A New LifeElinor had been wandering the streets for three straight days. She is observing the ways of people, their routines, and how everything works.Apparently, she wound up in a city that seemed to never sleep. It is bustling no matter if it is daytime or nighttime. She can see people everywhere, minding their own life.She sat down on a bench beside an old lady who had red lips considering her age, and her hair with an odd color. It's yellow.After how many days of observing, Elinor found out how everything revolved around a piece of paper that is secured in a pocket.Everybody seems to have it, money. That's how she'll live and maintain her life here.But there is a problem though. Elinor does not know how she can exchange the emeralds that Boonie gave her. She had not seen one person who bought a thing with a stone. It's always papers they hand to the seller.And so, Elinor sat down, asking this sophisticated-looking old lady, hoping she is the right person to ask."Excuse me,
TwinsThe night was bustling and she could hear the faint sounds of cars passing through and the traffic below the apartment. However, it does not bother her. Strangely, she finds the stifled sound relaxing.Her room is on the third floor, and the walls are made of concrete, filtering the sound of the busy street down.She watched from her bed the city lights through a floor-to-ceiling window in her room.Two months had passed, and she finds herself doing better. She had thought about Ashmore from time to time, about Bonnie, about Colin every night when she goes to bed. And she'll sleep with a heavy heart, with tears threatening to flow down her cheeks.Everything will get better soon, was the only hope she is clinging to. No matter how difficult she finds life in this new world, she chose to believe that there will come a time when everything she finds hard at the moment will come easily to her. That she will get accustomed to the ways of humans.She fell asleep again after blankly s
A BirthIt was already midnight, and Elinor is pacing like a ghost, caressing her swelling belly. She should be asleep by now, but instead, she was in her room, walking back and forth, figuring out what it is this time she wants, or to be exact, her twin cravings.As days went by, her strong cravings got severe. However there were nights that she sleep like a baby before Ten, that is, if her cravings is just in the kitchen, easily accessed.Just last night, she had a weird craving for rotten pomegranates. And in a city such as this, it turns out it would be very hard to find one. So she almost couldn't sleep last night, in fact, she barely even sleep.Elinor rubbed her tired eyes. Yawning, she looked at her seven-month-old baby bump.She paced once again, her eyes staring at the city lights in her bedroom window. She swears that in a minute, she is about to lose her sanity over not figuring out what she craved again.Ugh! This is very frustrating. She thought, clicking her tongue.Th
Looming ShadowA pair of dark eyes watched the lit window of a building, careful not to be noticed by the one who was living there as he was advised by someone to not get caught."Watch them, but do not show yourself.""Alright, I will. But now what?" he asked, quite unsure about the next step. Now that he figured out where she lived, what will he do next? "Now what?" said the man, his brows twitching. His hands that rubbed his beard stopped, eyes flicking at him. "That is all I do? Watch them?" The man reclined on his seat, he picked up a bottle of whiskey and played with it. "For now, yes. That is all you do. Remember, do not get caught.""But why? I think it is the best if she knew--""I said, do not get caught! As long as she is doing fine, do not show yourself. Watch them for me," the man said, snapping at him for asking questions.He could only scratch his head and nodded at the same time. This man in front of him is a new man.But he was such a fool for this woman. All the p
The InevitableThe room was still. There were no sounds except for the continuous tapping of fingernails on a hardwood desk. Black nails impatiently tapping, the woman crossed her legs. Sighing from time to time, the black veins on her neck move as it pumps. Her once-closed eyelids opened, revealing black eyes. She pats her long lashes, blankly staring at a crystal in front of her.The crystal shows a woman whom they have been searching for so long.No, scratch that. They were not 'searching' for the woman. They were 'hunting' her.And at last! Elinor's face appears on the crystal after years of scouring the entire forest, searching for her whereabouts.The woman interlocked her fingers, she leaned over the table, taking a closer look at the crystal when something caught her attention."A child... not one. But two. Oh! The Were-witch had brought children into this world? Great!" she exclaimed, sarcasm very evident in her voice.Her dark-as-the-night eyes watched Elinor go on about he
Her ReturnElinor shifted back to her human form as she arrived at Colin's estate. With nothing else to cover her feet, it is now filled with mud and twigs after running miles from the city to Ashmore.Still out of breath, Elinor knocked straight at the manor's huge door. It opened right away, revealing Colin's sister, Yves, her eyes were wide with recognition when she saw her there as if Elinor was a mere apparition. "Thank you, Yves. Is Colin around?" she asked right away, catching her breath. Her chest heaved up and down.Elinor's discomfort was obvious to Yves as she asked her, "Yes, he's in his study. But can I give you something first? Are you hurt or something?"Shaking her head, she refused to answer Yves as her feet is already advancing toward Colin's study."There is a very urgent matter I need to tell Colin," she said before leaving Yves and heading straight to Colin.Three years. She had not seen him in three years, and she was not planning to see him again but her situat
