Chapter 38

~Eliana~

My eyelashes fluttered, and I opened my eyes to that which I thought was a dream at first. I was surrounded by tall trees, bushes, and there was no one in sight. I closed my eyes again, then opened them, and when I did, I still found out that I was in that same place.

I wanted to pinch my arm to know if I was dreaming, or if this was all part of reality. However, my eyes were nowhere in sight. That was when I discovered I was actually hanging from a tree, with my hands crossed. I was alarmed and overcome with fear, and tried to break free from my predicament, but I only ended up swinging in the air.

When I wanted to open my mouth to scream for help, I was unable to, and discovered to my greatest dismay that my mouth had been stuffed with a cloth, which had been tied tightly, making it impossible for me to scream as loud as I wanted.

The questions that ran through my mind were concerning where I was, and how I ended up there. I tried searching my mind for answers, but I still felt faint, and was not fully up to the task yet. The headache I had felt earlier when I had woken up was now a migraine, and I felt really weak and nauseous.

Whoever was involved in doing this to me was going to pay dearly, I was going to make sure of that. No one had the right to treat me like that, no one could hurt me in this manner and go scot-free. I was going to deal with each and everyone that thought they could make my life a living hell.

There was a rustling noise behind me, and thankful that my eyes hadn’t been covered with a cloth, I looked towards the direction the noise had come from. Soon, I heard footsteps approaching me. My first instinct was to announce my presence to the person by yelling that I was tied up, but then again, I couldn’t do that, considering my present situation.

“Oh, you’re awake,” I heard a lady’s voice say, as she walked towards me.

I looked down, and then, I saw her. She was the same lady that I had seen last, before blacking out. For someone who should be in her fifties, she had great stamina and walked with so much agility. I never should have underestimated her, and should have known that something was wrong when she kept on looking at me with wide eyes.

“You want to say something to me? Ask why you’re here, and what you did wrong, probably?” She asked, with a loud laugh.

I rolled my eyes, and eyed her fiercely, incapable of showing through another way how annoyed I was, and what I’d do to her if I got set free.

“You shouldn’t be angry at me, sweetie. You should be angry at Alistair,” She said, sitting on a long piece of wood, with crossed legs, making me wonder what Alistair had to do with any of this.

“Talking without getting a response is so freaking annoying,” She lamented, getting up, and picking up a knife from her leather boots.

I trembled in fear, wondering what she could possibly be up to.

A smirk played around her lips. “Relax, honey. I’m not going to hurt you,” She told me, and with a very high jump...the highest I had ever seen, she cut off the cloth that had been used to tie my mouth to prevent me from speaking, in two.

“You’re welcome,” She told me, walking back to the piece of wood she had been sitting on.

“I never said thanks, you bitch,” I retorted, gasping for air, as my heart had stopped beating for a moment when she approached me with the knife.

She had a shocked look written on her face. “You look really sweet, but you have no manners. How dare you call me a bitch?” She asked.

I scoffed. “I’m hanging from a tree right now. That’s enough for me to lose all my manners,” I replied.

“Fair enough, but you shouldn’t blame me for that, you know. Alistair is to be blamed,” She said, fiddling with her knife.

“How is Alistair the reason behind all this?” I asked, in wonder.

“I want to tell you, but I don’t know if you’d understand. I mean, you don’t even know who your boyfriend truly is. Anyways, since we have all day, I’ll be kind enough to tell you everything. First of all, do you believe in werewolves?” She asked.

I rolled my eyes. “Yes, I do, and I know Alistair is a werewolf, if that’s what you’re driving at,” I responded.

She appeared to be stunned. “Wow. He told you he’s a werewolf? If he could tell his human girlfriend that, it simply means I was right to think you matter to him. I can’t help but wonder why he’s not present yet, since he should know already that you’re in danger,” She told me.

“Who the hell are you?” I asked.

“Doesn’t he tell you everything?” She retorted.

I thought for a second, then blurted out, “I know everything about Alistair, trust me,” I replied.

She scoffed. “Oh. Is that so? Then, surely you must be aware that I’m his aunt, and we have unfinished business,” She said.

“Hold up. You’re his aunt? Alistair has an aunt? How come no one told me?” I asked, really surprised.

She grimaced. “Guess you don’t know everything about him then, sweetie. I feel slightly offended though. I mean, how could he not tell you about his favourite Aunt Salome? Does it mean he has disowned me simply because I was in support of his banishment from our pack? Is that why he didn’t tell you about me? If he still acknowledges me as his aunt, he should have told his precious little Eliana about me, shouldn’t he have done exactly that?” She wondered aloud.

“When you see him, ask him all these questions, okay?” I told her, spitefully.

“Well, I’d only be able to see him if he comes to rescue you. Otherwise, it would be impossible to ask him the numerous questions in my head. As for you, sweetie, pray that he shows up. I don’t give a damn if you know what’s going on or not, but I’d kill you and dump your body in front of Alistair’s company. That should be a fun sight to see,” She threatened.

