Risk

Atasha's Point of View

In a short period of time, I never expected that I’d be given a chance to meet people that I would cherish the most. Even though I haven’t seen my twin sister yet and knowing that my father has passed away, my pack mates made me feel a glimpse of hope to continue living this life, especially Leo and Clarence, who have gradually become my family.

Leo provided me shelter. Even though I hated him the moment I learned that he lied to me about my twin sister, he didn’t stop helping me and even gave me this house, which I could call home. I prayed a lot to the Moon Goddess, hoping that she’d be merciful enough to let me and Astrid live in this place together with our pack mates. I prayed that she would help me get along with my kind, make friends, and feel like I belonged.

My thoughts were filled with wonder, thinking that this must be the Moon Goddess Selene really wanted for me, that perhaps at one point she realized that I deserved a small amount of love and inclusivity, and so she gave it to me.

I also thought that perhaps, the Moon Goddess wanted me to realize that I had Leo, and that even though I hadn’t met my mate, I had a trusted person from my pack who likes me dearly, and so even if I knew to myself that he wasn’t my mate, I wanted to take a risk and give him a chance to love me and to give myself a chance to be in a relationship, for real.

However, just when I thought that the Moon Goddess had given me a chance to live with my pack mates like a normal werewolf, a threat showed up and shook my world all over again.

Elijah Montreal . . . the son of the Crimson Moon Pack, our rivals.

His words of affirmation . . . that he wanted me to be his contracted Luna in order to save my pack sounded like a terrible fate. But I suppose I didn’t have a choice. For some reason, I had the feeling that Elijah was correct. The war is not going to cease until we put a stop to it.

In addition, Elijah was adamant that he would not marry Margaux and that he would not return to Clarence. I found it comforting that he chose me to be his contracted Luna. I wasn’t sure why, but I was grateful that he placed more trust in me than in others.

After that little confrontation we had, I let him borrow my other shirt and pants because his clothes were drenched. Good thing there are some medium-sized clothes here but I couldn’t help but stare at him as he struggled in those fitted clothes.

“What are you looking at?” he asked when he saw me gawking at his body.

“Nothing!” I said nervously.

I also made dinner for the two of us. The rain was still pouring outside and the deafening silence between us has continued.

I ran out of words to say after our conversation. He seemed to have nothing to say too but I felt his intense gaze on me, watching my every move in this small house, which made my heart uneasy . . . no matter how I tried to calm it down, its loud beating was only becoming more nuisance and had driven me crazy deep within. That little organ inside of me didn’t want to follow any of my commands.

It was now past midnight, so I told him to go to the couch to have some sleep and that if Leo or Clarence came to me the next day, he needed to hide.

“Please, make sure that you won’t be seen here, Elijah. It would be disastrous if they see you and if that happens, you know we’re screwed,” I reminded him.

“Well, if that happens, I know you will save me like what you did the last time, in the forest,” he said and smirked.

I was taken aback and looked away. I couldn’t respond because I was not ready to explain why I did all that. I instantly went for my glass and took a sip of water.

"Does that indicate you cared about me?" He then sat down on the couch, staring over at me in the kitchen.

I took a big breath and exhaled slowly.

"Of course not, if you didn’t know, I almost stabbed you to death!" I snorted, gathering all my thoughts after getting caught off guard. “The reason why I saved you is because I was afraid that Veronica would resent me if I let you die in that situation!" I nodded, wanting to make myself believe that it was the reason but I couldn’t get a grasp as to why my heart seemed telling me that it was way more than that. “Y-Yeah, that’s just all about Veronica. I cared for her a lot.”

I glanced at him for a bit and saw that he was smiling. I immediately looked away and cleared my throat.

“You know what? Even hundreds of them could not kill me. I can take a lot of beating but it won’t take my life,” he said.

“Then why didn’t you fight back?” I asked.

A few seconds passed and he didn’t respond. I looked his way and saw him staring intently at me. I blinked thrice and swallowed so hard.

“Well, I guess I didn’t have to know. It’s getting late, El—”

“Because I didn’t want them to hurt you,” he answered, his tone was serious and passionate.