Torn AlphaFor the past three years that he was envisioning Elinor and making up conversations in his head, rehearsing what he would say to her in his head in case she returned to him, Colin still finds himself unable to speak now that she is standing across him for real.A stillness in the air surrounds them as they stand in front of his study.Should he ask for her to come inside? Probably not.He was suddenly reminded of the last time she was here. Regret soon swallowed him whole. In fact, it has been inside him since that day he rejected her as his mate despite every fiber in his being is against it.He knew it broke her heart. It was the catalyst that led her to distance herself and blend into the world of the mortals. Which is actually how he and his mother want her to be-- far away from them.But god, he missed her so much it hurts. Every single strand of her red wavy hair makes him cry. The freckles on her nose due to her exposure to sunlight are a new feature on her face that
RescueHer cloak was dancing as a gust of wind passes by. The soles of her shoes stepped onto some dry leaves, making a crisp sound at every step.For three years, no one was here to take care of the cabin. Their front yard was now filled with leaves, the grasses are tall, and few plants crawls the cobblestone walls.Elinor's hand slid the hood of her cloak. Her big red hair showing, being blown by the wind as she makes her way to their entryway.The old wooden gate creaked. She went inside the cabin.This cabin was still her home after all. She realized how wrong she was when her younger self-thought home is wherever Colin was.Now, look at her. Taking all her words back after giving her all to the man she thought was the one. Three years. Yet the house felt the same when she left it. It was still lonely. Save for the proof of her mother's existence that can be seen everywhere. From the carpets to the kitchen illuminated by a warm shade of light, down to the kitchen chair. And the
The once angelic face of Esmeralda now morphed into a grotesque-looking lady.All of it was a show. To lure her into believing that she is an angel, someone who will come and save her, but really, something sinister is hiding behind her angelic, perfect facade.Hearing those words coming out of Esmeralda's mouth, Elinor felt as though her whole world collapsed in one snap.But like any other being, the very first thing we try to do in an attempt to protect ourselves from the damaging truth is to be in denial.And just like that, Elinor refused to believe what Esmeralda said. She unconsciously starts to shake her head at her, her lips quivering with extreme anxiety.She felt as though her body would give up if Colin was really gone. And in an effort to keep herself together, Elinor strongly denied it. "No, that's... not true. You're lying." Esmeralda sneered. "Now that I come to think of it, you are right about that somehow."Her heartbeat intensifies every single second that passed.
One Against Many"Who is she?" Elinor recalled her dreams where she dreamed of the mysterious woman she thought was so divine and godly because of her captivating beauty."She was the very one who killed Judas.""And someone brought her back to life? Do I have something to do with it?"Ernest shakes his head. "I am not certain of that. But she showed up in your dream, did she ask you something?""She told me once that she needs me. But I didn't dream of her again after that. The next time she appeared in my dream was a few years part," she said. Elinor was waiting for Ernest to say something back. But when he was just sitting quietly beside her, she tilt her head to look at him and found that he was deep in thought.There was a crease forming in between his eyebrows, and his eyes were perplexed."If she is, you know, brought back to life. What will happen?"Ernest heard Elinor's question, but it was like an echo bouncing around his head, haunting him by just the idea of the possibili
Stolen LifeShe was taken by one of them, though she was not certain about that one yet, because she felt like she was being rescued for some reason. And those that took her first, the corpse-looking lady is far from rescuing her. One thing is clear for Elinor, they want her to be killed.He is dressed like the rest of the four: In a black hooded cloak. She could not see his eyes because he was covered with his long hair, not to mention his hood. She wanted to see if he had the same hollow eyes as them. In that way, she'll know if he's one of them.He came out of nowhere, wrapped his hands around her waist, and pulled her down to the dark forest. But they didn't land on the ground. He remained flying under the wide trees. To give those up there a hard time finding her.He recalled the moment they saw Elinor being captured by Aurora. They were too late. They found her too late.But despite having a deal with them on who will get Elinor shall win, Ernest has long abandoned that. It was
