Finally, I entered the sitting room of the Royal Pack, and everywhere was dead silent, with dead bodies scattered around, cold and stiff with blue eyes open.
I screamed in fear as the dead bodies seemed to be haunting. It forced me to shut my eyes, looking away.
Once again, that hoarse, sarcastic laugh began. This time it was more intense and came from the royal palace, where my father could be.
"No! No! No! This is not real!" I whimpered, sprinting erratically to the palace, as I prayed for wake. It should be a nightmare, but the more I ran forward to the palace with the laughter increasing in my head, the more I felt the sensation all over me. Everything appeared too real to be a dream.
"Here she comes!!" That was what I heard just as I kicked open the door of the palace.
"Ava!!" I heard that same feminine voice that had called me out in fear at the beginning. It was calling me again, but the difference was that I was seeing her right in front of me.
A woman clad in a white royal robe and with brunette hair just like mine. She was blindfolded and had her hands tied while forced to kneel on broken rocks, which caused her knees to bleed.
I was struggling to breathe as my eyes caught the dark figure behind her. It was like a fog, but had the figure of a man. Besides the fog, there was also a lady, whose face I couldn't see.
My head was banging now as I kept wagging, telling myself continuously that I was dreaming.
My eyes caught a lifeless body on the floor soaked in the pool of its own blood. I traced the face and saw the man was my father.
"No! Daddy!!!" I burst into tears and tried to run to him, but found out I had lost the ability to walk. My legs had frozen and every part of me was paralyzed so that I couldn't move anymore.
"Who are you?! Why did you kill the Alpha, my father? Why!! What did he do wrong? Are you the one that is also caused my pack members death?" Hot tears seared my eye sockets, flooding down my cheeks as I yelled at him.
His reply was another round of mocking laughter. This time, I also heard a feminine voice laughing along with him.
"What?..." My whole body froze as the woman kneeling's blindfold ripped off, revealing her stunning face, but it was her sapphire blue eyes that drew my attention.
"She is your useless mother..." The husky voice from the fog mocked us both. We both stared at each other in tears as she called my name again, her tears streaming down her eyes more.
"Don't fail me. I have failed, but I have faith in you. Don't fail too, because you are the only hope remaining!" She sobbed bitterly, trembling and breathing heavily.
Her words resonated sharply inside my head while I stared at the most beautiful woman in front of me, who had just been called my mother. She was the one who had that voice that was filled with fear like one who was at the point of death. Now I see why she was calling on me.
"Mommy..." I purred and attempted to at least touch her, but not even my hand could make a move.
Another round of those creepy and taunting laughs came again from the fog.
"You can't stop us!" That was the last word I heard before it all ended.
A lady who I couldn't see her face suddenly appeared from the black fog and paced close to my mother with a sharp knife in her palm. Her hair was familiar, and so was the way she walked. It all seemed like someone I had seen before. As I racked my brain to figure out who she was, there was only one person who kept flashing through my mind.
Aurora
Snickering evilly, she placed the blade on her throat and slit it open, blood spurting and streaming down with a rush as my mother's body fell dead instantly, lying beside my father.
"No!! Mummy!!" I shrieked with no strength left in me as the scene playing in front of me tore my heart and soul apart, with agony. All my efforts to save them were all useless, and I had to watch them die.
At almost the same time, everything began to spin around me, and like a vision, I saw my pack being razed by fire. The dead bodies were burned black and it all seemed not to be a dream or illusion as I could feel the heat of the fire.
My pack was really getting destroyed while I stood, stuck in the same spot with no ability to move.
It felt like my heart was ripped apart and crushed into pieces. I lost all hope as tears brimmed my eyes and burned down my cheeks. I was watching the destruction of my family and everything I loved.
Just then, I felt someone, like a man, hold my hand gently. The contact of our skin gave me great warmth and an electrifying sensation, which made me shiver under the touch.
I felt peace in my heart instantly.
"I won't let you down." He cooed with a voice so calm, gentle, and filled with love and protection. He sounded so caring and sincere as his grip tightened around my palm. I felt my heart throb, and every sadness evaded my heart.
"We will fight this war together, and I promise to protect you with my life. I will end your suffering and make sure you never face any kind of pain again. Your world is filled with pain and hatred from everyone, but I want to let you know that I am here for you. I promise." His husky voice purred in again, piercing into my ears and right into my soul once again.
I felt love. I felt deep compassion in every word that came from his mouth. That love I had never felt since birth was all that overwhelmed my heart as I heard him say those words while I rested on his shoulder.
My wolf howled in delight and screamed the word "mate," forcing me to turn my face and see who the man was, but just at that moment everything faded away.
Just then, I began to hear faint murmurs from familiar voices. My skin began to tinge as it got wet. I found myself pulled down and sunk into the fluid inside the confinement. My sense of touch was back and then reality struck me when I least expected it.
I felt the most excruciating pain ever.
Sharp and burning affliction spread throughout my entire body as the silver and wolfsbane mixture scourged me like a group of poisonous serpents stinging every part of me.
*******
That same night.
Jaden's POV.
It was a dream all this time. It was not real, but I felt her touch and could still feel the heat of her palm as it connected with mine. Even the sweet and electrifying sensations of our skin contact were still flickering through my skin as I opened my eyes wide.
I was lying on the bed, gasping and breathing heavily. Every single word I said to her kept repeating in my head, and I just couldn't understand how possible it was.
The dream was still vivid in my head, and I could swear this was the best dream I had ever had. A dream I prayed never to wake up from. The feelings were out of this world, and when I poured out my heart to her, it was so amazing.
I didn't realized my mind had been occupied with the thought of Ava till this night when I woke up after dreaming about her.
She was in distress, and I was there for her. She was in tears and despair watching the family she loved die, and from nowhere, I appeared and became her solace. I turned to a loverboy and literally confessed my feelings to Ava. I told her we would fight the battle together, and I would protect her with my life.
For real, I also added that I wouldn't let her down. How ridiculous? The man in that dream can never be me because I was sure my heart was racing and I was falling deeply in love with her.
It was only her face that I couldn't see, but every other feeling was purely real. For the first time in my entire life, I dreamed of a girl. Not just any dream, but a romantic one. The most ridiculous part was that I didn't know who Ava was or what she was doing in my dream!
I should hate love, right? I should be cold over anything related to those love feelings and affections. Why, then, did this happen?
Now I think I really needed to meet Ava. She has to explain to me what charm she was using. There must be something fishy!
I grunted in the darkness of my room, angry that it was still midnight. Just when I closed my eyes again to sleep, the scene of that dream came again.
When she screamed in panic, calling out "Mummy" and shaking her head while whimpering a silent "No!" I could feel the intense sadness in her voice. It was as if she saw her mother being killed.
All these weren't clear to me. I couldn't tell what connection I had with her, and it was even weird to me how I was able to know the girl was Ava without seeing her face.
The moment I held her soft and tender shaky palm in my dream, I knew she was the Ava my heart had longed for. She rested on my shoulder and kept calm, believing that I would protect her.
So weird and unbelievable!
My eyes were closed as the scene began to replay. Normally, I would open my eyes and go get a drink to distract myself from the crazy romantic feelings that were overwhelming my heart, but I couldn't. I allowed it to savor me because I enjoyed every bit.
The dream melted my heart that night, and when I woke up the next day, I realized how stupid I had been all through the night. I hated myself for dreaming of a girl, but that didn't stop me from sending my personal messenger on a mission to sneak into Ava's pack and check on her.
I guessed I was going mad, actually.