I laughed hysterically. “It’s funny how you think your words can scare me. You’re such a loser. You’d kill someone who doesn’t know a thing about the beef between you and your alleged nephew?” I questioned, shaking my head.

“Alleged? Did you just say alleged? Look into my eyes, sweetie. Then, you’d know if I’m right or wrong about being Alistair’s aunt,” She said, standing up, and walking towards me.

The sun was preventing me from looking at her, but when I did, my brown eyes met her sparkling blue eyes. It was the same as Alistair’s eyes. Apart from their eye resemblance, they had other striking features; such as their nose, cheekbones and jaw. If I didn’t know otherwise, I’d have been sure that she was his biological mother.

“So, you’re his aunt. So what?” I asked.

Alistair’s aunt gave a broken laughter. “I like you, Eliana. Something tells me we’re definitely going to be friends,” She said.

“I’ll never be friends with a kidnapper,” I retorted, glaring at her.

“That’s understandable. At least, I’m not a murderer,” She said, with a wink.

I rolled my eyes, in frustration. “What’s your point now?” I asked.

A spark lit up her eyes. “Oh. He didn’t tell you how he murdered his parents?” Aunt Salome asked.

“He only did what his father instructed. The old man was going to die anyway,” I said, defending Alistair.

“You’re smart, Eliana. How could you be so gullible as to believe the lies of my little nephew? You see, I loved and treated Alistair as though he was my own blood. My sister, God bless her soul, took everyone’s burden upon her as the Luna, but never really had time to take care of her own son. I fed him, played with him, taught him how to fight, made him a strong person. However, his parents paid little or no attention to him, even though he craved desperately to be loved and treated with the littlest attention, instead of being ignored and forgotten all the time.

“This was what drove my poor little nephew to conceive dark thoughts towards his parents at such a young age. They should have shown him more love, given him more attention, taught him our ways. Instead, they focused on other people and acted like they never even wanted a child and he was just a mistake that they had to deal with for the rest of their lives. Werewolves transform during puberty, but he triggered his abilities at the age of seven, because he was having thoughts little kids were not supposed to have. At the end of the day, he killed his father and stole the Alpha powers from him. His mother, on the other hand, was shot by a human hunter, but if he had reached out to us early, her life could have been saved,” Aunt Salome concluded.

I shook my head, disbelieving her every word. “Alistair would never do such a thing,” I said, being true to my conviction.

“Of course, you’d say that about your beloved Alistair. Do you know what he told me the day before he murdered his parents in cold blood? He said that he wishes his parents didn’t have to be the Alpha and Luna, so they could stop caring for everyone, and focus on him...”

“You’re trying to manipulate me into believing the worst of Alistair. You’re a liar,” I said, interrupting her false statement.

She shrugged her shoulders. “I am many things, Eliana darling, but I’m no liar,” She said.

“That’s the same way Alistair may be many things, but is not and will never be a murderer. Do you know how he was able to defeat the Beast of Vengeance the first time? It was because he had never offended or hurt anyone. If truly, he had murdered his parents in cold blood like you claim, that would never have been possible,” I argued, hoping she would reason things from my own point of view.

She rolled her eyes, suddenly uninterested. “Didn’t the Beast of Vengeance later return, or has your memory suddenly failed you?” She asked, in a sarcastic tone.

“You have no idea of what really happened,” I said.

“Well, I don’t care about what happened and what didn’t happen. Alistair Duke is a murderer. You may think that what he said before the death of his parents was a mere coincidence, but I know better, trust me,” Aunt Salome said.

I gave a crooked smile. “Unfortunately for you, Salome, I can’t trust you,” I told her.

“You want to know something? I do not hate Alistair. In fact, I completely understand him. All he wanted was to get rid of his parents powers, in order for them to concentrate on him and show him love. He was foolish, and probably didn’t think he would kill them in the process. I pleaded with Alistair to admit this, so, his punishment may be lighter, but he refused, saying he had no such intention. You have to trust me, Eliana. I’m telling the truth,” Aunt Salome said.

Inasmuch as I didn’t want to believe her, I found a part of me wondering if what she was saying was probably the truth. Immediately, I shook that thought of. I felt like I had betrayed Alistair for even considering the possibility that he might have actually done all his aunt had accused him of.

“You know what? This conversation is over. I am not interested in listening to any more of your lies and misinformation. It’s best if you keep quiet now and save your breath, because there’s absolutely nothing you can say that will change my mind about Alistair. You may be his aunt, but you do not know him like I do,” I said, with a tons of finality.

She shrugged her shoulders. “I guess there’s nothing I could possibly say again that is going to make you change your mind. It’s glaring that Alistair has brainwashed you completely. Well, I don’t care if you trust me. My mission here is far more important than gaining your trust,” She said.

“And what is your mission here if I may ask?” I asked, partly curious, and partly out of spite.

She removed her gloves from her hand. “That’s easy. I’m here to collect Alistair’s powers, or rather, retrieve them. It was stolen, wasn’t it?”

