The Witch And The Cursed Child- Part I

Leora:

With wide eyes and trembling knees, I step backwards in the cave, my hand slamming against my mouth to quieten my frightened breaths in fears of anyone hearing them, crouching down, I hide behind one of the large rocks blocking the entrance of the cave, trying my hardest to make myself as small as I can be, just like a wounded, horrified pray, which is the exact description for my current situation as this place is the land for most of my predators.

Of all the places in the world, of all the possibilities, why did the tunnel lead me here?

I understand that in terms of geography, the silver shore is the closest to the northern shore which is located in the northern region, mine and Tynan’s home, but this doesn’t explain why the tunnel ended up here, wasn’t the master worried that the fugitives would tell on him and the atrocities he committed in his dungeons, or did he do it on purpose, to send a message? That doesn’t make any sense as it is not in his favor, the master was a proud man, his ego is greater than that of the Goddess herself, but he wasn’t reckless nor was he stupid, he wouldn’t risk leaving an open passage that led straight to his residence.

Maybe no one escaped after all, I think as I keep watching the shore around me, looking for any possible signs of enemies, maybe this place was meant to be a way for the master and his hounds to kidnap new victims to enslave and torture, mainly humans as this part of the pack’s territory is mostly occupied by them, this sounds like a more reasonable explanation, I tell myself as I flip my memories to where I was managing the projects in this area, being the children of the moon and the forest, werewolves are not very fond of the sea, unlike humans who prefer it, and instead of letting these lands and all the potentials it held be wasted, I suggested to Axel to move the humans in it, to live and to work for the pack, it was the perfect solution for the increase in human population in our lands and the constant complaints from them about the vampire attacks, because just like werewolves, vampires hated the sea.

Well, it could have been worse, I tell myself as I manage to calm a little, not to the point of letting my guards down though for I am still very aware of the warriors constantly patrolling the lands, ready for any intruders and reminding the humans who is actually the boss.

And if the patrols weren’t enough, I am still aware that the silver shore is also the home of many werewolves families, the ones who were the lowest in rank, weakest, and without actual value to the pack house, those families chose to live among the humans, not wishing to remain in or near the pack house where they will always be reminded of their incompetence.

Lower or higher, a werewolf is still a werewolf, a foe I cannot defeat on my own, I need to be extremely careful, and I need to move fast if I wanted to make it anywhere, it is dawn, I can tell from the sun almost rising, it is time for the night patrols to retreat in order to be replaced, I doubt the watch would be as severe on this part of the lands as it used to be with the upcoming war, most forces should be summand to guard the northern borders, which I plan to use for my advantage.

Once I make sure no one is around me, I step out of the cave with careful and calm steps, I contemplated the idea of making a run to the first but discarded it right away, my eyes aren’t as potent as those of werewolves, they would spot me even when I cannot see them, running in a predator’s territory while they are watching is never a wise idea, so I hope that from this far, and even if I am spotted, my apparent nonchalant walk would seem harmless and normal as humans are known to be fond of the beach and taking strolls in it, regardless of the our.

Once my feet meet the cold salty water, I sigh with relief before taking a few more steps into the sea, the cold water refreshing me even when the salt assaults all the little cuts I didn’t know I acquired along the way, that is good, I tell myself as I fight the pain, at least no one would be able to smell my blood, I hurriedly rub my hair, face, and body, wishing if I had an extra set of clothing to change into, alas, I must stick with the rags I am wearing otherwise walk around the territory butt naked, a thought I am no where near being enthusiastic about for I still remember what these wolves did to be when I was their prisoner.

Once I am satisfied with the amount of cleanliness I have achieved, I step out of the water and dry my hair, my stomach roaring loudly, but not as loud as the sound coming from behind me.

“Hey you! Are you okay?” I freeze as the footsteps come closer, I ready myself to run like a headless chicken, but I calm down telling myself that the man sounded worried, a werewolf wouldn’t ask an intruder about their wellbeing, with that thought in mind, I calm myself and turn around, keeping my face relaxed and my posture composed, sure enough, the group of three approaching me don’t seem that threatening for they are merely young humans.

Seventeen at best, I tell myself as I study the two boys and the girl standing behind them in a flimsy outfit, taking notice of the equipments the boys are carrying, they must be here to take some shots with the girl being the model, I can work with that, I tell myself.

“I am fine, thank you” I tell them with my sweetest voice while putting an innocent smile on my face, hopefully this will rend them less alarmed and they will not report my presence to the patrols, however, the girl gasps as she points at my body, a horrified look on her face.

Well, fuck!

“Who did this to you!” she says while leaving the protection of the boys and coming to stand next to me, her shaky hand comes to first touch my neck before moving to my exposed arms, I truly don’t know what she is seeing but now that she is touching me, everything hurts!

