My Mate From Another Century

The Wolfless Girl

Asphodel's Pov:

The gentle rush of water over smooth rocks created a serene ambience. For a moment, it drowned all the noise of the valley… and from afar, it painted a perfect picture of harmony.

Hey, Orphan girl!” Someone yelled from behind, interrupting my little daydream of euphoria.

"Coming!" I answered, hurrying across the open field with a bucket of water.

"What took you so long?" the little girl snapped.

I knelt before her and poured the water into a foot basin. "I'm sorry, Young Mistress. I was…"

"Oh, shut up and wash my feet already."

"Yes, Young Mistress."

I had barely begun when a sudden wave of dizziness hit me.

"Cough!"

Blood splattered onto the grass.

"Eww! Disgusting!" The girl jerked her feet away before kicking me onto the ground. "Mother! Come and see what Asphodel did!"

Moments later, she returned with two older women.

"Mother, look!" She pointed accusingly at the bloodstained grass.

"Asphodel!" the older woman thundered.

I immediately lowered my head. "Forgive me, Luna."

"How dare you contaminate my daughter with your filthy blood?"

"Luna," I said carefully, "the blood never touched Ariadne."

"Silence!" Her kick knocked me flat onto the ground.

"First you dirty my daughter's skin, then you dare lie to my face?"

My eyes darted between mother and daughter in disbelief.

"Althea." The maid stepped forward and placed a whip in Luna Xanthe's waiting hand.

"Luna... please have mercy."

The fat whip sent an exploding pain across my back. "Argh!"

"You vile orphan!" Another lash tore across my torso, stealing the air from my lungs.

I bit my lip to keep me from screaming, but every strike burned hotter than the last. Before long, I collapsed onto the grass, clutching the earth beneath me as silent tears blurred my vision.

~

By the time I reached home, every step felt heavier than the last beneath the unforgiving afternoon sun.

I quietly pushed open the cottage door and tried to slip toward my room.

"Why are you sneaking into your own home like a thief, my child?" Father's frail voice stopped me.

I slowly turned back. “I'm not, father,” I uttered, forcing a smile. “I just didn't want to wake you.”

“Come sit with me, my child…”

I walked to his bedside and sat beside him.

His weathered hand searched for mine. The moment his fingers brushed one of the fresh wounds on my wrist, I flinched.

A heavy silence settled between us.

"They hurt you again, didn't they?"

My throat tightened, hiding cries beneath.

"No, Father." The lie tasted bitter. "Luna Xanthe has been treating me well these days. I only got the bruise from overworking myself today."

Though his sightless fuchsia eyes stared into nothingness, I knew he saw straight through me.

After a long pause, he sighed. "Very well, my child."

I rose to leave. "Asphodel."

I froze. He almost never called me by my name.

"Yes, Father?"

His blind eyes remained fixed on the ceiling. "My end is near."

Silence stretched between us.

"End of what?" I asked quietly, refusing to understand.

"My time in this world..."

"Please don't say that."

"There is nothing left for you in this village," he continued gently. "Pack what little you have and travel north."

My heart sank. "Father... what are you talking about?"

"I have delayed your destiny for as long as I could. You don't belong here."

Tears welled in my eyes. "This is the only home I've ever known. How can I leave? How can I leave you?"

"I am wherever you are, my child." A single tear slipped down his wrinkled cheek.

"Let the dead bury the dead,” he continued. “I've already spoken to Elder Sebastian. So leave immediately."

"I'm not leaving you!" I cried. "You're the only family I've ever had."

He smiled sadly. "Then grant your dying father one last wish."

His voice softened. "Follow the river against its current, for where it begins... you will find your own beginning."

I didn't understand his strange words, but something told me this wasn't a request… It was goodbye.

"...Very well, Father." I leaned forward, kissed his forehead, and wrapped my arms around him, holding him tighter than ever before.

Deep down, I knew this would be the last time I embraced my father.

~

I hurried through the dark forest, my belongings clutched tightly to my chest. The distant howls of wolves and the hooting of owls echoed through the midnight silence.

After walking for what felt like hours, I ducked behind a large boulder to catch my breath.

Then I heard it… Growls.

They drifted through the trees, growing louder with every passing second.

"Werewolves..." My heart lurched as their scent reached me.

‘Rogues!’ I shot to my feet and bolted through the forest.

I couldn't outrun them in their wolf forms, but stopping meant certain death.

Branches lashed at my skin as I sprinted through the undergrowth. Something sharp sliced across my leg, yet I forced myself onward. Heavy paws thundered behind me, closing the distance.

‘Don't stop… Run… Don't look back!’

A crushing weight slammed into my back.

"Argh!" I hit the ground hard, every breath driven from my lungs.

The enormous wolf pinned me beneath its weight as dark clouds drifted away, bathing the forest in the crimson glow of a blood moon.

"Where is she?" A familiar voice froze my blood.

The wolf shifted into a broad-shouldered man, yanking me upright before forcing me onto my knees.

A familiar figure stepped into the moonlight. "Luna Xanthe..."

A cruel smile spread across her lips. "Little... miserable... wolfless orphan." She circled me slowly.

"You actually believed you could escape my claws? Don't you know that nothing enters or leaves this village without my permission?"

"What do you want from me?" I demanded. "I stole nothing from you! I left willingly, knowing you'd claim my home after Father dies. Why are you hunting me?"

"Because your life belongs to me!" Her eyes burned with hatred.

"My husband risked his life to save that wretched wizard and gave him shelter. Yet when Alpha Zeke lay dying, Wizard Elyor refused to save him."

"Father was dying too," I shot back.

The man restraining me tightened his grip.

"If he'd exhausted the little strength he had left, he would have died before Alpha Zeke. Even Alpha Zeke knew that. He stopped Father from trying."

"Do not speak my husband's name with that filthy mouth!" Her slap sent my head snapping sideways.

"If your precious father couldn't save my mate... then I'll end the life of the one who's most precious to him. Tell the old wizard during your reunion that I, Luna Xanthe, sent you to hell!”

She pointed toward the rushing river. "Boys."

The men dragged me to the riverbank.

"Let me go!" I struggled wildly, but they held me fast.

My plea was cut short as they plunged my face into the freezing water.

Ice flooded my nose and throat.

“Grrr!...” I struggled as I felt my lungs burning.

Darkness crept into the edges of my vision.

Then… A memory burst into my mind.

It wasn't mine, yet I felt every heartbeat, every sorrow, as though I were living it myself.

Another vision followed— A lifeless middle-aged woman lay upon a stone altar, surrounded by an eerie light, and an image above the altar was that of the… Moon Goddess.

‘Moon Goddess…’ I'd never placed my faith in her, though Father devoted his entire life to her. But in this dying moment, she was all I could see.

My consciousness slipped away.

‘Please... help me…’

BLACKOUT