Esmeralda
I woke up with a start, followed by a long loud gasp that left me panting hard.
Sitting upright immediately, I stared into space, gasping for breath recalling the vent of my nightmare flashed through my head. Except it was a panic attack caused by the she-devil herself.
Her claws dragged me into the darkness with my body bound by silver chains, leaving me no room for escape.
It hurt.
It burned, so bad that my skin peeled. And fresh droplets of my blood splashed on me, and her.
Her snaky tongue found its way in the darkness, licking each drop of my blood, hungrily, almost draining me completely, like a starved vampire sucking the blood of its victim.
I screamed and pleaded, but it wouldn’t stop her torture.
My agonizing screams sounded like pleasant music to her ears, satisfying her troubled soul. And my blood tasted like fine wine on her tongue, causing muffled moans and groans out of her lips.
She enjoyed it.
She enjoyed me.
But as if that was not enough, her long dark claws dug their way into my chest, guiding my heart into her hands, leaving me breathless, surrendering to death.
But I survived.
I had cheated death, three times in a night.
Smearing its name in the mud and wiping my name off its scroll.
A familiar electrifying sensation coursed through me, vibrating me on the inside.
The same electrifying sensation ran through me and yanked me violently away from my captor for a few seconds before her claws grabbed my heart. It shone brightly before forming a crystal and slamming my captor hard, leaving her helpless on the floor.
A miracle.
I stifled a scream, placing my hand on my throbbing head as it slammed continuously, threatening to open up.
A pair of hands found mine, making me stiff at the strange contact, “Esmeralda?” It called, earning a scream from me.
No!
Has she found me? Again?
Will she ever leave me alone?
I thought I had escaped. I thought I had defeated death.
“You cannot run away from me, Esmeralda. Even if you seek refuge in the…”
No!
I screamed louder, pulling my hair from my head in confusion.
I truly cannot run away from her. She will always find me, always.
“Esmeralda, stop,” The voice called again, this time with worry laced in it.
“Phoebe, let me go,”
I yelled at the top of my lungs, shutting my eyes tightly.
I didn’t want to see her. Not her elongated canines that were ready to chew chunks of my skin. Not her sharp canines that always wanted to hold my heart.
She had always wanted it. Always.
“Hold still, Esmeralda,”
“Take a deep breath,”
Two voices said simultaneously.
Two familiar voices.
“You are safe now, Phoebe is not here,” It said, before a body crashed on mine, pulling me into a warm embrace and patting my hair.
“It’s just us,” The voice whispered, leaving me frozen in shock.
“Us?” I asked in disbelief, wondering who it could be.
“Yes, open your eyes,”
I stirred my eyes open, slowly to meet two blurry images before me.
Despite their concealed faces, their physiques were familiar.
They were not strangers. And I was safe.
My tensed muscles relaxed under the soothing voice and a sigh of relief escaped my lips.
I was safe from Phoebe.
I snapped my eyes open, blinking several times to erase the blurriness that obscured my vision. My eyes met with Selene and Jade, watching me keenly with concern and worry written all over their faces.
My eyes watered at the sight of my best friend sitting at the edge of my bed with eyes watching me like a hawk.
Those unblinking eyes watched me all through the night without dozing off.
“Selene,” I pressed her body closer to mine, engulfing her in a bear hug as tears trickled down my eyes.
I missed her. All of her.
“You saved me,” I said in realization, “Thank you,”
“I’ll do anything for you, Esme,” Her hands squeezed me harder, “I should have come earlier, but getting past those guards was not easy. They were everywhere and when I heard that scream, I knew something was not right with you,”
She heard the scream.
“You still saved me. Phoebe would have killed me,” I sniffed, breathless in tears.
Releasing Selene from my grip, my gaze met Jade who smiled at me.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I asked in shock, crawling away from her.
Her hands flew up in surrender, “Calm down. I heard your screams an hour ago so I decided to check up on you, luckily, I found Selene,”
Swallowing the lump in my throat, an unsettling feeling swept through me.
