THE VEIL KEEPER
BY HAREEM AWAN
EPISODE : 1
‘All of the sadness and scars
Become an old memory now.’
☆☆☆☆
A girl was standing in front of a broken mirror, staring at her lifeless eyes, her eyes… She hated those eyes. They reminded her that the girl she used to be had died long ago.
Looking down, she examined her arm, at her visible bones. Her fingers lingered over the fading bruise before she jerked her hand away, as though even touching the scars could drag her back.
She gradually moved away from the mirror and grabbed her bag before walking to the door. She clutched the handle and paused. Something came to her mind, and her hands flew over her chest. Panic settled in her mind for a moment until she felt the piece, lying beneath her clothes. Only after that did the trembling stop.
Everything was in a big mess, most of it was already broken and old. Pushing the half-broken door open, it fell on her as she hurriedly got straight, making her nose scrunch a little in irritation. Grabbing the door tightly, she tucked it in its place, making sure that it wouldn’t fall again. She stared at it for a while, making a mental note to do something about the door later, before walking away from her small house.
Mumbles could be heard loudly behind her as she kept walking. Her green eyes wandered along the road, and a shadow was cast on her face, making her look down. The wind blew her hair in the air as the scent of blood filled her nostrils. Her lips formed a thin line as she looked ahead without stopping. The sound of cries and asking for mercy was echoing in the air. But no one helped the ones who were in pain. No one dared to. People just stood there and watched with blank stares. No one stepped forward to help, not even her.
“YOU‼” A voice boomed in the air as she stopped in her tracks and everyone, everything, even the wind, stopped. And the whole place suddenly went silent. The hair on her neck stood up, informing her of nothing but trouble. The air went too quiet to the point where she felt the vibration from the feet was coming her way.
She clenched her hands in a fist as a shiver ran down her spine at the thought of them coming closer to her and the consequence of what she might do.
The footsteps didn’t stop, they walked right past her to the old man, who was standing against the wall, trembling in fear. The air that got stuck in her throat was still pressed against her lungs. She slowly moved forward, realizing the call was not for her, still cautioned by her surroundings.
She clenched her jaw and hands, digging her nails in her palm, when she heard the old man falling on the road while screaming, asking for forgiveness and mercy. But no one showed any sympathy.
The girl who used to care about everyone more than herself was now just a scared piece of reality. That world killed her.
In the most brutal way possible.
☆☆☆☆
Looking outside of the building from the window, I watched a woman being beaten to death. A scene that I was witnessing for many years, every single day. I watched the blood coming out of her mouth, and with a large punch to her stomach, she fell to the ground.
The person who just killed the woman abruptly looked up, and our eyes met as he smirked, making me look away, and my gaze fell on my hands, feeling nothing. His eyes held nothing but amusement as if the suffering around him amused him.
Alpha Emmet’s dogs
That was all they were.
Once, they had been ordinary humans. Now, they were nothing more than creatures twisted by his experiments. Whatever humanity they had once possessed had long since been carved out of them, leaving behind only obedience and bloodlust. They follow every order without question, hunting, killing, and destroying a though they had never known life.
Everything Alpha Emmet touches becomes a weapon.
He had stolen countless lives.
Mine was only one of them.
I turned away from the window and stood. Looking at the figure lying on the bed, unaware of the world. A breath left me, walking toward the figure and I bend down, placing my lips over her forehead, I mumbled.
“Will come around soon.”
Looking at the figure one last time, I walked out of the room. Closing the door behind me, I stood there for a while.
I heard the sound of footsteps and looked up only to see a girl coming toward me. Our eyes met as she passed me a weak smile before lowering her eyes. She looked so feeble that even I could visibly see her sickly walk.
I stared at her silently. A bruise had formed on her cheeks, and a dark circle was under her eyes. She walked past me, and our shoulders touched, and I closed my eyes tightly as a vision started to replay in front of my eyes at the mere touch.
An ear-piercing scream echoed in the room, men were lashing out at a girl, making her fall to the ground. Her hair fell forward, causing her face to be hidden from my sight. As I stood in the corner, too shocked to even react, my heart beating faster, not knowing what the hell was happening.
The girl slowly looked up, and my body stilled as realization drew on me.
No… no no no this can’t be happening, this can’t be happening.
But I guess, no matter how much I shake my head, I tried to wake myself, I can’t change the reality, the present that was happening.
She was the girl I just saw passing me. The girl looked at the men, terrified, and now I could clearly see how many scars her face had. Her left eye was fully swollen, so that it was not even open fully. Blood was flowing down from her head from the middle, like she had a big wound on the top of her head.
“You dare to go against your Alpha!” The men slapped her again as her head hit the pieces of glass, which were shattered on the ground. Blood started to drip even more from her head.
“Fo- For-forgive m-me pl-ple-please I- I beg Y-yo-you-u.” The girl grabbed the man’s leg and whimpered harder while he shrugged his leg away from the girl, making her tremble harder. While the man was bending down to her level and grabbing her hair harshly, and went near her ear, he whispered.
“This is your last warning, you pathetic girl. One more time, and you will see what we will do with your little sister.”
