Dark Ocean

Astrid’s Point of View

I was all smiles when I went to my room after the conversation I had with Atasha. The fact that she completely became shunned made me feel so satisfied with how my plans turned out.

Soon enough, Alex would be able to help me with all these. My confidence told me that I’d gain his trust in no time. He may be contemplating making a decision, but I knew he wouldn’t be able to refuse me.

I exhaled out loud as I lay on my bed and stared at the ceiling. Letting out a giggle, I raised my hand and spread my fingers, then glanced at the back of my palm.

"This hand will take over the entire werewolf land. The Silver Moon will soon be destroyed. The Crimson Moon will come next, and then the rest of the neighboring packs. Everyone will bow down on me," I uttered and laughed hysterically.

That night, I couldn’t sleep, even though I tried so many times to shut my eyes and let the darkness swallow my senses. It felt as though someone was staring at me from afar, and my body churned at that thought.

"Not again. I should get some sleep. My body needs to rest…" I whispered.

My eyes turned to the side of my bed, where I stared at the wooden table. I blinked and heaved a sigh before I stood up to get my journal from the secret drawer. I took my keys and opened it. My eyes were greeted by the black book of the witches and my personal journal.

I settled on the chair and put the journal on the table. I flipped through its pages and read some of the things I wrote down. Every bit of detail I wrote made me feel nostalgic.

"I have come a long way," I whispered, observing that I had written almost hundreds of pages of my journal. My deepest secrets, as well as hatred that I kept inside for the longest time, were all written here, signed with tears and rage.

I closed it when I reached the last page. A smile curled into the side of my lips. I tossed the journal back into the drawer and locked it properly. No one should be able to see it, not even my parents.

I crawled back to my bed and I forced myself to sleep. I was about to get swallowed by the darkness as soon as I shut my eyes. However, a shriek from the outside made me open them. I immediately rose and stood up.

I rushed to the door and opened it. I gasped when I saw huge waves from the outside of my room. My eyes widened in confusion as I looked at them intently. One wrong move that I’d make and these waves would swallow me to death.

I was completely engulfed by confusion, my chest tightened and my entire body quivered. I mustered up the courage to take a step back and slammed the door as I covered my mouth with my hand, but then when I turned around, my simple bedroom turned into the inside of a ship.

"Why am I here inside a ship?" I yelled hysterically.

Panic went through as I walked around. I saw the ship's captain’s room, and as I approached it, my feet were shaking so bad, not only because of the sudden terror that filled my senses but also because the ship was seemingly being rocked by the huge waves outside. I lost my balance and fell hard to the ground.

"What’s going on here?" I inhaled sharply. "Is somebody there? Mama? Papa? Atasha?"

I couldn’t seem to understand how the hell I got here. I was just lying in my bed just a minute ago…

I stood up and remained calm. I walked straight to the ship's captain’s room. My heart felt as if it was hammered when I realized that no one was there. I rushed to the steering wheel, and then, as soon as I tried to maneuver it, I felt a heavy hand tapping my shoulder. It was followed by a warm breath that sent shivers down the back of my neck.

When I turned around, the first thing I saw was crimson red... The entire place was covered with crimson red, then it turned to pitch black.

A whimper escaped my lungs and then my eyes forcibly opened. I was greeted by the familiar ceiling of my bedroom. I caught my breath. My chest was going up and down as I pondered.

"A dream?" I uttered under my breath.

I rose up from my bed, palming my face as I thought about what I’ve seen in that dream. When I gazed down at my lap, I found my other hand holding the black book of the witches.

My forehead creased.

"Why is it here on my lap?" I recalled that I didn’t take this out of the drawer.

I pressed my lips into a thin line, rose from bed, and went to my table. My brows furrowed in confusion when I noticed that the drawer was open. I was completely aware that I had locked it last night. Both the journal and the black book were inside.

My hand reached my head, pulling some of my hair as the entire situation was giving me a headache.

"What the fuck just happened?"

I looked down at the black book in my hand. I couldn’t help but grit my teeth. Sighing heavily, I placed it inside the drawer and locked it using my key.

I shoved my worries away and decided to get ready for the day as I had classes to attend, though I must admit that I wasn’t attending classes from this point because I knew that they were worthless. The Silver Moon pack would be destroyed soon, so I didn’t see the need to blend in with ignorant shifters here.

However, I should play my part and ensure everyone gets a good impression of me, especially now that I am in a relationship with Alex.

