1 Prologue

Ashera shivered as he shot her with a surprisingly cold gaze. She could feel his eyes glaring through her soul, searching and studying each and every inch of her. "What? Why are you looking at me like that? You're freaking me out." She tried to shake the numbness out her system to gather her senses as she got a hold of the situation.

Without a word, Wraven grabbed Ashera by the wrist and dragged her into the woods. "You're coming with me, woman." Last thing he wanted to get a sense of was her presence. Waves of emotions were flowing through his veins. However, he is a very proud man that he refused to wear his heart on his sleeve.

"Let me go! Where are you taking me? This is madness, Wraven." Ashera struggled between his tight grip. However, he intended not to spare a heed of her quacks.

Ashera felt a sudden urge of getting away from Wraven, so she gathered all her strength around her right foot and aimed it on his center. "Ah! You wretched, woman!" She kicked him on his most vital part of the body. Feeling the pain on his groyne, Wraven's grip loosened around Ashera's wrist. "Come back. How dare you kick me? Come back and you will see what you are looking for, little rascal!"

Tripping over some dead tree branches on the ground, Ashera found herself running deeper and deeper into the woods. "Oh god, help me. He's gone mad. To hell what he had planned doing to me, bringing me all the way to this wretched, godforsaken place."

She ran for her life not knowing where she was going. The sun has already began to set and the moon was ready to take over its place. It only meant that it will be night soon enough and the world will be covered with darkness.

'How I wish I was dead, decaying and rotting underneath the earth's surface. Seriously, wandering like an eccentric lady, not knowing which is the way out of this forest is just worse!' Ashera's mind was so full of rants.

She wished she have set back to the mansion, where she would be safe and sound with her Aunt Ofelia's company.

While she was continuously dragged by her feet into the deeper area of the forest, Ashera halted as wild animals began to circulate the surrounding. They're hungry and they're hunting for their next prey.

Ashera clenched her fists in fear. For a moment, she concluded that she will be soon lying breathless on the ground as though a pack of wolves marched dramatically towards her — tongues out, salivas drooling over and dropping in every step they took. — They're famished and Ashera is their lucky prey.

"Help! Oh no, I could not possibly get away from this. Wraven, I swear to my remaining breath, I will haunt you down and tear you off to pieces even if it will be in another lifetime." Tears were already forming in her eyes, threatening to break free.

The pack has already formed around Ashera, leaving her no space to escape. She will be torn apart and the hungry beasts would feast on her flesh. "Darn it, is this really the end of me?"

In her mind, Ashera was already picturing out that the wolves were tearing off her skin, tasting every inch of her, munching to the delight of her flesh, gnashing to the crunch of her bones — cracking in between their bites, and howling in satisfaction to her scattered guts. She's certain of it. "Dear God, I don't want to die. Not, yet. Please, have mercy on me." Ashera silently prayed while setting her tears free.

The biggest among the wolves, which Ashera assumed to be their Alpha, advanced towards her. She shivered in fear for her life, even so, she abruptly closed her eyes due to the terrifying look of the beast. His eyes were flaming red, his howling sounded like nothing soothing to the ear, and his paws were trudging violently against the ground.

Despite the struggle from keeping her weakened knees straight, Ashera tried her best to stand still but her body did not listen. She sank down to her feet, meeting the ground with her bottom. "Ouch— oh no, the stinky breath of the wild animal's caressing against my face. Shit it's rotten and hot!" The beat's mouth was so close to her face.

"Help! Help! Help, anyone!" She screamed. Ashera was hoping that someone would hear and help her but no one answered, no one came. Aside from the howling of the famished beasts around her.

She shivered like nothing she used to before, barely unable to move a muscle. "I'm scared." She cried. "I don't want to die. Somebody, help." Her voice was cracking, tears were unstoppable, and fear was unbearable.

The beast's long, pointed and sharp pair of fangs were drooling with great amount of saliva. It's gross. "This is it, I will be their supper." Absence of hope was traceable in her words as the the fangs of the beast finally touched her soft and pale skin due to extremely unpleasant feeling caused by the anticipation of danger.

"Ah! I don't want to die!" Ashera clenched her fists as she cried out loud with nonstop fluid tears while scrapping her feet on the earth's surface with what force she got — trying to pull herself away from the extreme fierceness and unrestrained violence of the beast anterior her. —

In spite of her struggle to get away from the beast, the wolf only became more agitated, so much that it let out a terrifyingly deep guttural inarticulate sound — distressingly piercing through her ears. "Ashera, think. Think of what you could possibly do in this kind of situation. You're a clever girl but why is that nothingness' clouding your mind?" She grumpily scolded herself.

Ashera's strength was slowly draining to an extent that she would pass out anytime soon. Amidst her shivering body which was affected with profound reverence towards the beast, she altered for a word. "Wraven…"

For the third time and for the first time in reality, Ashera heard a tumultuous sensation perceived by her sense of hearing. "What on earth was that? It's the exact sound I heard in my dream before I was kept in restrain from falling by a pair of cogent hands."

Her frantic emerald green eyes wandered but the adjoining space around appeared to be partially devoid of light and free from sound. "What it happening? Why are the wolves crying in pain?" Nonchalantly, a loud shriek escaped her mouth as the crying of the wolves became more anguished.

Her tears were once again unstoppable. "I feel so weak to the bones." Ashera closed her eyes whilst the beasts continued agonising for what seemed to an excruciating pain. "I want to go home. I want to scream my lungs out but I rather too weakened to do so. To hell with all of this." She cussed out in despair.

She remained slumping down to the ground, crying, cursing her luck, afraid to take the risk of opening her eyes before her. Although, she heard nothing but absolute silence, now.

Cold wind exhibited an inclination of placing as to stay beside Ashera, which made her frozen in her position — feeling taken with a chill. To her shock, a pair of strong hands pulled her into a tight embrace without a glimpse of gentleness to it. "Hush, it's alright, now. You're safe now so don't cry, anymore." Wraven's voice was soft and comforting to the heart.

"Wraven, what are you doing here?" That was lame of her to ask. "How did you— I mean, thank goodness you came. I thought I was going to die already." Ashera reckon for a good slap and a bountiful curse if was in other circumstances.

"I am here, saving you yet again."

"What? What do you mean yet again?"