Gasping out loud, I fell on the ground as my blurry vision cleared, making me shake my head as I closed my eyes for a while. I took a deep breath and licked my dry lips. Putting my head on the wall, I sighed tiredly and slowly stood from the place, realizing that I stayed longer at the place than I should.
I unhurriedly began to walk out of the hospital with my mind still in a mess. I stopped at a point and looked down at my hands and stared at them for a while before letting out a whisper.
“I thought… I- I learned how to restrain it.”
I looked up at the sky and bit my tongue before I could start trolling again. I had just stepped out of the building and was running toward the main street when I heard someone crying. Turning slightly to my left, I noticed the sound was coming from an old building somewhere around the third or maybe the fourth floor.
Still, I didn’t slow down. I kept running. But for the first time, that voice followed me. It stayed with me longer than it should have, and it was starting to bother me.
I stopped on my track and bit the inside of my cheek, “Damn it,” before turning around and going towards the old building where the voice was coming from. I glanced back to see if anyone was looking, but the streets were empty.
I looked up at the sky once again before hurriedly climbing up the stairs. I reached the fourth floor, in front of a room. There was no door, and the image in front of me didn’t look any descent. My eyebrows furrowed a little as I took in the view of the destroyed flat. Nearly everything was in two pieces.
I carefully walked in there. Stepping over the shattered things as I kept walking inside the flat. I heard whimpers when I was standing in the middle of the living room. I stopped on my track before moving toward the room on my right.
A twelve-year-old boy was crying beside the woman who was probably dead. His head was on the woman’s stomach as his hands held the woman’s hands tightly. His whole body was shaking as his breath got stuck in his lungs. A sudden thought crossed my mind,
‘He is a human?’
As I couldn’t smell anything, and he didn’t even acknowledge my presence till now.
I silently walked toward him and placed my hand on his shoulder. I don’t know why I did that,, but I just… I just did it without any thought.
The little boy stilled before starting to yell and struggle to break free. I wasn’t even near him at that point as I got startled by his sudden screams. But before anyone could hear him, I grabbed him by one arm from behind, and by putting a hand on his mouth as he struggled in my arms. I mumbled in his ear softly.
“Sileas et dormies.”
And just like that, the boy went unconscious in my arms. Only then did I look at his innocent face and sigh before looking back at his mother. Standing up from my place, I covered his face with a scarf, carrying him in my arms, and walked out of the building. Glancing at the sky, I cursed and picked my pace up. I didn’t know what kind of a mess I was getting myself into.
Reaching the place I lived, I breathed in relief. I laid the boy on my mattress and ran toward the main door, closed it with a loud shut, and put a thick, big piece of wood in front of it. It was big enough to cover the whole door. And as soon as I backed away, I heard a loud smashing voice from the roof, and I stilled in my place. My hands started to shake.
‘Let us out.’
I stilled in my place, this voice… it can’t be…
I closed my eyes tightly and ignored the whispers in my mind, which were filled with nothing but venom. I had enough on my plate for things to be worried about.
I stand still in my house waiting for the new sound, but there was none before the sound of running suddenly echoed in my place as I slowly backed away from the door and sat on the mattress beside the boy, my eyes stuck on the door, hoping they won’t come into this house, or heaven knows what I will do.
‘We thirst for their blood.’
I shook my head.
“Shut up.” Mumbling to myself I took a few breaths, my body felt like it was on fire. I winced when I felt my nails grow as I brought my hands in front of my eyes and stared at them in panic.
‘Let me out.’
“I said SHUT THE HELL UP!” I yelled out aloud, terrified, and put my hands over my ears, wanting nothing more than the voices to just stop.
‘The debt shall be paid.’
The voice repeats in my mind, making my heart start to beat faster. Sweats started to form on my forehead as my mind was becoming a mess. Licking my dry lips, I take a few deep breaths and ignore the urge to slaughter someone. I lay on my back beside the boy while the screams of women, men, and children echoed in the air…
Running with do nothing
But haunts you more
The past will always find you
Set your demon free
Let the world witness…
What they have created.
☆☆☆☆
I have spend all my life resisting the urge to end it.
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
I felt a wave of annoyance as sunlight hit my face. Groaning, I lifted a hand to shield my eyes, then rubbed my face before forcing them open. I blinked against the light and slowly sat up on the mattress, scratching the back of my neck with a sigh. My eyes closed briefly again, but my hand froze mid-motion. There it was, the soft sound of breathing.
My eyes snapped open. Instantly, my body tensed, memories of yesterday flooding back in a rush. I shot to my feet, fully on alert, and turned swiftly toward the sound, only to find the spot beside me empty. But the hairs on the back of my neck rose. He was still here, somewhere in the house.
After following his scent, my jaw clenched at the sight in front of me. My eyes landed on the only cupboard in the room, narrowing with suspicion. I stepped forward silently, lowered myself to the floor, and yanked the door open. A not-so-small body curled inside.
Without a word, I reached in and pulled him out, my grip firm but not harsh. The boy, the one I’d dragged out of that godforsaken place. I still couldn’t understand why I had brought him here.
