VALERIE I felt a chilly sensation on my arm when I tilted my head. I tried to snap my eyes open but couldn't; I felt like something was holding me down. Two different scents slipped into my nostrils and I gasped out, enjoying the scents of dark musk and rich sandalwood that intermingled and played with my senses. The chilly sensation came again, but this time, it was on my waist. I felt something slide up my thighs, heading in between them. My heart skipped a beat and I forced my eyes open. The first thing that hit me was the grey and blue eyes that flickered blackness the moment they met mine. My mind reeled, my pulse raced and my mind shot back to the previous tragic events that took place before I fainted. I wasn't dead, I was still alive and trapped with the devils that threatened to ruin my life. “You?" I gasped and shifted uncomfortably. I tried getting away but found that impossible as they were both hovering over me, caging me down to the soft mattress. “Stop, let
VALERIE The door creaked open, and I raised my head, expecting to see Lucian and Killian, but to my disappointment or perhaps to my relief, it turned out to be a girl who seemed to be my age mate. My eyes trailed after her as she walked over to a table and set down the tray she was holding. She turned in my direction, walked up to the bed, dropped some clothes on the edge, and turned around to walk away without saying a word. My heart constricted at her cold attitude. “Hello," I whispered and her feet stopped shuffling to the door. She cranked her neck and stared at me with blank brown eyes which seemed to have a layer of pain and sadness behind them. "Hello," she replied and bowed her head then quickly averted her gaze. I needed to get out here, but firstly, I had to know where I was. “Where is this place?" I asked, still clenching the duvet. She switched her gaze towards me and I saw a flash of disgust dart across her eyes as she looked at the duvet covering my nude body.
VALERIE “Hello, who is this?" Her voice sounded more like a ghostly whisper. My heart tightened and I regretted calling her at that moment. I would only be a burden to her again. But then again, I couldn't stop myself from yearning for her lost warmth. “Mom," I muttered in a weepy voice. The silence that loomed from the other end of the line made me think that she had hung up on me. I was about to put the phone down in despair when her voice came up again; this time, it was filled with surprise and fear. “Valerie, is that you?" She said in a hushed tone that got me wondering if my stepfather was at home. Mom, it's me," I replied and heard her release a breath of relief. “I heard about what happened to the Pack, you aren't hurt, are you?" She said in the same tone. “No, mom, I'm fine." Silence trailed after my reply and after a couple of minutes, she spoke up again. "Are you still in that Pack? I heard that lots of people were killed and… and Thomas isn't doi
VALERIE I peeked into the dark tunnel Bianca led me to and sighed out loud in relief. “Go through the tunnel; you will find your way out to the Pack’s boundary, but be mindful of rogues; lots of them lurk around the boundary of Dark Moon Pack,” she advised, waving her hands towards the entrance of the frightening tunnel. I sucked in a deep breath and muttered a word of appreciation before taking the flashlight she extended toward me. “You won't get into trouble, right?" I asked for the third time and she smiled, shaking her head. “No, I won't." I nodded at her words and began to shuffle into the tunnel. “Valerie," her voice made me pause and crank my head backward. “Be careful. Survive." My throat knotted at her last words. I nodded when I couldn't find my voice and bade her goodbye before walking into the tunnel, with my heart in my hand. I jumped in fear when I saw a skeleton leaning on the old dark walls of the tunnel. I shuddered and cautiously walked past i
VALERIE My heart shrank and the pieces dropped into the pit of my belly as I stared at the red eyes that glared at me from the dark. I clasped my hand against my mouth as my heartbeat thumped loudly to my hearing. It was so loud that I was afraid that the beastly tiger standing before me would hear the sound. I stepped back, making sure that my feet didn't make any noise. The growl came again, loud, fierce, and horrific. Sweat broke out on my skin and shivers rushed through my body. I kept stepping back until my feet stepped on a dry bone on the ground. I tripped and unintentionally released a howl before dropping down to the ground. The tiger roared upon hearing my yell and bounded towards me. I was filled with fear and struck with horror. An ear-piercing scream escaped my lips. I reached for my flashlight which I had picked up earlier, and turned it on. The rays of light fell on orange and black stripes on a large body. The tiger, which was facing the wall opposite w
VALERIE The door was pushed open and Killian flung me in. I winced in pain as my arm brushed against the rough wall, getting bruised in the process. “Please, don't hurt me," I whimpered, backing away as they approached me. “You should have obeyed when you had the chance to,” Lucian snickered, glaring haughtily at me. “Please, I promise never to attempt running away again, I promise," I cried, rubbing my hands together I wasn't only scared of dying, I was scared of losing my virginity to them, in the most cruel way. No matter how much or long that I pleaded, their expression remained the same. A flash of pity didn't dare dart across their face. Killian took some steps towards me, covering the distance between us. I made to shift back but he grabbed my hand and pulled me up to my feet, dragging me towards the bed. I screamed till my throat burned yet none of them had mercy. “Pull off your clothes," I heard Lucian say from the door. What was the use of making me suffer this wa
