CHAPTER FOUR
1102 Words
As she turned, her eyes met a young man who possessed a strong physique, light skin, and captivating brown eyes. Emma's eyes fell on his body, the buttons of his shirt were left unbuckled, she couldn't help but notice…
With a kind gesture, he extended his arm towards her, offering solace.
I am Ryan. He moved towards Emma, his arm still stretched.
"He's charming," Emma thought to herself, holding her breath.
He placed his hands on her shoulder and Emma's mind was brought back from her thoughts.
She needed a shoulder, so she leaned in on Ryan. " I also wish things didn't end this way" she murmured, with a deep sign.
Jeff saw how peaceful and happy Emma was in the arms of Ryan, and decided not to interrupt them. After all, they were engaged and soon to be married. Jeff chose not to interrupt their intimate moment, allowing them to walk away.
The Elders of Moonvale call for a meeting on a quest to stop the Wolf before they can lose another soul to the Wolf's attack.
At sundown dawn they went into the forest with their weapons and each man had at least a gun or silver blade.
"This way" a man shouted, their supposed leader.
"Hey man", Ryan stretched his hands to Jeff for a handshake.
Jeff darted at him, with so much resentment.
"You're new to Moonvale," Ryan asked.
"Yes, and you're Moonvale's richest man?" Jeff asked, looking him straight in the eyes.
Ryan gave him a half smile, "Common, I'm Rayn by name. You must be?"
"Jeff"
"We should be partners on this hunt," Ryan said, patting Jeff on his shoulder.
"I'll stick with my brothers and find another partner"
Jeff said, walking away from Ryan.
"Okay," Ryan shouted.
The men went deep into the forest. Their footsteps were no longer heard, gradually the sight of their burning fire sticks faded as they went deeper.
"We should split into two groups."
Their leader shouted as the others tried to fix themselves into groups.
Suddenly, they heard a noise coming from a direction in the forest.
"Ready your guns for we are about to end this wolf" he shouted again as others hailed "yeah" in reply,
The leader turned back to lead the men towards an ancient tomb when suddenly a creature just like a wolf jumped before he would aim its gun towards it. This creature had already chopped his head off.
The rest of them fired their guns at it but it ran away into the depths of the forest.
Ryan rushed to the dead body. It was his father, Alexander…
His heart was heavy with grief and his eyes filled with tears. He put down his gun and picked up Alexander's dead body. The rest of the men gathered him and helped him carry Alexander's corpse and they headed back to the village.
"Rest on Alexander, you're indeed a hero."
The men chanted in unison, their guns held high. Others, on hearing this chant, came out curious to know why and what caused it. Lyra went out to the middle where all the men were gathered, her gaze fixed on where all eyes fell on, unable to see who or what was laid down there paved her way into the circle for a better view. She lost her voice as the news gave her goosebumps. She only wished it was the wolf instead of Alexander, her first love…
Emma, watching her from afar, noticed there was something more to that reaction. Lyra was heartbroken.
Mom?" Emma called out to her mother, her voice filled with concern.
Lyra noticed Emma's eyes were fixed on her, so she turned away from her view and walked out of the circle wiping the tear drops from her cheeks.
Emma followed her.
"Emma, where's Lucian?" Lyra asked with a gentle yet urgent tone, trying to channel Emma's mind to something else.
"He should be with the others, or maybe drinking his life out in his home. Are you okay?"
Lyra finally turned to Emma and burst into tears trying to reply to Emma; her voice carried the weight of her broken heart.
Emma moved closer to her, trying to comfort her, still asking, "You can talk to me"
As Lyra's eyes remained fixed on Emma, memories from her past flooded her mind, causing tears to stream down her cheeks even more.
Emma listened intently, her heart aching for her mother's pain.
"Alexander," Lyra whispered, her voice filled with longing and nostalgia. "I was deeply in love with him, in my youthful years. Just like Sarah and Ryan, my family and I left Moonvale and never returned. But Alexander and I had an affair that began years before our separation. It was a secret passion that consumed us both."
Her voice trembled as she continued,
"Our affair resulted in my first pregnancy, a child conceived out of wedlock. I met and married Lucian while carrying this secret inside me, and he knew nothing about it. I only discovered I was pregnant in the later months, and the weight of my deception became unbearable. But I couldn't bear to sever ties with Lucian, for he loved me genuinely, and I, too, had developed strong feelings for him."
Lyra wiped away her tears, her voice filled with remorse and regret as she confessed,
"I lied to Lucian, telling him that I was pregnant with his baby. He cared for me tenderly throughout the pregnancy, unaware of the truth. And when our first child, Sarah, was born, Lucian suggested that we return to my village, Moonvale, to raise our children together."
Emma's breath caught in her throat, her mind swirling with the complexity of her mother's story. The web of lies, the unspoken truths, and the weight of Lyra's past actions hung heavy in the air. She sighed.
"So you were against Sarah's relationship with Ryan because they were half-siblings?"
"Yes, Emma yes
Alexander told me about Ryan's proposal to marry her. I had it rearranged because I didn't want him to make a mistake."
"I would've explained everything to her then but she was too angry and pained to listen to me, now she's gone and Alexander. Now he's gone."
"I killed my daughter" sobbing and her breath breaking.
Go Emma, I want to be left alone…
Emma walks out her heart racing in her chest wishing she had a solution to all this.
A loud noise came from inside the village, "what could it be this time? What!
"Emma
come here quickly" A hand pulled her from outside toward its direction.
- Writer