I bit the inside of my cheek, shaking my head because I didn’t even want to think about what came next.
But then he moved.
The moment his eyes met mine, something shifted. He flinched, scrambled backward until his spine hit the wall. His arms wrapped around himself, and his lips trembled as he whispered, barely audible
“P-Pl-plea-pleas-se d-do-don’t-t ki-kill…kill m-me.”
His voice cracked like broken glass, barely more than a breath. I drew in a slow breath, rolled my lower lip between my teeth, biting down hard as the tension rose in my chest.
‘Calm down’
My gaze shifted to the corner where I had just been lying, the blanket still slightly rumpled. A scowl etched itself onto my face as a bitter thought crossed my mind.
I should have left him there. Should have ignored him.
And yet… here he was in my place. What. An. Irony.
But then again, the question gnawed at me. Why the hell did I bring him here? What in the name of sanity had compelled me to risk everything for a kid who cowered at my shadow?
“Get out,” I mumbled, looking away. I turned around, sparing him a glance before heading toward the main door. With one hard shove, I threw the heavy wood aside, and it hit the floor with a loud thud.
I looked back at the boy and walked to him, grabbing his shirt from behind. He whimpered as I forced him to stand. His face was soaked in tears, and I bit my tongue to stop myself from snapping. Without another word, I pushed him outside and released him from my grip.
He stumbled on his feet and stared at me with wide, terrified eyes. The scent of fear hit me hard, making me scrunch my nose in distaste as I watched him.
His heartbeat pounded like a drum, echoing his panic, and the expression on his face, raw and helpless, was enough to make the edge of my anger dull, just a little.
“Go now.” My voice was low and calm; I turned away without a second glance and walked back into the dim silence of my dwelling, the heavy wooden plank still resting where it had fallen.
A strange exhaustion weighed down on me, thick and suffocating. His eyes… that look of terror etched into his face clung to me like a shadow and seemed too familiar to me. I closed the door behind me, but the memory slipped through the cracks. It clawed at the corners of my mind, dragging me toward a past I had fought to bury. A past that refused to stay dead.
So I stood there, fighting the impulse to lash out, while the boy’s rapid breathing echoed in my ears. My hands trembled, cold sweat forming on my brow as thoughts consumed me. The sound of his panicked breaths seemed to amplify the chaos in my mind. My body fought the urge to act, but all I could do was stand, rooted to the spot, overwhelmed by confusion and regret.
“Where did I get myself into?”
I was distracted once more by the sound of his breath catching, a deep inhale that was soon followed by a faint rustling. I bit my lip, pausing, waiting for him to move, but he remained still. Silence enveloped us, save for distant voices echoing from all around the building. I forced myself to regain control, focusing once again on the boy, only to hear nothing but the unsettling quiet.
Gritting my teeth in frustration, I turned back toward the door. I swung it open again, glaring at him. He sat on the ground, his arms wrapped tightly around his knees, eyes filled with tears. I clenched my jaw, irritation bubbling within me as I stomped toward him.
“Are you deaf?” I growled, my gaze hardening. “I said leave.” I struggled to control the urge to snap, forcing myself to hold back the fury and not hurt him. His condition was only making it worse.
And the frustration only grew because I was incapable of understanding why the heck I was even getting enraged. This was improbable of me,
“I-I ha-have no p-place to go.”
I raised an eyebrow, staring at him. For a brief moment, I thought I had misheard him. I shouldn’t have opened the door again. Something inside me made it hard to ignore his cries and turn away, but I couldn’t do it.
I stood there, torn between irritation and something else I couldn’t name. His small form, trembling on the ground, made it impossible for me to close the door without saying another word. With a deep breath, I finally spoke again, though my tone was cold.
“Is that supposed to be my concern?” I asked sharply, turning on my heel, but my movement faltered when I heard his voice again, soft and desperate.
“Wait! Please, just wait!”
“Can I… Can I please stay with you?”
I froze, a muscle in my jaw twitching involuntarily. I took a slow, steadying breath, my gaze narrowing as I stared at him with a blank expression. His dark, curly brown hair spilled messily over his forehead, the strands clinging to his skin as though even they were reluctant to leave him.
I stilled for a second; he reminded me awfully of someone I knew. But I shrugged the thought as soon as it came. Hope glimmered in his eyes, a fragile thing that only made my irritation burn brighter.
He must be completely out of his mind.
“Pp-please… I-I have no one, please let me stay please…”
“I will die..” Tears once again filled his eyes, “I-I don’t want to die please.”
A heavy silence settled between us as I gazed down at him. His trembling plea stirred nothing within me. His voice was but a feeble echo in the vastness of my restraint and irritation, I longed for silence. And yet…
“I do not wish to die,” he murmured again, hiccuping as his head bowed, posture small beneath my shadow.
I exhaled sharply, my jaw clenched. This path would bring me nothing but ruin.
“Do me a favor and die.”
A few Days Later:
Life has a cruel way of dismantling the walls one spends years rebuilding. One moment, everything remains as it should. The next, something insignificant slips through the cracks and leaves behind nothing but disorder.
That was precisely what happened to me.
