THE ESCAPE

VALERIE Around seven in the evening, everything was complete so we all went to get dressed. I knew we would end up staying awake all night because of the function. I wore a white knee-length dress with an ocean blue color shrug over it. I looked at Shawn who was dressed in formals and was now rolling his sleeves. I whistled at him and raised both of my eyebrows grinning cheekily. He just shook his head at my antics. "How much do you take for an hour hottie?" I asked him my eyes travelling all over his body. "Well, how much are you ready to pay for this?" he asked me, gesturing at his body. "Hmm... half of whatever you are worth since you kno-" was all I got to say before he hovered over me and began kissing me. His tongue rubbed against mine and I caught his hair in a tight grip. "Now?" he asked pulling away making me want more of it. "Double." I whispered while he chuckled and kissed me again. "The Alpha is here." Oscar said as I made my way towards the stage along with Shawn. I looked at everyone in my Pack and waved at them once I was in the stage. "Missed me?" I asked them grinning and there was loud 'Yes' from everyone in my Pack. "Aww! I missed you all too." I cooed. I had called here almost every day when I was in the Silverstone Moon Pack. Then I got to the serious issue. "Since all the pieces of the old statue were collected, another statue has been formed which is a combination of both the old and the new one and so we are here to place the statue to the temple, where it rightfully belongs." I announced and everyone cheered. "So... let's pray first and then begin the procession. I'll assure you that everyone will get to take turns to hold the palanquin till the temple" I said to them and turned around. A palanquin made out of sandalwood was in the stage and it had bright yellow curtains covering it. I pulled the string and immediately the curtains opened revealing the statue. There were loud cheers and gasps when they saw the renewed statue and then, few minutes of silence for the prayer. Oscar and Shawn stood in the front while Nathan and Jasper stood behind the palanquin. They raised the palanquin by placing the carrying poles upon their shoulders and began walking towards the temple. Some ladies were ordaining colorful flowers on Goddess's statue. "Princess!" I heard a familiar voice calling and squealed when I saw Nelson along with Caleb. "You came?" I said hugging him. I had called him in the noon to come for the celebration and I was totally surprised that he did come. "Of course I would." he said chuckling. "How are things going?" he asked me pulling away. "They are great, everything's fine." I lied. "I'm glad to hear that." he said ruffling my hair. "And also glad that your mate knows." he said. "Well, I followed your advice." I said smilingly. "That's not the story I heard." he teased referring to the incident how I shifted in front of Silverstone Moon Pack. "I don't know what you are talking about!" I feigned innocence while he rolled his eyes. "Alpha they are shifting again!" Caleb said. "Great! I want to take a turn." he said and went to take Ivan's place without even a bye. I frowned but smiled while Caleb came forward to hug me. Two hours later, the palanquin finally reached the temple where the priest was then installed it on the pedestal. Immediately, colorful petals of different flowers ordained the statue from baskets which were placed upwards. I must say I appreciated Sheila's creativity. The priest then began the prayer and everyone knelt on the ground in one knees, bent their head and closed their eyes. There was complete silence in the room except for the priest's prayers. The time was around one in the middle of the night when we had our dinner. It was very late in the night but still everyone looked fresh and excited. Then for entertainment, some guys performed really dangerous tricks with fire while we clapped and cheered them. After that the music started playing and everyone started dancing. Kids, older people everyone where dancing in front of the temple to music from different musical instruments, not album songs. They all were happy which made me happy but then it pricked, knowing what I am supposed to do. I truly loved them and that is why it would be more difficult for me to leave them, which is what I had to do in a few hours. Closing my eyes, I let the tears flow recalling the conversation I had with the Goddess the day I found that letter. "I will do as you say mother. I will renew the statue." I promised after she asked me to reform the statue. "I am pleased to hear that my child." she said. "Tell me what is bothering you." she asked me. I swallowed loudly and decided to talk to her about the issue that had brought me to her in the first place. "He... he has given me a message." There was no reply so I continued, "What did he mean when he said- equal?" I asked her. "When both of you are a perfect fight against each other. Neither one of you is stronger nor weaker than the other." "We are the same only after sunset because prior to that he is a human." I replied without thinking. "No you are not. There is only one day in between the full moon and new moon where you both are equal. Neither one of you is stronger or weaker than the other." "When his powers are as equal as yours." she added. I began to think about what Goddess said. "The time has come my child. You were created to kill him the same way he was created to kill you. It is unknown which path will lead everyone in the future, the goodness or the evil but we all know that no one can stop destiny." "I have to fight with him then?" I asked. "Yes, you have to." The Goddess replied in her angelic voice. "My p-pack, my mate?" I asked her in a whisper. "You have not been given the option to choose whether you want