Chapter 1: The Foul Destiny

Kimberly's POV: 

Once my mother said, "The most memorable events are never photographed. They stay alive and fresh in your heart, always and forever, like the incident, had happened just yesterday." I never took her words too seriously in my life, until... Now. 

She was right. Right now, I am remembering the moments that we had spent together as a family and all those memories that were never captured in the cameras are replaying in my mind again and again, like I am getting flashbacks 

The thick drops of tears fall down the nook of my eyes as I close them painfully. My head hurts and the rim of my eyes gives me such a painful burning sensation as the tears cover the bruised skin around it. 

I have no sensation of touch. I doubt if I have legs and hands too. I am completely senseless right now. At some regular intervals of time, a few drops of dew keep on dropping on my face from the leaves above my head. My breathing is getting slower and slower as time passes, and I guess this might be the last moment of my life. 

I keep on thinking about Alpha and Luna of my pack. They're my father and mother.

I cannot forget how the bright red flames of fire were destroying the habitat of my pack. We were only the population of almost fifty werewolves over there, living in harmony and peace. We had never intermingled with other packs and other packs had never done any harm to us. 

So, it was out of my comprehension why our pack was attacked suddenly. Was it even attacked? Was it an accident? What was it? We had never seen such a humongous amount of fire burning our homes like nothing and turning them into the vile dust of ashes. Are the people in my pack even alive? Did they make it to life? 

Dad returned to the burning fire to save the members of his pack. He promised himself that he was going to save everyone remaining and he would jump into fire even if there was a single one of us alive. He is the Alpha and guardian of this pack. So, Mother and I couldn't stop him from bolting into the burning fire. It was his obligation and we both knew about it. I couldn't stop my father from going into that vast fire even after knowing that there was no certainty that he was going to return. But, that wasn't the end.

Seeing her mate, her husband walking through the fire, my mom couldn't hold herself. Maybe that was what mate bond meant. I tried to stop my mom but she was unstoppable. She was holding a purple colored pouch since she ran away from home. I didn't know what kind of pouch was. But she held it like her life depended on it. 

"Kim! Take this... Take this and go to Nathaniel. He lives on the outskirts of the uptown. He lives in a Church built in old English style. You know how they are right? H-He will help you. I don't have time to explain anything. He will explain everything. Just run... Run away from here and save your life. If your father and I don't make it to life, promise me you will take care of yourself stay strong, and take care of the remaining members of the pack. Promise me, you will come back and recreate this pack as the Luna of the pack, Promise me, and the most important thing, you have to protect the thing that I am giving to you and don't you ever open this pouch. Do you understand?" she had said. 

I was puzzled at that time. I simply nodded my head but in reality, I didn't know what should I exactly do. I had no other options than obeying her while I hadn't even shifted and found my wolf inside me. 

So, I have been running since yesterday. I passed through two hills of forest and I didn't know where am I. 

There was no time to grab any compass and grabbing a compass wasn't a concern at that time. The concern was only to save our lives. I can't even tell if I am in the right way or in the wrong way. I don't know where is this place. And I am stuck to death right now? 

After a few minutes, the roughness of the land is felt by my hands. I am finally starting to feel better now. As I move my fingers a bit on the surface, I feel the roughness of some fallen leaves. Am I regaining consciousness? It makes me a bit relieved to feel those dried but wet leaves with my fingers. 

"M-Mother, F-Father," I bite my lower lip in agony as I weep harder and this time, it is not a silent tears. I bleat more with my voice in the forest where I had never been in my life. I doubt if my parents made it to life. I don't know if they saved any of our pack members. I lay like a chopped wooden log in the floor unable to do anything but only sob with the loudest voice I can. 

After a while, my sobs slowed down and my heartbeat became quite stable. I can feel the slowed heartbeat is now almost working fine. I breathe out heavily in some intervals as I start to feel the coldness in my body. My eyes move towards the sky which is blocked by the huge foliage of the tall trees. The sky is darker than ever and it is much more gloomy than my heart is right now. 

"Is the sky mourning for my pack too? Or is it mourning for me?" I tell it to myself. I remember it was dark when I left my mom yesterday. Is it even yesterday or more days have passed? But it's a day now but the day is melancholic as it can be. 

My eyelids close and open hopelessly. I guess, I am breathing the last of my breaths right now. And suddenly, I see a lot of fluffy cotton-like substances falling from the sky and finally touching my skin. I feel the coldness in my cheeks, in my forehead, and slowly on the other naked parts of my body. 

Damn! It's snowing. What month is it now? Why now? Is Moon Goddess trying to take away my life in the most torturous way? Why me? Why my parents? Why my pack? 

I can't see the moon right now. The snowfall has covered most of the sky awfully. Are you doing this because you are trying to turn a blind eye to our situation right now? 

Moon Goddess, my parents have always served you and respected you with all their hearts. But is this what you give in return to us? You separated me from my family, my pack, and now, I am here nowhere to be found by any species just to die a painful and awful death in this lonesome and dense forest. 

I grizzle at myself. I am waiting for the death to come and gulp me right at this instant. It's better than this torture. 

I close my eyes welcoming the death as per my will. I wish it could be quick. Those thick drops of tears burn the bruises one more time and don't know how many more times they are going to burn. 

So, am I going to be buried inside this snow and die? If my parents are alive, will they ever find me again? I guess I won't decay quickly and also do not smell foul until they find me as I will be buried inside the snow. I pray the moon goddess gets my soul and I pray I get to ask her my queries before I set out for heaven. 

I want to question her," Why did she give me such a foul destiny?"