Six Months Back
The day when Athena Left
Athena's P.O.V:
It didn't look like an evening— It looked like a never-ending night whereas each turn of these spacious roads existing in silence would only take me to the worst— Where the darkness would never end but there'd also be flames of the same fire that I had a walk through without a flinch, a tear or a quivering whimper.
I did not know where they were taking me but I could feel Sebastian's beta's eyes fixed on me through the view of the rearview mirror. God knew what went on in his mind.
Perhaps he could simply be pondering over the fact— What has made his Alpha throw his new toy so soon? Or he could be thinking nothing at all, praising the decision of Sebastian Valdez to remove his mate from his life forever after getting proper use of his so-called two million dollars that took him to buy my fate, my life, my nightmares and my shattered dreams as a recompense to him for wasting that amount— A wolf-less female, who had no identity of herself, was living in the world just like another burden, full of imperfections and weaknesses she couldn't keep covered for her own good, couldn't worth more than that, could she?
A lone tear slid down my cheek without my acknowledgement. I looked outside the open window of the car, unable to hold the sobs inside, tied around my throat like a rope that'd soon pierce through my skin if not let loose. But I couldn't let my emotions seep out as well, what I felt was beyond my comprehension. I couldn't cogitate it.
"The winds are cold," Aaron spoke in the meantime, somehow successfully breaking through my thoughts, "They might seem right at this moment, but it's not good for you to familiarise yourself with them."
What meaning I should have derived from his sentence depended on me, and what he truly meant was a mystery to everyone but not him. Regardless of having these two things printed strictly in my head, I chose to not follow any route at all.
I found that in this turmoil, it was better to just ignore the words of Sebastian's loyal servant who knew the absolute least of me and rather focus on what was necessary– Solve conflicting emotions and put them under shackles.
Nonetheless, I uttered a response to Aaron, "I don't think there's anything in particular that could be truly good or bad for me, Aaron. But thanks for showing your kind concern, I appreciate it."
It was debatable whether he truly heaved out a sigh and spared a glance at me that had more than just sympathy or it was just my imagination that had nothing to do with reality. Nonetheless, he turned his attention back to his phone that asked for his attention, as it binged due to the notification of a text he got.
He picked it up, his jaw tightening for some reason and I ended up turning my attention away from him. Inspecting what concerned my mate's beta was not on my priority list then.
I was saying goodbye to this life. The Athena I was. It was not supposed to be a hard decision— This person I wished to say goodbye to was weak, pathetic, and full of demons and nightmares— And Sebastian Vladez was the storm of destruction, though there were moments when I found peace within it, no matter how much I hurt myself in the process.
Moments passed and I only kept getting buried deeper in my thoughts.
Amid this hopelessness, a decision of mine I had taken before leaving the cage of my mind, somewhat stirred a small ray of hope— The call I made to Julia to help her know my location in order to help me escape.
Yes. I did not intend to be anywhere near Sebastian's reach and it was obvious that the place he'd ordered Aaron to escort me would not be far from his acknowledgement.
Him knowing my location would be a risk for me. So this was the best decision I could take for myself and my child.
And the worry about him being able to track me? That was just out of context and illogical, to say the least— I did not have a wolf so the last thing that'd be possible for him was to track me through this bond that he couldn't care less to give a fuck about.
Surely I was trusting Julia with the biggest decision of my life, but I did trust her. I knew she'd try something to get me out of it since she was the one who pushed me into it the way I was tangled in the first place, only so that she could save Sebastian from his curse.
Guilt or sympathy, any of it would serve the purpose right. And I was sure she had one of these two causes to help me if I excluded the kind heart I thought she had since Sebastian's curse has done its job on its part— Torn our lives apart.
After everything, right now, all I had was to look at the rays of hope and find a new reason to keep going. And it was my fortune that I had the reason with me, all I needed was a way out of this hell, follow the last stroke of the light, get out of this canal and never look back.
