, she was assured that her head was bleeding. When she spotted the dark silhouette of a very tall figure incomparable to a normal human approaching her at unimaginable speed and stopped a three step away from her, she wailed in misery.

‘Why is this happening to me? I never did anything wrong to anyone in life then why?’ she wanted to scream to her goddess for putting her in this misery. 

She started trembling all over in trepidation and sobbed.

“Please, please leave me.”

A deep chuckle resounded the dark space of the forest all around. It seemed malicious, too malicious. 

“You dared to escape my dark coop, Angel. For a fragile human being like you had the guts to escape me. Didn't I tell you… You can never evade me. Not in this life, You are mine…MINE.” His dark intimidating aura absorbed the lively atmosphere around them as He said those menacing words. 

She felt suffocated as she recoiled in horror and dared to look into His eyes which were shining gold under the moonlight but then suddenly his pupils bounced back to blood red. She screamed loudly as the earth-shattering howl pierced into the tight air and HE jumped on her with the loudest growl. 

……..

Allison woke up screaming and sat upright on the bed in second. She was breathing heavily with a racing pulse and sweating profusely all over her body. She stared wide-eyed ahead at the wall and summoned up her senses before realizing that she had a nightmare. 

A nightmare!

But she never had any nightmare like this before. 

She rubbed her chest to calm her erratic heartbeat and grabbed the glass of water before gulping it hastily. She sighed and tried to calm herself. It was only a nightmare, which nothing has to do with reality. She consoled her mind and heart.

After following her morning routine, she prepared her breakfast and checked her phone to see any messages from her brother or father. But nothing!

Sighing, she had her breakfast uninterestedly and got ready to go for college. She was in the last year of the healing practitioner course and after that she decided to go for the integrated healing diploma which consists of programs of energy and spiritual healing courses. She was the best in her field. Though others were her juniors or lacked in this field which made her the main healer in the pack. 

Allison drove to her college which was a fifteen minutes ride from her home. Today Nora was on holiday because of a few guests coming into her home.

She recalled yesterday's conversation with Nora and couldn't help but gulp her saliva. 

The dark walker, Lyceon, was an original from the Royal Lycan blood. She was taught in her school classes about Lycans, the most powerful creatures, more powerful and muscular than werewolves and vampires and other creatures. They are like Kings of the Alpha kings and superior to all. They thought lycans had already vanished from the earth but until a decade ago When His brutality and notorious presence was spotted by few werewolves in the bloodbath around the world. 

He was feared among the people to the extent of not being called by anyone audibly by his name. Nobody had seen his deadly Lycan monster except the few who didn't turn alive after messing with Him. Lycans have more control on their body and shift into wolves but once they turn into their lycan form, which walks on two feet, they can wipe out the world in minutes. They are the feral monsters who scream only death, vicious death. That's why they are called the ‘Dark walkers.’

And Lyceon Villin Whitlock was the one of the originals from pure Lycan blood. Nobody knows his existence or his ancestors as no books mentioned his breed in detail anywhere. She assumed that beginning eras were vaguely recorded so the real truth probably died with the Firsts of Lycans.

He won all the battles for the past years and took the strongest packs under his wings. Whoever tried to challenge him or stood against him for a battle, had faced death. Lethal death. 

Rumours said that He had killed his own mate a few years ago leaving him with no weakness as He wanted. 

And imagining Him killing her family, Allison felt like dying slowly. She wanted to confront Alpha or the superior associates of the pack about this but Nora stopped her from doing so. She asked her to wait until this war ended. But now only one night passed, and she became restless. 

What a birthday present she got yesterday! Of course the terrible one!

She sighed before pulling her car into the parking lot. Allison walked to the corridor to get into her locker for the first lecture when Sebastian approached her, making her self conscious. She didn't like him, in fact she never liked any of the guys in her college. She only likes sweet, respectable and gentlemanly types of guys. 

“Hey Ali, looking beautiful as always sweetheart. Are you free tonight? Ah, of course you will. After all, the family had gone to the great war, right?” and unknowingly he made Allison recall the unpleasing stunt by her father to his pack members just for keeping his fake pride and fawning to the high authorities for phoney stardom. 

Allison pinched her eyes before closing her lockers and turning to face him.

“Sebastian, I don't have any wish to hang out with you as I clearly mentioned before. And about my family…”

Suddenly her face turned grim as she neared Alpha’s son and sneered,

“... If something happens to them then I will personally retaliate against the person who will cause all of this.” 

She couldn't even realize how she gathered this audacity to speak to the future Alpha like this. She was infuriated at this whole scenario. Nobody dared to look into Sebastian's eyes ever but this girl not only looked at him but spoke boldly like threatening him personally. The spitting fire was oozing out of her which Sebastnian couldn't avoid, he was shocked. This shy human girl dared to utter like this. Didn't she know the consequences of this? 

But instead of being furious at her, he was intrigued and…fascinated. What made her behave like this?  

“Okay! But I was going to ask you to accompany me to the Alpha ball, Ali.” He stated, ignoring her flaming soul. He will deal with this later.

Stupid Alpha ball! There their warriors are fighting to the death and here they are going to celebrate the yearly Alpha ball. 

“Not interested!” She gritted her teeth and left before he could say further.

On the way, she happened to cross the path of college bimbo Scarlett who gave her signature glare to Allison for attracting Sebastian’s attention among all the she- wolves. But Allison ignored her and dodged her attack when Scarlett was going to trip her ahead like last time but Allison was fast forward to save herself. She stormed to her class room not before hearing Scarlett’s high pitch tone,

“Bitch!”

Allison couldn't concentrate on the lecture where her professor was teaching about herbal home remedies to cure the wounds caused by metal attacks and the power of restoring vitality by experimenting on injured wolves. Her mind was on her brother and father who didn't even wish her on her birthday.

The bell rang and she sighed in relief. She was in distress so She thought to bunk the next class when she heard the commotion outside the college while walking out of the hall. She headed there to see the Beta of the pack summoned for an emergency meeting to the students whose family went to the war. Her heart accelerated imagining the worst scenario. 

In the afternoon all of them were gathered at the big clearance, behind the forest lake. The Alpha Ralph, his beta and other members were presented with gloomy faces.