Anna (His Claws On My Neck Sequel)

Warning: This story contains dark and explicit themes you may not be comfortable with. (Murder, gore, mental illnesses) If you are not comfortable with these, you may exit now and look for another book. If not, then continue reading! :) “Happy birthday to you…” The people were clapping while singing in Russian, smiling at her and loosening up. Anna smiled shyly to everyone singing the birthday song while she awkwardly sat in the middle in front of her three-tier princess cake. Her body’s stiffness immediately relaxed upon feeling a peck in her cheeks. She grinned at her father and clapped her hands too. “Happy birthday, Anna!” “Thank you!”  She was grinning all day. Her parents had the best 10th birthday planned out for her and she was on the peak of enjoyment all throughout, it’s this joyous every year but she’s always thankful every time. At a young age, her parents had taught her to value even the most mundane things in life, and she’s still living up to it.  “Anna! Let’s play!”  Her playmates invited her immediately after finishing lunch. Despite having a full stomach, she still pushed herself up to burn calories and do some physical things, like her mother always advised her to do to stay healthy.  “Wait!” She giggled. “I want to open my presents first! Can I, daddy?” She pouted to her father.  Axel nodded, smiling to her while his hands lay at rest around her mother’s waist. “Of course, milaya. Go on.”  Anna skipped to the table stacked with presents and eeny meeny miny moed to pick which one to open first. Even in their small neighborhood, she still received dozens of presents, which she is grateful for — as she should. Their small crowd of a pack cheered her on as she picked a fairly small rectangular present.  She was grinning ear to ear as she unwrapped the gift, only to see an almost empty box inside. Her smile fell as she took the small piece of paper, the only thing inside. Is this her gift?  “Cheers to the devastation,” she read out loud, her confused voice reigning supreme as silence engulfed the pack neighborhood. What is ‘devastation’? Her vocabulary was still very limited when it comes to English as she was raised in a Russian environment. “Mamá? Papá?” She frowned at her parents, failing to notice how the air around became heavy and her parents’ faces have gone dark.  It only took a heartbeat for her mother to reach for her hand and pull her behind.  “Hide, Anna,” her mother’s voice was firm and a little bit shaky, far different from her daily voice. “You know what to do. Lead the other kids. Mamá and Papá will deal with them and I promise to go back to you after.” Even her father, who was always silent yet carefree, was caught clenching his jaw and pulling out a firearm familiar to her. He once told her that those guns only get pulled if a threat is nearby, and she immediately understood the situation — so, she ran to the mansion’s small compartment made exactly for her and the other pups.  All before shooting her mother and father worried look.  When she turned around and ran to safety, an explosion went off behind her. She couldn’t bear to look at who survived that…and who didn’t. “We should go out, I think it’s safe now,” said one of her playmates that had just finished crying silently. There were only four of them that made it, the other dozen or two being shot in the back by masked men while they were running. Anna, who also wanted to cry, couldn’t feel her tears threaten to fall from her eyes. They were just not there.  “It has been twenty minutes,” another whispered. “They must be gone now.”  “No,” Anna intervened. “Papá has told me to always stay vigilant even after the noise is gone and wait for thirty minutes before coming out. If the enemy is really gone, then Papá will find us soon.”  “What if he’s dead and won’t be able to look for us?” Anna glared at him. “Stop saying nonsense. Papá is an alpha wolf. He’s strong, brave, and he’s my hero, so he will save us!”  She was about to add more when they heard the floor creaking above them. The four of them simultaneously widened their eyes and looked at each other in panic.  “Find the girl!”  The voice was barely incoherent but she understood their English. As a multilingual at 10, she knew they were fluent speakers — and they are most certainly not her father.  “I smell them.” She gulped. One of her playmates started crying uncontrollably, desperately trying to bite back her sobs and stay quiet — but it was a futile attempt to stay hidden because the trapdoor they went into had just opened.  “Well, hello there, children.” The baritone voice sent shivers down their spine. The man was grinning wickedly at them, his beard on the full show along with his chest hair. He had a bloody eye but the other one worked fine and was even able to scare them.  Funnily enough, there were still no tears that threatened to spill even when she shut her eyes close and heard his gun fire thrice. She felt the splatter of blood on her pink princess dress but she couldn’t find it in her to let a single tear flow. All she felt were her body shaking of sheer anger, and her heart racing wildly.  How dare they crash at her party and kill everyone. It would only take her half a minute to let her inner wolf take control, but it took him shorter than that to place the nuzzle of the gun at her temple.  “Shift and you die,” he threatened. “Your Mommy and Daddy can’t help you now.” Her former strength for blood retreated and all that’s left was a shaky voice of a ten-year-old. They are dead, she couldn’t believe it.  “P-Please…Let me go,” she couldn’t plead to him in English because her mind couldn’t work properly, so she desperately begged the mister, mixing Russian with German. “Please…”  She heard him pull the safety of the gun, and it felt as if her whole life flashed before her eyes. It was a short-lived one, but a life worth living nonetheless. If she dies now, she’ll be more than excited to be with her parents and playmates.  She didn’t even get to blow her candle and make a wish because she wanted to save it for when her mother announces her pregnancy. She almost had a sibling.  “Landon, how many lives did you take in front of the child?” To her surprise, another person came in her father’s office. The man pointing a gun at her temple, Landon, stilled in place as the person spoke. He was of another low baritone voice, but this time more mellow, calmer. Meanwhile, Landon stayed silent and didn’t respond.  “Oh dear, lift her up to me,” the voice added. She was surprised at the sudden grip on her shoulders and before she could comprehend, she was already in front of another bearded man in a wheelchair. He smiled, one that frightened her and soothed her at the same time.  “Are you Divina Anastasia?” She meekly nodded. “Oh, aren’t you a precious little thing? I’m so sorry for your loss,” he sympathized.  “I destroyed your home and I humbly ask for your forgiveness,” the old man frowned and sighed.  “I didn’t mean for everyone to die. I just needed my revenge, my dear, I hope you understand me.” “W-Who are you…?” “Well, you can call me Minister. That’s what I go by. Now, do you want to leave this bloodshed of a tragedy with me?” Anna really couldn’t believe herself contemplating. Although she didn’t understand half of what he said, she still felt something was wrong with him. But she was only a little sprout, and barely made her own decisions.  The man who introduced to be the Minister grinned. “Great, we leave now.”   At ten, Anna learned the meaning of survival. Her life hung on thin string dangerously and she could state that it is the worst way to spend your 10th birthday. She has witnessed so much of her loved ones pass away, such as her grandad and other aunties, but all of which had a health problem, and none were shot or bombed. This was just a traumatic event she doubts she’ll ever recuperate from.   If only she couldn’t remember them, then she wouldn’t have to re-live this her whole life.  And it seemed as if the skies answered her prayers, because she woke up one day, not knowing a single thing about her.  She woke up, only being told of her name, age, and why she woke up without a single memory — because she needed a fresh start.  She obliged and went by their rules. She trained for a purpose she wasn’t aware of; she was just told to train until she becomes the best. And fourteen years later, she became the best. At ten, Divina Anastasia Elcort died and was reborn as Anna.  That was when she started to make history.