Chapter 1- A night of nightmares

Amara's POV

As each drop of rain touched the ground, the view of the village became dark and dull, making it difficult for those standing outside to see what lay ahead of them. Water flowed down the cramped street, carrying the mud and dirt past me, a young girl standing under an umbrella, with my mother and step-father. My emerald blue eyes darted left and right, squinting tightly in an effort to see beyond the darkness and the rain.

"Mother, do you think he will come? The rain is getting heavier." I said as I placed more strength into my arms to keep the umbrella steady.

"He will come, Amy " My mother said, calling me by the nickname she usually called me at home. 

My father passed away seven months ago, and since then, it was just my step father and my mother who were with me. 

The rain was getting heavy, and the wind did not help, making it impossible for the umbrella to stop all the rain from reaching our shoes. My aunt gave a look to my uncle standing next to her, pressing her lips into a thin line as they waited for the expected man to arrive.

We have been standing there with a sack of yam and turnips which had to be sold to a customer today. We owned a little shop at the corner end of the village market but the shop did not fare well. My step-father worked hard, waking up early to be the first shop open and last to close, but regardless of what he did, the income was less than predicted. After all, its location was distant when compared to the other spots making their shop a last resort for the locals and affluent buyers.

A messenger had sent them an urgent request for their vegetables an hour ago, claiming that they would arrive to purchase them shortly, but even after an hour had passed, no one had come. I wondered whether the man would even come with such awful rain flooding the streets. Perhaps it was a wealthy person who was holding a party for others like him. People whose statuses were too high for my family to speak with.

"Are you sure he's coming?" I heard my mother whisper to my stepfather. 

"Well he has to. He paid a huge sum of money for it. Let me go check the store to make sure they aren't there," he replied, readying himself with the umbrella only to have his wife grab his shirt.

"I will come with you. I don't want to find you later on the ground with your back thrown out. Amy, dear," My mother turned to look over her shoulder to meet my eyes that stuck out radiantly in the gloomy weather, "Your father and I shall go see if the man is waiting for us at the store entrance. Stay here so that we don't have to come looking for you next. Okay?"

"Let me go look instead. I'll be much quicker," I promised, only to have my step-father shake his head.

"The last thing we want is for you to be getting lost. Do as you are told," his words were sharp and left no room for rebuttal. 

He had always been sharp with me, which often made me wonder whether he was opposed to me staying with them.

"Don't worry about the vegetables. I will safeguard them," I gave a reassuring smile to have my mother return a small nod to me before scurrying away with him under a single umbrella. 

The rain continued to pour with a soft thunder growling above me. The rain was common to the people who lived in moonlit packs, as the sunny days were sparse in comparison. We werewolves who love running in the meadows, have already adapted to the rainy weather and hardly go out for a run. 

The tower bell rang loud enough to compete with the rain and thunder. The sky darkened further as a carriage passed by me without stopping, not caring to ask why I was standing alone in the rain or if I needed assistance. 

I took a step back under the worn-out, little roof that helped reduce the pressure on my black umbrella.

The wind grew more powerful, making it more difficult to shield my feet and the bottom of my dress from getting wet. As I stood there waiting for my family to return, all the while keeping an eye out so that I did not miss the customer who had agreed to come to purchase the goods, another carriage passed by, jet-black in color.

Due to my unfamiliarity with carriages, I did not know to whom each one belonged to as they all appeared relatively identical in design and color. Such luxuries generally belonged to men and women of the upper-class. The most contact I had with this transportation mode was traveling in a local carriage that was packed with other commoners, ferrying me from one pack to another.

What I failed to notice was that this particular carriage had stopped around the corner of where I stood. 

I raised my head to the sky, a smile on my lips. The rain was free and beautiful. Even though it made everywhere wet and muddy. When the wind hit my face, my slender fingers tucked away the unruly strands of hair that covered my face.