I have been minding my own business, surviving as I always had, until one frightening child looked at me with tear-filled eyes… and, for reasons beyond my understanding, I couldn’t simply walk away.
It was infuriating.
I neither knew the boy nor owed him anything. Yet somehow, he had lodged himself in my thoughts like a splinter beneath skin- small. Irritating, and impossible to ignore.
I rolled my lower lip between my teeth, my gaze fixed on my hands. The thought that something might have happened to the boy lingered in the back of my mind like an itch I couldn’t scratch. It was irritating. I had no reason to think about him, no reason to waste even a second on a stranger I’d known for less than a day.
He was nothing to me.
Just a frightened twelve-year-old who happened to cross my path at the wrong time. Whether he lived or died should not have mattered.
And yet, the thought refused to leave.
I clicked my tongue in annoyance.
Even if he had stayed with me, I could not have protected him. I was not made to shield others. I was made to survive.
And survival meant running. The moment danger drew too close, I disappeared. I had lived that way for years, and I intended to keep living that way…until the day I no longer had to look over my shoulder.
I had become so accustomed to running that the mere thought of something, especially a child, being tethered to me felt like a noose around my neck. He would slow me down. Make me careless, vulnerable.
And if I were caught…
He would share my fate.
The same chains, the same torment.
Getting caught alone was one thing. Dragging another in that abyss was another entirely. Unacceptable
Yet the thought refused to leave me. It lingered like an irritation beneath my skin, no matter how many times I pushed it aside. I had no business wondering whether the boy was alive or dead…and that alone was enough to sour my mood.
I clicked my tongue and slung my rough bag over my shoulder before stepping out of the house. My eyes flicked around the street as I lowered my head and started walking quietly and carefully. Before I realized it, my steps carried me toward the very building where I had stumbled upon that boy days ago.
“Just one glance,” I muttered under my breath, convincing myself. “One look, nothing more.”
My senses sharpened, every sound and movement dissected for danger. With a quiet exhale, I jogged up the worn steps and slipped inside the building, fully alert.
I halted outside the apartment door, stepping to the side and letting silence settle over me like a veil. For a moment, I stood still-eyes closed-sensing the air, listening. One wrong sound, one flicker of threat, and I’d vanish.
Quietly, I moved toward the room, my gaze scanning every shadow before a breath escaped me.
He had been here.
The apartment looked abandoned. Five days had passed, yet there wasn’t a single sign the boy had ever been here. No scent, no movement, nothing.
Crack
The hairs on my neck stood on end as I spun around, instincts kicking in. I caught the man’s raised arm mid-air, twisting it harshly until a sharp crack echoed around us. He screamed in pain, but I clamped my hand over his throat, silencing him before the noise drew attention.
He flailed, his other hand swinging weakly toward me. My brows furrowed at his pathetic attempt. With a sharp stomp, my foot crushed into his knee. He collapsed with a pained grunt. I stepped onto his fractured arm, grinding down as he let out a yelp.
Leaning closer, I hissed near his face, my voice cold and low.
“Not a word.” My voice was calm, almost too calm, as I leaned down, fingers curling around a jagged shard of mirror scattered across the floor. Without hesitation, I drove it into his leg. A sharp cry tore from his throat, and I tilted my head, lips curling into a small, amused smile at his expression of pure agony.
“Where is the boy?” I asked, brow arching. His silence earned him another shard this time to the gut. He writhed, but I was already pressing my palm firmly over his mouth, muffling his screams into strained breaths. A long sigh escaped me.
“I will ask one last time,” I said, my voice a low growl as I leaned closer, eyes locked onto his. “Where. Is. The. Kid?” Each word hit like a strike, sharp and deliberate.
He let out a shaky breath, defiance flickering briefly in his eyes before fear overtook it. “Th-the Alpha… w-will kill you,” he stammered, barely audible.
I smirked, fingers tightening around his throat just enough to watch the color drain from his face. “He already did,” I murmured coldly, eyes narrowing as I held the bloodstained shard up to his face. “Now, the boy?”
His breathing turned erratic, a tremble running down his broken frame. He knew it was over, whether he spoke or not; death had already claimed his fate.
“The Western sector… the shifters took him to The Roaring Cells.”
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
I am terrified by the dark thing
That sleeps inside me
•°•°•°•°•°
“Western side shifters take him to the roaring cell.”
The voice echoed in her mind like a ghostly whisper, each word jolting through her body. Her heart thumped in her ears as she looked at the unconscious figure in front of her, his back turned, hiding his face from her.
Her breath caught and stuck in her throat as the room around her seemed to change. Her familiar broken space blurred, fading into the darkness of a cold chamber. Panic gripped her as her eyes struggled to adjust, her mind fighting to stay grounded in reality. But it was too late.
Memories she had buried long ago came rushing back. Her vision swayed between the past and present, pulling her deeper into years she had tried to forget. Decades she shouldn’t have survived, and yet here she was, alive in a world that had moved on without her. The weight of those years pressed down on her, almost unbearable, and for a fleeting moment, she wondered if she would ever escape it.
