Lost and Found

Atasha’s Point of View

The man with green eyes whose name was Leo, the son of the Silver Moon’s Pack Beta, appeared out of nowhere. My teenage years flashed in the blink of an eye. I instantly remembered that Elijah was not my first kiss at all, it was him. My strange first kiss, which also happened in the forest. A quick, dry, tasteless thing, it was barely a kiss at all and so I erased that memory in my head. Primarily, the reason why I tried to forget that memory was because I discovered that he was Astrid’s first love. On that day, she saw me and Leo. I’ve never seen Astrid cry in my entire life, not until that day she witnessed how Leo kissed me. That was in mid summer. I couldn’t deny that it changed our lives.

I had no idea that it was even a kiss. I had no idea that there were far better kisses, from better people, until I met the soon to be Alpha.

Looking at Leo right now, I would say that it was not the best view. He surely felt cheated; his eyes were evidently angry. How could I possibly explain everything to him right at this moment?

The sky turned dark gray and the wind became more chilly.

“Tasha, what did you mean when you said you will become a Luna? Tell me!” he yelled.

I didn’t know where to start and how to explain everything to him. My mouth opened as I tried to gather the right words to say for him to understand my situation.

“It’s only a contract. I’m not his true Luna—” I explained but then Leo cut me off.

“You know what? We came here to rescue you!”

My eyes widened, stunned with the truth that they came all the way here to find me. I turned around my head and saw the dead bodies surrounding us. It was as if my heart was hammered into pieces as soon as I realized that the werewolves I killed were my pack mates.

I gasped in disbelief. With my quivering hands, I covered my mouth. I whimpered softly.

“Yes, you killed our allies. Those werewolves wearing masks who surround you are the survivors of that war against the Crimson Moon Pack,” he said.

I knelt down and my head started to feel a severe throb.

It can’t be . . . I killed my own pack. No, this can’t be happening . . .

In an instance, things became different. The werewolves we thought our enemies were the members of the pack I truly belonged to. How could the Moon Goddess let this happen? How could She let me kill my own pack?

My claws dug deeper under the soft soil. I watched how my hands shifted back to their human form.

I began to cry. My heart mourned for my pack mates who survived in the war but ended up being slaughtered by me. I cried, until there were no tears left for me to shed. My whole body was continuously quivering. As my vision got blurry, my mind seemed to become so haywire.

I couldn’t even think properly now . . .

“Tasha, do you know what you have done?” he asked, still enraged.

I got up and walked towards him and held both of his hands.

“Leo, I’m sorry! What should I do? I killed the members of our pack . . . I didn’t know . . . I’m sorry Leo. I am so sorry.” Tears pooled in my eyes as I begged him to forgive me. “I didn’t betray our pack. Believe me, I didn’t do that, look . . .” I raised my arm and showed my bracelet. “I never wanted to join them, Leo. Please, listen to me,” I pleaded, still holding his hands tightly as if my life depends on him.

Leo’s face looked concerned, his sorrowful eyes were on the verge of bursting out his tears, and I knew within him that he felt betrayed.

“Tasha, do you remember when I confessed to you?” he asked and took his hands away from mine. He then continued, “I did it even though your sister would be mad at me. It was also difficult for me to say what I truly feel. It took me a lot of courage to confess. Then, I saw you with this guy which makes me want to vomit and take all my words back.”

Elijah’s hand started moving and when he tried to get up he was immediately kicked by Leo.

“Stop!” I yelled at him.

“So is this your new boyfriend now?” he uttered. “You need to choose between us, Tasha. We could get our revenge once we kill the soon to be Alpha of Crimson Pack!”

“Please don’t kill him! I will join you and I’ll leave the Crimson Moon Pack. I will no longer be his Luna. I-I promise you that. J-Just please . . . let him live,” I begged.

Leo seemed not convinced and he was still looking at Elijah. I could sense his hatred simply by looking at his face.

“You better kill him, Tash,” he said.

My eyes widened with what he said.

Why do I need to kill him?

“Prove your loyalty to the Silver Moon Pack!” he added.