Everyone was quiet during our breakfast. I noticed my father’s shirt was untucked and the dark circles underneath his eyes were getting worse. My mother’s hair was not as neatly combed as it usually was before. Ever since Atasha had become cursed, they both acted as if their world had crumpled down, even though I was still here. The only daughter they needed was me.

I hugged both of them and kissed their cheeks before I went out. I rolled my eyes as I gazed back at our house. I was completely aware that there was something going on between them. I knew that they’d been having heavy conversations every night, talking about Atasha, who was locked up in the attic. They acted so weird to the point that some people in the pack were starting to notice.

"Keep it up. You’re attracting your death to come upon you soon," I whispered, and walked away.

When I arrived at school, many female werewolves greeted me. I could only offer them a fake thin smile. I knew that they were only showing me kindness because I was Alexander’s mate. If not for him, I would have remained a wallflower, or a shadow of Atasha.

"Hi, Astrid! My name’s Lopez. I have a favor to ask." I halted when a man suddenly approached me. "Can you please tell Alex to give us enough time to pay my father’s debt? I don’t want him to end up being locked up in the cage. Please, Astrid!" he begged and knelt down on his feet with both hands clasped together.

I looked around and saw that he had got the attention of many.

"Get up, Lopez, this is humiliating. I’ll tell Alex, but don’t get your hopes up, alright? I’ll try my best, so don’t worry," I said, and rolled my eyes when he got up.

He tried to reach for my hand, but I deflected it and walked past him.

"Thank you, Astrid! I pray to the Moon Goddess to bless you more! Thank you!" he exclaimed.

I turned my head and smiled at him, then proceeded to walk. This was what I hated about having Alex as a boyfriend. Sometimes, I had these kinds of awkward conversations with random strangers that were connected to Alex's family’s business. Even though I didn’t want to be part of it, I became one instantly, and some people thought I could always do something to help with their needs.

Little did they know that I was only using my mate for a better purpose.

The students started rushing to their rooms. I let out a sigh and proceeded to my first class. I sat down in my seat and put my bag on my desk when I noticed that someone was following me, standing in front of my seat.

"Hi Astrid."

"Hi?" I raised my eyebrow as I looked at her.

"My name is Myrna. I apologize for bothering you, but—"

"Do you also have a huge debt from Alex’s father?" I glared at her.

She immediately shook her head. "No. I was… I was only curious about what happened to Atasha."

I glanced around and felt that some of our classmates’ attention was being drawn in our direction. They were seemingly waiting for the next words I was about to say. I offered them a deadly glare, which made them a bit nervous. Just when I thought that they had long forgotten my stupid twin sister, here they were, making me feel that her disappearance concerned them most.

For them, Atasha’s existence was still important.

"Again?" I huffed in frustration.

"I hope you understand. I am her best friend… and it’s been a long time since the last time I’d seen her attend the school. I am becoming so worried about her because there are speculations that she got cursed and—"

"I am glad that she has a best friend like you, Myrna." I smiled at her as I crossed my arms against my chest and leaned my back on the backrest of my chair. "Please don’t worry about her. She’s completely fine. The main reason why she can’t attend school or even go outside is that she’s sick. Her disease is infectious and she doesn’t want anyone to be infected, but she’s doing alright at home…"

"Is that so?" Myrna asked reluctantly.

I nodded. "Yes. In addition, our father decided to take her to a different school in the future," I explained in a clear tone of voice, and then glanced at the students who I knew were listening to our conversation.

Even though I was enraged by the fact that they were still looking for Atasha, I wanted them to be at ease that she was not the cursed werewolf. That lucky wolf-less mutt didn’t deserve this cover up, in all honesty. But I had no choice at this time…

"Once she gets well, can we visit her at your home?" she asked.

My brows furrowed, and I felt that I was starting to get annoyed with this stupid best friend of Atasha.

"No. We don’t accept visitors. Our parents are strict…" I said coldly.

"It’s fine, Astrid. I can wait until she’s ready to show herself again. Thank you so much. I am relieved that she’s doing just fine," she said, and then she stormed out of the classroom.

Atasha, I couldn’t believe that your existence still mattered to everyone here…

I fisted my hand under the table. My twin sister was really a pain in the ass. I gritted my teeth, and as I clenched my fist, I could feel my claws coming out and were inflicting wounds on my palm.

The smell of my own blood lingered in my nostrils. When I looked down at my palm, it was covered with blood while the fresh wounds caused by my claws were open.

This is all your fault, Atasha…