I continued to wait in the rain until I felt it had been too long since my family had left me here. I grew worried, fearful something had happened to them. I wondered whether I should go look for them to make sure they were okay. My step-father and mother were no longer young, and the rain could have caused them to slip and fall.

Before I could decide what to do, I saw a figure through the rain walking towards me with an umbrella. It was a man wearing a large coat over his body. I guessed that he was the customer in question.

He was late!

I disliked that just because we were poor, others could treat us however they wanted. Our time was just as important as theirs!

The man approached me, and when he was close enough, I berated him, "Mister, it's an hour past the time we agreed on. Don't you know the vegetables will soak in the water due to your carelessness? You will have to pay extra for wasting our time." I raised my brows accusingly to make sure he understood what I said.

The man stared at me, his black eyes inspecting me from top to bottom, causing me discomfort.

“You must be Amara, am I right?" He asked and I nodded. “Where are your parents?”

He had a scar that ran across his mouth that made me wary of him.

"Because of your tardiness, they left to search for you in the rain, but they should be back any second now. You are Mr. Armani, right?" I inquired full of suspicion.

"Yes," he said, scanning the vicinity to ensure no one was present.

Most of the villagers had taken shelter under their homes to avoid being drenched and catching a fever.

"Your goods are right here. Pay up, and you can take it." I patted the sack of potatoes and turnips that were stuffed inside the sack.

The man stared at me, a smile forming on his lips.

"The payment has already been made…"

Since when? I gave him a look of doubt as I pondered his claim. Maybe the man trusted my uncle, and they shared a business history with him. As unlikely as that sounds, it was still technically possi—WHOA!

Suddenly, instead of taking the sack next to me, the man seized my wrist and dragged me towards him.

"What are you doing, Mister?!" I was startled by this sudden change. "Let go of my hand," I said firmly as I tried to pull it out of his grip, but he was too strong.

Unable to pull away from him, I picked up a rotten carrot I had previously placed on the slab to throw away later. Taking hold of it, I jabbed it right into his face, digging into his eyes and making him yelp in pain. He instinctively let go of my hand.

Without pause, I closed my umbrella and smashed his head with the edge of the handle as hard as I could before sprinting away. The rain came down at me with anger and my wet hair stuck to my face as I ran. With the countless puddles that littered the ground, every step I took was accompanied with a large splash. One of my hands held the front of my dress as I made a mad dash through the streets.

I heard larger and more aggressive splashes chasing my footsteps. Unfortunately, the attacker was persistent in following me. I ran with all my might, turning into alleys and crossing the little streets until I found a large pillar located past a corner to hide behind.

I gasped for air. It had been ages since I had last run so desperately.

The last time occurred when I was being chased by a bull. I had not done anything to anger the animal, just disliked me for no apparent reason and seemed to pursue me out of boredom. To my joy and my mother's dismay, the bull was sold a month ago.

Hearing the splashing sound approaching my hiding spot, I covered my mouth and pulled my wet dress between my legs, praying he would pass the pillar without stopping.

I could feel my heart pounding against my chest.

When the man stopped to see where I had gone, I carefully peeked from the edge of the pillar. This alley led to a three-way fork road and from the man's perspective, I could have picked any of them. 

I did not care which he picked as long as it was not the fourth option, the spot behind this pillar. 

Thankfully, the man picked the third route.

I squeezed out of my hiding spot and ran back to my starting point, hoping my family had returned by now. When I reached the storefront, they still hadn't come back, leaving me clueless about what to do next. I knew I couldn't carry the sack of vegetables very far, and the rain had probably ruined the entire bag by now, so I decided to leave it there.

Since I was already drenched, I didn't bother with the umbrella and started walking home directly, letting the rain flow onto my head and dress without reservation.

About a quarter of the way home, I suddenly had a bad premonition. I paused and turned around to see if someone was following me, but I didn't see anybody behind me.

 I let out a sigh of relief and faced forward again, but then I saw Mr. Armani standing in front of me. Before I could react, his hand came right at me, and I blacked out.