Chapter 15 The truth behind the mask

Atasha’s Point of View

Several things contributed to my sensation of vertigo and suspicion, including the apparent distractions, ambiguity, and the disturbing image that this moment seemed to have happened before . . . that I had been hunted by werewolves when I was a kid, all of which added to my sense of uncertainty and despair. Chest tightening, all I could do was pray.

Moon Goddess, please help us . . .

Many emotions have started whirling through my head that also brought pain in my stomach.

"Have you seen this before?" Elijah asked.

I gasped and looked at him, surprised with his question. Was he able to read my mind?

Elijah and I found ourselves in a situation that reminded me of something I had previously gone through. I didn’t understand why but it felt that he was with me at that very scene.

Suddenly, as my body approached the cliff's corner, I was faced with feelings of distress. In one sweep, his hand reached out and gave me a knife, which I gripped tightly in my hands.

“Remain still,” he said in a hushed tone, his voice barely audible.

Despite the fact that they were all wearing unusual masks, I was unable to deduce anything else about the rogues from their appearance. The mask depicted the faces of a fox, a cat, a dog, and a pig, all of which were carved by hand and were made out of wood. If my estimation is correct, there were a total of fifteen of them right now. The sound of them walking slowly toward us drove me to take a deep breath and exhaled out loud.

During this time, Elijah was protecting me from any harm and attack that might arise. While trying to look behind us, I found myself holding Elijah's back even more tightly. We would be dead in an instant if we made one wrong move, that was for sure . . . either at the hands of the rogues or by falling down the cliff's edge; the choice is clear.

We have to put up a fight.

Elijah forwarded to them and swung his arms. In a flash, he threw a lot of dirt, dust and debris which made their eyes unable to see. My eyes widened with his sudden attack. He immediately turned to me, the urgency was visible in his piercing eyes.

"Atasha, run!" he screamed.

As if that was the cue I had been waiting for, I ran forward while our enemies were still wiping their eyes because of what Elijah did, trying to clear their vision. I ran as fast as I could, and I was able to pass through them, but as soon as I reached the huge trees, I stumbled on my feet.

I was about to stand up but I was shocked when someone forcefully grabbed me on my waist. I turned around and realized that it was one of the rogues— the one who was wearing a fox mask. My heart pounded horribly and I felt how my mouth ran dry in terror.

“Elijah!” I managed to scream as I tried to push the rogue away from me. “Elijah, help me!”

I kept on screaming his name, asking for help. From the distance, I saw him beating each one of the rogues. He easily caught each attack that they made and countered it with his strong punches. He kicked their heads one by one and swung big punches on their necks through their throats.

They started shifting into their ferocious wolf forms. After that, they cornered Elijah, holding both his arms and legs. Elijah resisted the six wolves that were holding him but they were strong enough now that they shifted. He was forcefully pinned down to the ground which made him groan in pain.

At the same time, the others started to beat him up. As the sky turned gray and the cold breeze started to shift into our way, he spitted a loud roar and started to shift, partly.

His upper body transformed, and his legs went wider and longer. An 8-foot tall terrifying beast, his eyes were beaming red, the black fur covering his entire body, his long snout and fangs that were ready to tear some flesh, ears were pointed and looked sharp. His tongue moved around to his mouth, and his saliva was dripping all the way down to his chiseled chest. I gasped seeing the creature he had become in a flash.

Everyone from the rogues moved back as they felt the strong aura of the soon-to-be Alpha of the Crimson Moon Pack. I could sense their terror simply by watching their reactions. His loud howl moved them much further. His furious eyes were directed at me. He ran faster towards us but as soon as he reached where we were at, the rogue who grabbed me suddenly pointed his claws in my neck.

“Don’t make any sudden move!” The rogue warned him.

Elijah stopped when he realized that the rogue's claw made a small cut in neck, and a small drop of blood was already dripping in my chest. Tears started pooling in my eyes that made my vision blurry; I can no longer even see Elijah clearly. My heart was pounding faster and louder as it sent my whole body in horror.

"Elijah, please help me . . .” I pleaded, my voice was shaking. “I don’t want to die! D-do something.”

"One wrong move, I swear to God, you will be dead!" Elijah shouted angrily. “Let her go!” He then roared.

“Who are you to do such commands?” The rogue laughed and released me.

Elijah stood still and didn’t move. He was stopped as the Fox rouge warned him not to step any closer. He commanded them to attack as they saw this as an opportunity to punch him on his stomach and pinned him down on the ground.

Based on the fox-masked rouge’s way of commanding his werewolves, he must be the leader of his own pack. We stepped back when I heard Elijah’s loud roar as he tried to get the rogues off of him. I was still being held hostage at this point and as much as I wanted to move but the claws were pointing towards my neck. But these bastards took this opportunity to beat him down once again.

One of the rogues then stabbed him using their sharp claws. I screamed as soon as I witnessed how his blood began to flow in his skin.

"No! Stop it! Please, don’t " I panicked as I cried in despair.

The other rogues appeared and jumped on Elijah. They all started beating the hell out of him without a single mercy. My heart could no longer take seeing how he got outnumbered in an instance and here I was, who didn’t know what exactly to do in order to help him.

