Chapter 3

She held onto his hands tightly and managed to pull herself up. He dragged her towards the woods as fast as he possibly could. By then, the people had sensed the false alarm had been a cover-up to help her escape. They were extremely angry and chased after them furiously, throwing stones and sticks at them. Some even threw torches. They followed the duo down the path leading to the woods. Ready to unleash unbridled anger.

Fire from one of the torches hit the handsome young man’s ear, and he winced a little, stopping for just a second. By then, Raya was already exhausted. Her legs gave out beneath her, and her lungs burned for air. She could no longer breathe well; rather, she panted with her tongue. She was too tired to shift into her wolf to run. Moreover, her wolf had been exhausted.

“You cannot stop now,” the young man said. “They are getting closer with each passing step. We have to hurry.”

“Go,” she coughed out. “Save yourself and leave me. This is my fate.”

“No, you have to get up now!” he ordered. “Stand up and run to save yourself.”

“What am I saving myself for?” She sobbed. “My family is gone. I have no one, so what is the point of my being alive? What is the point of going through heartbreak every day because I am thinking of my family? I would like to die right now. You know, the only favor you can do me is to end my life.”

“Don’t say that he begged.” His eyes were tear-filled. “I know what it is like to lose one’s family. I know what it feels like when your father is killed just to deceive the public. I know what…” He froze in his words.

The angry mob had gotten dangerously close. He picked her up like she weighed nothing and threw her on his back. Running like he had never done before, adrenaline fueling his muscles.

He disappeared through the woods and navigated it easily. He did not stumble or fall on any rocks or tree branches. It seemed to her as though the woods were a part of him. Like he grew up within them as if he had unraveled every secret they had to hide.

The path before them forked into two, and swiftly, he took the extremely bushy one on the left so that once the mob reached the splitting of the road, they would go to the right one that had footprints, hence losing them. It was a smart move indeed, and Raya only hoped that it would work.

The man stopped once they had been completely hidden by the bushes. The thorns pricked at their skin, giving them cuts and wounds all over their exposed skin. He lay Raya down gently and rested her head upon a smooth rock.

“You have to stay extremely quiet so that they do not find us,” he whispered. “If we had continued running in the right direction, they would have caught up with us.”

He was watching her with a concern that, in spite of her tiredness, tugged at her heartstrings. If only the Dark Moon pack was filled with people half as compassionate as this man.

Raya nodded and sniffed. She had wanted to die but was grateful that at least someone had been nice enough to save her from the mob. Even if she were to die, it would not be at the hands of these wicked barbarians.

Her heart was still torn from her sister’s sudden death, and as she imagined the cruel way her life would have ended, tears began to run down her face once more. She tried to be as quiet as possible. They could still hear the voices of the mob, and it seemed to be getting nearer. Both of them stiffened in fear.

“They can’t have gone through this one, can they?” It was the voice of Raya’s mother’s once-best friend.

“One can never be too sure. Should we check?” It was another feminine voice that said this.

“Let us just set this place on fire,” the old man’s voice cut through the murmurs. “It would be good if they cannot escape and burn to death.”

It wasn’t long before the bushes in front of them caught fire. A bright red-orange hue surrounded them. Smoke clouded the atmosphere, and before Raya could process what was happening, she passed out.

***

Warm hands on her face caused Raya to rouse from her sleep. She could not open her eyes yet because they were extremely heavy with fatigue, however, she could not help but hear the distinct voice of her sister.

Still closing her eyes, she began to recollect the events of the past. How she had been rejected by the alpha in front of the people and the confrontation with Lord Christopher’s daughter. How she had come home to see the people burning the house where she lived and where her sister was most likely to have been trapped. The people who had chased her into the woods and set her on fire. She remembered the smoke, the torches, and the mob, so she wondered why in the heavens she was awake. Finally, she managed to open her eyes and was met with a shock.

Identical blue eyes stared into hers. Her sister’s worried face hovered above hers. She could feel her sister’s fingers running through her hair and she could hear her sister’s voice humming a tone they had been taught by their late father.

“She’s awake!” the little girl’s voice screamed.

Raya’s face morphed into confusion. Her sister had been killed in a fire. At least she had been sure that was what had happened. If she had not died in the fire, how had she escaped? She was still a little girl, and it was impossible to have run to safety all by herself, so how come? Had it been all a nightmare, then?