A few figures lay on the floor like empty shells. Bruises and open wounds covered their bodies. The dark hallway smelled sharply of blood. “Deadened” was the only word to describe them. The little light coming from small barred windows barely touched them. No one seemed to feel pain anymore, they were just lying there, blood dripping, waiting for death to claim them. How long had they waited? Weeks, months, years? Their cries, their prayers for release, it was all wasted, as if no god was listening.
One figure struggled to sit from where she lay, a soft whine escaping her wounded lips. She drew a shaky breath. Fresh cuts on her back felt like knives embedded in her skin. Her heart raced as pain flared with every tiny movement. Around her, the other humans stayed in place, barely responding to small voices coming from the other cells. Pain, misery, despair, they felt it all, yet showed nothing. Too tired to react, too broken to express anything.
The figure held the wall for support as her legs shook violently. She tried to breathe, but every inhale burned her throat. She knew her neck was bruised from choking. Sitting by the wall for a few moments, she looked around at the others.
Slowly gathering her strength, she knew she had to reach someone. Feeling the ground beneath her like it gave her power, she carefully moved across the bodies, stumbling over a few along the way, until she finally reached the one she had been searching for. She winced as she bent down and sat beside the figure.
“Baylin?” she whispered, bringing her bloodied hands up to gently touch her face. She was careful not to hurt her. She caressed Baylin’s cheek with soft, careful movements, mindful of the scar. She was precious. Precious to her.
After a while, Baylin slowly opened her eyes. She looked up, tired, offering a weak, tired smile before closing them again. Her breath hitched in the girl’s throat at the sight of her loved one like this. What had destiny done to them? To all these innocent souls? Tears filled her eyes as she blinked, helpless.
“I-I am fa-fine.” The girl shook her head, avoiding opening her eyes. Any movement hurt. She sighed tiredly and slowly gazed at her precious. She took Baylin’s hands in hers and pressed them to her lips, tears streaming as she whispered softly.
“I can heal…”
Baylin shook her head and pulled her hand away, making the girl’s heart drop.
“N-no.”
“Bayl-“
The cell door slammed open with a loud thud, making the others flinch. Footsteps echoed as everyone held their breath, uncertain what would happen next.
In moments, many were dragged into the dark room, some struggling, some silent.
Panic filled the girl’s eyes when she realized Baylin was among those being taken. She closed her eyes in pain and bowed her head.
She could do nothing. She could not protect the ones she cherished.
She could not save her sister.
What had destiny done to them?
°•°•°•°•°•°
“Wh-what…?”
Her voice trembled, raw and quiet, breaking the strange silence. The blur over her vision faded slowly, but the screams-the screams still haunted her mind like ghosts that refused to leave. Her gaze fell on the unconscious man, blood pooling beneath him, yet her brain could not process it. Everything inside her felt numb.
A heavy, strange feeling coiled in her chest, unwelcome and unfamiliar. She looked around as the room felt alien, her breath coming in uneven gasps. She rose, chest heaving, pacing like a caged animal.
Why? Why did she feel this way about someone she barely knew? Her mind, usually sharp and cold, felt foggy with unnameable emotion. Maybe it was her fault he was gone. She had never allowed herself this kind of weakness before. Never.
What had she gotten herself into?
She bent down, her expression merciless, and slapped him across the face, the sound echoing in the empty room. He groaned, barely understanding what was happening. Her fingers gripped his neck, pressing down on a fresh wound with deliberate cruelty. His scream tore through the air as his eyes widened in terror.
“When?” she hissed, grabbing a fistful of his hair and yanking his head up to meet her gaze.
The man trembled, silent but defiant despite fear. Her jaw tightened. With a flick of her hand, she grabbed a shard of mirror from the floor and plunged it beneath his heart. His choked scream brought a twisted smile to her lips.
“Did I stutter?” she asked, mocking, one brow raised.
The smell of fear filled her nose, intoxicating. She smiled, darkly satisfied. His pulse raced, his body twisting to escape.
It was useless. He failed to understand-the person before him could end his life in a single breath.
“T-tw-two da-days,” he stammered. She gave a small, almost pleased nod and rose slowly, lifting a large shard of glass with careful grace. She crouched close, her voice smooth but sharp.
“Buy yourself a breath. Say something useful.”
“Rot in hell!” he spat, fury blazing.
She wiped her face calmly, unaffected. A dark grin tugged at her lips, though it did not reach her eyes. He saw it thenthe shift in her aura. A suffocating silence settled over the room.
And in the blink of an eye, his neck twisted. His body fell with a final thud.
•°•°•°•°•°•°
Somewhere else:
Her gaze was sharp, taking in the view as strong wind whipped her hair. Jaw clenched, mind blank, she stood motionless. Warm air swirled around her as she drew a deep breath, trying to cool the fire rising inside. Her body heated, the heat crawling under her skin. She tilted her head to the sky, eyes closed, as scattered images of memory flashed-screams echoing like distant thunder.
When she opened her eyes again, they locked on the place she hated most. Her hands trembled, a violent urge to destroy swelling uncontrollably. Fingers curled into fists. Then, without a sound, she vanished, swallowed by the air.