My heart pounded wildly inside my chest when he stood up and walked towards me. Breathing heavily, I stepped back until I felt the table behind me. I was about to walk away but Elijah was fast enough to block my way. He leaned both of his arms on the table, cornering me.

“W-What are you doing?” I stuttered as he leaned forward, his face was only an inch away from me.

“By now, you probably know how special you are to me,” he said as his stare went down my lips. “I can’t afford to lose you, Atasha.”

He looked me in the eyes again. My mind was telling me to push and scold him but my body felt like betraying me at this point. My eyes couldn’t even get the courage to look away from him. I gasped softly as I stared into his eyes which for some reason, was building connection to my soul.

“W-Why?” I asked confusedly.

His lips curled up for a smile. “Just because.”

He closed the distance between us, inclined his head as his left hand held my cheek. I was well aware about what he would do next but before I could even try to protest, I felt his soft lips claiming mine.

He kissed me, gently at first, then gradually felt his intensity which made me close my eyes and clung to his neck. In an instance, everything turned blurry as if I was drowning into a wide oblivion.

The way he kissed me, it was sending wild shivers along my nerves down my spine and when his insistent mouth parted my quivering lips, it opened up my soul. My feet felt like levitating off the ground and I was like floating in the air in the most sensual way.

I didn’t know how long we kissed but the moment Elijah released me, I found myself catching my breath.

“I think you should sleep while I can still control myself . . .” He chuckled, also catching his breath while smiling.

Cheeks heating in shame, I nodded and removed my arm off of his neck. He then stepped back, releasing me.

“Fine,” I said and looked away. “W-What will be our next move then?” I asked to change the subject.

“We will escape tomorrow night. We should leave this place as soon as possible,” he replied.

“What if the Alpha arrives here?” I asked.

He walked to the couch again and lay down there. “Zacharius and Veronica are watching the main gates to ensure they won’t be able to come near this place.”

“Oh, Zach and Veronica are here?” I said, stunned and went to him.

“Yes, they came with me. They will try to convince our father not to enter the East Land anymore and will tell him that the mishaps here are already addressed. Veronica also asked her trusted werewolves to talk to Leo and convince him to cancel everything. But if all else fails, you’ll probably know what will happen next.”

Knowing Leo’s urge to kill Alpha Gregory, I wasn’t sure if Veronica’s trusted people would be able to convince him. I couldn’t suppress the worry building up inside my chest. I wasn’t certain how things would turn out but one thing was for sure, it would bring fear to many if another war happens.

I’ve seen how Alpha Gregory and his troops killed a lot of werewolves in our main land. It would be unbearable to see new lives being taken away again . . .

Also, I'm having second thoughts about the Alpha. What if he didn't listen to Veronica and Zach and still decides to come here to the East land?

I was certain that I trust Elijah, his son, but never his father, Alpha Gregory.

*******

The next day, I went to the Coliseum to work. This would be the last day of me staying here in the East land, and I wanted to spend it with my pack mates. I know that Leo and Clarence won’t like my decision if they learned about this but I had no second thoughts as I already put my trust in Elijah.

“Good morning, Atasha!” Clarence greeted me and joined me on the table. Leo assigned her to help me with the tasks he gave me.

“Good morning. You look happy today,” I commented because she seemed really happy and excited about something.

“Yes, because any moment I have a hunch that the Alpha of the Crimson Moon Pack will arrive at this place. I’m excited to see how Leo’s plan will turn into a success!” she exclaimed. “How about you, Atasha? Don’t you feel excited?”

I was stupefied for a moment but I managed to compose myself and gave her a nod.

“I-I am excited too,” I answered softly but the tone of my voice didn’t sound right.

“You know if Leo’s plan will be successful, I believe our pack will be able to restore its dignity and wars will no longer arise. The death of our comrades will not be put into vain,” she added. I took a deep breath as I realized that Clarence favors Leo’s plan of killing the Alpha. Other werewolves wanted a peace talk while the rest wanted to kill the Alpha.

