Chapter 2: Free

Carol wants to be free, but she can't be. It's been five years, and she can't even move her limbs. When she was young, she went to the forest along with her father. Those were the days she enjoyed the most. She was only 5. She didn't have a mom, and her stepmother and stepsister were evil, but her dad didn't know…only she knew. So she always enjoyed her time with her father because it meant that she could get away from her evil stepmother.

She was playing with flowers, and that was when she heard a cry for help, which sounded like a howl. She moved towards the sound and saw a wolf pup that had gotten trapped. He was howling for help, and she decided to help him. She introduced herself as Carol and named him puppy. The puppy was so cute and fluffy. It was pure black in color—her favorite color.

The puppy was so well-behaved that she fell in love with it at once. They played a lot of games, and she lost track of time. But unfortunately, while she had been playing with the puppy, her father was killed. The people who killed her father had kidnapped her too.

The last time she saw the puppy, it was trying to help her but was unable to. She could feel his struggle, and slowly, he fell unconscious while she was beaten over her head.

Carol lost her freedom that day.

She was locked in the attic by her stepmother and given a tiny amount of food and water to survive. She is only being kept alive because she has to sign a document so that her parents' property can be transferred to her stepmother. She knows all of this because she once heard her captors whispering outside the room. They thought that she couldn't hear them, but she heard every bit of it. She's actually not sure how she did…it was abnormal. It’s like she has heightened senses.

She's determined to escape this place. She has already failed several attempts at escaping this damn place. Five years ago, when she first tried to escape from the attic, she had fallen to the ground and hit her head severely. This caused her to fall into a coma, and she's now in a vegetative state. She likes to be free and active, which was why her father always took her to different places, one of which was the forest.

For ten years, she has been locked in the attic. She couldn't even step out of the room. And now that she's in a vegetative state, she can't even move her leg or any other body parts. She's trying very hard to open her eyes, but she can’t. She feels like she's floating through the air. She can't even stretch out her leg. It's like she's swimming in a bottomless pit. She's trying to grab something, but nothing is there.

After struggling for a very long time, she hears a beeping sound and sees a small light. But as soon as she sees it, it disappears. Even the sound fades away, like it's moving further into the distance. She tries to swim towards the light and sound, and slowly, the sound gets louder and the light gets brighter. She tries to open her eyes, and everything is blurry at first. Her sight starts clearing up. Now, she knows what happened. She knows she fell down and that she's in the hospital.

Carol has to get out of this place.

She removes all the wires carefully without anyone noticing. Fortunately, she doesn't make any noise. She slowly surveys her surroundings and finds that nobody is there. Her stepmother didn't think she would wake up, so she left no guards there. Carol takes the chance. Slowly, without making any noise, she gets down from the bed. She loses her balance but steadies herself and makes her way out of the hospital.

As soon as she gets out, Carol runs. It's really difficult for a girl who has been in a coma for five years to do that, but she's running for freedom. At last, she can breathe fresh air. She needs to be free—that's the only thought in her mind.

She's running for a purpose…even though she doesn't know what that purpose is. Something is pulling her forwards like its life is on the line, and she wants to find out what it is. This pull feels like a mission, one that will give her a happy life. But she doesn't know what mission it is. For now, all she wants is to be free. So she runs to a nearby village to get away from her stepmother and the rest of her "family."

But the village is not the same as it used to be. Everything is strange to her. So much has changed, and Carol doesn't recognize many of the things she sees. It's been 15 years—one decade and a half. That's not a small amount of time.

The only person she knows is a grandmother who used to give her candy whenever she went to her shop. She doesn't know whether the woman is still there. She spends half the day searching for the grandmother's shop, but she isn't able to find it. Growing tired, she sits in front of a small house to rest.

The house door opens, and an elderly lady walks out. She must be around 80, but she is healthy and looks around 50. "Carol, are you here for me?"

With those words, Carol realizes that this elderly lady is the grandmother she's been searching for! But she didn't expect her to identify her… She's shocked. She doesn't understand how the woman identified her—and this is because Carol has no idea that the grandmother is a witch.

Even so, she doesn't care to find out how the grandmother identified her. At least she found the grandmother—the only person she knows.

"My dear, it's been so long we have seen each other, and I can see you are very tired, so come inside and rest. Let's talk about everything later," the grandmother says. Carol doesn't hesitate to agree and walk inside the house. She trusts the grandma very much because she was the only person her father allowed her to talk to whenever they went to places for fun.

She remembers a girl around her age who she used to play with whenever she came to visit the grandmother, and she looks around to see if there is a grown-up version of her around. She remembers the girl's name was Rachel Paul. Seeing her searching for Rachel, the grandmother speaks up. "Carol, Rachel is not here. She is working in King's Enterprise as a janitor so that she can at least look after herself. If you want to work, you can talk to her. They pay well and also provide food and a place to stay, so you will be safe from evil."

Carol immediately says, "Okay, grandma, it would be really great to work. I don't want to rely on others. Thank you, grandma, for helping me."

The grandmother doesn't tell her that King Enterprise is run by werewolves, and her granddaughter, Rachel, is actually half-werewolf and half-witch. Since Rachel is a hybrid, she hasn't developed either werewolf or witch traits. So in the werewolf world, she is an omega, and in the witch world, she is not very powerful. As a result, she can only work as a janitor. Which side she takes will depend on who her mate is, whether he is a werewolf or wizard determine. After she meets her mate, Rachel's own power will grow.

Instead, all the grandmother says is, "My child, I'll give you a necklace. You should promise me that you will wear it at all times. I have given one to Rachel too because it will protect you from your evil stepmother and stepsister—as well as from everything else." Her words are very vague because she wants to hide the main reason. Carol doesn't notice, however, since she trusts the grandmother more than anyone.

However, even though the grandmother is a witch, she doesn't know Carol is mated to Alpha King… She just thinks that Carol will not have a werewolf mate because the girl is human. But if Carol does have a mate, then she will never find them. That's why the grandmother said that the necklace would protect Carol from "everything else"—it is because she thinks that being alive is more important than finding a mate.

The grandmother asks Carol whether she can rest at her home for one week before going to work since Rachel will be coming this weekend. That way, she can send Carol along with Rachel to King Enterprise.

Will Carol be free of all her troubles there, or will she meet the biggest trouble?