•°•°•°•°•°•°•
They had provoked me
Now watch me burn their world down
•••••••
I was standing there on the ground far away from the place that I despised. Years ago, I vowed to never return. Promises, however, have a peculiar habit of dying before the people make them.
Had one of my own been dragged back into that pit, my presence here would have made sense. But that was not the case.
I had come for a boy who meant nothing to me. I did not know his name. I did not know who he was. Yet somehow, he had become an inconvenience that refused to leave my mind. It was irritating.
Was it his tears? His fear? Or the way he recoiled from me as though I were the very monster from his nightmares?
Pathetic.
Whatever it was, I wanted it gone.
The feeling itself vexed me more than the boy ever could. I did not pity people. I did not lose sleep over strangers. So why had I returned?
I disliked questions that had no answers.
My gaze settled upon the old factory below. From a distance, it appeared to be nothing more than a forgotten oil plant left to decay with time. In truth, it was a prison. A graveyard that still breathed. Rusted pipes twisted across the walls like dead serpents, and beneath them were thousands waiting for death to remember their names.
I exhaled slowly and listened.
The wind carried every careless footstep to me.
Darkness settled over the land, sharpening every one of my senses. My eyes adjusted with ease, drinking in every movement below. Memories clawed at the edges of my mind, but I buried them before they could breathe.
Now now.
Rage was of little use without discipline.
Movement caught my eye.
Compelled shifters poured through the compound. Some disappeared inside the factory while the rest spread across the perimeter, taking their assigned posts.
Thats what their Emmet called them his Compelled Shifters.
Like I said before, once they were ordinary humans. Now they were little more than failed imitations of true shifters.
He had divided them into two ranks, Morning and night shifters. Each could transform only during its assigned hours. No matter how desperately they tried, they could never shift beyond their fixed time. It was the greatest flaw in Emmet’s experiments, and one his pride refused to accept.
His doctor lacked the one thing no experiment could ever create.
Magic.
They tore apart human bodies, flooded them with chemicals, shattered bones, and stitched flesh back together, believing pain alone could forge monsters. They never understood that the human body was too fragile to withstand such torment. Most died long before the experiment was complete. Those who survived became little more than obedient weapons.
Emmet fancied himself a god. A laughable delusion.
Only the Moon Goddess grants a wolf soul. A true shifter is born with two souls, their own, and the wolf that lives beside it. It thinks. It speaks. It chooses.
These creatures possessed none of that. No wolf. No soul. No choice. Only chains disguised as claws.
I watched them patrol the grounds below without a trace of thought in their eyes. Living corpses, nothing more.
My hair flew wildly in the air, forcing me to close my eyes for a moment because of its harshness. After years of torture and finally escaping, I never thought I would stand there again. Yet here I was.
The familiar scent reached my senses once. Rotten meat. Blood. Sweat. The smell of everything I had survived.
My eyes snapped open as I looked towards the sky and blew a sharp whistle into the wind. Within seconds, the lights across the entire compound turned off, leaving everything frozen in place.
The screams stopped, the cursed faded, the running footsteps disappeared. Not even the sound of breathing could be heard. I was as if the entire place had forgotten how to breathe.
Biting the inside of my cheek, I moved forward and vanished into the thick air, leaving the dust behind. Within seconds, I was inside their territory.
I looked down before jumping from the wall, already knowing these fools had no real security system. I moved towards the massive gate, which was covered with heavy locks and chains. A quiet disappointment settled over me.
Those locks were enough to stop humans. Not someone like me.
Continuing forward, I entered through one of the doors and found myself standing in a massive lobby. I already knew what waited beyond that point. Anything could come for me, and I was ready to tear apart whatever stood in my way.
Three paths stretched ahead, each surrounded by thick grey walls. Large lights hung from the ceiling, only a few still flickered while the rest remained damaged. Despite the cold weather outside, the corridors held enough warmth to make a person sweat.
I knew these paths, every turn, every sector, every secret hidden within them.
I moved towards the left side, my steps light against the cold floor. The deeper I went, the clearer the sounds became. Voices echoed through the corridors, carrying with them the familiar scent of fear and panic.
I stopped behind a pillar when the movement ahead caught my attention.
A group of five shifters were forcing people through one of the doors.
My eyes moved over them slowly, taking in every detail. Their posture. Their movements. Their weaknesses. Nothing escaped my notice. I counted their numbers, noted the cameras along the walls, and memorised the path ahead.
Old habits. The kind that kept me alive when nothing else could.
I stayed still for another moment, watching them like a hunter watches its surroundings before moving. Not rushed. Not uncertain.
Just patient.
Then, without a sound, I changed my direction and moved towards the right corridor that led directly to the control sector.
I pulled my dagger out and prepared myself. In one swift movement, I pushed the door open.
Four shifters turned towards me instantly. Their heads snapped in my direction, their growls filling the room before they lunged forward.
The first one attacked without hesitation.
I stepped aside, catching his arm before his claws could reach me. With a sharp twist, I forced it behind his back until the sound of breaking bone echoed through the room. Before he could recover, I drove him down onto the floor.
The second one moved before I could turn fully. He reached towards me, aiming for my hair, but he was already too slow.