“We must call the authorities!” one of the boys declares angrily while the other quickly removes his jacket to place it around my shoulders, shielding me from the cold morning breeze biting my wet skin, I shiver at the sensation of warmth engulfing me, grateful that I got to feel it once again before his words registered in my mind…

The authorities!!

“No!” I wheeze frantically, my throat protesting at the harshness with which I spoke the lone word, the three humans share a look and then look at me skeptically, fuck! I have made myself more suspicious now, I open my mouth and close it, trying to work my mind around something, but I can’t really came up with a lie when I don’t even know what they saw in me to make them this alert.

“There is no need, I am okay!” I fake a smile as I wave my hands at them and trying to seem as natural as I could, but the girl take a hold of my hand before she inspects it carefully, all while the boys stare at my face, particularly my jaw and the side of my neck.

“Don’t lie! I know abuse when I see it!” the girl says with a shake to her head, and something clicks in my head, finally realizing what they saw in me to induce such reaction, they think the marks I carry are that of abuse, my face heats up as I remember what truly gave me those marks.

“Let us at least take a look at those first, and then we will decide what to do.” One of the boys says while pointing at the side of my neck, taking my embarrassment as a sign of discomfort, I nod slowly, welcoming the idea as it is my best chance to buy myself some time.

Tightening the jacket around my shivering body, I start walking with the group to where their car is, keeping a close watch on them in case they decided to call the authorities after all, the authorities being the wolves controlling this part of the territory.

Once we make it to the gray volvo, the girl slides in first in the back seat while the boys remain a few feet away, that is nice of them, I think as I get the meaning behind their actions, they don’t want me to feel threatened by their presence with us as the girl takes a look at my injuries, humans are the most considerate kind out there, the kindness they carry in their hearts even towards complete strangers is something that never failed to astonish me, and I guess it is one of the reasons why I loved them and loved working with them when I did.

“Let us first take a look at your neck, okay?” the girl says sweetly, her movements careful and slow, but before allowing her to do as she pleased, I ask for a mirror, I need to know what they are seeing.

Sure enough, the bite mark on my neck looks horrendous, the girl gives me a sad and sympathetic look as we both stare at the deep marks that barely seized to bleed, the sides of my jaw, my neck, my arms, and all that is visible of my body is equally covered with ugly bruises, but nothing looks as bad as that huge bite, his mark.

I now understand why he looked that sorry the other night, why he couldn’t even meet my gaze when the anger dissolved, I hold back my tears, a wave of bitterness washing over me as I stare at my reflection, second guessing everything I came to know and accept.

He said he wouldn’t hurt me… but that was obviously a lie!

“You are human right?” the girl asks sweetly while taking back the large mirror she just handed me, her voice bringing me back to the present and I slowly nod, unable to mouth any words for I feel like I am about to start crying, which I do not want to do right now.

“I guessed that much, night creatures tend to heal very fast unlike us…” she says while placing the first aid kit on her lap, taking out the bottle of disinfectant and dipping it in cotton which she uses on the bite, I wince at her actions but do not pull back, I wish I can tell her that it is useless, that this is not a bite any human medicine could treat for it is not meant to heal, it is meant to remain, to mark.

“I am no stranger to abuse you know…” she continues, and I look at her with interest, not knowing whether I want to hear what she has to say or not, I wait for her to continue but the sad smile she gives me tells me that she was never willing to share her story with me, only to tell me that she understand what she believes to be my case and my pain.

Once she finishes bandaging my neck and applying ointment on my bruises, she calls for the boys to join us, they reluctantly get in the car seeing that I am not flinching away from them, I see them exchanging a look before turning back to me with a troubled look, this can’t be good.

“I should be on my way now, thank you so much guys, I will be forever in your dept!” I say politely while readying myself to leave the vehicle, hoping that the boy won’t ask for his jacket back, however, he stops me mid sentence, his eyes gluing me on my spot.

“I don’t think it is safe for you there, Miss Leora…” I look at him wide eyed, a part of my brain urging me to step out of the vehicle and let them bite my dust, all while the other peruses me to lie, I contemplate my options and set on the second one, the first still on the table if things went wrong.

“I don’t know…”

“I thought you were familiar at first, I kept asking myself where I have seen you before, until I remembered, you were the one responsible for constructing the sports’ compounds, my mother was one of your team members and I used to see you when I dropped her off or picked her up, I am sure it is you!” so running it is, I tell myself as I place myself on the door handle, but they all reassure me with kind smiles.

“Please don’t be alarmed, miss Leora, we mean you no harm!” The girl says politely and the boys nod, I try to detect any signs of malice in their eyes and body language but there is none, deciding to trust my instincts, I allow them to talk more while one of the boys pulls out what seems to be a lunch box and offer it to me.

