Escape

Astrid’s Point of View

I fought the urge to smirk when Atasha engulfed me in a tight embrace.  With my eyes still shut, all I did was to pretend that I had lost consciousness. I heard her talking to our father for the last time, completely saying goodbye to him because she had accepted her fate this time around— to be the slave of the Crimson Moon pack.

That was the least thing she deserved, as if I were to pass a final verdict on her, I would have chosen for her to meet her death immediately. However, I had to consider the plan I had plotted ever since. She had to suffer thrice the times I suffered for being her shadow.  She had to suffer the consequences of being born as my twin sister… and I wanted her to regret being alive and constantly stealing all the precious things from me.

I had always wished that I was born alone, without any sister, because that would only cause me sadness. I had always hoped that Atasha was not born in this world, so the people would have treated me way better, the way I deserved. If only fate had played a little bit nicer to me back then, this whole mess would not have happened in the first place.

But on second thought, seeing my twin sister trying to save me and falling into the trap I had set up was quite an interesting thing to witness. I could not wait for her to suffer more, this time in the hands of the Crimson Moon pack’s Alpha and his son.

Best of luck, Atasha...

Atasha then placed me on the cold floor and kissed me on the forehead while saying how much she loves me; the next thing I heard were footsteps, followed by the sound of the door opening and closing.

I stayed there, laying down on the floor for almost half an hour, ensuring that Atasha would never back out. From the outside, I could hear her talking to the Alpha of the Crimson Moon Pack, how she tried to negotiate and how the rival pack only laughed at her as if she had thrown the funniest joke ever.

When I felt that the outside had become silent, that was the only time I opened my eyes. There I saw my father cry in despair, on his bent knees, shoulders sagging, his head lowered down as his tears continuously streamed down on the floor.

For some unknown reason, he seemingly was not in favor of Atasha’s decision. My teeth clenched, thinking that he was much more in favor of sending me to the Crimson Moon Pack territory instead of his cursed daughter. Even though I had done a lot of things to keep this family safe, he still made me feel that he loved that cursed Atasha more than he loved me.

I sat up and stared at him blankly. His shoulders were moving up and down as he sobbed. When he noticed that I had woken up, his expression softened.

"Atasha sacrificed herself…" he uttered in his weak and mournful tone, as if the daughter he was referring to had just died a few minutes ago.

"She did it for a great cause, Papa." I could never hide the coldness in my voice as I said those words.  "She’s the only one who can straighten things out. She is the cursed werewolf after all."

My father shook his head, somewhat telling me that I was wrong to say those things about his most favorite daughter.

Fuck...

"She is already cursed, yes. But she does not deserve to suffer further…"

"Are you telling me that I should suffer instead of her?"

My eyes widened in disbelief. Our father, who had become abusive after our mother died, was making me feel that Atasha deserved to be happy and could not see my own struggles during the past years.  My father, who I wished could treat and love me fairly, was rubbing me the fucking truth that, after all this time, he still cared and loved Atasha, even though I had sacrificed a lot of things for this family.

My fucking eyes were gone...

My fucking soul was sold...

And this was how he would still treat me?

Was this how he would make me feel after all my hard work?

A fucking worthless daughter?

"I cannot understand why you love Atasha more than me. What did I do to you to treat me this way, Papa?" Rage filled my chest as I stood up and glared at him. "I don’t fucking deserve to be a slave to the Crimson Moon Pack. She deserves it more than I do!"

"Astrid, please… don’t say that!"

I shook my head. My lips were pressed together and had formed a thin line. As I watched him cry in front of me, it made me feel worse.

How could a father treat his own daughter in this way?

"I wish I had not been born into this family. You never loved me, Papa. You only care about that cursed werewolf!" I said, every word dripping in hatred. "It’s disgusting to even be your daughter! You can’t love fairly!"

"Astrid, please don’t say that," he begged, and rose to his feet.

He tried to reach for my hand while asking for my forgiveness, but I was enraged to the point that I shoved him with all my strength. He fell on the ground, eyes widening as he looked up at me and did not seem to expect what I did.

"You are a worthless father! I wish you were the one who died instead of Alexander! He was the only person who made me feel loved and special. And you… you never did because you only thought about Atasha!"

My eyes stung with endless hot tears as I let out those negative emotions I had been keeping inside. My entire body was quivering, and all I felt was pure rage and disappointment.

"Astrid—"

"From now on, I don’t have a father anymore…" I said coldly as I wiped my tears away.

