Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO 'It's the third time this week, I hope this works" Rieka stares in determination at the little vial that was filled with a strikingly beautiful liquid. She uncorked it and swished it around, watching as the enchantingly purple liquid hypnotically swirled around inside the transparent vial. She took a deep whiff, her green eyes dilating in excitement at the scent of wolfsbane emitting from the vial. Wolfsbane—a dangerous drug which the rebellious humans had somehow developed to stop the werewolves. A foolish but extremely effective invention, as just a dosage of it could kill the weakest wolf in minutes and the strongest wolf in an hour. Though it had all been destroyed, some of it could still be found in the black market. Rieka had used her memories to find this one. In fact she had stolen it— it was a very expensive and scarce resource. 'I hope I didn't go through all this trouble in vain," she whispered to herself. Taking a deep gulp of the sweet liquid, she closed her eyes, waiting for death. Two hours later. Rieka stared hopelessly at the empty vial beside her. Her finger twitched in annoyance that she had been fooled. ‘No…you stole a fake product,' a voice in her head laughed at her in derision. 'No, I'm sure of what I stole," Rieka said through gritted teeth. She was sure, because in her past life, it was the exact vial of wolfsbane that had killed her most trusted maid. Thinking of the Raven haired, always cheerful young girl, a trail of tears slipped from Rieka's eyes. 'I have to die. Being alive means that my fate would be repeated, and a lot of people like her would be affected," Rieka thought. With a determined look in her eyes, she stood up from the floor, tightly clutching the vial. She sneaked into the hot, smoky kitchen and took a little bit of water from the general vat. She poured it into the vial, rinsing it carefully and then pouring it into a large wooden cup. Rieka watched as the faint purple liquid mixed together with the water in the cup, disappearing completely. Rieka breathed in deeply before chugging down the water. Apart from the slightly sweet taste of the water, there was nothing else. A few moments later, the cup fell from her hand and she collapsed on the floor in a heap, losing consciousness instantly. That day, in the Dawn household, the only daughter of the Dawn family was found sleeping heavily on the kitchen floor. After being beaten repeatedly by her mother, she didn't twitch a muscle. Since she was still breathing, the family had dumped her in her room. So she slept for two days. ..... ONE YEAR LATER Rieka stood up from her little creaky bed, dread brewing in her heart. She walked to the chipped mirror that could barely reflect her figure. Staring at her features, which hadn't even taken the slightest werewolf traits, her heart dropped. It seems that her fate was irreversible. The beginning of her horrible life in her previous life was because of her wolfless traits. She wasn't like a regular werewolf. On her 18th birthday, she didn't shift at all, becoming a disappointment to her family and eventually they disowned her. 'There's still some more time" she consoled herself, walking back to her bed and lying down, covering herself with the old, thin quilt. Today, there was no screaming from mama Riftan, asking her to come down for her morning chores. Perhaps they thought she was shifting in her room. 'Hah, I guess they would be disappointed," she sighed, closing her eyes to slumber. ..... When Rieka came down the stairs, what mama Riftan was expecting wasn't what she saw. Rieka wasn't in the form of a wolf, nor did she have any single wolf-like feature, unlike the other newly turned werewolves. 'Child…" Mama Riftan stood up from the dining chair she was sitting on, a strange look on her face. She stalked towards Rieka and held her hands, staring directly into her eyes. Running her other fat, meaty hands over Rieka's hair, as if doing it would make wolf ears magically pop out from behind the mass of hair 'Don't tell me that you didn't…." she trailed off. 'I'm sorry mama, I didn't shift," Rieka cried out. The tears in her eyes rolled down. She wasn't crying because she didn't shift. She was crying because she couldn't avoid her fate. 'You vile child! You have disgraced this family!" She screamed suddenly, pushing Rieka away with great force. Rieka fell, her head hitting the wooden floor with a loud thud, but the woman who was her mother didn't care. Instead, she predatorily walked towards Rieka, pressing her large feet on her stomach. She heaved and panted. 'I should have drowned you in the bathtub when you were still a baby." Then, she stomped her on Reika's somach. Rieka let out a loud scream before it faded to a barely heard whimper. 'Go pack your things and leave this house because. My family is definitely not going to feed a useless liability" she spat before turning and climbing the flight of stairs. Once the woman was out of view, Rieka, who had been lying on the floor in tears, opened her eyes and wiped them away. A determined look settled in her eyes. It seems that she couldn't escape her fate. Then she would leave this place. After all, it was this place that had led to everything that had happened. After making a decision, Rieka's eyes shone with a newfound brilliance.