She shouldn’t know Selene was here.
Fuck.
“You won’t tell anyone that you saw Selene here,” My voice came out as a whisper a dreadful feeling spread through me, “You will pretend that she wasn’t here,”
Considering that Alpha Kade still hated her, knowing that she escaped from her position would make him more furious.
No one has to know.
“No one will know, ” She affirmed, sticking her index fingers and thumb together and passing it through her lips, as if sealing it imaginarily, “Your secrets are safe with me,”
Relief coursed through me, relaxing my body.
I hope she doesn’t go back on her words.
I tilted my head to meet Selene who was itching to bombard me with questions, “What triggered the panic attack? Were you thinking of her?”
I shook my head negatively, “I wasn’t,”
Selene’s brows knitted in confusion, “The reason for your panic attacks is because of Phoebe. And now that Phoebe is gone, it shouldn’t bother you anymore, except you are thinking about her or… someone is reminding you of her,” She said, emphasizing the last sentence.
Vanessa.
“Who the hell is Phoebe?” Jade asked, interrupting me before I could reply to Selene.
A dark chuckle rolled from Selene’s lips, “Your worst nightmare,”
“Okay,” Jade’s eyes darted between Selene and me, hoping for an explanation to satisfy her curiosity.
Silence ensued between us. Uncomfortable silence.
“What time is it?” I broke the silence. My eyes scanned the room for an available clock.
“It’s…” Jade’s voice trailed off as she peeked at her wristwatch, “Almost 5 pm,”
“Shit!” I screamed, fisting my hand and hitting them repeatedly on the bed frame.
Selene’s eyes found mine, pinning me with a questionable look, “What is the matter?”
I gritted my teeth in anger, scrutinizing out of the bed, “I am supposed to clean the Alpha’s quarters. He will soon be back and he won’t take it lightly,”
“But you need to rest,” Selene protested, pulling my arm.
“I can rest later. Right now, I need to work,” I said, yanking my arm off Selene’s grip and matching around the room to retrieve what I needed.
“Where the hell is my uniform? The last time I checked, it was on me,” I hissed loudly, putting on my shoes.
“The uniform was filled with your sweat so I washed it and hung it outside, but getting there to retrieve it, it was torn. Badly torn,” Selene explained, leaving me terrified.
Not now.
“Who the hell did that?” I screamed when I found my voice, “How am I supposed to clean his room now?” Another frustrating scream tore from my lips as my fingers trailed the torn part of my uniform.
Who the fuck did this?!
“Just make do with this, Jade said she would meet with Madam Dora to help you get a new uniform,” Selene tossed a pink gown at me before patting me on my shoulder.
Wearing the pink off-shoulder gown and grabbing the bunch of keys, I dashed out of the room without checking myself in the mirror.
“Shit!” I cursed, almost close to tears for not being able to find my hair band.
I ran through the hallway with my hands digging into my hair in an attempt to straighten it.
Muttering a silent prayer as I entered Alpha Kade’s quarters, my hands reached for the door, turned the knob and walked inside as quietly as a mouse.
My jaw went slack, almost dropping to the ground and my eyes bulged, threatening to drop out of their sockets.
I froze in shock, trying to process what was before me.
Alpha Kade was on his bed, sleeping.
My hands flew to my mouth, stifling a scream when his eyes stirred open, landing on me.
His furious gaze burned my skin, as he stared at me like he had seen a ghost.
Why did I come late?!
My breath hitched as I watched in horror as his eyes narrowed in anger, threatening to rip me apart.
“Where did you find that dress?” He growled, emphasizing on each word.
“I found… it in the pink room… the room I used to sleep in,” I stuttered, shaking like a leaf.
Recoiling in horror as he made his way toward me with eyes like fire.
“Get out!” He roared, making me dash out of the room in fear, as fast as my legs could carry.
“Get out of the dress and out of that room!” His words echoed throughout the hallway, vibrating me in fear.
What the hell is going on?!