An Achilles’ Heel

"NOOOOO!" Madeline cried, tossing and turning as pain engulfed her.

And then, just like that, her surroundings dissolved.

She was back in her bedroom, in that wretched cave no more.

Without the slightest idea what just happened, Madeline sunk into her pillows.

She turned on a night lamp at her bedside table.

"It was a dream," she spoke, her eyes glassy and tear-filled.

"It was just a dream," she sighed with complete and utter relief.

It had all felt too real. Like she'd actually been in that cave, and that that man - whoever he was - could actually sense her.

Madeline tensed.

Hold on, was it real?

Was all that nonsense about one's soul form true?

What is a soul form, even? Was that another version of yourself?

Had she just escaped death? He'd found her after all. It was like they were playing a game of hide and seek, and it ended with him finding her.

"This is all too much for me to handle today," Madeline pouted.

All she wanted was a warm, steaming cup of coffee and another couple of hours in bed without having to be disturbed. Then again, she had breakfast with Xavier so she couldn't do that.

Staring at a wall, Madeline spoke, her voice as hushed as a whisper, "How did I, a normal human, be fated to be with a werewolf?"

Somehow, she remembered an old story she'd been told. Of course, she wasn't accustomed to the original, real story. What she had listened to as a child was a far different story. One that changed her perception of werewolves and love for the better.

Long ago, on a faraway land called Cevian lived a witch that was dead set on killing a wolf.

But, this wolf wasn't just any ordinary wolf. He was the first of the wolves. The original werewolf. The strongest of his kind.

He could resist the full moon, only turning to his werewolf form whenever he pleased. He was a million times stronger than any human and could lift buildings with a pinky without breaking a sweat. He could control all the werewolves, practically invincible.

However, all beings, no matter how invincible, always had an Achilles' heel.

A weak spot that once discovered could easily be used to defeat the opponent.

No matter how hard the witch tried, she couldn't hurt him. And when she did, he always got back up. That was, until she learnt of his weakness.

Nothing could hurt him. Sure, there were some materials and substances that could harm him, but nothing came as close to his biggest weakness.

A mortal he was madly in love with. A weak, frail mortal.

Armed with the new information the witch had discovered… in the middle of the night, she captured the girl.

That had managed to catch the werewolf's attention. Being caught off guard, he took the bait, luring himself into the witch's trap.

The witch hung the girl over a pit of spikes. He would've stood a chance, had it not been for the fact that the spikes were covered with the once substance that could fatally kill him. But, that didn't make him any less determined to stop at nothing to save her, for she was the love of his life, and he was hers.

She pleaded and pleaded for him to reconsider his actions; to leave before he got hurt. Rather her than him.

However, as stubborn and madly in love as he was, he refused to leave her side.

The witch took no pity in them, as relentless as she was.

After their chat, the witch cackled.

With a swish of her hand, the rope that suspended the girl in mid-air was cut, and down she fell from the cliff, falling to her doom. Down she fell to her doom, never to see the love of her life again. The last image of him being his tear-stricken face when he saw her in the state she was in.

Sharp, deadly spikes waited for her at the bottom of the cliff - she was falling to her death. And the worst of all was… before he could do anything to the witch, she disappeared out of thin air. She was gone forevermore.

However, the story doesn't end so soon.

The werewolf - without a second of hesitation, rushed towards the edge of the cliff.

Knowing what would come next, he took a deep breath before jumping down.

Madeline never learnt the end of the story, all she was told was the events leading up to the cliffhanger. Literally. But never the ending. For some reason, she'd been forbidden to find out what it was.

Yet, that one story was a game-changer for her. It taught her that love was strong and true. The things someone would do for love was endless.

Looking out the window, Madeline realized the sun was rising.

Day was approaching.

Staying in bed, Madeline watched peacefully as the sun rose.

Life here was so different from her previous lifestyle.

Madeline was unemployed, without parents, and practically without friends. After university, she didn't know what was next for her and was let down from her job. It proved that being the top of your class at a prestigious university didn't guarantee you anything, at least… not for Madeline. She'd spent more time in bed than she did socializing with people, most of the time either watching TV shows or engrossed in books she'd stay up at night to read.

Of course, she did have one friend, but she and said friend hadn't talked in quite a while.

They'd grown distant, although Madeline occasionally wondered from time to time what'd happened to her dear friend.

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Author's Note: So… what do you think of Alaric lore? I got inspiration from the fairy tale, little red riding hood. Add a pinch of romance, a splash of tragedy and a sprinkle of cliffhanger (literally lol) and there you have it! Feel free to tell me what you think of this in the comments down below since I'm always looking to improve my stories.

Love, mari.

P.S. And yes, the original story mentioned in this chapter is little red riding hood, if you're wondering. Just had to put it out there.