Chapter 1: Embracing the Death

Alexandra Rossetti

My city bids farewell to the evening as I exit the super shop, carrying my necessary purchases.

The night's beauty surrounds me as I approach my car. However, a mysterious figure captures my attention, compelling me to hurriedly enter and drive away. A sigh of relief escapes me.

The road, surprisingly empty tonight, leaves me uneasy. Why did that man stand behind me, dressed like a grim reaper? This question starts to bother me in the quiet night.

Aha, why am I thinking so much? I should focus on driving. I lower the speed a little and switch on the audio player, playing one of my favorite songs to create a musical atmosphere and dispel my overthinking and ennui.

My car continues until a loud thud breaks the silence, as if something heavy has fallen on the roof.

The situation turns severe, but I dare not stop the car. Glancing at the road through the side mirror, my heart freezes as I see the man from earlier in front of the super shop, vigorously riding his bike and following my car.

''What the heck is going on?'' I increase my car's speed, surpassing him to ensure he can't catch me.

"Damn it!" The tires of my car scream as it loses control and collides with a tree trunk resulting smoke eruption.

Somehow, I manage to exit my car and run through the jungle. Fortunately, the man is a little way behind so the distance allowed me to gather courage and energy to escape.

My head aches, however there's no choice but to keep running.

As I glance around, a dark cluster of bamboo and trees grabs my attention, urging me to hide quickly.

Unfortunately, luck isn't on my side today. Despite the darkness, he pursues me and stops in front of the cluster.

It's an eerie situation I never imagined facing in my whole life.

"You can't hide, dear. Come out!" The man with a hulky figure groans from the other side of the bamboo cluster.

My timid self trembles with each horrible push of his voice, and I gulp nervously.

I've hidden myself among the cluster of bamboo and big trees to save myself. It's dark all around.

With their glittering amber eyes, several predators join him in no time. The shape of their eyes gives me the note of death.

To kill a lean girl like me, the man is enough. Why those wolves now? It's getting too heavy for an ordinary human like me.

There's no way for me to survive now. They will hunt me no matter what, but the problem is I'll die of fear before they kill me.

This is so annoying, just to perceive how a coward like me can face such a hazard.

To protect myself from the human threat, I end up losing myself in these dark forests, not even realizing the existing threats of this deadly place. Now, all I can do is regret over my life.

'I'm warning you to come out before I tear you apart!' His fierce look and coarse voice don't let me breathe properly.

I don't dare to move or make any sound, but what he shows me makes my heart feel like it's about to come out of my mouth.

This is impossible! How can a human turn into a wolf in this way? It doesn't take much for me to understand that I have entered the forbidden forest where no human can dare to enter.

But how could I make such a mistake?

His piercing look penetrates through my soul, overcoming all the barriers between us. He starts entering the cluster with his wolves.

If I want to save myself, I have to take a risk.

What if I die? Uf! I can't think anything now.

I know there is no way left for me but I have to try for the last time.

Using my last strength, I come out of the cluster and start to run. They are running behind me.

''Shame on you!'' I scream. They are still pursuing me. But my energy is draining; I can feel it.

If I stop running, I know there will be no chance to take my last breath.

While running, my bad luck meets its stepmother—a big tree trunk that may push me back to the place from where I've started running.

Now, the back of my head exchanges a passionate kiss with a hard stone, but the kiss isn't energetic enough to dull my senses, as one usually watches in a movie. Maybe my head is just made of rock.

After opening my eyes, I find myself in the center of those deadly eyes.

All of them are staring at me as if I am their moon, and they are my stars, watching me for the first time.

In a moment, the beast turns into a human, earning a gulp from me.

"Get up and follow me!" he commands. "What?" I frown.

He leans towards me and taunts, saying, "Didn't you hear?"

"I mean, aren't y'all going to eat me?"

"Yes, dear, but not here. Don't worry. We're going to fulfill your wish in some moments!"

My eyes widen listening to him. Why am I so dumb? Was it necessary to remind him to kill me?

"Now, follow me!" he retorts.

I shake my head nervously and stand up, taking support from the tree behind me.

I don't gather the courage to speak further; I just keep walking until the amusing sound of the river calls my name affectionately.

"Y'all are so humble; thanks for being nice." As I speak, he starts to laugh at me. "I am not joking, though."

The man turns to me and says, "Human!"

"What's your name?" I ask.

"It's not necessary to know." As they start to walk again, I keep following them.

Questions start to rise in my mind. "Do I really deserve to die this way? I mean, how can I let those beasts end my decorated life?"

I am eighteen years old, and if I don't utilize the energy of my youth, then when will I?

Changing my direction, I start to run toward the direction of the river.

"Goodbye, guys. Hope we never meet."

Howls and groans are about to break my ears, but I keep running with the hope of getting lost in the water of the river.

The more I am running, the clearer the sound of the falling water becomes, but I can't reach the river.

They are about to catch me, and this time, they will not spare me.

As I turn my head to look behind to track them again, the human beast is about to grab me with a long jump until I fail to feel the ground anymore, and by now, he holds my hand.

"No, no, no, no!" I scream with my heart after finding myself falling from the cliff with him. My soul is already in the process of leaving my body.

"We are going to die, beast!"

"Everything happened because of you!"

"C'mon, try to fly, beast!"

"Oh, shut up!"

"Why? Don't you have wings?"

"I am a werewolf, not a dragon."

He fails to keep holding my hand because of the strong flow of the wind.

My body gets lost in the abyss of the river. The current keeps drowning me deeper and deeper, although I know how to swim, but not enough to keep myself alive.

Everything keeps becoming blurry in front of me, and I start to feel suffocated.

The failure of taking breath is so painful. I can't breathe at all.

I heard the pain of death is so horrifying, and now I am feeling how severe the level of its affliction can be.

"Am I going to die for real?"