Secrets of the Unity (Available on Inkitt)

Prologue

Olivia

I inhaled deeply as I looked over the cliff's edge at the raging river below, littered with sharp rocks and thick branches. The wind blew through my curly afro, taking my heavy tears of sorrow and despair with it.

This is truly the end, Olivia. I think to myself as a heavy sob vibrates through my chest.

The pain and anguish that I'd held within came spilling out as I watched the angry river, knowing this was truly how I was going to end it all. The pain, the suffering, the betrayal, the embarrassment, and the life growing within me.

I caressed my FUPA in despair, knowing that the tiny life growing just under it in my womb would never know the love of a father, or anyone other than me after tonight.

Neither of us would see the light of day after tonight, and that only increased my tears. But I'd rather have it this way than turn from this cliff, go back to that cabin, and live a life with a child that I wasn't ready for, or with a baby daddy that was nothing but a pathological liar and a complete asshole who wanted nothing to do with me. Not to mention the shame that my being pregnant at sixteen without a mate would bring to my parents and our entire family.

The only smart thing I could do was end it now. The pain of all of this was too much to handle. I can't live this life anymore.

"This is it, Olivia," I whispered to the howling wind. I looked over the ledge and watched as the vicious waves threw a log into a boulder, shattering on impact. A fearful shiver corrupted my body in anticipation at the sight, knowing that in a matter of seconds, that was going to be me.

Just thinking how hard it would hurt made me think twice, but nothing could change my mind about this. I needed to stop this pain. I nor my unborn child deserve this torture.

I inched closer to the edge of the cliff. A few pebbles of the ground beneath my feet tumbled over the ledge into the river below. The fall is long and no doubt a painful one.

My hands shook, and I took a deep breath to calm myself as much as possible. I stuck my foot out over the ledge, panting and afraid, but ready to fall to my death.

Before I made the move, that familiar feeling I got whenever I wandered off during one of Alpha Conner's barbeques came to me.

The feeling was always one of love, comfort, peace, and companionship. It was what I imagined being watched by angels felt like.

I stepped back from the cliff and turned to face the foggy forest filled with the sounds of chirps and hoots. The fog flowed around four silhouettes of different shapes. It appeared to be the silhouettes of four different women. They were the same ones from before.

Whenever I was sobbing my heart out after Kyson and Trevor came to me bloody and bruised, these same silhouettes would come to me— one at a time— and give me a sense of comfort that I'd never known before. I was quite familiar with them now, and I wasn't too surprised to see them now, but I was surprised that they were here all at once. It was a novelty, but a welcome one.

Despite the ethereal solace they brought me, no amount of comfort I received right now could make me change my mind. I can't go through this life broken and battered. The pain was too much to get past. I can't let myself or my child spend eighteen years in agony, watching his or her father be happy with another woman and children. I can't do that to us.

With a made-up mind, I took two steps back, feeling the hard rock beneath my feet. I sobbed as I reached my foot back once more, feeling the lack of ground that would be my next step.

Goodbye, Olivia. A soft feminine voice full of sorrow and despair whispered in my head.

I take that as my sign. With one last shaky breath, I opened my arms and tilted my head to the sky, wishing the Goddess had taken pity on me, but alas, that was simply wishful thinking.

As the last tear of despair rolled down my cheek, I took my final step back and allowed gravity to gracefully pull me over the edge, down to the raging river below... to my death.

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A/N:

Welcome to the world of the Maidens!

XOXO 💋

~A.S.H. 🪷