“We humans barely had anything you know, except for the beach, no one cared to improve our lives but you, Mon used to say this all the time, we all play sports at the compound you know, Jess and I play basketball while Danielle is a gymnast, we love spending our time there and we are more than thankful for having a place to be and spend our times in, you were the only person within the pack’s council that cared about our needs, and we would love it if you allowed us to help you back now that you need us.” I look at the boy, whose name is Asher, with my mouth stuffed with his sandwich and my eyes filled with tears, to think that the efforts I made long ago weren’t for nothing and that it came as a helping hand in the end is beyond what words can express, I swallow harshly giving them a gratful nod, not knowing what to say.

“My mother was really worried when you disappeared and even made a visit to the packhouse to ask about your whereabouts, she was told that you were no longer in service and was rudely dismissed, but that didn’t stop her, she kept on investigating until we learned what they did to you.”

“A treason they said, none of us bought it, all the people who worked with you knew the person you were and knew you were not capable of hurting anyone, let alone the Alpha’s mate, we know you were set up, and now we have the proof in front of our eyes!” Danielle announces through gritted teeth, I look at her for a second before I get the meaning behind her words, she thinks it is the Silvermoon wolves who did this to me.

I should correct them, I tell myself as I look at their faces, but again, I cannot do that if I want to proceed with my plan, I am already beyond lucky to be found by them and not anyone else, the warriors or even elder humans who understand the gravity and consequences of the little help they are offering me, it is selfish and cynical, I know, but I can’t let go of this opportunity, besides, it is not like the Silvermoon pack didn’t show me hell before, I looked ten times worse when I was under their hold.

“They probably wished to silence the only person who spoke for humans, and after you left, the pack has been giving us nothing but crumbs, all the projects you started are stopped, even the center in the southern region.”

“That is unfortunate to hear.” I tell them with a ghost of a smile, before gathering my wits, they are kind lads, but I cannot profit of their kindness any longer, I need to be on my way.

“We will help you reveal the truth to the world, miss Leora, I assure you that all humans would be on your side!” jess chirps in, his voice filled with enthusiasm and determination, the other two nod in agreement.

“No!” the three look at me as if I have just lost my mind, I shake my head to emphasis my previous word, I cannot let them be a part of this.

“Look guys, I am more than thankful for everything you did so far and willing to do, but I don’t want anyone to be harmed for my sake, especially not humans, I have worked all my life to be able to provide you with a safe life, I will not risk that, even for my own sake, I have accepted the fact that I no longer have a place in these lands, and I am sure you have a thousand Leoras among you, but please, don’t put yourselves in harm’s way for my sake, you have no idea how far the wolves are willing to go to crush me and anyone who dares help me.

If it is not too much to ask, please, all I am asking for now is a set of clothing and I will be on my way, that and a promise that you guys would keep meeting me a secret, I am still in danger, and until I am able to leave the lands, it is better if no one knew I am still alive, same as it is best for you guys, helping a traitor is a treason.” It wasn’t easy, I admit, convincing these hotheaded yet kind humans of dropping the matter of helping me, but I succeeded eventually, with much reluctance, Asher hands me out a spare jeans which he keeps in his truck as well as a jersey and baseball hat while Dannielle offers me her flip flops, I can’t say I look like a head turner but this is more than I can ask for.

“Here…” Jess offers me some cash which I refuse immediately even when he insists, saying it is needed for my next meal, the idea sounds tempting but I refuse to be a beggar, my dignity can only take so much.

“You have already done so much for me guys, I cannot accept more, just please, keep our encounter a secret from anyone, even your families, I promise I will be safe and find my way back to safety, just…please, be safe yourselves, and don’t get yourselves in trouble with the wolves, stay in the safety of the shore…” I wish I can warn them about the upcoming massacre in case they would be taking part in it, but I know I can’t reveal that kind of information for it would definitely blow, I barely trust them to keep this encounter a secret, let alone something this big and atrocious.

“Be safe, miss Leora, and please know that our doors will always be open for you, you are most welcomed in case you needed help.” Danielle says before offering me a hug, I hug her back and offer the boys a grateful smile, ready to make it back on the road now that I am fed and clothed, but then, something clicks in my mind and I turn back to ask them.

“Guys, do you mind telling me what day it is?”

“It is February, 8th…”I smile back and wave my goodbyes to the youngsters before heading to the forest, and once my back is facing them, I allow my expressions to morph into one of extreme horror…

The massacre is happening tomorrow!

How could this be? I am pretty sure that it was still the beginning of January, did I waste a full month in that tunnel?

If so, then how? It merely felt like a day!

And if so, then that means I barely have twenty four hours to stop the massacre.