The Muted Luna: The Rise Of Skye

The lightning cracked across the sky and the land with a thunderous sound behind it, lighting the whole dark forest, drenched in a relentless storm which had blurred the boundaries between sky and earth. Skye gasped aloud in terror, glancing at the sky peeking through the cracks of bushes over her head, but didn’t stop. The lightning would have exposed her location if the kidnappers were somewhere near her. She can’t stop, or else she would be dead in a few seconds. She was drugged, and from their conversation, she learned that they wanted to have their fun with her before doing anything else. She can endure any torment, but not this humiliation. Her breath was coming in ragged gasps; her lungs were burning hard. They were on the verge of giving up at any time, but Skye didn’t care. She took advantage of the lightning to study the forest ahead of her. No one knew that she had a photographic memory. Two seconds max, and she now knew the forest in front of her like the back of her hand. She changed her path and continued running between the broken and fallen logs; thick roots popped out of the earth here and there. Her muscles were now screaming at her to stop, but she couldn’t. She had to escape at any cost. “50 million for a mute? Are you crazy?” Her father’s shock scream was still ringing in her ears. Yes, she was mute, but she was his biological daughter. He never valued her or showed any concern all these years, but she was still his daughter. “Kill her if this is what you're going to say next. I don’t care. Just don’t let anyone find her body.” And just like this, Skye was discarded by her family. With every word running in her ears, her determination to escape at any cost strengthened, but she was drugged, making her wolf weaker to come out. “Come on, Skye. You are stronger than this.” Her wolf, Mora, continued encouraging her, feeling useless in this state. “We are not going to die here tonight, Mora. Just trust me.” Skye comforted her, but her vision was becoming blurred, too. She knew where she was running now. She was barefoot and wounded. She stumbled over roots, thick creepers hiding here and there, and jagged stones, leaving her feet torn and bleeding, but she didn’t slow down. Her breath became heavier than earlier when she heard screams behind her, hidden under the roaring sound of rain. “Search her. Don’t let her go away at any cost.” The scream filled her heart with terror. She summoned all her last strength in her muscles and sprinted towards the roaring sound of water. Her tongue tasted blood, but she didn’t stop. “Do you really think that I will pay this hefty sum for a mute who is not even my fated mate? Do whatever you want to do with her. Don’t bother me again.” The pain shot through her chest to all over her body when she remembered what her fiancée, Alpha Arthur Froste, said when the kidnapper called him. She was bound to him through a marriage alliance between the packs. He was always cold to her, yet she had hope that he would show some concern for her. Even if he doesn’t treat her as his fiancée, she is still his family member. This kidnapping broke the illusions that she had towards her family and her future family. Through another flash of lightning, she saw her destination. A bitter and broken smile crept on her lips. “A mute daughter is nothing but a burden.” This was what she heard before the call ended. She could recognize this voice, even in her unconscious state. Her mother – her only anchor all these years. The cruelty of her words cut off Skye’s heart in the worst way. “If I survive, Mora, I promise you that I will make them pay for everything,” Skye promised to Mora in determination before sprinting towards the edge of the cliff. The roaring sound of water mixed with the roar of the rain crushed her eardrums, but with every step in that direction, her world started to be devoid of sounds. She could hear her heart thudding hard against her ribcage. Her lungs are expanding and contracting rapidly, but on the verge of collapsing at any time; every vein and artery was fighting for space inside her body. Her steps faltered for only a fraction of a second when Mora whimpered in pain and resignation, but they knew what could happen to her if Skye stopped now. With one high leap in the air, Skye raised her hands high above her head, closing her eyes, letting the coldness of the air slap her face and body on her way down. The world seemed to pause as gravity took hold of her body. The rushing wind roared in her ears, and the rain lashed against her face as she plunged toward the river below. For a fleeting instant, there was an odd sense of calm, as though everything had slowed down to a standstill before her body hit the water. Mona howled aloud in pain and resignation before she also accepted her fate and closed her eyes at the back of Skye’s mind, but she refused to leave Skye alone in these moments. The freezing current enveloped her instantly, dragging her down into its depths with violent force. The shock stole the air from her lungs, and darkness threatened to consume her vision as the river twisted her body in every direction. The kidnappers who came running behind her stopped in their tracks abruptly, colliding with each other, but their leader stopped breathing while looking at the girl who leaped off the cliff without showing any hesitation. “What the f**k?” “Is she crazy?” “What are we going to do now, Albert?” All of them screamed at the same time, looking at their leader who was standing frozen in his place. His heart was now thudding hard against his ribcage. This wasn’t supposed to happen. He was paid to rough up and scare the girl, not to kill her. His customer explicitly instructed him not to inflict any significant harm on the girl. What now? The river below the cliff was swollen from the storm; its currents were wild and merciless as they surged through their path like a ravaging beast on a hunt. Anyone falling into the river right now can never survive. “We are doomed.” Albert gasped aloud in horror when three of his mates shook his body after grabbing his arms. “We are doomed.” He screamed at the top of his lungs in terror. He knew the girl very well. This was just a game of spoiled brats. but the girl’s fiancée, Alpha Arthur Froste, was another name of death. Of course, all of them were from the influential families, but they weren’t the threat. But the girl’s fiancée, Alpha Arthur Froste…… Albert trembled hard in fear as if he had just seen the Grim Reaper approaching him. “Run….. Run now.” He screamed again, and before his mates could understand a thing, he sprinted back inside the forest, startling all of them in the process. They all exchanged terrified glances, and then they also followed their leader inside the forest. Inside the Froste Mansion, a dark shadow of a tall man appeared on the floor-to-ceiling window when the lightning struck the area. His crystal eyes were deadly cold. His jaw was clenched tightly, but his cold eyes were glued to a distant point somewhere in the night sky. The study door opened with a very faint sound of a creek. Beta William Thompson slowly entered the study and closed the door behind him, but didn’t move deeper inside. “She……. She is really kidnapped. Hector hired someone to teach her a lesson be… because she refused to s…. serve them food and wine during his birthday banquet.” William reported in a low and fearful voice, looking at Arthur’s broad back cautiously. The coldness in Arthur’s eyes dropped to a few more degrees, but the corner of his mouth tugged in a cold and brutal smirk. “Find her, William. Bring her back.” He ordered coldly, his phone spinning in his hand. Deep down in his heart, he had a hunch that this incident wasn’t as simple as it was on the surface.