His nose started bleeding; every kick and punch to his body and face made me want to close my eyes. My eyes couldn’t bear watching him getting beat up this way.

Why are you not fighting back? Come on Elijah, get up and fight them. You’re the soon-to-be Alpha for Moon Goddess’ sake! Do not let them beat you up!

His eyes, nose, and mouth were severely damaged. The terrifying laugh coming from the rogues made my heart race. My hands were clenched, and I gritted my teeth.

I could not let us die. Elijah should be fighting them . . . He’s the soon-to-be Alpha and he was much stronger than everyone thinks he was!

“Hey, Elijah! Please, get up and fight them!” I shouted.

The rogue who was wearing the fox mask turned to me and chuckled a bit. I could have sworn that his laugh sent shivers down my spine. My lips formed a thin line. Despite the fear engulfing my whole body, I managed to step back. I was about to get away from him but he sprinted towards me and held both of my arms.

“Don’t touch me!” I screamed in his face but he just shook his head and continued to laugh like a real monster.

“You betrayed us.” His words stunned me as I heard those words.

My eyes went teary all over again. I glanced back to Elijah and saw that he was no longer moving.

I gasped for air as my body started shaking because of a sudden spike of dread.

Shaking my head, my tears started falling like rapids.

“No . . . no, Elijah . . . No!” I screamed my heart out. “Elijah! No, please get up! We still have a plan, remember? You can’t die right here! Please!” I sobbed, trembling inside. “Elijah . . . please. How am I supposed to be a Luna if you’re dead?” My voice cracked. I tried to push the rogue but he pulled my hair that made me scream.

I still looked at Elijah who didn’t make any move. Was he dead? Did they kill him for real? No . . . how about what we’re trying to accomplish? We’re not yet done with our journey, Elijah!

“You promise me that I can trust you, right? Please get up and fight!" I gathered all my strength while I was already drowning in tears. I kept screaming, hoping that my voice would somehow reach him. "You said, we will come home together! I-I can’t come home without you . . . I just can't, so please, please, get up now!"

My heart can no longer take it. I began running out of breath. My chest tightened as I looked at him. He was no longer responding . . . I then looked down on the ground and cried loudly.

What did we do wrong for us to be in this terrifying mess?

What did Elijah do wrong for him to be killed this way? Was it because I was cursed? Was the Moon Goddess rubbing it in my face that I would only bring misfortune to the werewolves who get closer to me?

I pray to you, Moon Goddess, if whatever I did something wrong, please forgive me. Please save us . . .

I continued sobbing as I felt hopeless.

My gaze directed at him again. I was given a sign of hope when his fingers started moving a little bit.

“A-Atasha . . .”

I felt the spike of happiness within my heart. He slowly moved his head and glanced at me. His eyes were beaten up so badly that I didn’t know if he could still see me.

‘Don't hurt her . . .’

I know that he didn't speak but his voice that suddenly linked through my mind made me sure that it was coming from him.

‘Atasha, look for Veronica . . . and tell Zach that he will finally get what he wants. He can be happy.’

“No, do not ever try to think about that!” I shouted at him to stop what he was trying to say.

Why was he saying it like he’d already given up? He could still fight! He no longer needed to think of me. I was just his mere slave, after all.

“I’m sorry. I can't fulfill my promise.” His eyes then were shut.

I no longer hear anything from him.

“He’s dead!” One of the rogues announced.

My eyes widened at what I heard. They started celebrating and howled loudly. Their leader then stopped holding me like a hostage as they continued screaming for their victory.

Pain started gripping my chest. My eyes were pouring tears. No, this couldn’t be real. Elijah couldn’t be dead. He told me he was strong . . .

I glared at the rogue who was wearing the pig mask as the thunderclap would be heard from the sky. The rouge that held me as a hostage then suddenly released me as he also started celebrating with his wolves. My hands moved on its own, grabbing the knife that was given by Elijah. In a swift move, I struck one rogue with a single strike directly to his throat.

“An eye for an eye . . .” I murmured and pulled the knife from his throat, his blood began to splash everywhere. “. . . and a tooth of a tooth.”

My eyes felt a burning flame. All of a sudden, my hands shifted into werewolf hands, and my silver claws went out like frozen ice.

Hatred and fury took over my body. I didn’t know what I was thinking anymore. All I wanted was to take revenge for what they did to him . . . I felt as if killing them all was easy . . .

And so I did.

I slit their throats one by one. Every move they made seemed to become slower and slower, so that I could easily dodge them before they could attack me. I felt that everything was in slow motion.

The beat of my heart kept me stronger and moving faster. It brought so much pleasure to see the blood coming out of their throats. Served them right . . .

I was about to kill the last rogue, the one who was wearing a fox mask, the one that held me as a hostage, the leader of these bastard snouts, however, he was able to dodge my attack.

“Not so fast though,” I whispered to his ear, then my other claw swung to his shoulders, creating a deep cut that reached his bones.

His mask fell down.

My whole body got stiffened when I saw his face. It was as if something just stabbed my chest. A familiar face that I believe I saw in the past. Then I heard another thunderclap.

“Leo?" I uttered as he smiled and waved his hand.