My dagger moved before he did.
Three quick strikes and his body fell before he even understood what happened.
The remaining two shifters snarled, circling me with anger and hesitation. A faint smile touched my lips.
Not because they challenged me.
Because they still believed they had a chance.
The first shifter forced himself back onto his feet, his body struggling to recover. The two of them attacked together, thinking numbers would make a difference.
I lowered myself as one came at me, driving my dagger into his leg while my other foot struck the second shifter’s arm, forcing him back.
Before the first one could react, I moved.
I stepped onto him, using his shoulder as leverage, my legs locking around his neck. I pulled the gun from his waist and ended him with a single shot.
The second shifter reached for me the moment I landed, ripping the weapon from my hand. I let him. My foot slammed into his stomach, forcing him to bend forward. Before he could recover, my elbow struck his back. I grabbed him by his hair and threw him against the wall with enough force to make the impact echo through the room.
He hit the ground with a pained sound.
“Bit embarrassing, isn’t? Four against one.” I hummed, glancing at the last shifter writhing on the floor. I tilted my head and stepped over the bodies without sparing them another glance, humming a tune under my breath as I made my way toward the monitors.
“That’s it? I walked all this way for this?” I muttered as disappointment slowly filled me.
The control room was lined with large and small monitors, each displaying a different sector of the facility. My gaze swept across every screen, counting guards, memorising patrol routes, blind spots, and rotations without effort.
I croched before the keyboard and pulled the recording from the last three days. My eyes moved from one screen to another, picking apart every detail until a familiar figure appeared.
There.
That boy.
He was being dragged through the corridor by one of the shifters. Dried blood stained the side of his face, his head hanging low as though every step had become a burden. My shoulder tense.
I forced my attention back to the footage, refusing to let that unfamiliar irritation cloud my judgement.
After memorising the route they had taken, I rose to my feet. Looking around across the control room. Blood painted the walls, bodies lay scattered across the floor. A quiet click of my tongue escaped me.
I preferred cleaner kills, but well…
Giving the monitor one final glance, I stepped over the corpses and walked toward the door, without looking back
My senses were on full alert as I made my way towards the elevator. Pressing the switch, my gaze drifted over the dead shifters lying across the hallway, the same ones I had killed on my way here. The corridor reeked of blood, but I barely noticed it anymore.
I snapped out of my thoughts when I heard the elevator doors slide open. Stepping inside, I let them close behind me while staring at the floor digits.
The factory had four floors in total, two of them hidden underground. Level One housed the laboratories. Level Two was where the human rats were kept. More than twenty massive containment cells had been built to keep everything under control. That organisation had been operating for decades, and only a handful had ever escaped alive.
Including me.
Third-person pov:
The elevator doors slid open, and every guard turned towards them. It was unusual. No one from Sector One and Two was ever permitted underground except a handful of doctors, and even they were allowed down once a week.
Confusion flickered across their faces before hardening into outrage as they saw the girl standing inside.
Blood stained the black fitted outfit clinging to her body like a second skin. Her silver hair hung loose over her shoulders, but it wasn’t her appearance that unsettled them.
It was her eyes.
Pitch black.
Her face was unnaturally pale, the veins beneath her skin standing out against it. A dark, suffocating aura rolled off her, heavy enough to root them where they stood. For a brief second, instinct told them not to move before their mind caught up.
They hesitated only for a heartbeat. And the girl vanished.
The guard stiffened, their eyes darting through the corridor as they motioned to one another, weapon raised, searching for someone who was no longer standing before them. One guard finally gathered enough courage to step forward.
His head rolled across the floor before his body even realised it was dead. Panic erupted. One after another, the guards fell. Some charged blindly while others turned and ran. One managed to slam his head against the alarm, the shrill siren echoing through the entire third sector.
She didn’t even spare him a glance. Her dagger left her hand in one smooth motion. The blade buried itself deep into his throat. And the alarm died with him.
The screams that had filled the corridor moments ealier were swallowed by silence, leaving behind nothing but blood, bodies, and the predator that had walked through them.
She was grabbed from behind, and a sharp sting spread through her shoulder, making her jaw clench. She reached back for the person, but he stayed just out of reach.
Her eyes flicked to the wall ahead. In a swift move, she sprinted toward it, planted a foot against the concrete, and rolled over the man’s shoulder. Her vision blurred for a moment, but she caught his arm, twisted it, and snapped it with a sickening crack.
Blinking hard, she brought her hand to her right shoulder and yanked the object out. Her eyes narrowed when she saw what it was.
A suppressant dart.
She cursed under her breath. The guards had loaded it with a stronger dose than usual. Tossing it to the ground. She shook her head, trying to clear the dizziness creeping through her mind.
Without wasting another second, she ran deeper into the sector, taking turn after turn while following a specific scent that had almost faded. She finally stopped in front of a row of silver doors.
Ten of them. Each held a different species. That wasn’t what unsettles her. What unsettles her was the door where the boy was kept. Her gaze lingered on it as realisation slowly settled in.