I was very much taken aback. “Why? I mean, is that even possible? I thought you could only get an Alpha's powers by killing him. Oh my goodness. Do you intend on killing Alistair?” I asked, already getting scared.

“Not really,” She responded.

“What do you mean by that?” I asked, perplexed.

“Well, it’s possible that I can just kill him, but I hope it does not come to that. I’m his aunt, and I honestly wouldn’t like to get the blood of my nephew on my hands. He has the choice to give up his powers. I’ll just summon a witch to channel his powers and transfer them to someone who is worthy of being called an Alpha, or he could choose to not surrender. I’ll just kill him and take his powers. Simple,” She responded.

My mouth was opened wide, and my eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, as I thought about the bombshell Alistair’s aunt had just dropped.

She continued, seeing that my mouth hadn’t found the right words to say yet. “I paid him a visit last night, and can you imagine that he turned down my offer of peacefully surrendering his powers? I don’t know if he’s just being greedy or insensitive, because my pack...his former pack...we have a battle to fight, and if we don’t have an Alpha, we are doomed,” She explained.

“Serves you right!” I exclaimed.

“What?”

“I said that if your pack loses the battle, it won’t be so bad. You chased a child out of his home, and you must pay for it,” I answered.

She scoffed, then began to laugh in a boisterous manner. “Wow! I thought you’d be reasonable, but you’re obviously in cahoots with Alistair. So, what would you rather have him do? Give up on his powers or have it forcefully taken away from him?” She questioned me.

“I will never allow Alistair to give up on his powers, even if it involves saving my life. His father wanted him to become the next Alpha, and if what you say is true about him being neglected by his parents, then, it’s safe to say that his power is the only thing he ever got from his father. It’s over my dead body that I’ll let him give it to you,” I said.

She gave me a mocking look. “Brave words, tiny pretty thing. I’m so going to enjoy killing him right in front of you,” She said.

I scoffed. “You really think so? Listen to me. The fact that he’s not given up his powers, doesn’t mean you can take them away from him. I’ve zero Alistair fight. He’ll defeat you, and you’ll never get that Alpha power you desire so much,” I said, through clenched teeth.

Aunt Salome guffawed. “You speak so highly of a man that hasn’t even come to save your life for hours now. You have so much confidence in Alistair like I once did. I feel so much pity for you, because Alistair wouldn’t come to find you, and you’ll lose all trust in him. Don’t despair though. Kidnapping you was just a form of test. It turns out he still doesn’t care about anyone.”

She heaved a sigh, then continued. “It’s not so great to see you have blind faith in a man like Alistair. I’d find him and kill him on your behalf, after which I’d feed his body to dogs right in front of you,” She said.

She had hardly completed her statement, when I heard Alistair’s familiar voice yell: “Not if I kill you first,” He screamed, and in the split second in which I turned my head towards the direction his voice came from, he fired an arrow at her, which went through her back, and sent her collapsing to the floor, with a thud, and a painful groan.

While Garrett was holding a sword, Alistair was with a bow and arrows, and I don’t think I had ever been that happy to see them the way I was presently.

Garrett ran over to my side, climbed the tree, and cut the rope that had been used to tie me to the tree, with the help of his sword.

I screamed, scared that I was going to fall heavily on the floor, but Alistair moved so swiftly, catching me in his arms, panting heavily. I gasped on seeing him, then wore a smile on my face, which showed how pleased I was to see him.

“I have only read and written about knights in shining armour. I never thought I’d get mine someday. I love you, Alistair. Thank you,” I said to him, breathing heavily.

He was still panting hard, but he managed to return my smile. “I’m sorry I took so long. I should have come earlier...”

“It’s okay, babe. All that matters is that you came,” I said, cutting in.

He shook his head. “No, princess, you don’t get it. If anything had happened to you, I would have never forgiven myself. I was late when my parents were in trouble. I wouldn’t have been able to take it had I been late again,” He said, tears welling up in his eyes.

It was the first time I was seeing him so emotional, and in that moment, I was convinced of his love for me. Someone like this couldn’t have hurt his parents intentionally, and his aunt was so wrong about him.

“It’s okay, my love,” I told him, touching his cheek.

He smiled at me, tilting his head and was about to crush his lips on mine. Expectantly, I closed my eyes, waiting for the sweetness of his lips to envelop mine.

“Ummm... Guys,” Garrett called, in an urgent tone.

My eyes opened abruptly, as I guessed why he was calling our attention.

“I’m sorry, Garrett. I should have thanked you earlier, and I...” I stopped right in the middle of my words, as my eyes beheld the reason he had called us.

Gently, Alistair put me down. I was trembling in fear and my heartbeat started rising again. He noticed this, and took my hand in his, squeezing it softly, as a means of calming my nerves, and telling me all will be fine.

I was doubtful as to if everything was going to turn out fine, but Alistair was with me, and even if I didn’t trust the universe and what its preferable outcome would be, I trusted in Alistair, and I was sure that he’d win this battle, for the sake of all of us.