I shook my head and glanced at Elijah. My lower lip quivered as I watched how he whimpered in pain.

“I can’t!” I replied. “Please, don’t do this, Leo . . .”

“You were able to kill your pack in an instance just because you wanted to protect this werewolf! The one who is responsible for the death of our pack! Tasha, in the name of Alpha Samuel, our Alpha who died in a war, seek our vengeance! Kill him now!”

I shook my head and moved backwards away from him.

No, Elijah was not responsible for that war, it was his father. I can’t kill Elijah but if I didn’t, then it only means that I am betraying the Silver Moon Pack. I looked at the werewolves. I couldn’t believe that I slit their throats without any mercy.

My heart shattered more when I saw the face of one of them. She was one of my childhood friends, Myrna. I covered my mouth with my own hand and sobbed in pain.

Leo walked towards me and gave me the knife which Elijah handed me a while ago.

“Here. If you can’t kill him using your own hands, then kill him with his knife,” he commanded.

I glanced at the knife and a memory of Elijah flashed in my own eyes. The good times we had at the Banquet, in the study room, in the garden with him and Veronica celebrating our little success, and that night in the forest where we were both sitting together, watching the bonfire.

Even though I had those moments with him, in the end, I couldn’t deny the fact that Elijah was still my enemy. I need to wake up from this nightmare and face my reality, that I no longer need him as I already found my true allies.

My pack . . . they came to rescue me and for me to pay the price of the deaths of our packmates, I need to take his life . . . for the sake of our fallen comrades.

A sting of pain continued to engulf my heart.

I’m sorry Elijah, I’m sorry that I won’t be able to fulfill my promise . . .

My shaking hands grabbed the knife from Leo.

“Good thing you came back to your senses, Tasha. You will be the pride of our Silver Moon Pack. We will spread this news to everyone and let them be aware that you, Atasha Greene, is the heroine of our pack,” he stated like a promise.

I walked slowly to Elijah, who was still laying down on the ground.

I kept asking myself why I hesitated to do it to Elijah knowing a while back, I was able to kill my own packmates in a flash. I shouldn’t feel this . . . I should’ve not felt any mercy for him . . . Leo was right.

I gathered all my strength and raised my both hands while gripping the knife that I would use to kill the soon-to-be Alpha of our rival pack.

As I was about to strike, my hands suddenly went numb, forcing me to drop the knife. A loud noise which came from the woods was the next thing I heard.

Veronica and Zach showed up from the woods.

“Atasha, are you okay?” Veronica asked. She instantly went to me. Her eyes looked very worried. “What happened to Elijah?” she added then her gaze directed to Leo.

A violent roar was heard behind me. I saw how Veronica’s eyes turned blue from its natural green color. In an instance, she and Zach shifted into their wolf form.

I felt Leo’s hand grab mine. I was about to scream but then it was too late. He dragged me and we jumped on the cliff.

Next thing that I knew, we sank into the deep rapid waters.

***

Veronica’s Point of View

Nothing lasts forever, as the old folks say. Even if we try to cover up, disguise and hide, the truth would come out eventually.

We ran fast towards their location. While Zach was able to smell Elijah, he also told me that he smelled a group of unknown werewolves who definitely didn’t come from our pack. As his sister, I felt worried that this would happen.

I heard the sound of Atasha’s voice. It was like a sorrowful hymn from her, playing like a sad sonata. When we arrived at their exact location, we saw a group of dead werewolves surrounding Elijah.

From a distance, I saw Atasha’s swollen eyes, her hands were full of blood, and the sound of her breathing gave me a heartbreak.

What is this that I’m hearing right now? I glanced at Zach and he started to partly shift. I heard a strange sound. It was a violent roar coming from a werewolf, which triggered me to shift into my wolf form too.

The unknown werewolf walked towards Atasha and grabbed her hands.

“No, Leo, don’t!” Atasha protested.

We had no other choice but to save Atasha so we tried to strike him. He was fast enough that before we could even get Atasha, they already jumped on the cliff.

“Atasha!” I screamed.

My eyes roamed around the rapids that could be seen under the cliff. I saw dead bodies being swept away by the waves.

