The Hidden Maiden

Chapter 33

"I can't stay here forever..."

The forest gradually dims with the advent of dawn, but Victoria could only see the world through layers of curtains. She wasn't allowed out in the day. She wasn't allowed out in the night. Even drawing the curtains would run the risk of exposing her to danger. These four walls were supposed to protect her.

It's ironic how she was locked up all the same, even after her curse was lifted.

"I'm sorry dear, I really am." her mother soothed, brushing her arms as she crossed over to the other side of the kitchen island. She could only share in her daughter's frustration. After so long, helplessness has stuck to her and her family, like stubborn gum caught in fur.

"We'll talk to Lewis again. Maybe he could bring you to see Albus again."

Victoria pushed away the plate of half-eaten pasta, long turned cold and soggy. Her father was away on an errand. So is Lewis. She looked at the date on her cellphone and make a mental calculation of the days she'd been trapped here in Lewis's house.

31 days.

She dropped her forehead on the island table and started to rerun the projector in her head, rolling her memory film.

She recalled his eyes. His miserable wanting eyes. Everytime he had to go back to his pack house to avoid suspicion, he returned few days later ever so desperate for anything he could get. Like a scavenger, last in line for the scraps. Lewis would walk, jabbing his heels onto the floor, rather speed right up to her and suffocate her with his towering frame.

He said he hated this too. Leaving her here. He said one day she will be free, and their lives can truly begin.

Can it? If anything, their worlds seemed more polarized than before.

Victoria was snapped out of her remembrance from a small thud at the sliding window. She straightened herself at the next second, hair pricking her back. Her mother have not noticed anything amiss.

"What was that?" She asked Dia.

"It's... a wolf."

.         .          .

Victoria had lied to her mother that she wanted to go up to her room to rest. Instead, she slipped out of the back door without any shoes on. The scent of a wolf was faint, but unmistakable.

She shakily combed her hair back with her fingers and surveyed her surrounding. The smell of wet mud were throwing her off a little.

Then she caught a whiff and a furry white tail disappearing around the corner of the house. She followed it cautiously, and was led deeper into the forest, further away from the house.

"I know it's a bad idea.. But this scent is strangely familiar." Victoria explained to Dia.

From her peripheral vision, she zeroed in on a big wolfie face. White with a black snout. Cautious but no signs of animosity. His familiar scent. And the brilliance of his pair of emerald eyes. How could she ever forget?

Victoria only felt air caught in her lungs. She wanted to utter 'Ice' and 'Is that you??', but she couldn't. Remembering the state that she was in, there's no doubt he would be afraid of her - the cursed one.

"How.. Why are you here?" her voice raspy with apprehension, Victoria inched her feet closer to the white wolf. Closer to acceptance. Please don't run away.

The air was so still, she thought she felt static. She prepared for him to bolt, but he didn't.

"Did you came here to find me, Ice?" Victoria felt her heart pinch. The wolf puffed out some air from his nose, his eyes fixated on her, as if she was a riddle he couldn't solve.

"I'm.. I'm different now. I finally recovered my wolf. I'm like you now!"

At her words, the wolf sniffed the air intently and slowly crept out of the bushes, taking measured steps towards her.

Victoria smiled brightly. But it was quickly turned upside down when she became aware of another incoming wolf, approaching at a terrifying speed. A big black wolf.

She covered her mouth to contain her gasp.

"Run.. Run! PLEASE." She pleaded the white wolf, running over, shoving the wolf so he would just move. He can't stay here!

It was too late when she saw his emerald pupils dilate, and the thunderous growl emanating from her back.