VALERIE The cold water that was splashed on my face made me snap up from bed. I gasped loudly and swerved my head, searching for where the water came from. My heart shrank when I saw Bianca staring blankly at me with a bowl in her hand and right behind her was Killian and Lucian. I shuddered, feeling betrayed and used. “It's time for your punishment!" Lucian snapped and my belly knotted. “Get up and get dressed," Killian added. Tears gathered up in my eyes as I looked at Bianca, who kept glancing at other things in the room aside from my face. Who would have thought she would betray me? I considered her a friend and a sister but she ended up betraying me, just like Margaret and Juliet. I managed to get my sore body up from the bed. “Don't be so clumsy!” Lucian snapped and I jumped. I picked up my clothes and pulled them on, subduing the pain that throbbed in my body. Killian grabbed me, digging his nails into my arm as he dragged me out of the room. Once we were out, he pu
VALERIE Gasps erupted from everyone in the hall when she spilled those lies. “I… I didn't…" Bianca held my hand and my lips slammed shut. Lucian's eyes flickered in my direction, and I felt my soul leave my body. Every step he took down the stairs and towards me cut out a piece of my heart. I wondered what he was going to do to me. When he got close to me, I staggered back, shaking my head as tears gathered in my eyes. Bianca stepped away from us, filled with fear and sympathy. I glanced across his shoulder and saw the girl snickering at me. “Did you say that?" He muttered in that icy voice that always made me shudder. “No," I muttered and she frowned, scowling at me. “She's lying…" Lucian held his hand, shutting her up. “I never asked you, Adriana," he muttered in a cold voice and her face reddened. Lucian raised my chin and forced me to look into his penetrating eyes. “You're fond of getting into trouble, aren't you?" He muttered and my belly flustered. “Don't be a f
VALERIE She waved her hand over my face, and I blinked, getting back to reality."Are you a maidservant? I never asked for one," she muttered.I flashed a nervous smile, hoping she wouldn't report me to the Luna."I… I thought that was my room," I blurted out before I could stop myself. "What?" Her eyes dimmed in confusion and she huffed, making my heart drop. "I have lived in this room for months," she muttered and my brows raised."For months?" I murmured, my throat knotting. She folded her hands under her breasts and tilted her head to the side, staring at me keenly. "I haven't seen you before, who are you?" She asked. I bit my lips and narrowed my eyes, thinking of an answer to give her. "I… I am Valerie Garrett," I replied. She hummed, nodding her head slowly. "I just arrived at the Pack," I added and her eyes lit up. Her hands dropped and she advanced towards me, grabbing my hand. Shivers rushed down my spine when her hands touched mine. "Then… you don't mind if I ta
VALERIE His eyes dimmed and he walked closer. Each step he took towards me made my heart skip and caused my breath to hitch. "You are from Blue Moon Pack?" He asked. His voice was deeper, deeper than Lucian's voice, and his blue eyes were sharper than Killian's eyes. He looked exactly like my mates! "Uhm… uhm…" I stammered, suddenly losing the right words.He tilted his head to the side, staring at me with amusement dancing in his sharp blue eyes."Who sent you?" He asked.My throat knotted and I struggled to find the right words.I still couldn't believe that I was staring at someone who looked so much like Lucian and Killian, someone who might turn out to be their father if my calculations didn't turn out to be wrong."I was sent by my alpha," I quickly rasped out without thinking."Alpha Carlos?" He asked, and I nodded my head, even though I didn't know who bore that name.The Alpha that ruled my Pack before the current Alpha didn't go by the name Carlos. Perhaps, he was mistake
VALERIE I jerked up when the liquid slipped into my nose, choking me. I gasped and sat up, staring at the faces that looked down at me. They all looked my age. Aside from that, they looked and dressed differently.The events of what happened earlier replayed in my mind and I burst into tears, shamelessly crying before them.After all that I had gone through for the sake of the antidote, I ended up losing it.At that moment, I realized that the greatest enemy I had was myself.Everything had all been ruined and I felt like I was trapped in that world forever.I didn't save Killian and I wouldn't be able to return to my world either. I had lost to the witch, to Michelle, and myself. I was a loser, I had always been a loser.I stopped crying and decided to acknowledge the environment that I was in and the people who observed me.They exchanged frightened glances and stepped back. I guessed they must have assumed that I was some alien that fell from the sky."Who is she?" A little girl