My chest clenched as I watched Clarence who seemed to have high hopes about getting Alpha Gregory assassinated. Was it really the last resort to this conflict? I can't believe she was so happy to see the Alpha die knowing that he’s still Elijah’s father, the werewolf she dearly loves.

“I'm curious if Elijah will come along with his father? If it happens, I’ll try my shot and talk to him. I’ll tell him I regret not fighting for our love. Anyway, once the Alpha is gone, Elijah and I may continue our relationship without worrying about his father's wrath. He wouldn’t see any other reason for us not to get back together.”

Then I saw the sadness in her eyes. I wonder what it means to love someone like Elijah Montreal.

“Why do you love him, Clarence?” I asked curiously.

She stopped what she was doing, her eyes roamed around every corner of the tent to ensure no one’s eavesdropping.

“I don’t really know why but it started when I was still a teenager, I accidentally saw him when I was wandering in the forest. He looked so amazing and passionate that even though it was the first time I ever saw him, I instantly fell in love with him. Then, when I heard about him wandering around different lands to find his mate, I took action and tried my luck.” She smiled, and I noticed how her face brightened even more when she told me her and Elijah’s story.“He visited a town next to our territory to find his mate, and I came there to find him.”

Hearing this story from Clarence, I couldn’t deny that I was astounded to find out that she and Elijah had this kind of history. I didn’t know that Elijah had been looking for his mate even back then, and even tried to cross boundaries just to find her.

Astrid did mention before that every single werewoman wanted to be mated with the son of the Alpha, most especially the future Alpha of the Crimson Moon Pack, which was no other than Elijah Montreal. There was something in their bloodline that made all the werewoman flock their way, despite the fact that they are our enemies. Even the werewomen within our pack wanted to become the Luna of the future Alpha of our rival pack because they believe that it would be more beneficial rather than staying with our small and less powerful pack.

If a werewoman would be mated with a Montreal, or any high-ranked werewolves at Crimson Moon Pack, she would have the power and fame.

“He couldn’t find his mate so I walked after him and said that I wanted to become his Luna but he didn’t say a word and just walked away,” she said and chuckled. “But after that incident, I still didn’t stop pursuing him. I even sneaked into their territory just to see him and then one day, a werewoman who appeared to be a royal in their land was trying to set herself and Elijah into an arranged marriage. Elijah didn’t want to marry that girl. He tried to escape until he found me. I was shocked when he mentioned that he remembered me and asked me to be his girlfriend. At first, I felt that he was only using me but eventually, he confessed that he liked me and I believe that I was the happiest werewoman in the world when he said that.” She exhaled heavily.

“Elijah is really romantic, passionate and sincere. I love him up to the point that I’d take risks just to see him. I just couldn’t stop loving him because he’s Elijah Montreal, the only werewolf who made me feel all the thrill and terror I never expected to experience and still wanting to feel it again, just to be with him.”

I was scared it was almost the same to me after hearing their story. Elijah didn’t seem to change at all . . .

"I broke up with him because I knew Alpha’s intention was to kill me and my family. That made me realize that our love is forbidden.” She uttered then she glanced at me. “What hurts me the most was when I learned that he had slaves in his room." Her face went gloomy. "That's why I was a little irritated when I saw you here."

I was shocked upon hearing her last statement.

“What did I do that pissed you off?” I asked her.

“Nothing, Atasha. Everything is okay now. What matters the most is to welcome and assassinate the Alpha once he arrives, and hopefully Elijah’s with him so I can fulfill my plan of reconciling with him. I’d love to become his Luna so that I can leave this place and do what my heart truly desires. Whatever problem or conflict would arise between the two packs, I’ll leave it to Leo. Anyway, let’s get back to work!” she said and smiled.

“Clarence, I’m sorry but I don’t understand. W-What are you talking about?”

“I despise being a member of the Silver Moon Pack. I’ve always wanted to run away from this place. I’m not really happy here, Atasha . . .” she chuckled and took a deep breath. “I just want Elijah and I’d do everything to get him back.”

My eyes widened because of what I heard from Clarence. I held my chest as the fear of her finding out that Elijah’s with me right now might result into a bigger conflict between us.