Cast Away
Atasha’s Point of View
I did feel irritated when Clarence sat down beside Elijah. Her actions were completely different compared to what he just told me a while ago. I shook my head, trying to ignore both of them as I knew that it would not bring me any good to keep checking on them every now and then. However, I couldn’t turn a blind eye as to how Elijah looked so annoyed with Clarence’s presence. Looking at his furrowed brows, clenched jaw and lips that were pressed together to form a grim, I was forced to stand up and had made a decision to switch seats with him to somehow help him with his situation. As soon as we switched seats, Clarence’s body movement became totally different.
“Can we talk outside for a bit, Atasha?” Her voice was filled with irritation as she said those words.
“Sure, Clarence. I guess we really have to talk.” I glanced her way, sarcasm dripping off my response.
There was no reason for me to decline her request. She had my trust because, after all, she was my packmate, to begin with. Though I kept an eye on her in the back of my mind, knowing that I didn't know what she was planning to do. Perhaps this was my gut feeling that told me to not let my guard down.
I agreed to talk to her outside of the Coliseum as I wanted to put a stop to this lunacy once and for all, despite the fact that a part of me was reluctant to do so. I just prayed that she would not do anything that would make me lose my composure.
I didn’t bother telling Elijah about it as I knew that if I told him, he wouldn’t allow me to go alone with Clarence. We then exited the theater area and went ahead outside of the building using the main door. As we walked outside, I couldn’t help but take a thorough look at her from head to toe.
There was no doubt that Clarence was extremely attractive. But I had to admit that I was particularly taken aback when I saw her practically nude in front of Elijah earlier at the clinic. I was curious as to whether or not they actually kissed that time. Just by the thought of it, something inside me wanted to burst out. I shook my head to clear my mind from such ideas that were running through it.
We made it into the staircase. She turned around to face me.
"Atasha, I'm only here to tell you that–” she mumbled something and then paused. The next thing I knew, I was getting a smack in the face. I was taken aback, and my legs began to tremble a little. "You filthy mutt!" she shouted and slapped me in the face, which caused me to come to my senses again.
The way she slapped me, it was so hard and intense that my head began to shake and my eyesight became fuzzy.
"Clarence, what exactly are you up to?" I questioned as I caressed my cheek. My eyes have become teary, and I am unable to move.
What was it in me that I was unable to evade or restrain her hands to stop slapping me?
"I've heard that you slaughtered our pack mates! How dare you do that?" She shouted that made my entire system tremble.
Little beads of sweat started dripping down my forehead as my breath grew increasingly short and shallow.
"Once you get into my way again,” she said, slapping me across my face once again. "I will make sure you remember what you did to our pack mates!" she added, slapping me across the face once more. Then she yelled, "Come on, fight me!"
I knelt on the ground and cupped both of my ears using my hands as I didn’t want to hear her screams, her words that cut me to the core and how she made me remember what I did in the past.
"Veronica, you said I needed to control my emotions, but I can't,” I mumbled to myself.
Tears began to pool in my eyes as I started to scream at myself. I had the impression that I could be like Veronica, who was a late bloomer who was able to shift as a strong werewolf. A she-wolf who radiated the personality and aura of a strong and powerful Luna. But I realized that I was not particularly good at copying her. I couldn’t reach her level or Astrid's because their capabilities and powers were far from what I had.
"Stand up!" Clarence gave me a strong kick in the rib. "Atasha, let me remind you where you came from! You’re a cursed child, remember? Your father was only a ‘hero’ because he sacrificed his life to save Leo, the son of our former Beta and he was only using you for his own motives! So don’t act as if you could get all the men wrapped around your finger because you’re only a piece of shit!" she screamed, and I felt another kick land on my back, causing me to gasp in agony.
I was gathering my breath as my nostrils were already blocked by the tears that had been streaming down my face. She then knelt beside me and pulled my hair up, and I saw her eyes were looking at me furiously.
“It was not my desire to kill our pack mates, Clarence," I explained "I swear to you so please, stop this now!" I pleaded with her to believe me. "Take it from me. Once I am able to fulfill my commitment as Elijah’s new Luna, I will be able to save—”
She spit on my face to cut my words off.
"Oh, are you telling me that you will really claim the position to be Elijah’s Luna? Do you have any idea who you are?! You are a traitor, a slave, and a cursed kid!” she shouted. She lifted me up, still pulling my hair and I cried in agony as she did so.
"Clarence, please stop it!" I gasped out in pain.
"What happens if I don't stop? What are your plans, huh? Do you want to kill me too?" she said and laughed devilishly. “Remember that time when you were painting the mural and then all of a sudden, you saw the paint go all over the place that ruined your damn artwork? It was a deliberate act on my part.”
There was a moment when I felt it couldn't possibly be true, but my suspicions were correct. All this time my gut feeling was correct and she had done it to shame me.
"Oh wait! Do you also recall the time when you were in the cafeteria and your ugly face landed on your meal?” She laughed. “And the night in the market when you got lost because you were so stupid to help me when I begged you for a favor?” She shook her head and thought once more. “...And the ball that broke your glass when I ordered my younger brother to toss it as hard as he possibly could so I could give him a prize!”
My eyes widened with everything that she said. How could she possibly do all those to me?
