13. Tayla

Chapter thirteen

Tayla

Returning to my room, I lay down on the bed and stared at the ceiling. The room was silent, except for the continuous clicking of the grandfather clock. I couldn't shake off the unease that had settled into the pit of my stomach.

As the words he said to me echoed in my head, I felt goosebumps spread across my arms. This wasn't the first time he had been cruel toward me with his words, but today hit differently because of how he spoke about his people. Our people.

I had watched that child slip from my hands, and Asher did nothing to save her.

My thoughts drifted to the woman he had shoved to the ground with brutal force. He had disregarded everyone with his arrogant and pompous nature. He wasn’t fit to be Alpha with that kind of behavior. Not in my eyes, at least.

I had been patient in thinking he would change and fight for his people, but now I wondered if I had been blind all this time.

The more I dwelled on my thoughts, the more I realized that my trust in Asher was slowly fading. That made my heart hurt.

Asher wasn't the man I thought he was. A big part of me wanted to believe that there was still good in him and that I should give him some time to change. I had invested myself in this relationship, eventually falling in love with him and bearing his mark. His mark, for God’s sake.

I closed my eyes to calm myself down, but then the door creaked open. I raised my head to see Asher striding inside with a box in his hand.

I raised an eyebrow, pushing myself to sit up. He sat down next to me before handing the box over. My eyebrows knitted together, forming a deep crease as I darted from the box to him, wondering what was inside.

Finally opening the box, I saw a white pearl necklace resting in the box. I turned to Asher.

“Since you liked the pearl necklace, I decided to buy one for you,” he said softly.

“Asher,” I spoke up, not interested in the necklace. “I'm afraid that things might get worse if you don't try to help the people.”

“You are overthinking it,” he said, brushing my hair backward.

“But you did nothing to save that child. How can you claim to be the Alpha if you don't act like one?” I asked.

“Very soon, you'll understand that what I'm doing is the right thing. Don't tell me your trust for me is fading?”

“It is, Asher. And I just don't understand why you don't want to help,” I said.

He moved closer, pulling me into a tight hug that I wasn’t sure I wanted. “You are exhausted, my love.”

But I wasn’t exhausted. Just before I could speak up, the door opened, and Nora walked in with a cup of some drink.

She handed it to Asher, who brought the cup closer to me.

“What's this?” I asked.

“It is for your health,” he said. “You think too much, and if you continue like this, you might lose your sanity.”

“I’m not losing my sanity,” I said. “Why do you keep saying that?”

“Drink my love,” he urged.

If drinking this concoction would quiet him so I could speak, then I would. I slowly drank from the cup, my face squeezing at the sour taste. It was too tart to enjoy. I quickly finished it and prepared myself for another round of arguing when, suddenly, I felt my body become weak. My eyes slowly fluttered closed in his arms as I drifted off.

***

I slowly peeled my eyes open to see a blurry vision of someone lying next to me on the bed. I rubbed my tired eyes, feeling the aftermath of an excruciating headache. I caught Asher lying next to me on the bed with his hand placed on his chin as he looked at me with love in his eyes. I smiled back at him.

As my mind drifted back to what happened last night, I opened my mouth to speak. “Thank you for the pearl necklace.”

Asher had been nothing but kind to me, and I felt loved in his presence. He was already dressed in his typical white long-sleeve and black coat.

“You look good today,” I said, getting up from the bed.

“I will give you some private time to dress,” he said and walked out of the room.

Nora walked in with other maids carrying buckets of warm water. They filled the bathtub to the brim before mixing it with scented soaps and herbs.

As I stepped into the bathtub and closed my eyes, Nora massaged my hair with shampoo.

“I think I have started to accept life in the castle,” I said. “I love the local people and if there is anything I can do to help, I would do it immediately to bring them out of the suffering.”

“When I first started working here as a maid, I was worried for our people's health. They were no longer farming because they were afraid of being killed,” she said.

I turned my head to her. “You are not a native of this pack?”

“No, I am an exchange maid from Silvermoon,” she replied.

“I am a member of Silvermoon,” I said. “How long have you been working as a maid here?”

“For three years now. I have been working here since I was sixteen,” she said.

“How long have the children been going missing?” I asked.

“For a few years now, sadly,” she replied with downcast eyes. “The Elders have done their research…they think it might be a witch taking the children,” she said.

“A witch?” I opened my eyes.

“Yes,” she nodded.

“If truly it's a witch taking the children, then we need to find a way to stop her,” I said.

“There have been rumors going around that the witch might be living in an abandoned mansion,” she added. “But no one has dared go there because of the powers they feel emanating from it. It frightens them.”

I pushed myself from the tub and poured water over my hair to rinse the soap away.

“Ms. Tayla?” She looked at me, surprised.

“We will be leaving soon. Tell the coachman to prepare the carriage,” I said.

"To where?" she asked.

"You're coming with me to this mansion. We need to find more information on what's going on," I replied. “We can only do that by going there in person.”

"Ms. Tayla, I apologize, but I can't take you there," she said hesitantly.

"Why?" I frowned, taking in the look of fear on her face.

"It's too dangerous. And if Alpha Asher finds out that I'm the one who took you there, he would kill me," she explained.

"He'll only find out if you tell him anything," I retorted. “So we must be secretive. Go now," I insisted. “Summon the carriage.”

She hesitated for a moment before turning around and leaving the bathroom.

Once I finished with my bath, I dried my body with a plush towel before dressing in a simple green gown.

I went downstairs to have my breakfast with Asher in the dining room. He stood up from his chair immediately and stood behind me to give me a kiss on my neck.

“Good morning,” he greeted.

“Morning,” I replied. “The maid and I will be going out to tour around the pack.”

