CHAPTER 1: THE BEGINNING

Everything keeps getting worse as the day passes by. It seems like she has no way out of this dreadful and cruel life. She doesn’t want to suffer from this over and over again as if she’s solely born to face this unjust reality. But no matter how much she begs to seek freedom, her alcoholic father and evil stepmother wouldn’t let her go out and live normally.

Aurelia, the young maiden from the small town of Barrio Buena, grew up being distant from people. Not because she dislikes socializing but because she has no choice but to isolate herself and stay miserable, wasting her teenage years at home, not able to enter school, not allowed to find a companion, and not able to express herself. She’s not normal, she knew it from the start. 

“I’m tired,” she pants.

She's sitting on the green grass as she silently watches the sun as it gives light to the world. She’s done harvesting the crops from the small farm owned by her father. She takes her time to rest because her feet are sore from harvesting all day.

She heaves a deep sigh as she lets her eyes wander around the surroundings. 

The green mountain ranges and trees are soothing to behold, as well as the sounds of the splashes of water from the still lake every time she throws a stone. The breathtaking scenery brings comfort to her heart. She gasps and stares at the view, seizing every second of it.

“This is my escape,” she breathes. 

“You are mistaken, poor lady. You are caged. And you can never escape.”

Aurelia is about to leave when she hears that statement from an old woman behind her. She's surprised by her appearance.

She turns her head to see her. The woman holds a stick to support her balance. Her clothing is dirty. Her hair is all white and her skin is dry. But what caught Aurelia is the pair of tantalizing eyes of the old lady. It screams youth and purity. 

“W-what do you mean by that?” she asks, hoping for an answer to the vague words uttered by the woman.

The woman smiles but it doesn’t reach her eyes.

"I am telling you. You will be a captive unless you are fierceful enough to fight for your freedom," she added.

"I-i am not a prisoner. What are you saying?!" Aurelia couldn't help but raise her tone at her confusion. 

“I can see how pure your soul is, Aurelia. Thus, I am sent here to give you a reminder. Something is bound to occur that will shatter your world. Someone will come into your life. You will suffer from loss and loss. You will be punished. And you will see death.”

Surprised that this woman knows her name, her mouth left wide open. 

It makes Aurelia confused and frightened. What she’s saying is alarming. “Loss? Punished? A death?” she reiterated, sighing sardonically.

“I saw it. It is bound to happen,” the lady reassured.

“Who are you? Why are you saying these to me?”

The woman gives her a deadly gaze. Gone are her bright eyes. They are shifted into a pair of dark eyes.

“I cannot tell you. All I can do is to warn you. You must brace yourself for an end and new beginning before you will be locked in a hellish den."

The winds blow so strong. Leaves from the tall trees fall as the thunder begins to roar. The skies are becoming dark. And the woman disappears before her eyes.

After realizing that she's running out of time before the rain falls, she hurriedly grabs the basket full of crops and starts walking all the way home. 

A few hours from now, the sun will vanish completely. Darkness will prevail for the rest of the night. She has no time to think about what the old woman has said. 

“Maybe she is just a beggard, not in her right mind that's why she said that baseless premonition to me,” Aurelia mutters to herself, head shaking. 

She has a lot more things to think about instead of that old woman. She looks up to see the skies. It's becoming dark. 

For normal human beings, the night is something to fondly anticipate. But for some unusual creatures like Aurelia, it isn't.

As much as possible, she doesn't want the sun to set as it means another night to suffer from this inevitable curse. 

The moon will be in full bloom when the evening comes. She shouldn’t be staying outside during these critical hours. She has to go home before it gets late. Not because she's afraid her father might kill her if he finds out she’s still not home. . . but solely because she doesn't want somebody to see her in her unusual form.

"Disrespectful! You’re indeed a monster! Your father must throw you out of this house!"

Suddenly, her stepmother's remarks flash through her mind as she continues walking. Memories from their never-ending fight resurface in her head as if it is happening right now. She bites her lower lip as she suppresses her emotions. 

Her stepmother never stops calling her monster. She clearly hates her for no reason. 

Aurelia smiles bitterly as she continues heading home while thinking about this question. She already knew the answer. It would always be no and never. She will never be part of the family Aurelia had.

Even though her stepmother's wrath against her seems infinite, Aurelia still hopes that maybe one day, she would learn to treat her as her own daughter. 

Thus, it will never happen because when Aurelia has finally arrived home, chaos is about to begin. 

As the sun is getting ready to sink, she finally steps her feet in their doorway. 

Bewilderment lingered before her eyes when she opened the door and saw the mess. 

Her father is staring straight at her without any hint of joy in his eyes. Whilst, Belinda, her stepmom, is sitting on the couch, sobbing like a bullied child.

Strewn papers, broken glasses, and other things are scattered on the floor. It looks like their home has been hit by a storm. She instantly frowns at the sight of these, mystified and clueless. 

She couldn’t help but stare at the scene unbelievably. She is about to raise a question to her father when he abruptly cuts her off.

“What have you done, Aurelia? I thought everything was going well. Now, what did you do to your Aunt Belinda?” Her father’s deep voice greeted her ears but it sounded like thunder. It is the tone he rarely used. It means he is mad and dangerous.