it or not my child, because you were meant to do it. It is why you were born. It is what that makes you who you are today." "I have to leave them?" I asked her. "Yes." "How can I do that?" I asked her. My lower lips were trembling and I knew I would cry any moment now. "The same way six people did for you." she said. "You told me they were stars." I argued. "Yes. They belonged to the constellation what you call as Ursula Major, The Great Bear. They have different names in different lands." "I had promised Zelia I'd take care of Evie." I tried to reason. "You did. You have given her life. You have given life to six people. The way six lives were taken for you to shift, the same way six lives were saved after you shifted." The Goddess said. I then realised how I had saved Evie, Nathan, Donald, Veronica, Patrick and Sheila and then the horror of what Goddess said struck me. "They would have been killed otherwise?" I asked her in fear. "Yes." she replied and I felt sick at that thought of losing them. I decided right there and then that no more deaths would occur. If anyone was supposed to die it was I, not others. "I am ready!" I told her. "Have faith in me my child and remember everything happens for a reason and the reason is always good." she said and I opened my eyes. An arm wrapping around my waist interrupted my thoughts and I quickly looked away to wipe my tears. "Are you okay?" Shawn asked me. "Yeah." I told him. "Why are you crying then?" he asked me. "I am just so happy." I told him smiling. He stared at me for a minute trying to detect the lie, but he couldn't after I smiled brightly and so he nodded. "Do you want to dance?" Shawn asked me. "What about your reputation?" I asked him. "Na, I don't care about it much if it means having you close." he whispered and tugged me towards the crowd where everyone was dancing. We danced for a while, both of us swaying with the drum beats. My back was pressed against his with his arm wrapped around my waist. I wanted to spend as much time with him as possible. After the celebration we were all tired and couldn't wait until we crashed on our beds. It was close to one in the afternoon, the next day, when we all woke up and around three we went to attend the prayer in the temple that Veronica has organised. We all leant on the ground in one knee and said the prayer yet again. This was just Veronica's wish and so I agreed with it. When I closed my eyes, there wasn't any images in my head and that bothered me. I needed the Goddess now the most. It was time for lunch and I didn't want to have lunch because I knew I would throw up even if I ate. "Just go and start having your lunch, I'll join you soon." I told Shawn. He cocked an eyebrow and I smiled at him. "I need to go to the bathroom." I lied. He just nodded and let me go. "I love you." I whispered and kissed his lips. "I love you back." he said. I nodded and left quickly. My wolf howled in pain when I walked away from him because she knew what we did by that. I was tempted to run back into his arms and let him hold me tightly and promise never to let me go but duty comes first. Mr. Austin chose to protect the statue because it was his duty to do so and then sacrificed himself for me. My dad died because he had to fulfill his duty. Following duty runs in my blood and I am proud of it. My mom died for me, Zelia died for me, Mr. Austin and everyone else died for me because they chose their duty first and I had to do the same thing. I walked past Evie who was laughing to something Jasper said. I didn't want to talk to her because I knew she could break me easily. "Val?" she called me. I stopped on my tracks and inhaled sharply. "Where are you going?" she asked me. "Uh... I...bathroom." I said. "Is everything okay?" she asked me. "Yeah. It is. If not, it will be... I meant, everything is okay so why are we worrying?" I said and smiled brightly. "You go have food." I said and walked away. I could feel her gaze on my back but I didn't once turn back. And then slowly I walked away, smiling at everyone I passed. Some wolves bowed and I nodded. When I was away from everybody, at the end of the crowd together, I stopped in my tracks. It was like the first time I had decided to leave Silverstone Moon Pack, back then I didn't care much because I didn't get much love from that Pack but this was my home, my family and now if I turned back I knew I would never be able to face Mark Ambrose. I wiped my tears and made my way towards the Pack house. The Pack House was empty when I made it there and I was glad because everyone was near the temple. Quickly, I rushed to my office where I had kept some of my clothes. I changed into a pair of dark jeans and put on a black jacket over my black tank top. I then kept a knife in my pocket for just in case. I voted against writing a note because I would tremble and write all crap. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and prayed the goddess to give me enough strength. Everyone was near the temple so no one saw me walking away towards the shore. There was a young guy, driver I suppose waiting for me in the boat. "Hey, I'm Ronaldo." he said checking me out. I punched him in the face not killing him but knocking him out and then threw him off the boat. It was a long journey. It normally takes sixteen hours through land route to reach there. I had chosen sea route because one- it would be difficult for others to trace my scent and two- this was quicker. I can reach within three to four hours because I am incredibly fast in water all thanks to my gift of controlling the water. No one will be able to follow me with the speed I use in the water. Getting in I looked at the moon in the afternoon sky once. It was a half-moon. I took a deep breath and then started driving towards the Silverstone Moon Pack!