Time passing in silence was giving me chills— The worry of whether Julia would be able to get me out of it or not, eat me up from within. But at the same time, I knew, stressing over it would give me nothing at all.
Unlike last time, I hadn't made myself stuck to one hope only; Thankfully this time I kept a plan for myself if Julia for any reason failed today, or I couldn't get out of this situation of some unfavourable circumstances, I'd escape from the newly decorated hell Sebastian was sending me to, no matter what it takes.
The silence roaming in the car was broken, all of a sudden, by the harsh ringtone of Aaron's phone.
Seemingly startled, he grabbed his phone from his pocket, I didn't even need to check the caller ID as he picked up the call and soon spoke.
"Hello, Alpha."
Who else could it be other than the devil? Of course, he would feel the need to check if I was here or managed to escape.
The very light hint of the voice my ears caught told me— It was Sebastian. However, what he said did not sound clear to me, perhaps because of the distance between these seats. But it was evident that whatever he was saying was in a rush— More like panic.
"Alpha, I can't exactly hear you." Unexpectedly, it turned out that Aaron too couldn't hear anything clearly.
More rushed, frantic sounds, yelling at some point were heard but the words were undefined at my side and judging by Aaron's struggle evident on his face, he was having the same issue as me.
"Hello?" Aaron spoke up, looking unable to hear anything at all and constantly failing to hear the crucial info Sebastian might have spared, "Alpha? What are you trying to say?"
What could it be?
A strange feeling got knotted in my chest. It was true that I didn't want to hear anything from Sebastian at all, nor his voice nor the things I once wished for him to say, yet it felt like what he had to say was important— Like a signal...for something that could be avoided.
After struggling for a few more minutes, Aaron's phone eventually dropped from his hand.
"Shit!" Muttering he picked up the device and this time the screen was black.
His phone was dead.
Lines of worry covered my face. It couldn't be important but then again, what if he has changed his mind? Was I willing to change this decision that'd cost me everything I had? Was his change of him enough?
No. It wasn't.
But I also did not know what I'd be doing if that stood in front of me once again.
This decision took me a lot of courage and lifetime changes that I couldn't but accept— I had to discard the pieces of my heart I had kept with care until now, I had to throw away the shattered dreams I thought I could fix and worst of all I had to accept the fact that my mate....was never mine.
No. I was not going to change anything I decided. I couldn't give myself reasons to cling to hopes and get hurt once again.
Soon as Julia would come, I'd—
The harsh impact of the car broke my chain of cogitations.
The sound of the brakes being pulled and the tires clashing with the surface of the road to pull the vehicle to a halt, rapidly hit my eardrums and for a second I could hear nothing as my body lost its balance and nearly threw itself against the back of the front seat.
It took me some time to realise that we hadn't exactly been in an accident or a massive impact with some sort of humongous truck or bus that would leave this car flying away, off of the hilt as it felt at the first moment— Totally out of blue the driver had pulled the brakes for reasons none between me and Aaron saw.
"What the fuck!" Aaron's face shaded with anger as he looked at the driver but it soon faded away as he glanced at me, perfectly regaining his composure.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine."
Well, I was more shocked. That did not necessarily make my condition worse.
"What the heck is going on, Fin?" He looked back at the driver, who himself looked bewildered for some reason
"Sir, there was someone on the road." The response came, whilst his eyes still looked for the individual on the empty road.
"There's none. The road's fucking empty." Aaron's agitation was evident in his expression.
"Sir, I swear to god. I saw someone—"
What he had to stay remained unfinished as a loud sound broke through leaving the whole environment trembling. And the roar of the vehicle was soon to follow–It sounded like a jeep.
My eyes snapped at the view behind the car with the help of the rearview mirror— The sight of the familiar woman dimmed my eyes before they moved to spot the man beside her who kept his face covered with a black mask.
A set of piercing howls sounded. So loud to leave anyone's soul shaking with fear.
And In the front of our car, remained a group of wolves standing with crannies dripping with blood, and eyes of the same colour, seeming ready to pounce at us at any time.