She was a woman with ambitions. She had a dark past but she knew there was a future to live on. So why settle for less when she knew she deserved better?
In a world where she could not escape her father unless she married, Melrose hoped to marry a man who could free her from her chains. She aimed to marry the King of their land, for she knew he was the most powerful man, but now that was impossible. She had turned her dream into a nightmare, burning her future into ashes.
What had she done?
She didn't know. She didn't want to know.
With the royal guards chasing her and the whole town wanting her dead, there was no place to run. There was no one to depend on.
All she could do was to try to escape, try to outrun her hunters with the hopes to meet a savior along the way.
The forest at the northern part of Kingdom of Arden - the North Ridge was the place everyone feared. It was said to be cursed, that anyone who dared invade it never went back alive. They said creatures other than humans were living there. Creatures living for darkness.
For the people of Arden, the name North Ridge meant danger. There was even one time that a physician searching for herbal plants got lost in the woods and the next morning his corpse was found at the outskirts of the town. She did not have a chance to witness the sight with her own eyes but many said it was the most horrendous thing to see.
Only a faint light from the crescent moon was guiding Melrose. She had never wanted to roam around the dark, nor had she ever thought of entering the cursed forest. But tonight, she had enough courage to.
She could end up dying in the woods if all the tales were true, but dying that way seemed to be a little more noble than being publicly executed for killing the King - the highest form of treason one could do.
She didn't understand what went wrong. Yesterday she was the woman every girl in the kingdom envied as she was finally a step away from marrying the King.
Yet everything changed in just a snap.
She tripped many times but she didn't stop. She ran deep down the forest, never minding what was there waiting in the shadows. All she wanted was to get away from the royal guards for she was certain being captured by them meant a painful torture before death.
She heard the crackling of dry leaves under her feet and the sound of crickets that creeped her out, but there was no turning back. It was either run or surrender everything.
However, she went still after hearing a strange noise. The disturbing low growls from the dark made her feel cold. She turned her head to both sides but saw nothing but the tall trees surrounding her.
As terrified as she was, she was about to run again but when the faint light from the horizon showed what creatures surrounded her, she froze.
A pack of black wolves with obvious hunger gleaming in their red eyes.
She swallowed hard, her pulse racing fast and her heart pounding hard. Sweat trickled down her throat and chest. She didn't lack air to breathe but she was having a hard time breathing.
Her predators watched her intently as if one wrong move they would saunter forward to devour her.
Coming to the North Ridge was a mistake, she thought.
But what was worse? To be killed under these creatures' teeth and claws, or to be publicly executed like she was some animal at anyone's disposal?
She couldn't decide. She was a woman with pride. But could someone still think about pride in the middle of death?
Even though, how could she let those blind people strip all her dignity for a crime she didn't commit?
So maybe dying this way was better.
Instead of trying to escape the monsters she could never outrun, she just closed her eyes and waited for their sharp teeth to shred her into pieces.
After all, there was no one who would mourn for her if she died. There was nothing to be guilty for.
But contrary to her expected death, she heard the growls stopped. The harsh rustling of the dry leaves accompanied by rushing footsteps made her open her eyes by instinct.
She gasped as she found four men standing a step behind the wolves. The wolves now stood calmly as if they had recognized their masters.
How could these men be that fast?
She dared look at each one of them and saw how unearthly they looked in their all black clothes. The dark glint in their eyes told her that although they were incredibly good-looking, they were people one should never mess with.
"To whom do we owe this pleasure, Lady Lewis?" The man's deep voice sent shivers down her back.
How did they know her?
But if they were from this land, it wasn't impossible to know her. However, there was something off about them. Like they had this weird inhuman demeanor...
"Perhaps, are you lost, My Lady?" another asked, the corner of his lips curving up wickedly.
Before she could decide what to do, a blast of cold wind and a violent rustle of dry leaves from the ground came like a wave of turbulence.
The four men were divided by two as they stepped aside to give way to whoever it was in the shadows behind them.
There she saw him, the incarnation of darkness - the man who despised her more than anything.
******
Author's note:
This is my first book in Webnovel and I'm a little nervous if readers would love this but wish me luck! By the way, this is a slow burn romance with a web of mysteries so if you are a fan of something like that then this book is for you!
Hope you support me! *giggles*
This is a work of fiction and purely ORIGINAL. If you see a copy of this book somewhere else or a scene is in another author's work, please let me know by sending me a message in one of these accounts:
Discord: Millie#9122
Email: nigel.levor@gmail.com
Date published: June 17, 2022