Chapter Six: Losing Two Souls

CHAPTER SIX (NEW MOON)

 Chapter Six: Losing Two Souls

She felt like breaking down. 

She can’t determine what’s real between what she was seeing and the memories in her head. Mallory’s eyes throb painfully that she kneeled down to bear the pain. When she thought that she can’t escape the cycle of pain, a small whimper dragged her back into reality. 

Mallory gasped at the cold, rusty air in her lungs, finally feeling life breathing into her. The pain disappeared like magic and her memories returned in order. Mallory panted, trying to figure out what had just happened. 

She heard a weak voice calling, making her entire body whip in that direction. 

“Melita!” Mallory stood up and abandoned her previous thoughts. She ran towards her while carefully avoiding the dead bodies on the ground. Her heart kept on constricting as she sees familiar faces, but she turned her eyes away, focusing on the sole survivor that–Mallory knew—won’t survive for long. 

Immediately, she dropped to her knees. Mallory didn’t dare to look down below, afraid to see how disfigured she was. Her hands shook as they reach for her face, her teary eyes glued on her. “Melita…”

Her voice cracked at the end, and she couldn’t hold it on.

She watched as Melita weakly leaned her head on her palms as if she want to feel the warmth on them. 

Melita was getting cold. The familiar heat she emit was gone. 

Why? Mallory sobbed, her eyes blurred, and she felt hot tears streaming down her cheeks. Why is it happening to her again?

She just lost her biological mother last year, and now her?

Why is the Goddess so unfair to her?

Melita tried to lift the corners of her lips. She saw her hands move as if they wanted to wipe the tears off her face. But alas, her strength didn’t allow her. “Don’t cry,”

She sobbed even more. Mallory scooted closer, putting her weak head on her lap. She heard her laugh, then asked. “Where is he?” 

Mallory choked, thinking about how to tell her what happened to her son. She forced herself to be composed. “I’m sorry… Damian had…”

She didn’t finish her sentence, but Melita understood right away. Her lips dropped downward, and she weakly closed her eyes. Mallory reached for her hand, gripping it like a lifeline. If Melita had the remaining strength, she would also grip her hand back. However, her strength was only for maintaining her remaining life.

Damian is probably dead. And it’s because of her. 

Mallory knew that Melita thought of that. 

Because how can Mallory come here and not him? Simple, he blocked the path for her. 

Mallory’s heart ached again. She decided to ask what she was meaning to ask the whole time. “Why didn’t you change and flee? You should have transformed and saved your own life!”

Melita opened her eyes again and looked at hers. Mallory almost avoided her eyes, thinking that she would see her hatred for her in there, but to her surprise, Melita looked at her as she always does.

She’s not blaming her…

“They developed a new drug,” Melita slowly enunciates. “We didn’t know what hit us after it did. I don’t know, but after getting exposed to it for a certain amount of time, you would feel sleepy and can’t feel the connection between you and your wolf…”

“A new drug…” Mallory said to herself, feeling terrified.

The vampire has made another weapon against them!

Melita laughed with difficulty after seeing Mallory scared stiff. “What are you afraid of? Mallory, you are the Blessed! Why didn’t you tell us before?”

“Blessed?” Mallory asked back.

Blessed… Mallory paused to think, What does she mean by that? I’m Blessed? Already? But I have yet to reach the right age! It’s common knowledge that underage can’t handle the Goddess’ blessings!

Equally, Melita looked at her with confusion. “Your… Mother didn’t tell you? About your eyes…”

“No,” she shook her head. Then she paused to think before saying hesitantly. “But she did say that she’ll tell me something when the time was right, but ultimately, she… Left me.”

Melita suddenly laughed. “I see!”

Mallory looked at her with visible confusion. 

Melita shook her head slightly and looked at her eyes. Slowly, she uttered with the utmost seriousness. “Mallory, listen, you are the Blessed.”

Mallory opened her mouth before closing it again. She wanted to ask what she meant by that, but then she stopped herself. Slowly, she retraced everything, rethinking Melita’s words to her. 

She’s the Blessed.

Her eyes. 

What are you afraid of? Mallory, you are the Blessed!

Mallory felt her world slow down. Her mind piecing everything into a complete puzzle. 

