Chapter 2

VIOLETTE.

After casting a curse on the villagers, which was only a bluff, I walked aimlessly in the forest. From the daylight of the sky until it turned beautiful tangerine. Each turn I made only trapped me deeper in the unfamiliar forest. The strong blow of wind mixed with snow didn’t help to smoothen my journey.

My face started to feel stiff; the snow adorned my lashes, so the cold pierced my skin each time I blinked. Every breath I took produced a smoke. I rubbed my palm together and put them on my icy cheeks. 

I wondered whether the beasts caused the harsh winter in this land since they had furs. I clasped my red cloak, hoping it could feed me the warmth I sought the most. 

My steps got slower and slower as my consciousness began slipping away. If I were to pass out at this moment, there was no doubt that I would die alone. And the beast who found my body would chew my almost rotten flesh. The thought of it gave me the will to force my body to march forward. Maybe just a little more, I would meet a shelter. 

Around five minutes later, a dangerous howl erupted in the forest. Sending a chilling sensation all over my body. My heart thumped wildly against my ribcage. If what I read in the book about the beast were true, then it must be able to hear my heart singing in fear and feel the terror in me. 

The scary howl from the beast didn’t stop; it grew louder, closer even. The ground shook as if several horses were galloping toward me. I turned my head in slow motion. There I saw the scariest living beings looking at me. 

The beast—Lycan, the human said, was bigger than in the book and my imagination. I had seen a similar creature, big dogs, in human land, but they were pale in comparison. The beast was almost as tall as me, its golden eyes glowed dangerously, and the teeth looked sharper than a butcher’s knife. 

I held my breath and took several steps back, but the moment twigs broke under my feet, the beast let out an angry roar, and I ran for my dear life. 

My survival instinct was so strong that I completely forgot how cold I was. All I knew was I had to run until the beast, lycan or whatever it was, lost my track. 

I could hear the beast’s heavy breathing and its claws scraping the pavement as it followed my trail. The beast growled again; this time, it was way louder than before. I didn’t know the difference, but if they worked as humans did, then the beast must be calling for another to hunt me. 

“Please, please, please, please, I want to live.” Tears fell from my eyes, blurring my line of sight. Yet, I didn’t stop. I had to stay alive to find my mother, find a husband, and give birth to adorable children. 

Perhaps God did pity me because I could finally see a cave. Hope bloomed in my chest as I set my goal. However, my happiness cracked when I stumbled on the rod. Then, my body free-falling into the soil. 

“Argh!” I screamed as I felt something sharp poke my skin. I looked down and saw that a sharp stone pierced my legs. “Please, why is this happening to me? Just why!” I bellowed in frustration and agony. 

I noticed the beast stopped right before me. Its eyes gleamed, seeing me quiver in cold and trepidation. I gripped the sharp stone and bravely threw it into the beast’s eyes. Then I fled away when the beast took one step back. 

I dragged my wounded leg to the cave without looking back. The beast was still behind me, not running this time, almost seeming hesitant to follow me. That made my brows arch in question. 

“Why did it stop hunting me?” That question was running around in my mind, yet it didn’t hinder me from marching toward the cave. The cave was the only place that could save me from beasts and cold. 

“Just a little more, hang in there, Vio,” I murmured as the view of the cave got bigger with every step I took. 

The beast had stopped entirely moving toward me. But, instead, the beast turned its back and ran in the opposite direction, then drowned in the sea of trees. 

The tension left my body as I noticed I was finally alone. I heaved a sigh of relief, then continued to walk. 

Two minutes later, I arrived at the front of the cave and entered it without hesitation. The light from the outside got small as I ventured deeper. The temperature also turned warmer, which motivated me to go even further. 

I channeled my energy to focus on making a small fire in my palm but failed. So I tried again, twice, thrice, and it was still fruitless. 

“What a useless witch am I,” I grunted. This was why being a witch was the same as being an average human; I couldn’t use it as I pleased. I finally succeeded on my fifth try; the flame was extremely small, probably similar to a candle. 

I strode farther, but my breath grew heavier the longer I walked, and the contact between my trousers and my fresh wound kept making me hiss. “Okay, Violette, this is the sign for you to rest,” I told myself, then let myself fall flatly on the hard ground. 

I reached for my bag and took out the potion bottle labeled ‘Healing potion.’ I let the potion drop on my leg and groaned when it finally worked on my wound. Then I leaned on the hard stone of the cave and rested my exhausted body. 

After a few hours of sleep, I could hear the sound of screams reverberating through the entire cave. At first, I tried to ignore it and force myself to keep sleeping; however, the scream came again. And I snapped. 

“God, I can’t even sleep peacefully in this place!” I screamed back, hoping whoever was disturbing me get irritated after hearing my voice. 

I adjusted my sleeping position, ready to jump back to dreamland. 

“Who’s there?”

I jumped from my position. Sitting rigidly because I couldn’t believe I had just heard another voice speak the same language as me, not just some growl that couldn’t be deciphered. I wanted to reply but held myself back just in case everything was in my head. 

“Come here.” The voice came again, lulling me to follow its instruction. The voice, I wasn’t wrong, should belong to a man. It was low and husky, as if he had not drunk water for a very long time. 

I tried to lid the fire again on my palm, and fortunately, I succeeded on my first try. So, I began ambling my way.

“Come to me.” 

The voice was like an anchor in my situation, and as if getting compelled, I followed without thinking. 

I extended my hand, trying to feel what was in front of me, but to no avail. I could only touch the air and the hard stone on the cave wall. 

“Hello, can you hear me?” 

“Come closer.”

The voice sounded more dangerous than before to me. I could detect the hidden growl following after his words, making the hair on my nape stand rigidly. 

I knew I should be scared and turn around to leave this strange place and slip away to human land, but the problem was I wasn’t scared. Not at all. 

Curiosity took over me, so I kept marching in the direction of the voice despite the alarm ringing like crazy in my head. 

Then suddenly, my body hit something hard and almost fell miserably. But I felt a muscular arm circling around my waist, strong and almost seemed possessive. And what followed the incident was a ferocious growl and a chant of ‘Mine.’