The Curse of The Hybrid Twins

Chapter one Anastasia’s POV It was only yesterday that my Dad had been beheaded in public, a punishment for a crime I still didn’t understand. The news had spread like wildfire, the whispers followed me everywhere I went around the school compound. “Did you hear? Her dad was executed,” Someone said as I passed a group of students staring at me. “Well, serves the traitor right,” another person answered among them. I kept my head down trying to block out the voices. My friends, Sarah and Amy, who were my only friends, stuck close to me. The girls, seeing my frustration, did their best to help me, but their efforts felt like a useless attempt. “Just ignore them, Ana,” Sarah said beside me. “They don’t know anything.” “Yeah, they’re just being jerks,” Amy added, her tone more aggressive than Sarah’s. I nodded, but my throat felt tight, and my eyes stung with tears I struggled to hold back. Every class felt like a prison, the seconds ticking painfully slow to me. Other than that, everyone looked at me either with an eye of mockery or pity. It felt uncomfortable, and I wished they wouldn’t look at me at all. I couldn’t focus on anything in class. The whispers and laughs were everywhere even around me, piercing through my grief. It was like everyone had a new hobby now, which was making me feel even more worthless than before. Later at lunch, we sat in our usual spot in the cafeteria, but the atmosphere was different. The laughter and chatter that usually surrounded me were replaced with just silent stares now. I could feel the weight of everyone’s eyes on me, judging and condemning. “Maybe you should go home early,” Amy suggested, her hand resting on my arm. “I’ll walk you to the office so you can get an excuse.” I shook my head. “No, I need to get through this. I can’t run away,” I said. Sarah, my best friend since kindergarten, squeezed my hand on the table. “We’re here for you, Ana. Just ignore them,” she said softly. I nodded, but my chest felt tight. I managed to choke down a few bites of my sandwich before the bell rang. The rest of the day dragged on, each class even more unbearable than the last. Even the teachers seemed unsure how to act around me. They looked at me with awkwardness. Their attempts to be kind made me feel even worse. The final school bell was a relief. I grabbed my backpack and practically ran out of the school, my friends struggling to keep up. The walk home was quiet, the usual route feeling longer than ever. When I finally reached the front door, I felt a small sense of relief, like I was now stepping into a safe haven. But that relief was short-lived. The smell of Mom’s cooking usually brought joy to me, but today it felt off, just like everything else. Mom met me in the living room, her face carrying the weight of something I felt was exhaustion. “Anastasia, we need to talk.” She said to me. I dropped my bag and looked at her, wondering what was wrong. “What is it, Mom?” “We’re moving,” she said straightly, as if she had rehearsed this a hundred times. “It may be wise to start preparing your things. We’ll leave soon, in the coming days.” “Moving?” The word felt foreign on my lips. “But what about my friends? What about school? Everything I know is here!” She sighed and walked over to me, placing her hands on my shoulders. “I know this is hard, Ana. But we won’t be needing to stay here anymore.” I struggled to find the right words. “But where are we going?” “You’ll find new friends,” she said, trying to sound optimistic. “We’ll start a new life there. It’ll be fun,” she said, ignoring my question. Fun. The word sounded hollow, almost cruel. “I don’t want to start over. I want to stay here.” I then pulled away and slumped onto a couch. “Fun, you say Mom? How can anything be fun after… after Dad?” I spat at her. Mom walked towards me. “I understand, but we don’t have a choice. It’s for the best, believe me.” I pulled away, my tears finally spilling over. “This isn’t fair.” Mom’s face tightened, and I saw her swallow hard. “We have to try, Ana. For your father, and for us. We need to keep going.” Tears blurred my vision. “I just… I can’t imagine leaving everything behind. This is all I know.” She knelt down beside me, her eyes meeting with mine. “I know it’s hard. It’s hard for me too. But we have to start over again.” I sniffled, wiping my eyes with the back of my hand. “So what about our house? And our stuff? And you still haven’t told me where we’re going!” Mom went silent for a moment, her eyes shifting from mine. The reality of it all crashed over me like a wave. I wanted to argue, to scream at her, but I couldn’t. I stared at her, my mind racing. “But why, Mom? Why now? We just… we just lost Dad.” I said almost screaming. She sighed heavily, her shoulders slumping. “I’m getting married, Anastasia. We’re moving to his house.” My jaw dropped. “Married? To who? How can you even think about that now?” “It’s complicated,” she replied, her voice strained. “But it’s happening, and we need to get ready. We’re meeting your new stepdad and his family tonight,” she said firmly and stood up. I felt anger flow through me. “You can’t just drop this on me and expect me to be okay with it. Who is this guy? Why so soon?” “His name is Silas, and it’s not up for debate. This is happening, and we have to move forward.” She replied blankly. I felt like the ground had been ripped out from under me. “I don’t want to go!” My voice shook. “This isn’t fair.” “I know it’s hard, kiddo,” she said, trying to soften her tone. “But this is what’s best for us. You’ll see.” Without another word, I turned and ran upstairs to my room, slamming the door behind me. I locked it, leaning against the door as if it could keep the world out. I slumped on the floor and my tears flowed from my eyes effortlessly now. I was turning eighteen in a few weeks, and I had dreamed of finally finding my place in the world, or maybe even finding my mate. Instead, everything was falling apart. First, Dad’s death, and now this? Mom getting married to some stranger and expecting me to just go along with it? I threw myself onto my bed, burying my face in the pillow. The tears streamed down my face, and I felt utterly helpless. How could she do this to me? How could she expect me to leave everything behind and start over just because she wanted to? The questions raced my mind. I didn’t come out of my room for the rest of the evening. Mom knocked on the door a few times, asking me to come out, to talk, to get ready to meet Silas and his family. But I ignored her. I just couldn’t. I didn’t want to. I felt betrayed and alone. I felt like my life was being torn apart piece by piece, and there was just nothing I could do to stop it from going on. I remained in my room, staring at the ceiling, feeling the weight of everything upon me. “Hey kiddo…” my mom's voice came up again, a bit hesitant. “I just want—” “There’s no way you're forcing me out of this house! This is where Dad is.” I blurted, tears stinging my eyes.