Alice:
"Who's there?" I asked in a loud voice as I halted halfway into the woods. The sound of a snapping twig was what caught my attention.
Someone was in here with me. And the thought of that alone made me scared.
I was late for Tanya's wedding which was the reason I chose to pass this route. She was my stepsister. But was it worth it? My stepsister was getting married to my mate who rejected me all because of a stupid rumor and I'm risking my safety just to attend.
I decided to hasten my steps immediately even without the confirmation of whether or not I was being followed.
The confirmation came when I suddenly heard approaching footsteps. I didn't think it twice before I ventured into running. I could already feel the anxiety radiating through me but it was going to get worse if I didn't make it to Tanya's wedding in time.
The footsteps were getting nearer. Whoever it was was catching up with me already. As I couldn't help it, I had to reach out to my mother. She needed to know my situation as soon as possible.
"Where are you, Alice?" My mother snapped at me immediately she picked up my call. I could hear the disgust in her voice and didn't need to be told that I was the reason for it.
"I'm in trouble, mom. Someone's trying to kill me," I said in a panicky tone.
My tone wasn't convincing enough for her because she snapped again: "You're looking for an excuse not to be at the wedding, aren't you? Even if you have to swim across the deepest sea, you must be here! And I mean it!"
She practically hung up on me. Although my hands were shaky, I tried dialing her line again. However, the phone got knocked off my hands before I could get anything done.
No, I got knocked down to the ground. And before I could react to what just happened, I felt a body mount on me forcefully.
When I got a clear vision who was on top of me, I realized it was a rogue. I tried to fight off the rogue but he seemed to be much stronger than I was as he pinned my hands to the ground while I screamed in fear.
The smell of rum and other mixtures hit my nostrils. And the bad stench that comes from him living in the woods made me want to throw up. Unfortunately, I was about to be his victim.
My screams intensified as he forcefully tore off my pant. I could see his bulge which he took out. The more I resisted while knowing what he intended to do, the more aggressive he was.
I didn't stop screaming even when I felt him inside me. Not even when he increased the intensity of his thrusts. But there was no one to help me.
The tears went down freely from my eyes while my body weakened from the pain of his aggressiveness. I felt something sharp on my neck. The rogue now had a knife to my neck. One slice from him and I would be gone.
"Now, shut up!" His hoarse voice vibrated in my ear as he threatened to deepen the knife into my skin. I could already feel the burn of the silver on my neck but that didn't stop me from trying to fight him off.
I only stopped when the knife went through my skin like he threatened. I found myself losing too much blood and even getting close to passing out.
"Please, stop..." I pleaded with him when I could not bear the pain any longer. My body couldn't take it anymore.
My words might have triggered him because the next thing he did was to deep his fangs into my neck. That one bite ended me almost instantly.
As I took my last breath, I blamed myself for not being careful enough. My phone began to vibrate wherever it was and I was sure it was mother calling me.
I was going to miss the wedding after all.
Chapter 2Alice:
I thought I was going to miss the wedding. But here I was, standing not too far from where my stepsister was tying the knot with Rowan, my mate. Tanya was kissing him like her life depended on it and that disgusted me to the core.
Rowan should have been my answer to it all — the mate that would take me out of my misery after father died.
I remember when I introduced him to my family. At that time, he was just newly appointed the head of his pack and that meant I would be his Luna.
"Mother, Liam, Tanya, meet Rowan, my mate..." I had said to them when I brought Rowan to them.
I got disapproving stares from all of them except one person — Tanya.
I could recall how she looked at my mate with so much interest that it made my wolf jealous. I had no idea that she was going to take things far because a week after I introduced Rowan to them, he called me out and rejected me, even going as far as forcing me to reciprocate the rejection.
Turned out Tanya and mother went to concoct so false rumors about me to him. And him being the alpha of his pack didn't want to soil his reputation and so decided to cut ties with me.
Guess who he began an affair with less than a month later? Tanya, my sister.
I was boiling in anger as I watched the two 'lovebirds' but decided not to do anything irrational. Instead, I got close to them so they could at least know I was around already.
None of them seemed to acknowledge my presence. Not even Rowan.
It wasn't until I heard them speak like I wasn't there that it dawned on me that something was wrong.
"Mom, Alice is still not here," Tanya lamented to mother while feigning hurt. Yes, I could tell she was pretending because that's what she ever does.
"I have texted her and even called her but she's not getting back to me," Liam, my stepbrother, said in response.
"She called me saying something about her being in trouble. I know she was looking for an excuse not to show up," Mother told them and I felt disdain rile up in me. She really didn't care about me.
"Is she still holding a grudge against me? But it's my wedding. Whatever grudge she has, can't she leave it until later?" Tanya said.
I think that statement annoyed Rowan because he voiced out, "Can we please stop talking about her? I don't want to hear her name here. She's not worthy."
I wasn't sure what to feel. Rowan actually said that about me?
"But I'm here!" I said in a loud voice that should be enough for anyone to hear me but it still didn't get a reaction from them.
I was disoriented almost immediately. What is going on? Can't any of them see that I'm here?
I was about to get closer to them when something strange happened. Someone actually walked through me. My brain could not process that in time but then I was starting to understand the situation little by little.
I was really dead. And this newfound realization caused tears to flow down my cheeks.
This was what mother always wished for ever since father died years ago. The first thing she did was force the pack elders to make Liam the new alpha while I became nothing more than a slave.
One of my bad memories with her haunted me. I still remember it even now.
"Alice, come here!"
"Yes, mother..." I had said as I ran toward the living room. Immediately I got there, a resounding slap was what I received as a welcome gift.
"I told you never to call me that again!" Mother barked at me. The stinging pain from the slap did not give me the courage to respond lest I get another.
Tears were threatening to fall down my face as I stared at her with my palm to my face.
"Go and clean my room now," Mother said as she turned away from me.
"I've done that already," I managed to say even though I know I shouldn't. I'm sure she heard that but decided to ignore.
"And when you're done, go to Liam's room and do the same," she said, referring to my stepbrother.
"I already—" I was going to say but the scary look I got from her made me stop. I could not handle another pain from her.
That was the usual routine I had to go through ever since father died. Mother practically turned me into a slave and I just happened to not have a say whenever she asked me to do anything.
"I wish you were dead," Mother said spitefully as she bumped into me that very day to exit the living room.
Well, mother, you got your wish already.