VALERIE I grinned widely in pride as I picked up the blade and headed towards the door. I pulled the door open and stepped in but ended up falling. Darkness hit me and I found myself moving through a vacuum.Darkness hit me again and I groaned loudly as pain shot through my body.I slowly opened my eyes and stared at the sky above, realizing that I was lying on the ground. I jerked up and darted my eyes around the strange surroundings. I staggered up to my feet and stared at the woods that I was in. It didn't look any different from the woods in my world, but it smelled different. I sighed and began to trudge cluelessly around the woods, cursing loudly for the stress that was being inflicted on me. "Couldn't they just drop me at the bank of the river? Who in the world is doing this to me!" I screamed at the top of my lungs when I realized that I had been moving in circles for hours. I clenched my fist when an idea of who the person was sneaked into my mind. Perhaps, this was her
VALERIE My jaws dropped in dismay as I stared at the huge creature before me, held back by large chains. It growled, revealing its long and dangerous fangs, the fiery eyes piercing into mine. We were in another room, perhaps, the beast's prison. "What am I doing here?" I asked, my eyes as wide as saucers. She looked at me, smiling sinisterly. "Behind that beast is the portal to the ancient world. If you want to get there, you will have to get through the beast," she said, and I scoffed in disbelief. Mere staring at the beast made my stomach churn in fear. "Do you still want to do it?" She asked, tilting her head to the side. I gulped hard, my heart thumping loudly in my chest. "Unless… you will bow down and worship me. I might consider taming the creature," she muttered and anger rippled through my bones. That was it. She wanted me to worship her or die. I thought of giving up but that sounded like the dumbest idea I've ever had. After going through demons, self-doubt, and
VALERIE I could hear the clattering of plates and a thick layer of incense hung above my head. I coughed and wheezed, tilting my head to avoid the scent in the air before opening my eyes.I looked at the dimly lit room that I was lying in and my eyes widened when I spotted a needle in my arm.My trembling hand reached for the needle and I pulled it out cautiously, sighing loudly.My heart dropped into my belly when I looked around the room and discovered that it looked more like a shrine than a room.Blades of different sizes bearing different symbols were stuck to the wall. Two pans hung from the ceiling, and thick incense from an incense burner stood at two corners of the room.I looked around, filled with fear and curiosity, wondering how I ended up there.I slammed my eyes shut, trying to remember, but a wave of events that took place came rushing into my mind and my eyes flew open, filled with fear and indignation.I sat up slowly, intentionally making noises that would gather
VALERIE I trailed after the witch into the house and stared at the interior designs in admiration. Even though it wasn't much, its little designs were worth gushing over. "You must have thought of a shrine as my abode," she muttered as she pulled off the scarf wrapped around her head and walked into a room that seemed to be the kitchen. "Would you like to drink something?" She asked from the kitchen. My lips parted and slammed shut as I thought of an answer to give her. My stomach rumbled loudly, already voicing out my answer before I could talk. "Yes, perhaps coffee," I muttered and she hummed in approval. I leaned into the comfy couch, sighing loudly in pleasure as I slammed my eyes shut, almost drifting off to sleep. My eyes flew open when that nightmare replayed in my mind. I sat up and looked around the living room, groaning loudly in disappointment. That was the perfect time to have a sweet, relieved sleep, but the thought haunting me in my dream stopped that comforti
VALERIE I was staring at myself and I couldn't help but scoff in disbelief. Her nose, eyes, ears, face, and even her body were all mine. The only difference between us was the darkness lurking in her chestnut eyes. "Who are you?" I asked and she chuckled lightly. "You are me, and I am you. What more is there to say," she muttered, and my heart constricted. "What are you? Why… why do you look like me?" I asked. She took a step forward and I staggered back, filled with fear and shock."You want to know?" She asked and stretched forth her hand.My hand began to tremble in curiosity and I stretched out my hand to touch her hand, curious to know what her skin felt like. I doubted if she was real. Perhaps, she was a figment of my imagination, an illusion used to deceive me.My hands were about to touch her palm when those words echoed in my mind.I stopped and stared into her eyes, watching the dark haze that floated in her eyes. In her eyes, she looked different. She looked like ano
VALERIE I was dead sure that it was the witch's voice. She had deceived me into sleeping so she could get into my dream. I shook my head to the side, getting filled with energy and anger to fight whatever was making life unbearable for me.I groaned silently and began to kick my legs desperately.Just as I was kicking my legs in the air-filled water, I felt something fall off my hands. I stopped kicking my legs around and moved my arms. My arms moved freely and a grin of satisfaction managed to break into my face.I continued to kick my feet despite how sore they had become.Whatever was binding my feet finally fell loose, and I shook it off, then began to swim to the surface.My shoulders began to ache at some point but I couldn't stop swimming, and the annoying whisper didn't relent either.Everything felt so real. I was trapped in another world and not in a dream. If the witch was the one behind this haunt, then she would try to stop me from waking up. My throat knotted in anger