A New World

Atasha’s Point of View

I had the impression that Elijah and I were racing against the clock as the minutes ticked away. A swarm of flying mosquitoes swarmed around my feet, and the moon shone brightly above the mountains, brightening the reality of where we were.

We were on the verge of giving up, trying to come up with alternate strategies so we could move forward and unveil the mystery that lay beneath that secret door. I hope we will be able to sneak in without a single witch knowing about our presence.

"Should we return to the cabin?" Elijah asked me, his voice sounded like he was hoping for me to give this up and agree to go back to Devon’s.

However, my subconscious reminded me that waiting could be a rewarding experience at times. The sacrifices we had to make just to get here were enough of a motivator for me to push through with everything.

"Thirty minutes have elapsed. Let's give it another thirty minutes to see what happens. Then after that, let's make a decision,” I responded.

I was aware that if nothing occurred within that period of time, I would say the same thing to Elijah. I just can’t find the will to give this up now. No matter how hard I tried to ignore my thoughts, my gut instinct told me that the witches who had come here were related to the witch I had encountered in the church previously. My instinct told me that the secret door had the truth behind why I was cursed and had details related to the disappearance of Devon’s mother.

Honestly, it felt like a gift from the Moon Goddess, as if she had granted us this moment to find the truth about what really happened to me. Assuming that everything happens for a reason, I felt that we did not come across them just by luck. There should be a reason why they were in the mountains that time and why, of all werewolves, we were the ones who spotted them.

Elijah looked at me, his eyes seeming to tell me that it was a hopeless case. But I gave him a wide-eyed look, dismissing whatever it was his eyes wanted to tell me.

"You really are persistent, Atasha. I don’t know if I’d be happy to see you change as a brave woman or be anxious as you also become too hard-headed whenever time passes by.” It was almost like a low growl from him.

“Quit it, Elijah. Just be patient, alright?”

He huffed out of frustration, clenched his jaw, and nodded in defeat. A small smile curved on my lips. Why did he look so hot even in dangerous times like this?

“What are you smiling at?” His brows furrowed.

“Nothing,” I replied as there was no way I’d tell him.

My eyes wandered around the area to make sure no one was stalking us. My gaze turned to the trail we went down. My eyes widened when I saw the familiar figure of a woman approaching us.

It was Devon, who was wearing a cloak!

Hope filled me. I thought that it could be the doings of the Moon Goddess. She wanted to give us a sign of hope, and she used Devon at this very moment.

"Devon!" I almost yelled in delight when she stood in front of us. "You've come here to assist us, haven't you?"

She smiled while she glanced between me and Elijah.

"I guess I didn't have much of a choice," she replied, then she stroked the nape of her neck. "I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep soundly knowing you are both here."

Her words brought me relief. I let out a sigh as I smiled at her.

“I appreciate your concern, Devon. Don’t worry, once we slowly unveil the truth beneath the secret door, we will then figure out where your mother has gone.” I tapped her shoulder and then my eyes landed on the secret door on the ground.

"Is there any other way for us to get the door open? Or would you be able to open it with your magic?" Elijah asked Devon curiously.

"I am certain that you won’t be able to open that door." Her index finger pointed to the door on the ground. "No other creatures would succeed in opening it because it was spellbound. That’s why I followed you here. I can assist you in getting it open. I am familiar with the spell that needs to be used for it. Now, both of you move..."

Elijah and I looked at each other. I gestured to him to move, and we did so. Devon stood in front of the door and bowed her head. Silence filled the entire place. All that could be heard was the strange movement of the air and Devon’s whispers.

I listened to Devon but I hardly understood every word coming out of her mouth.

"It was in Latin," Elijah said.

“Latin?”

“Yes. It’s their real language,” he informed me.

I see. I nodded and watched Devon as she continued to mutter her spell. After that, she then extended both of her hands. “Get down on your knees…” she instructed.

We did what we were told to do and waited for her to be finished with her spell. She then stood up, her hands still stretched and her palms wide open. She then turned to us and uttered something in the air.

Whatever it was that she uttered, it made me feel as if something had just happened in my body. I was taken aback by a sudden, weighty aura that shook me to my core.

"Atasha and Elijah, you are now both free to stand on your own."

"I couldn't feel anything in my body,” I said as we stood up. "Is everything good with yours, Elijah? Did you get an odd feeling?" I inquired, my hand brushing against his cheek worriedly.

He grinned and gently caressed my hand. "I'm alright, Atasha.”

Devon coughed loudly just as he was about to give me a kiss on the forehead, which made us both chuckle.

"Please accept our apologies, Devon.” I slightly elbowed Elijah and then cleared my throat. “Could you please tell me what you did earlier?” I inquired, my curiosity piqued.

"I cast magic upon you for additional protection for five days," she informed us. My forehead creased, but then she continued to explain it in detail, "It will conceal your werewolf blood scents, and aura. With that magic, you will be able to walk comfortably even if the witches are around without them noticing you are werewolves. But be cautious: if they manage to get their hands on you, they will be able to break the magic and discover your true identity. Now, I will open the door for both of you.”

