CHAPTER 3: VALLE DE LA MUERTE

“Help! Mother! Don’t---”

Young Aurelia couldn’t help but scream. She couldn’t do anything. She was weak. 

Her vision was blocked by the tears that are continuously streaming down her cheeks. There was a lump in her throat. 

Her heart was breaking at the sight of her mother; wailing in pain. Her mother's pair of hazel eyes were staring at Aurelia as if they were telling her that everything will be fine. 

It was ironic how her mother is crying out of pain but her eyes are showing hope and every beautiful thing she could ever think of.

Aurelia wanted to reach for her mother's hands and save her from the ruthless people that were attacking her but before she could do that, darkness ate her up. Suddenly, she couldn’t see anything but darkness. It invades her eyes. 

Her heart was heavy… too heavy. 

She blinks her eyes twice as soon as she wakes up from a terrible dream. 

It seems surreal. Everything still seems like yesterday when it happened. 

Aurelia shook her head, trying to shake that memory off her mind. She wants to completely forget about it but that would also mean forgetting the last picture of her dearest mother in her memory.

“I don’t know why after all these years, I dreamt about it. It has been a long time ago since I last had a nightmare,” Aurelia thought to herself. 

The scintillating lights greets her sight when she fully opens her eyes. She's been wondering why the surroundings seem so bright as if there are no traces of pain and hardship.

As soon as she thinks of this, suddenly, her head begins to throb. She massages the temple of her forehead, screeching in pain as she's trying to remember what had happened after she shifted. But she couldn't find any answers. 

She scans the four corners of the room only to realize that she is inside an infirmary-like room. There is nothing to see but a bed where she's lying, the white walls, a white ceiling, and almost everything is white. 

Her eyes shift to the dress she is wearing. She has no dextrose either so she was sure she’s not being experimented on by someone. 

She shakes her head because her thoughts are drowning her. She can’t be too preoccupied by these thoughts.

She then forced herself to get up only to see her right leg which was scratched and wounded last night is already treated. She has a bandage on her knee. It seems like it is treated with care. 

That made Aurelia confused. 

Her head is aching for an unknown reason. Even her back slightly hurts when she tries to get up but she still manages to stand up. She comes closer to the door and using her fidgeting hand, she twists the doorknob but only to find out it is locked.

The first thing she thought of is. . . somebody has really arrested her and locked her up inside this room. Aurelia started banging the door and forcing it to open but her energy seems not enough to push it harder. 

Without saying any word or begging for help, she continues forcing the door to open up. She wants to break it but her fists hurt badly. They almost bleed in pain.

Deep inside, she is afraid of the thought that this would be her end. She just left their home and sought freedom only to end up like this? How ironic. 

She is about to spank the door once again when suddenly, it opens up. Because of the impact, poor Aurelia falls to the ground. Her back hit the cold tiled floor. She shriekes in pain but abruptly, her forehead forms a frown when she sees the masculine figure who has just come in.

“W-who are you?” she couldn’t help but stutter

She let her eyes scan his entire appearance. He is tall, has black hair, has a pair of dark eyes, and has broad shoulders. Wearing jeans and a black leather jacket, he looks like a man in an action movie. 

Aurelia frowns even harder when she notices that he islooking at her intently. Not even bothered by her position.

She then helps herself to get up because she knew the man in front of him wouldn’t even bother helping her.  

The man sighs. It made Aurelia irate instead of being frightened by the sudden appearance of this unknown man who possesses such dark aura.

“What?” To her irritation, she asks him with a raised eyebrow.

He clears his throat before speaking. Aurelia immediately notices how dim his eyes are. It screams such grit and authority. 

“I am Matias El Dorado and I brought you here.” His voice was deep and husky. 

 She blankly stares at him. Her mean expression has faded when she realizes what he just stated. 

“Why did you do that? What happened to me last night?” She couldn’t hide the curiosity in her tone.

“You have been attacked by a demon wolf. I rescued you and brought you here,” he shortly retorted.

“A demon werewolf?” with brows crossed, she asks again.

“Yes. The rarest type of werewolf.” The man nodded.

Aurelia’s jaw dropped again. She is left with no words. 

“A demon wolf,” she reiterated.

If he was the one who saved her, does that mean that he was also a…

Her eyes widen a fraction when she realizes something. . .

“And yes. I’m an Alpha.”

That makes her freeze in her position. 

It has been years since she last saw a werewolf. She was astounded by the idea of it but scared at the same time. Surely, what happened last night was the reason why her head was throbbing so bad and her mind has been buffering whenever she hears the information Matias told her.

Matias stares at her bewildered reaction for seconds, he probably knew why she was confused.

 “If you’re wondering how I saved you from that demon werewolf, don’t bother asking. It’s way too obvious I could beat that kind of creature.”

Sounding boastful, she wants to sneer at him. But looking at his human form, she could say that he indeed possesses such strength and abilities that the strongest type of werewolf could have. 

And so, Aurelia thought that Matias is a…

“Are you a primordial?” There, she utters the term.

Now, he is the one to raise a brow at her

She has once read that term in a book.

Growing up with humans, Aurelia only had a little knowledge about werewolves. She was six years old since the last time she actually had interactions with the said creatures but the memories were vague so she couldn’t explain it properly

She was curious and eager to learn more about creatures like her so she had gathered some research about it. But the information wasn’t enough. Most of the info she has read is solely based on the author’s imagination, purely fictional, and some are exaggerated and misleading. She doesn't know what to truly believe. She knew she would have the chance to gain a profound understanding of this topic if she could see it with her eyes and experience it firsthand.

Now that she’s with the same creatures as her, Aurelia couldn’t help but panic. She wants to ask more questions but the Alpha cut her off before she could fire another question.

“Well, it’s for you to find out.”

“You will be locked in a hellish den…” And once again, the phrase that is once told to her ignites.