Chapter 5

LAYLA’S POV

“Where am I?”

“Am I dead?”

“Did I die?” I pondered as I slowly unfurled my eyes, I looked, I looked around the room, it was painted in white, with a little painting hanging on the way, a little bedside table, it had a bowl and a white towel in it, there was also a little cup, it had a content that looked like tonic and a little spoon was also inside the cup.

“Where am I?”

“Where is this place?” I groaned, still confused by the little room I was in.

“Am I not dead?” I pondered.

I got out of bed but instead, I cried out in pain, my brows arched, and fear engulfed me as I looked at my body, I was covered in bruises and my left leg, I could not feel it.

“What the hell is going on?” I screamed

“Anyone?, Someone please!” I cried out but no one came to me.

This is weird, I remembered being tossed into the dark forest after I was stoned and half-dead. But where is this place? Could the monsters have saved me?

That is absurd and impossible, those monsters don't think, they think of every as prey and food, they hunt and kill, and they would not have saved me.

If the monster didn’t save me? Then who did?

How am I even alive?

No wolf would have been able to heal itself from the horror of the pack members and here I am half-wolf, I have more of a witch’s blood than that of a wolf but I am alive, how is this even possible, it’s not possible.

I tried answering all my questions but I only ended up with more questions.

More importantly, I can’t feel my left leg, and worse, my body still aches like I was stoned just yesterday.

“Anyone!”

“Anyone, please” I called out, I was frightened and cold, as I cried out and no one came for me, I remembered my father and Damien, these were the people I have loved my entire life, they were my family and the love of my life but they turned their back on me, they killed me.

“Am I fated to be alone?”

“Was I meant to be hated by the people I love and cherish?”

“Is this the consequence of my rejection of the high priestess? Are the oracles cursing me for turning their back on them?” I cried.

Suddenly the door creaked open and I heard footsteps slowly approaching the room, a bright light shone through the door and a lady walked through the light.

“Did I die?” I muffled

“As much as we all wish you dead, unfortunately, you are very much alive” the lady blurted but the voice was familiar, too familiar

“I know that voice” I muffled

The lady scoffed “Of course you do, I am your aunt… don't you remember me?” My mother’s sister Mystic appeared from the light.

My eyes widened, it was at that moment I realized that my aunt was never among the people that Damien killed, I never found her body “Aunt?” I whimpered,

“Don’t you open that filthy mouth of yours!” she snarled while glaring at me. I could feel the pain in her eyes, she was mourning Raven, not just Raven but every other witch that had died at the hands of the Redmoon pack.

“I am sorry” I cried

“Sorry?” she muffled

“Dis you say sorry?” she lashed

“Do you have any idea how many people lost their lives because of your people!” she grunted

“Hundreds of them! Children! Innocent children, your people slashed them mercilessly making people orphans and making parents childless!” She growled

“Your cousin, my daughter was among the people they killed, are you aware? The people you went back to while turning your back on us, they did this to us, your people and you open that lousy filthy mouth to say that you are sorry? Will that bring back my daughter? Will that bring back your cousin, Raven, my only child?” she wailed, holding her chest as it broke into my many pieces.

I lay there helplessly as I watched her cry, I was hurting too but I wasn’t sure if it was anything compared to how much Mystic was hurting.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry” Those were the words that I could utter, nothing else seemed to find their way through.

The door opened and other people walked in, they had a bowl and a cup, similar to the one by the bedside table.

“Why are we helping her? We shouldn't have helped her, we should have left her there to die!” Mystic blurted and she meant it but I don't blame her, I also wish I had died back there, although I had questions, a better explanation but now that I think about it, no explanation justifies the lives that were taken and the innocent blood that were shed.

“She is still your niece, Mystic, and besides, her people did this to her, her father did this to her, she doesn't deserve this just as much as we did not deserve what happened to her” one of the elder women muttered.

“She is right, all this happened because of your mother, none of this would have happened if your mother had never stepped into the wolf world in an attempt to make peace and unite our worlds even when the odds were against us…. You know the weirdest is, your people see us as threats, they see us as a time bomb, one that will bring the world to its knees, he may be right, for the oracle knows that he is right but they are the reasons we are the time bomb because some evils need to be wiped out completely from the surface of the earth,” she muttered and left the room.

She was right, ever since I have been fed with stories about the witches, I had never seen them harm anyone before, instead, we are always the ones hunting them, we are the ones with the book of law for the witches, and we are the ones that have a judgment for them. We are the predators, we’ve always been.

The elders performed some rights on my body, now that I was awake, they had a better chance at healing me and making me regain my strength.

But I was curious, Damien said he had killed all the witches but how is it possible Mystic and this women are alive?

“I can hear your thoughts child, they are written all over your face” one of the elders muffled, she gazed at me “It was Raven, she had a dream the day before she was to be crowned the next high priestess, she told us that we needed to leave the coven but we weren’t sure what she meant because she wasn’t fully the high priestess which means we couldn't fully trust her dreams, but when they attacked, she risked her life and protected the few of us that managed to escape” She explained

Raven has always had the virtue of a leader, she was my role model, I was only a year older but she was wiser.

I got better and I was presented to the rest of the witches, they were not pleased to see me, I saw it in their eyes.

“What is the wolf doing here!” one of the witches yelled

“All this happened because of her!” another yelled

“This is all her fault!” and another.

I buried my face and covered my body, worried that they might stone me just as the wolves did but they didn't.

“We feel your anger and believe me, we are just as furious but the oracle has spoken, no one else is to become the high priestess except Layla,” Mystic blurted

“What?” I rasped

“But how do we know that she will not go running back to the wolves” another of the wolves yelled.

“Because for the next three months, she will prove herself to us and if she fails, we will have no choice but to unalive her” Mystic said glaring at me