Chapter 4

“So your name is Accashia.” Luntian asked as she poured in a generous amount of stew on the bowl that Accashia was holding. “What a pretty name. The meaning of your name fits you as well.” 

Steam rose from the bowl, and because she’s starving the young lady did not mind the heat and took a sip. She made a sound of delight. “This is delicious.” She looked up to Luntian then gave the old lady a smile. “And… thank you.” She paused to take another sip. “For saying that my name is pretty.” 

“It is. As pretty as you.” 

Accashia frowned then shook her head. “I’m not pretty.”

Luntian laughed after swallowing her food. “You are! Have you seen yourself?” 

The old lady stared at Accashia from head to toe and little by little, she noticed how Accashia was changing. Her long brown hair was turning ginger and the scars on her face, her body — from the past scars from the wounds from yesterday were healing. 

Her uneven skin from being on the sun for too long changed as well. From tan to fair. But the biggest change was the mark just below her nape.

A symbol that the knotting was a success.

Luntian cleared her throat as she saw Accashia gobbled up the food, practically swallowed it and did not bother to chew on the meat. “More food?” She asked then gestured at the black pot behind them. 

Accashia’s mouth was full of vegetables and meat as she mumbled, “Yes please.” 

“You go on ahead and eat a lot my lady.” Luntian said with a smile as she gave Accashia another bowl of food. “Tonight at the new moon, your body needs to be ready for the final change. After eating, you sleep and rest.”

Bothered by what she heard, Accashia looked up and put down her bowl. She realized something. That Luntian had no intention to let her go. The young lady stood up abruptly, making the makeshift table between them shake. “I have to go.” 

Luntian slowly looked up from her bowl, an amused smile on her face. “And where are you going?”

Accashia did not bother to look back at Luntian, she marched forward and tried to find the path that would lead her back home. “I’m going home.” 

Again, Luntian could only giggle in amusement. “And why would you want to go home?”

This time, Accashia stopped walking and turned her head to look at Luntian. “Because it’s my birthday.” She said aloud with a blush. “A–and my mom always gives me something for my birthday.”

Luntian kept her gaze on Accashia. Oh how many times she has to deal with this kind of rebellious age. She cannot count anymore. “You will go home even though your brothers keep on pushing you around? Hurting you? Abusing you?” 

The young lady’s eyes went wide, and her face shifted from calm to grim. No, she doesn't want to go home and be bullied again. But it’s her birthday… and her mother always makes her feel special during her birthday. “I…” She was left speechless. “How did you know that?” Was the only thing she could say.

Luntian smiled brightly. And as she did, it’s as if the clouds had opened up and the sun’s rays shined down on her. “Because I can read your soul. And thinking about your brothers gives you nothing but pain.” 

The old lady gestured again at the food. “Now come back here and listen. Your soul needs to heal, now eat.” 

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Loud screams and growls resounded inside a dark cave. It has always been painful. Bones forcibly elongate and change their shape, sometimes moving so drastically that they rupture his skin. Silver coat of fur was gradually shedding from his aching skin. Soon his pale skin was visible, and his bones went back into place. He heard his shoulder pop, a sign that he was human again. 

“Damn it.” Calleb was never fond of the change. The shift, as Luntian calls it. It was painful and it took several minutes but it feels like hours. 

He remembered how odd last night was. How much he changed when he saw the girl trapped on the tree. It was his first time to encounter something like that. It made him confused, and angry with himself. 

It made him weak and succumbed to his desires. 

How could he do that to the poor girl? “Damn it…” He hissed a curse. 

Calleb tried to push himself up from the damp ground. Now that he was human again, the wounds he got from the chase yesterday healed. Yet he was so spent. He could even barely make himself stand up. 

He remembers Luntian telling him about the change. He will be weak because of the knotting. Not only will he lose self control but he will also experience a different type of heat around his mate.  

“Fuck!” He cursed at himself. “I can’t even stand up, perfect.” 

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Back at the hollow cave, Accashia paced back and forth, muttering curses. It’s as if she was stuck at the moment, rather she did not know what to do. The idea of being someone’s mate for life seemed crazy, out of this world. Yet the idea of coming home and experiencing the same abuse from her brothers drove her insane as well. 

It seems like anywhere she turned, she had nowhere to go. She also remembered stories from the past. The stone tablets. The warnings and the lullabies. 

“Luntian.” She called for the old woman as she played with her fingers. “Ca—can I tell you something.”

Luntian looked up to Accashia with a smile. “What is it, my dear?” 

The young lady seemed unsure of herself. And she did not know how to form the words that she was about to say. She bit her lips then looked at Luntian, her eyes pleading. “There’s this legend that everyone from my village knows about. The legend of the beast from the East.” 

Luntian raised her brow, her curiosity tickled making her eyes spark. “What legend, care to tell me about it?” 

Accashia took a deep breath and began to sing, a melody that she had memorized by heart out of fear. “Don't go to the forest. Don't go to the east."

Upon hearing the song, Luntian’s eyes went wide and she began to laugh.

“Why are you laughing?” Accashia asked, a bit offended. “The — the legend that I sang was talking about the beast that I saw last night, right? He—He’s not human, he was a beast.” She licked her lips after hearing herself out. “He’s what the village Shaman warns us about.”

The old lady shook her head. “So this is what you’re feeding the minds of the innocent, huh, Ursula.”

Accashia squints her eyes, “What?” 

The old lady smiled then shook her head. “He’s about to arrive.” Luntian announced as she fixed herself. “Calleb.” 

Upon hearing the name, Accashia crossed her arms against her chest then tilted her head to the side. So the beast has a name. “Calleb?” The name rolled against her tongue, feeling a weird sensation on her chest upon knowing the name of the beast who claimed her last night. 

“Yes. Calleb Shaldan.” 

Suddenly the wind blew harder, and leaves were dragged by the breeze. Birds resting on the branches of the trees began to fly away and move to the east. Accashia’s heart raced when she sniffed a scent — something so familiar, a scent of the mountain breeze, sandalwood. 

From a distance, Calleb appeared. He was tall and his wavy silver hair reached up to his shoulder. Broad shoulders and chiseled body, from afar he looked like a vision. A beautiful man. A kind of beauty Accashia had never laid her eyes on. 

But when her eyes met his blush gray ones… the young lady couldn’t help but swallow against her throat. 

“The same eyes as the wolf.” She whispered to herself. 

And now Calleb was standing in front of her, he was a foot taller. Bigger. Accashia bit her lips as a sinful thought flickered on her mind. The sensation she experienced last night was coming back.

But then…

‘You’re not that pretty.” Calleb said with a frown, making Accashia’s jaw relax and her mouth drop in disbelief. Her arms fell on her side and she looked at Calleb in the eye and said, “What?”

Calleb let out a crooked grin, then he leaned down to look at Accashia closer. As if he was measuring her up. He even thought to himself why he was mated to such a plain looking girl. Legends from the olden days said that the Queen of Shaldan was a prized beauty. That men from all over the world would fight for her.

Yet this one… “So you’re my mate, huh?”