I then turned my back on him and stormed out of the house. I could hear him calling my name, begging me to come back and saying how much he loved me, but I knew all of it was just nothing but lies.

In the middle of the chaos, I ran away from our home, crying endlessly, as even though my plan had been a success, all I felt was deep sadness.

I went back to the place where I left my mate, Alexander, and as soon as I saw his body torn into pieces and scattered on the wet ground, I screamed and wailed.

His head was lying on the grass. I picked him up as I knelt on the ground, crying in a rage for his life that was lost…

My mate...

The pain inside my chest was intolerable. It felt as though a big part of me had already died, and seeing his tragic death was like an endless torture that would forever haunt me.

"Alexander… I am so sorry… I should not have left you… I am sorry…" I cried, hugging his head in my arms as I said those words, hoping that he would respond to me, but all I heard was a deafening silence. "Alex, say something… I am sorry, please wake up… I can’t…. I can’t live without you."

I cried my heart out at that moment. I did not understand why my victory felt like my own downfall at the same time. I could not even smile for a bit... Even though I knew that Atasha was already taken by the Crimson Moon Pack and the fact that she would face the hardship I’ve been meaning for her to go through, my entire body could not seem to find the happiness in me.

All I wanted was to feel loved, and the only person who made me feel that way was now gone forever.

"I love you so much, Alexander. You are the greatest thing that ever happened to me. Thank you for being my person all this time…" I murmured and kissed his cold forehead. My heart felt as if it was being wrenched. "I love you, mate."

The rain poured once again. Thinking that Alexander would feel so cold, I carried his head with me, hugging it in my chest as if it was the only lifeline I had at this point.

I walked down the road, still not wanting to believe that my mate was gone forever, that I could no longer see him and I could never feel such pure love that I never expected to come into my life.

I walked, seemingly half dead, not minding the aftermath of the chaos that had just happened. Many lives were taken, dead bodies were everywhere, and the remaining people were running back and forth to save their worthless lives.

I went to the bridge that would bring me to the forest, and while I crossed it, I felt a hand gripping my arm.

"Astrid?" called out by the familiar voice of a man.

I spun around and saw Leo, breathing so heavily while he looked at me with his furrowed brows. His eyes looked down at my chest, where I embraced Alexander’s head.

"What the—" He blinked several times, his mouth open as he continued to look down at Alexander’s head. "He’s… who did this to him?"

"What do you want, Leo?" I asked as I stared at him with a blank expression.

I noticed how he swallowed so hard, given how his Adam’s apple moved while looking at Alexander.

"W-Where are you going? Where is Atasha? We need to escape from here."

My gaze looked at the people behind him. Everyone was radiating fear and anxiety.

"Alexander and I will go to the forest," I simply said, and I looked at Alexander’s head. "We need to go somewhere peaceful. He doesn’t like any of these noises in the village."

"You have to come with us, Astrid. It’s not safe in the forest!" His voice was firm as he looked at me.

"Alex wanted me to stay away from you—"

"Get back to your senses, Astrid! He’s already dead!" he yelled at me.

"I know…" My voice cracked. "But I still want to be with him, and you can’t force me to come with you."

"Astrid, you’re not in the right mind!"

I gasped at what he said. His words left a sting of pain inside my chest. How dare he? Then I slapped him, hard enough for him to feel the pain he made me feel.

"I said I am not coming with you, Leo! I don’t understand why you don’t get it. Alexander wanted me to stay away from you, and I will do what he wants from now on! Stay away from me. I don’t need you or any of you!" I shouted at him, and then turned my back on them.

"Then tell me where Atasha is!" he demanded.

"I don’t know. She’s on her own too…"

I proceeded to walk, still hugging Alexander while I tried to calm myself down.

It was a relief that Leo did not push what he wanted. I would never associate myself with them ever again. My inclusivity in the pack has ended today. I should not be bothered by them anymore, not Leo, not even my father, Julian Greene.

"Don’t worry, Alex. Our plan succeeded." I caressed his head while we went to the deep part of the forest. "What’s left for us to do is to watch them suffer."

In the darkness of the forest, I sat against the huge log I found, rested there for a bit. I looked up at the sky. The mist from the rain and the fire smoke had mixed, giving me nothing but a numb feeling.

"It would have been great if you stayed with me, Alexander…" I whispered, hot tears forming on the side of my eyes while I looked up. "It would have been great if I could have shared my victory with you…"