Everything seemed to be wrong with me. I was about to walk towards Elijah when I heard Atasha’s voice in my mind. She is—

I shook my head, hoping that I was wrong.

I only came back to my senses when Elijah spoke.

“I’m sorry Atasha, can’t fulfill our promise . . .” he whispered.

I glanced at Zach who carried him. By the looks of Eijah’s face, he seemed to be brutally beaten up by those werewolves. I couldn’t understand why this had happened when he could easily beat them in a single flash. He sounded like he surrendered himself for the sake of Atasha’s safety.

“I’ll follow them,” Zach said, the desire on his face to go after Atasha and that unknown werewolf was evident.

“Perhaps, they’re from the Silver Moon Pack,” I uttered.

I guess the time has already come. Those werewolves probably came to rescue Atasha. The loud roar from that werewolf was like the sound of a warrior, it was a wise, modest and strong voice.

“We’re not sure if that guy belongs to her pack. I’ll go after them,” Zach started.

He sounded truly concerned and I am not in the position to stop him, provided that he has feelings for Atasha.

“Okay, go ahead.” I sighed.

As soon as I responded, he vanished in a flash.

Atasha, look what you’ve done. Everyone is head over heels for your beauty.

I took Elijah’s arm and put it around my shoulder. “Can you walk?”

He only nodded and we proceeded to walk slowly back to the barn. When we reached the barn, Peter then provided us a carriage to bring us back to our domain.

“Take care,Veronica,” Peter said and removed his hat. I rode on the horse and drove towards our domain while Elijah was sleeping in the passenger seat. “Elijah, our plan is ruined. I guess this is the Moon Goddess's way of telling us to stop,” I whispered in the wind as I was thinking about all those things we have done.

This might be our punishment for deceiving our father. Zach was right. Elijah should just marry Margaux and move on.

Even if we tried to stop the destiny, I guess it would be bound to fail in the end. Though I must admit that I would miss Atasha. In a short span of time, I met someone from our rival pack that gave me beautiful memories.

I will never forget you, Atasha.

As we arrived at our mansion, it started pouring heavily. Loud thunderstorms occupied the whole place. I carried Elijah back to his room. I saw Joaquin immediately run towards us and help me.

“Let me take care of him, Ms. Veronica,” he offered.

I then proceed to let go of my brother to Joaquin. “Thank you Joaquin. Have a good night.”

I went outside of our mansion and started walking down the streets. I went to a small pub, playing live music and from there I ordered some drinks.

“Ms. Veronica! How have you been?” Jess, the bartender asked. When I tried to answer him, he instantly cut me off. “No worries, I know why you are here. The usual?” he asked.

I simply nodded as he handed me a drink then watched the live performers. Tears started falling down my cheeks, same goes to the rain outside that keeps pouring the whole night.

I wiped my tears away when someone who looked familiar just entered the pub and walked in my direction.

“Zach?” I spilled out some of my drink.

“One shot of whiskey, please,” he uttered.

“Why are you here? You're supposed to go after them right?” I asked.

He left a deep sigh. “Make it two, no, Jess, please give me the whole bottle.”

“Hey, tell me what’s wrong!”

The pack members inside the pub started staring at us. The bartender signaled to the performers and customers to go out on the bar. Jess then closed the bar and left us alone.

“Now that we’re alone, tell me what happened!” I demanded.

“They’re coming after us,” he replied.

I started scratching my head as I couldn’t get a grasp of what he said.

“Who? Who is coming after us?” I asked, starting to feel irritated.

Remember the plan that you created with Elijah? You sent our father to the East Land. That place was full of rouges who initiated an alliance with our slave!” he explained and started to drink his whiskey. “The werewolf who we met earlier, you’re right that he’s from the Silver Moon pack and they plan to kill our father.”

I suddenly recall why his name lingered in my mind. Atasha mentioned his name.

“Leo,” I uttered.

“One of your trusted slave spoke to Leo. He’s planning this masquerade party and the masks they’re wearing symbolizes their union,” he supplied.

The sound of terror caused by Zach’s words shattered me into broken glass.