Why hadn’t she thought of it before? He was…. He was…
Like us. A monster…
A malicious voice slithered through her mind, making her vision sway for a brief moment. She remained rooted to her spot as the presence drew closer, stronger than before. For weeks, she had convinced herself it was nothing more than her imagination. A trick of an exhausted mind.
She had been wrong. Dead wrong. The voice had never left. It was real.
She exhaled slowly before pushing the door open. A dark hallway welcomed her, lit by a single flickering light. Her jaw remained clenched, her lip pressed into a thin line as she stared ahead. An icy wind swept through the corridor, cold enough to freeze an ordinary human within a moment. The damp cement walls swallowed what little light remained, burying the hallway in darkness.
She drew a slow breath, catching the scent growing stronger with each step. Her footsteps echoed through the corridor until she finally stopped in front of a silver door. For the first time since entering the factory… She hoped to be wrong. She didn’t want another person to be like her.
Jerking her head slightly, she drove her boot into the door, sending it crashing open. The people inside held their breath, instinctively backing away from the entrance. Ignoring them, she stepped into the dark room. A slight moment caught the corner of her eye.
She turned and found the boy staring at her in disbelief. His mouth parted slightly, his wide eyes refusing to leave her face.
Lowering her gaze, she avoided looking at him for long and crouched in front of him. Taking both of his hands, she tried to pull him onto his feet.
“Y-you…”
He barely managed the words before a pained wince escaped him, and he collapsed back onto the floor.
Her brow drew together slightly. She crouched beside him and ripped the cloth away from his leg. Her eyes travelled over the wound without a flicker of emotion.
“But…how..?” Ignoring him again, she examined the injury for another second before clicking her tongue.
“Your leg’s useless.” She finally looked up at him and said calmly. The boy’s eyes filled with fear and confusion.
Her expression remained unreadable and turned around.
“Climb on.”
He stared at her. “W-what?”
“Must I repeat myself?” She gave him a sharp look over her shoulder. “Get on. Hold tight. Don’t become another inconvenience.”
°°°°°°
THree figures moved through the darkness, their footsteps slow yet unshakably steady. Power radiated from them with every step they took, pressing against the air until even the forest seemed to fall silent. Their aura was dark, heavy enough to make anyone who sensed it instinctively lower their head. Long before they were seen, they were feared.
“Finish whoever you come across.”
The man leading them spoke without sparing the slightest glance at the one beside him. His voice was calm, deep, and absolute, carrying the kind of authority that was never questioned.
“Gladly, Your Grace.”
The man bowed his head before disappearing in the blink of an eye, moving so fast that only the rustling leaves betrayed his departure. The remaining two stood motionless upon the mountain, listening as distant screams echoed through the valley before fading into silence.
He remained where he was, his gaze fixed on the factory below. From the mountain’s peak, every corner of the facility lay beneath his watch.
Towering cliffs surrounded one side while a mountain sealed the other, leaving no ordinary path in or out. His senses stretched far beyond human limits. Every heartbeat. Every footstep. Every breath within those walls reached him as clearly as if they stood beside him.
“Your Grace… there’s movement.”
His second-in-command spoke quietly from behind him.
He had already heard it.
His head turned slightly towards the rear of the factory. Dry leaves crunched beneath his boots as he took a few measured steps before stopping once more. Somewhere in the distance, someone was moving with unnatural speed. Light. Swift. Silent. Whoever it was barely disturbed the ground beneath them.
Then the rear door burst open.
A girl emerged.
Dozens of shifters poured out after her, surrounding her from every direction.
His eyes never left her. She didn’t fight like someone trying to survive.
She moved like she belonged at the top of the food chain.
Every step was precise. Every strike deliberate. She slipped through her attackers as though she had already decided where each body would fall before the fight had even begun.
There was no hesitation in her movements. No wasted effort. Only complete control.
Something unfamiliar stirred inside him. It was neither curiosity nor interest.
It was recognition.
His brows drew together almost imperceptibly.
How…
“Your Grace.”
His subordinate’s voice echoed through the mind-link once again, but for the first time in years, he barely heard it.
His attention refused to leave her. Then his eyes narrowed. There was someone on her back.
A boy.
Even burdened by another person’s weight, she never slowed. Every man who reached her was cut down before he could land a second strike.
Interesting.
She reached the edge of the forest before suddenly coming to a stop. Slowly… She lifted her head. Across the impossible distance separating them… She looked directly at him.
His expression hardened.
She shouldn’t have been able to sense him. Yet those dark eyes met his as though she had known exactly where he stood all along.
Before he could move, she vanished into the forest leading towards the mountain peak, disappearing among the trees as though the shadows themselves had swallowed her.
“Everything is set. The factory will explode in five minutes.”
His third-in-command appeared beside him, breaking the silence.
He didn’t answer.
His gaze remained fixed on the place where she had disappeared.
Something deep within him shifted.
Something ancient. Something that had remained silent for years.
A low growl echoed through the bond.
Both men behind him froze. It was the first time in over a decade they had heard of his beast.
His jaw tightened.
When he finally spoke, his voice was quiet, yet it carried enough weight to make both men instinctively bow their heads.
“Find her.”
°°°°°°
TO BE CONTINUED….