Evelyn: The Rise Of The Rejected Luna

Chapter 3

"I tried to leave the past buried in the dark… but some ghosts don’t stay dead, and mine just found their way back, again and again."

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Evelyn’s POV

I lay curled up on my side on the cold, hard floor of a dark room.

My torturers were gone but their shadows still lingered, etched in the corner of my mind.

Every inch of my skin was covered in deep cuts and ugly bruises, blood still slowly seeping from my open wounds, dripping to the floor in irregular rhythm.

The wolfsbane coursing through my veins kept my healing painfully slow. Without the help of my wolf, I was healing almost at the rate humans heal, making the agony stretch on endlessly.

The shot of intravenous silver injected into me earlier was still burning my insides, making it difficult for me to even breath.

“Emma…” I whispered, my voice hoarse. My jaw ached, probably from being broken, again.

Tears streamed down my face. Not because of the pain my body was feeling. But because just like hundred other times, Emma didn’t respond.

The amount of wolfsbane and silver that had been injected into me till now was fatal, even for a high rank wolf.

And this made me scared to my bones, for my wolf.

Groaning, I pressed my palms against the hard floor, trying to push myself up into a sitting position.

The movement caused the silver cuffs around my wrist to jangle, and the sickening scent of burning flesh filled the air. I gritted my teeth to stop myself from crying out.

Suddenly, I felt a shadow hovering over me causing my heart to stop beating.

I froze.

‘He… he was here…’

A cold shiver went down my spine, sending a violent shudder through my body.

Before I could react in any way, I felt someone grab fistful of my hairs in a harsh grip and yanked my head back with brutal force.

I clenched my eyes shut as a soul piercing scream ripped through my throat, echoing in the silent room.

Slowly, I opened my eyes again and…

I wasn’t in dark anymore.

The grip on my hair, the burning sensation in my veins, the pain in my body, all of it was gone.

My hands which were trembling in agony a few moments ago, were now gripping the edge of my desk in front of me, placed in the corner of my office.

A shaky breath left my lips.

I wasn’t there anymore.

I closed my eyes for a moment, steadying my erratic heartbeat. When I opened them again, they fell on the pale scars around my wrists. A cruel reminder that everything I just saw wasn’t just a horrible dream.

It was something I have really gone through.

With time, all the wounds healed, the bruises were gone, leaving no scars behind. Except for these scars on my wrist, the burn marks I got from the silver cuffs.

I had only heard that the scars left by silver on werewolf can never fade. And now, I was experiencing it first hand.

‘Emma…’ I called out in my head, hoping to hear a response.

But as always, I got silence in return.

No, Emma wasn’t dead. I could still feel her. But she had been silent for past four years now. She had been dormant since that night.

And I had no idea if she would ever return.

The thought filled my insides with fear, but I instantly pushed it away.

I got up on my feet from my chair behind my desk and made my way toward the balcony attached to my office.

I needed to breath in fresh air.

As soon as I stepped onto my balcony, cool breeze brushed against my skin. The sound of rustling leaves filled the quite night.

I sucked in a deep breath and focused on calming my ragged breathing.

The sound of door opening behind me brought me out of my thoughts. I didn’t need to turn around to see who it was.

There is only one person who can enter my office or my bedroom without knocking.

Aria.

My best friend. My beta.

“Not able to sleep?” Aria asked softly as she stepped onto the balcony, standing beside me.

I simply nodded in answer, my eyes drifting back to the dark, dense forest surrounding the house.

My pack house. The haven for all the tortured and broken souls.

I wasn’t able to sleep yet again. My insomnia was bothering me a lot more these days. So, instead of tossing and turning around on my bed, I decided to come to my office and finish some pending work.

But after hours of staring at files, my tired eyes had began to ache. So, I stopped working and closed my eyes to give them some rest.

I had only closed my eyes for brief moment to soothe my tired eyes, when those memories crawled back to me, bringing me back to that place again.

Before, those nightmares came only when I slept. But these days, those memories came to haunt me even if I closed my eyes for some time.

“You okay?” Aria’s voice, filled with concern, pulled me back to present.

I forced a nod, exhaling slowly before turning toward her. “Why are you up so early, Aria? Training starts at six. We still have time.”

It was just about five in the morning right now.

Aria hesitated, her lips pressing into a thin line before she said, “There’s… an emergency.”

Something in her tone sent a prickle of unease down my spine. My posture straightened instantly, my gray eyes locking onto hers. “What emergency?”

She hesitated again. “Amara…”

The name alone sent a flicker of alarm through me. My stomach clenched. “What happened to Amara? Is she alright?”

Aria quickly raised her hands. “She’s fine, Eve. Relax.”

A sharp breath of relief left my lips, but the tension in my body didn’t ease. “Then what about her?”

Aria bit her lip before answering. “You know how she likes to go for runs early in the morning.”

I nodded.

“She went out this morning too… but she didn’t come back alone.”

My brows furrowed. “Who did she bring?”

Aria seemed torn, as if carefully choosing her words. “Well… she met a woman on her way back. The woman fits the criteria of those we accept into our pack. She needed urgent help, so Amara brought her here.”

I frowned. “Why are you hesitating so much, Ari? Just tell me what happened.”

Aria sighed, rubbing her temples. “The woman was in a completely beaten-up state. When asked, she said it was her mate’s doing. First, he beat her until she could barely move. Then, he handed her over to his high-ranked wolf friends—to do whatever they pleased with her.”

My fingers curled into tight fists at my sides. A slow, simmering rage began to boil in my chest.

“After they were done with her, they threw her out into the woods to die,” Aria finished.

Silence stretched between us, thick and suffocating. But inside me, a storm raged.

Another woman. Another victim of a mate’s cruelty. Another life shattered by the wolves who believed their power gave them the right to torment the weak.

Until when?

Until when would the powerful continue to crush the powerless?

How long would these monsters be allowed to walk free while the innocent suffered?

“Where is she?” I asked, my voice dangerously low.

“In the guest quarters,” Aria replied hesitantly.

That explained why I hadn’t noticed her arrival. The guest quarters were separate from the main pack house, a secluded space where we housed outsiders before they were fully integrated. The warriors must have taken her there for safety.

“Let’s go check on her.” I turned on my heel, striding back into my office.

Snatching my fingerless gloves from my desk, I slipped them on, the familiar leather molding to my hands.

I was ready to leave my office, when Aria’s voice stopped me in my tracks.

“Wait, Eve… there’s one more thing you should know.”

I paused, glancing over my shoulder with a raised brow. “What is it? And why are you acting so unlike yourself today?”

Aria sighed, as if in defeat before she opened her mouth to finally say the words which made my heart stop beating.

“The woman’s name is Clara… she is the sister of Alpha Marcus of the Blood Moon Pack.”