“How did you know this?” I asked.

He drank the whole bottle and wiped his mouth. “I was able to catch them but Atasha refused to come with me. She started saying hurtful words that I no longer want to elaborate.” He then put his head down on the bar table.

At that moment, I heard him cry. I began rubbing his back gently.

I felt like I was at fault. I’m sorry Zach and Elijah, I’ll take responsibility for this.

I carried Zach back home as he was drunk. I saw his helper and assisted me to his room. I stayed for a while and looked around. His room was full of his paintings, music sheets and poems.

What catched my attention was a notebook with an engraved word, ‘Her’.

I scanned a few pages and saw sketches of Atasha’s face. There were some familiar sketches in which I was there too. My eyebrows furrowed as I wondered why mine and Elijah’s face weren’t drawn in detail except for Atasha’s.

As I flipped to each page, it reminded me of our moments together.

I stumbled to a certain page. It had a short letter:

‘The night we kissed, I was caught off guard by your beauty that I could no longer erase it in my head. It was that very moment that I thought I saw a goddess. Now, I’m lost in your eyes.’

Below that letter was a sketch of Zach, kissing Atasha, in our garden.

It was beautifully drawn and it made me feel astonished.

***

Atasha’s Point of View

“Tasha, you’re so brave earlier!” Leo patted my back and he was smiling from ear to ear.

We sat down here in a large tree waiting for this rain to stop as we were heading in the East Land. I thought we would be drawn earlier. Good thing we saw a huge trunk where we were able to hold onto.

When we got out of the river, I saw Zach running towards us. I was saddened that I could no longer talk to him and apologize. He always wanted to save me from Elijah.

If only I had listened to him before, maybe this mess should’ve been avoided in the first place. If only I chose to come with him to escape from their mansion, perhaps I would’ve not ended up killing our pack.

These hands of mine were already tainted with sins. I’ve committed murder and the victims were the member of the pack I belonged to. I didn’t even hesitate to hurt them. As much as I wanted to be glad that I partly shifted, at this point, it was only rubbed in my face that I was truly cursed. Cursed to the point that my sins would forever haunt me until I die.

Earlier, Zach made an attempt to halt Leo. I told a lot of lies to get him to hate me, including Veronica and Elijah, so that I could prevent him from doing so.

They should move on, at the end of the day, we’re still enemies. Their pack was responsible for killing innocent lives from our land. I should erase the memories I’ve shared with them in my head. I should forget them . . . the children of Montreals.

“I admire your bravery, Tasha. I never knew that he was from Montreal. You said the right thing. In the end they were our enemies,” he said, still praising what I’ve done earlier.

I hurted Zach though some part of it was a lie. I started to shift my focus on saving myself towards them and finding my sister. Right now, it’s the most important thing to do.

In addition, I want to pay for the price of killing some of the werewolves of my own pack.

“Don’t worry, Tasha. You'll be seeing Astrid soon. Both of you will be reunited.”

“Tell me, where is Astrid?”

He smiled and held my hand. “Calm down. Once we reach the East Land, you’ll see her.”

“How about my father?”

His smile disappeared.

“He was already dead,” he replied.

My heart was broken into pieces because of what I’ve heard.

“It’s fine. What’s important right now is for you to see your sister. Your father sacrificed his life for the pack. He will be remembered as a hero,” he assured me while his hand was caressing the top of my head.

When we were about to sleep underneath the tree, I dreamed of Elijah. The first day when he glanced at me from the cage of the East wing . . . the moment when I slept in a huge room that he gave to me . . . how Joaquin had always given me a cold stare because he cared so much for Elijah.

I couldn't help but to also picture that night I was in the garden with Elijah. Veronica and Zach also joined us in that dinner, celebrating our success of me escaping death from the hands of Alpha Gregory. I remember they were all smiling, laughing and I felt that I was part of their family, like I was part of their pack. It weirded me out that all of them treated me fairly even if I was a mere slave.

I must admit that I would be missing them. Elijah, Veronica and Zach, for a small time, I stepped into your world and somehow understood that there are some good people in Crimson Moon Pack’s territory.