Devon turned her back on us and faced the door on the ground, stretched her hands out once more in the air, and uttered some Latin words. When Devon raised both of her hands to her shoulders, the door immediately opened.

"Please go on quickly because I can't handle this much longer." Her breath caught in her throat as she said those words.

"Are you saying you won’t come with us?" I inquired.

Elijah already entered the tunnel at the time of my inquiry.

“Atasha, let’s go!” Elijah yelled at me. “Let’s put Devon out of this. She already helped us enough to get in here!”

“Atasha, you have nothing to worry about. While you go along with this quest, I'll be standing here outside waiting for you. If something awful happens, I am confident that my protection will assist you along the way. If it's been more than five days and I still haven’t heard anything from you, rest assured that I will follow you there,” she said, and then gave me a reassuring smile. “So, Atasha, put your best foot forward! I'm not able to hold the door any longer!" She then burst out laughing.

"Devon, thank you very much. I will make sure to return the favor," I said this and hurriedly entered the door.

As her hands were slowly lowering to the floor, she finally closed the door.

***

As we descended into the tunnel, the darkness grew more intense, and we lost sight of our surroundings with each step we took. I looked at Elijah’s footprints, and I could say that something was odd about their smell. It was as if someone else tried to conceal it; it slowly faded away, up to the point where it was no longer visible to the eye.

I stretched my hands forward, trying to reach for his hand and sensing his presence. This place was completely dark, and its atmosphere sent shivers all the way up my spine.

“Elijah…” I called his name softly. My voice was completely different.

"Who's Elijah?" The voice was so frighteningly deep that I was startled when I heard it.

Out of fear, whoever it was who answered, I hit him in his body and yelled. “Who are you?”

In response to my question, the tunnel was instantly illuminated, with light coming up to the candles on each side and leading to another door at the other end. It wasn't until I remembered that I had heard a strange voice that I realized it was Elijah who had scared the hell out of me.

“What are you doing, El? You're making me so scared!"

He then laughed, and I only gave him a wide-eyed look. His laughter was suddenly interrupted by a snort.

“This is not the right time for you to joke around, Elijah.” Then I rolled my eyes a little bit.

He seemed to enjoy teasing me despite how dangerous our situation was. He never really stopped doing it, even after we found out that we were mates. He was constantly teasing me whenever he got the chance to do so, may it be in the forest, or back when I was his slave in the past. I glare at him. He boyishly smirked at me, and I hated the way he did it because my filthy ideas started to whirl around my mind. Even the way he smirked gave me that kind of feeling. All I could do was palm my face, reminding myself that now was not the right time to welcome such thoughts into my head.

“You really are my happy pill,” he remarked.

I was about to complain to him but he pulled me closer to him, tightened his embrace around me and kissed me on my lips.

"Do you really have to kiss me while we’re in the middle of this secret tunnel?" I inquired.

As he kissed me passionately, I felt his hands immediately reach for my rear and gently caress it. Then he withdrew from me and winked.

"Might grab the chance while we’re still alone…” he said.

Shaking my head, I slipped out of his arms and walked into the hallway.

“We better start moving,” I said.

He then smiled and began walking next to me.

"I was perplexed as to why it had been lightened. Do you think it happens whenever someone walks through here?” I asked, my eyes gazed at the candles on both sides of the tunnel we were walking through.

As we proceeded forward, the candles in front of us were gradually dimming away. As we approached the two main doors, which were a long distance away from where we were standing, the darkness returned. I clung to Elijah's arms.

When we reached the front of the two doors, I glanced between them. It was up to us which door we wanted to open that would help us go through the other end of the tunnel.

“Which door would you want to open?” Elijah asked me.

I inhaled sharply. We were in a big dilemma at this point. I contemplated for a minute, then decided to go in front of the door on the right.

“Wait, Atasha. Are you sure that it’s the correct door?”

My brows furrowed as I looked at the door. “What door would you like to open then?”

He glanced between the doors. His eyes were pinned on the left door.

“I have a feeling that the left one is the correct door.”

“We don’t have any time to waste, Elijah.”

He then huffed out. “Fine. I will put my faith in you,” he stated.

However, there was something about the left door that gave me the impression that we ought to go there.

"Elijah, stop…” I said just as he was about to open the right door. "I had the impression that we needed to turn left."

"I told you.” He gave me a sideways glance. "Come on, let's go,” he said with a smile on his face.

He took my hand and led me in as he opened the door. My mouth dropped open the moment I realized that we had just entered an underground city. The roof was so high above that it was emitting a lot of tiny blue lights that lit up the entire place.

My eyes wandered, and I gasped when I saw a black castle that looked like a funnel from afar. It was surrounded by bats and big snakes, which made me feel sick to my stomach.

When we spotted witches wandering around, I regained my composure, and it caused both of my feet to freeze. Elijah tapped the back of my shoulders.

“Don't be concerned about them! With Devon's protection, we're in good hands,” he said, reminding me about the magic Devon casted upon us.

It was so strange that we were just standing here, looking like lost puppies with no idea where we were supposed to go, but we couldn’t help but take in the entire scene. This was like entering a completely different universe... a completely different world that was full of misery.