The FightThey were still in fast motion. Colin never even took a break for a while. He kept on running. It's like a never-ending chase. And Elinor was too afraid to even look behind them.But she keeps her eyes wide open. Both of them look ahead of the vast forest, never knowing when they could be out of the woods or if will they ever make it to safety. Until how long will this chase end? She doesn't know. And Colin doesn't know either.Above the trees was Aurora together with the two other members of The Spirit. Riding in their magical broom, they soared through the sky, heads looking below the forest, eyes frantically searching for the were-witch."They could run away, but they could never run so far," Aurora said with confidence in her voice.It is a good thing for them that Elinor didn't learn about her true identity from the moment she gained consciousness of the world. Her ignorance of her potential works to their advantage. One of the reasons why they were not as afraid as t
The SaviorIn a split second, Elinor was thrown high up in the air and then landed on Colin's back. He is in his werewolf form, and he's scathing at the two pale-looking men with hollowed eyes."No! You can't take her away from us!" The cloaked one, which goes by the name Fergus, shouted. "Give her up to us!" said the other one.Elinor chose not to look. She buried her face in Colin's fur and muttered a solemn, desperate prayer. Her life is on the line. She can feel it.Colin roared, making her grip his fur even more. "You don't understand!" a voice roared, but Elinor tried to just shut her eyes. Her heartbeat is fast like the rhythm of a drum being beaten so eagerly.She was in a great deal of stress. She does not know who and what they are. And why are they coming after her?Was it because she's a were-witch?Is she really a were-witch?All this time, ever since she had dreamed about Esmeralda, the one who told her about her being a were-witch, not once did Elinor choose to believ
Rescued Elinor's eyes stared at the empty seat in the center. Everyone was craning their necks, eyes refusing to settle in one place as they roamed around the hall, in search of Colin, who is supposed to be crowned as the next Alpha in this ceremony.The bloody full moon can be seen peaking outside the huge window made of glass. It is getting bigger and its fiery glow becomes brighter every time she takes a look at it. "Why is he not here?" Yves who was seated beside her whispered impatiently. She was itching to transform into her wolf form and find Colin herself.Where the hell was her brother on such a special night for the entire Ashmore, he cannot be seen around when he should be standing in the spotlight."Yves, where was he?" Tatiana glowered down and mouthed it for Yves to hear.Yves turned to look at Elinor. "Have you seen him?"She shook her head. "No," then looked down disappointedly.If she had known Colin would act up like this, she shouldn't have had that conversation w
Dreaded DayThe bloody full moon peaks over all of the creatures below. Humans stopped in their tracks to tilt their heads back and gaze over at the moon, their fingers pointing it as if not everyone could see the only brightest light in the dark sky above. For them, it is not likely to see a full bloody red moon. The news on each television flashed a headline that says the next time the next full bloody moon could be seen again. According to some widely known space research organizations, the next time this phenomenon occurs, a century has already passed.It means that only once in a century can a bloody full moon peak in the night sky.It was unusual, and rare, of course. Humans take their time. Make meaning out of it. They say it brings bad luck, some speculated that it is a sign of the start of another hundred years, a new era, as they said.A lot of people blamed this occurrence for their bad luck, but there are also those who wait for a hundred years to pass by just for the fu
The Pining"Don't you give me that look, Colin? I am your mother, in case you forgot." Tatiana glared at him from across the room. Her face still looked angelic and calm, but there is rage in her tone. He fixed his look on the outside instead. His shadowed face looked gloomy. "Should we at least try?" he asked, hoping it would convince his mother into taking Elinor as his Luna. Colin knew that if he would choose to listen to what his mother is telling him to do, sit back, and watch Elinor being taken away, he knew he would regret it for the rest of his life. He would regret not even fighting for her. "Try what, Colin?" his mother snapped back."I'll try to save her," he replied, voice filled with determination.His mother looked at him as if he is a lost cause. She looks at him worried at just how madly in love he is with her, that he would try and go against the most powerful forces known to them. It's like Tatiana heard something very impossible out of him."Oh, my poor son. It'
Truth and Lies"Do you trust my love?"The question really struck Elinor. It is how he said those words with heavy emotions in his eyes and tone. Not once did Colin's eyes left her green ones as they stood face-to-face inside her chamber. Of all places, they are having this conversation again where there is a bed nearby.But what struck Elinor the most was not because of how he said those words, but the way her mind and heart whispered the answer that only she could hear."Yes, yes, I do." However, she kept that to herself.Despite what she witnessed last night. Despite crying herself to sleep because of it. She still finds in herself the love and trust she has for him. It never truly, fully went away, she realized that now. Even if there are countless times already when she felt like her love for him died in some ways. And even if she had tried to convince herself that she had long buried it deep in the ground, and nothing he can do or say will make it come to the surface again.I w