The memory of herself fighting the vampire.

Her mother’s sad face.

The vampire’s still intact body…

Mallory felt her body run cold.

Melita continued weakly. “Eighteen years ago, a prophecy arrived. The Goddess who had been just passively helping us finally bestowed the race a gift. Her Blessed. Her physical body to walk on earth. The Goddess’ embodiment will help the werewolves escape from the vampires’ rule! And, Mallory, it’s you! You are the Goddess’ Blessed!”

Mallory heard a ringing in her ears. Finally, all the dots were connected. She felt it–the truth.

She is the Goddess’ Blessed.

“That’s a lie…” She said, even though she herself knew it couldn’t be a lie. 

She saw it herself. The sudden death of that vampire. How his eyes suddenly burned when he looked at her. When his body didn’t disappear into the air despite dying.

Nothing about that is normal–not at all!

What explanation is acceptable except this?

But Mallory refused to accept the truth.

She doesn’t want to accept it. She remembered all the dying wolves and her running to survive. 

She survived everything, but they didn’t! She’s the Goddess’ Blessed! The supposed protector of her race! But she hasn’t protected anyone, much less saved someone!

She sobbed. “That’s a lie… If it’s true, why did my mother have to die? Why do we need to move from one pack to another? Why Damian had to protect me? Why do you have to… End up like this?”

“Mallory…”

“Mallory?” She repeated the name in her mouth, then remembered its meaning. “An unfortunate person? D-did my mom hate me? That much that she didn’t even tell me anything? Make me see many deaths for me to wallow in grief and guilt when I discover I am the Blessed? Did-why–why?”

Mallory’s outburst couldn’t be stopped. She continued mumbling incoherent things, her eyes moving everywhere, searching for something. 

“Mallory. Mallory. Mallory!” 

The coldness of skin touching hers’ made Mallory stop. Her eyes regained their luster and remembered where she was. What was happening, and what was about to happen. She looked down at Melita, whose eyes were staring at her with eyes as calm as a pond. 

“Your mother loved you!” She said, almost gritted her teeth in emphasis. “And you know that!”

“But–” 

“Listen to me, listen. Now that you know about it, I want you to promise me two things.” She stopped to take a breather. “Don’t tell anyone about it. No one. Not until you’re strong enough. Second; never use it in front of anyone until you’re strong enough. Never. If someone’s about to die in front of you right now, let them be. You’re not ready to bear the consequences.”

“What do you mean?” Mallory asked in frustration, feeling aghast at her words. Not tell anyone? Not to save anyone? “Why—”

Before her words can finish, Melita coughed violently, coughing out flesh and blood.

“Melita!” She panicked. “No!”

Melita laughed. Mallory was thrown into a pit of chaos. “Please, please, don’t speak. I’ll get someone to save you, so—”

“Don’t.” Melita weakly reached for her hand. “You know yourself that I can’t survive... Everyone had probably fled; instead of finding something that can’t be found, stay here. I don’t want to be alone.”

Mallory bit her lip, not wanting to acknowledge the fact that what she said was true. Her heart remained in denial even after she felt her hands again. They were now ice cold. 

Feeling her warm hands against her, Melita smiled. “Mallory, I have a favor. Would you listen to me?”

“Yes, anything!” Mallory immediately responded.

Melita took a deep breath. Mallory felt her heart ache just by looking at her do that. It looks like she was in great pain just by that small action. Finally, she spoke. “... Take care of yourself, and take care of Oddny.”

“Hmm.” She hummed in agreement, also remembering how she hadn’t seen the latter. 

“Mallory,” Melita called out again. But this time, her voice was fading away like the wind. She had her eyes closed already, as if the lids were too heavy to open.

“Yes?” Mallory suppressed her voice, not wanting her to hear that she was crying once again.

“… Please, leave well.”

Melita breathed her last. 

Mallory closed her eyes. Feeling and hearing her heartbeat stop, she didn’t stop her wails from arising out of her throat. 

In the distance, she can still hear the fight raging on. The fight has a possibility of coming toward where she was, but Mallory had no strength to stand up or even think of running away.

That night, Mallory lost two more important people in her life and, and at expense, more questions piled up for her to solve.