Aurelia instantly scans Belinda from head to foot. Her aunt has bruises on the side of her lips, on her right wrist, and even on her legs. It seemed like she got into serious trouble. Confused, her mouth left wide open. 

“W-what are you talking about, Father? What happened to her? A-and what happened here?” she stutters as she roams her eyes around the living room.

Aurelia stares blankly at her father, perplexed and concerned at the same time. Hence, his father just clenches his jaw, probably enraged at her response.

“Now you’re asking me what happened to her? No, Aurelia. What did you do to her?!” The anger in his voice is vivid. Aurelia almost trembled in fear.

But what strikes her the most is her father’s accusation against her.

Her jaw drops as she is trying to process his remarks. Hurt her? 

For the second time, she looks back at the poor Belinda still wailing on the couch, hugging herself as if she's comforting herself.

"I didn't do anything to her…" Aurelia mumbled.

His father's eyes are bloodshot when she goes back to him. The frightening silence fills the air. His stares are full of anger. But he seems like he is controlling his temper. He’s holding his grip, afraid that if he loses the last string of his patience, he might hurt her daughter once again. Aurelia is afraid to get beaten again, too. 

“S-she hurt me, Ignacio. We argued, she disrespected me, and she b-beat me when she transformed into a beast,” Belinda continued, crying like an infant. “S-she just left so that she won’t be suspected. T-then here she is, acting like an innocent after hurting me!” 

This adds to his father's fury. Aurelia's jaw drops by hearing her lies.

"How can she do this to me?!" she went on, overreacting.

Aurelia’s forehead creases to the point that anytime it might tear apart. There’s no way she morphed into her werewolf form just to attack her. She must be insane. Aurelia’s thoughts are haywire but she knows to herself she couldn’t make those things to Belinda. She loathes her but she couldn’t do something as horrible as that. No. She can’t hurt anyone, even this old woman who abuses her.

“I didn’t hurt Belinda. She’s lying!” She couldn’t help but raise her tone. “Father, she’s telling lies. You know that I can’t do anything bad to her. And it’s not yet the time for me to transform!”

Her gaze is drawn to her father's dead serious expression. There has been no change. His eyes remain enraged, and it gives her chills. She is starting to tremble in fear. Her knees are deteriorating.

She’s not at fault, but being blamed for something she didn't do made her want to cry. And it hurts her to see that her father doesn’t even bother listening to her.

“You know me better, Ignacio. You have witnessed all the hardship I’ve gone through just to take care of your rebellious daughter. I did everything. I didn't even lay a finger on her but she did this to me in return for my good deeds and concerns! She disrespected me countless times!” Belinda went on.

Lies. She's good at it when the truth is, she has been physically abusing her countless times without the knowledge of Ignacio. Poor Aurelia always wants to keep her mouth shut, traumatized and bleeding internally just to avoid more conflict but this time, it's different. 

Aurelia bit her lip so hard, holding her grip tightly. She wants to prove to her father that Belinda is telling lies. But how can she do it when he is already blinded by the lies?

"Is that true?!" her father yells as his sharp gazes turn to Aurelia once again.

It is as if at any time, he could lay a hand on daughter. She is damn afraid yet she wants to defend herself.

"F-father..."

"Ignacio, listen to me. You should discipline her. Don’t tolerate that rebellious daughter of yours!" The best actress, Belinda, continued crying as if she was totally hurt.

Suddenly, Aurelia’s system is filled with uncontrollable rage. This time, she desperately wants to hurt her so that the accusations against her would be proven correct.

The last straw of her respect for Belinda was losing. She was afraid she might attack her at any time now. She knew she couldn't control herself once she’s in her werewolf form. 

“Shut up, Belinda! Stop telling lies---” She continued defending herself.

“You shut up, ungrateful brat!”

“Stop it, you two!"

They were silenced by her Father’s yell.

“I’m so done with your lies, Aurelia. I didn’t raise you to be this worst! Yes, you are the worst! You have disrespected your Aunt, told tons of lies, and now you’re trying to deceive me. You have never learned your lessons.”

She is taken aback by his words. She couldn't seem to keep up with everything. All she could feel was the pounding of her heart. It aches.

How could a man she used to love so much will hurt her with these sharp words? After she forgives him for his past mistakes, will this be the exchange? He doesn’t even bother to listen to what she has to say. All he believes in is his mistress.

That person is the reason she is stuck in this dreadful life.

If only her mother hadn't died so early...

If only her mother was still alive...

Things would be different if she was still here. Aurelia wouldn't have to put up with this never-ending agony. She was not going to let her get hurt. She was not going to let these things happen to her beloved daughter.

But when that mistress came into their life, she didn’t only steal her father’s love for her mother. But she also ruined their life. She ruined her life.

Warm liquids are starting to form in the corner of her eyes as she repeatedly shakes her head out of objection. Her system is filled with anger especially when her Father mutters…

“I have made up my mind. I’m sending you to Valle de La Muerte.”

“Brace yourself for an end and a new beginning.” The phrase uttered by the old woman flashed through her mind like a crystal clear.