He frowned. “You've done that plenty of times.”

“I still need to be with our people during these challenging times,” I explained.

“You're not going anywhere,” his frown deepened.

“Are you stopping me from seeing my people?” I questioned.

“The last time you went out, you got lost in the middle of the forest. I don't know what could have happened to you if I hadn't arrived in time,” he said.

“So what are you implying then, Asher?” I asked, feeling confused and slightly irritated.

He stood up. “You're not stepping foot outside of this castle. If you need anything, call for the maid.”

With that, he left the dining room.

My heart sank into my stomach in frustration. I stood up angrily and headed out of the dining room to meet Nora, who was waiting in the wings.

“The carriage is prepared, Ms. Tayla.” She bowed her head a little bit.

“Okay. We should go now then—before anyone notices,” I said, walking to the side entrance near the stables. Asher was nowhere in sight. I sighed in relief before stepping into the carriage with Nora.

The ride out took a while, but we passed the time chatting and admiring the woodland animals. When we arrived at our destination, I looked out to see the brooding mansion. It looked frighteningly dark and ominous.

Nora stepped down from the carriage, but the fear in her eyes was undeniable.

I wondered if I was sane right now to have come here without guards. What would happen if Asher found out that I left the castle to search for clues about the missing children? We hadn’t told anyone we were coming here…so no one would know where to look for us if something went wrong.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Nora asked. “We could–”

I raised my hand up to stop her from talking and walked towards the entrance of the imposing manor.

There was no going back now, I mumbled to myself. Feeling my heart pounding fast inside my chest, I raised my hand to knock on the wooden door three times.

There was no response. I knocked again, and when the door remained sealed shut, my hand moved to the knob, and I slowly turned it.

Pushing the door open, we were welcomed by the dark aura of the interior. I stepped into the mansion, and Nora followed.

My eyes scanned the surroundings of the room—cobweb-covered furniture, old, sagging drapes, and a grand staircase spinning up toward the second floor. Upon seeing blood stains covering the wall, my hair stood on edge.

I turned to Nora in shock. What had happened here? Silently, I followed the stairs up and traced the dried blood stains on the wall with my fingers. I stopped, and my eyes suddenly closed.

Just then, flashes of images started to appear behind my closed eyelids. I could hear strange noises and screams. These walls had pieces of information on what might have happened here. They had witnessed horrors.

“Ahh!”

Hearing the loud scream, I quickly took my hand away and stumbled backward.

“Ms. Tayla, are you alright?” Nora hurried to my side.

“I…. I am fine,” I said, moving my eyes back to the wall.

I took a bold step forward and placed my palm back on the wall. I heard another loud scream from a young woman; the scream was so loud that it pierced my ears like a knife. I continued walking down the hallway of the second floor as the images became clearer in my mind.

We entered a room that had a single candle sitting on the table which was burning fast.

I don't know what happened just then, but when I heard a loud scream, I turned around to see the ghost of a pregnant woman crawl inside the sitting room. The woman was in tears.

The woman continued screaming but stopped when she saw a man wearing a long black cloak step inside behind her. Another ghostly figure.

“For a witch like you!” I heard a deep voice erupt from the cloaked person. Why does it sound so familiar?

I took a step forward to see the face of the person, but the candle light didn't reach their face.

I raised my hand toward the cloaked man in an attempt to defend herself.

The person laughed maniacally before shaking his head. “I have been warning you all not to perform magic in this pack. It is a taboo for one to perform magic…yet you went against the rules.”

I looked at the rounded woman. She was heavily pregnant and looked like she would be due soon.

She chanted her spell under her breath, and the edge of his cloak caught fire, but the man shook it off.

His eyes, now blazing with anger, rushed to the woman and grabbed her neck, pushing her hard against the wall.

“Kill me instead, but please spare my child. She will be due in a few days,” the woman muttered as she tried to fight back, but the person holding her was stronger than her.

“Did you think I would spare the child of a witch?” he spat. “You broke one of the most important rules of the pack, and you need to face your punishment.”

As he continued to strangle her, his grip tightening, he raised her up from the ground before throwing her across the room.

The pregnant woman crashed onto the floorboards with so much force that she began to cough blood from her mouth.

Before the man could get to her, she closed her eyes and raised her hand to chant a spell.

The man laughed as he closed the distance between them. “Do you think your little spells would work on me? Have you forgotten who I am in this pack?”

“You will not be spared from this act of yours.” She gritted her teeth before coughing out more blood.

“What do you want to do? Use your spell on me? Or invite more witches to kill me?” he asked mockingly.

He grabbed her neck again before pushing her against the wall, and this time, I saw sharp claws protrude out of his hand, which pierced through her neck.

"I promise you this: your pack will not know peace after this!" she screamed.

"Time to say goodbye," he said before twisting her neck, and the woman fell to the ground.

She was dead!

I blinked several times, and everything returned to normal. The spirits, or whatever they were, vanished. I was back in the dark, cozy room with Nora just outside. It still felt as if everything had just happened, though.

I tried to wrap my head around what I just witnessed. This vision I had seen. I could feel my heart beating fast in fear, and I quickly walked out of the room to meet Nora.

“What did you see?” she asked.

“I saw everything,” I shook my head in fear. “A pregnant woman was killed here in this very mansion by someone because she was performing magic. I have a bad feeling she has something to do with the tragedy our pack is facing.”

“Like she cursed the pack?” Nora asked.

“Exactly,” I nodded. “We need to leave. I will think of a plan moving forward. Something must be done.”

As we left the sprawling manor, the images continued flashing inside my head. Telling Asher wasn't the right thing to do since he would confront me about my leaving the castle instead of putting effort into stopping the witch, which is what he really needed to do.