"Yeah, I think you had an idea by now. It was entirely intentional!” she said as she gripped my shoulders as if she was trying to break its bones. All I could do was scream in pain.
“I'm the only woman that Elijah needed to be his Luna. There isn't another she-wolf in the world who could fill that role except for me!”
Then, with her hands on my shoulders, she pushed me so hard that I lost my balance and fell back down the stairs. My entire body ached. My head smacked to the ground as a result of the force upon which I landed, and I became light-headed.
A sharp sting of anguish pierced my entire body. My fingers were also bleeding from the cuts I had received from the jagged edges of the ground, which I'd tried to prevent. I screamed in agony and begged for mercy, but when I glanced up, I saw Clarence's face which lightened up more. She grinned from ear to ear.
My eyes were no longer shedding a tear, hence I assumed there wasn't any voice left for me to scream. I heard footsteps coming down the stairs as my hair was tugged once more. An unidentified group of individuals then walked towards us, and I am unable to discern their identities.
“Pay attention, folks! This she-wolf whom you claimed to be the hero’s daughter was one of the rebels who conspired to assassinate the Alpha!”
The gathered crowd let out a gasp, which I heard despite my current state.
My vision was so fuzzy that I couldn't see well. I could hear them speaking in whispers. However none of it was audible for me to comprehend.
“Hang her!”
As I tried to look up and watch what was happening, my eyes widened and my body trembled with fear.
"I want you to remember her! Her name is Atasha Greene! She was a cursed child from the Silver Moon pack who was repackaged as a ‘hero's daughter’, and she was being used by the rebels to oppose the Montreals!" Clarence announced with conviction that made my heart break into pieces as I knew to myself it was all a lie.
"What was she doing here in the first place?" one of the guys asked.
"Let's beat her up, let's defend Alpha Gregory!"
I then felt plenty of closed fists from a group of people I didn't know coming at me. It was possible that they were from distinct clans who have both favored Montreal.
"You filthy scumbag, you deserve to die!"
A wild swing knocked me in the face, causing me to cough up a lot of blood. Another kick to the back of the head has given me a throbbing headache.
"Hey, halt! Don't murder her yet," Clarence yelled which made them stop beating me.
My arms were then tied up on ropes, which I couldn't shake off.
"I'll take care of her and please don't say anything to anyone!" she declared.
My eyes were closed, and the next thing I knew, I was waking up in the middle of nowhere among a herd of cows and horses.I noticed it was already dawn when I peeked out a small window. The band encircling my lips muffled my cry for help.
If it was already dawn, it meant that the masquerade party had come to an end and that Elijah and the others, Veronica, Zach, and the Alpha were no longer in sight. My heart was throbbing loudly in my chest.
The last thing I recalled was when Clarence shoved me and I tumbled down the staircase. I was becoming a little anxious, and I was hoping Elijah would come looking for me.
I came back to my senses when I saw someone enter what seemed like a barn.
“Hey, there’s someone right here!” An old guy wearing a working uniform yelled.
An old lady then rushed to him and glanced at me.
“What? Who’s this? Greg? Why are you bringing a woman to our barn?” she yelled and hit his head.
He shook his head and denied her accusations. They both walked towards me and they picked up a large stick.
“Linda, call the guards and let’s put her in prison!” he said.
The cloth tied around my mouth was removed. I coughed a lot of blood and caught my breath. Even though my body ached, I rose up and ran as fast as I could when they tied my hand.
I asked people around if Alpha Gregory was still here but I was shocked when they said he already left yesterday along with his children.
I started weeping in the middle of the street, and some people were enraged because I was in their way and were yelling insults at me.
"I'm so-sorry," I murmured as I bolted from the situation.
I sat down on a park bench and I couldn't help but scream out in agony.
Everyone had left the East Land; they had already left . . . including Elijah. He was no longer here.
What should I do now?
An elderly woman then approached me on my seat and inquired as to why I was sobbing and why my dress was stained with blood.
"I didn't murder anyone!" I exclaimed, attracting a lot of attention from the folks strolling by in the area. "I'm sorry . . . I was trying to express the point that I didn't murder anyone," I said in a calm, collected tone.
"Don't worry," she added with a smile on her face.
I inquired if she was aware of anything unpleasant that might have happened to the Alpha or whether she was aware of any news regarding the Crimson Moon Pack.
"None of this occurs to the Alpha, and even the rebels can't do much at this point since they are outnumbered," she continued, a chuckle in her voice. “Nevertheless, what happened yesterday had been a topic of discussion in the public, as some she-wolf said went on stage and announced that she will be the next Luna of the Crimson Moon Pack. Everyone, even Alpha Gregory, was taken aback.”
I was caught off guard upon hearing her statement.
“Who was she? "Is it Clarence?" I shouted. The elderly lady grinned at me, rose to her feet, and shook her head. She then walked away.
Was it possible that someone is impersonating me as Elijah’s future Luna? Was it Clarence behind this?
If only I knew that this would happen, I shouldn't have decided to talk to her last night. The entire situation was my mistake!
What exactly happened at this moment, Moon Goddess?
Just when I thought that I had a chance to prove my value and save everyone from this disaster, something terrible happened.
I was completely tearing up in despair when I felt that someone stood up in front of me.
“Can you help me?” said the soothing voice from someone who was wearing a crimson cloak, which caught my attention.
