It was dark—pitch black, with no light in sight. Valeska couldn't see a single thing, not even her arms when she brought them to her face.
"Where am I? Am I already dead?" The confusion was evident on her face as she desperately tried to make sense of her surroundings. She took a hesitant step forward. Suddenly, a bright light appeared in front of her, shining like a beacon in the endless darkness. She reached for it, longing to touch it, but no matter how much she stretched, she couldn't reach it.
She tried to run toward the light, her feet pounding against the void beneath her, but with each step she took, the light seemed to pull further away, until it vanished entirely, leaving her in the suffocating dark once again.
Breathing heavily, she stopped, her chest heaving as she tried to steady her racing heart.
All of a sudden, she heard the sound of dried leaves being crushed against an unknown foot.
"Who's there?" Valeska's voice trembled as she tried to make out anything in the suffocating darkness. Then, out of the void, a wolf appeared. Its fur was the brightest white she had ever seen—almost glowing. Her mother's fur had been white, but this wolf's fur was so radiant it nearly blinded her.
Slowly, the world around her began to take shape, and Valeska could finally see where she was—though she had no idea what it all meant.
The tall wolf had familiar gray eyes and Valeska looked at it, wondering where she'd seen it before.
She wanted to touch the wolf, but it suddenly took off. Quickly, Valeska followed it.
She didn't know where she was going, but she continued to follow the wolf. Luckily, the wolf maintained its speed by not running too fast.
The wolf suddenly stopped. Valeska looked at it in question. "Where is this place?" She wondered.
Suddenly, light from the fire lit up the burning landscape. Her eyes landed on the familiar pack house, now engulfed in flames. Screams echoed, and body parts splattered across the ground. Creatures with blood-red eyes flew between branches, while massive werewolves chased them, tearing through the chaos.
Then it dawned on Valeska. This was the night the vampires had attacked her home.
A werewolf came launching at Valeska and she shrieked, immediately lowering herself to the ground to evade the attack.
'You don't have to worry. They can't see us.' She suddenly heard a voice in her head. She glanced around, searching for who was talking to her, and then her eyes fell on the white wolf beside her. 'Hi!' The wolf grinned.
"You can talk?!" She yelled.
'Of course I can. But I'm not going to explain how. We need to see something,' the wolf said, leaving the spot.
Valeska closed her eyes as she watched the werewolf's head torn away from their body. Blood splattered everywhere and it made her stomach churn in disgust.
She tore her gaze away from the scene and continued to follow the white wolf until it stopped in front of something.
'Now I want you to look closely,' said the wolf.
Valeska watched the grey-furred werewolf fighting against the night creatures surrounding it. They clawed at its skin, blood seeping from the wounds, but it never hesitated, severing the vampires' heads with relentless precision. Despite the years that had passed, Valeska couldn't forget the image of her father in his werewolf form, fighting just like that.
Then the next thing she saw was a vampire dressed in a black cloak appearing from out of nowhere. Although she couldn't recognize his face, she recognized him as Kieran Rutherford, the most ruthless bloodsucker to ever exist. He was also the leader of the vampires, the one who'd orchestrated the war.
Little Valeska was taken away by her mother, and Valeska had to watch Kieran kill her father once again but she couldn't do anything about it. It was like watching television without having a single control over the roles of the characters.
"NO!" She screamed. Then she faced the wolf, rage evident in her eyes. "Why did you have to make me watch that?" She questioned.
'Because that's the beginning and there's more for you to see, Valeska. Let's head on to the next chapter.'
In a blink of an eyelash, the scene changed and this time, they seemed to be in the ruins of a city. Buildings were caught in a fire outbreak, the air smelled of a familiar stench that forced Valeska to crouch down and throw up the entirety of her stomach.
This was a nightmare, and she wished it would stop immediately.
Then all of a sudden, her eyes landed on a familiar face, the eyes were shallow and there was a hole dug up around the chest. Valeska was unable to believe Lucius's dead body that was laid on the ground. Next to him was her mother, sister, and stepfather, their clothes drenched in blood.
"Please…no," she cried.
Just immediately, she heard a crash as an object hit a building close to her. Debris showered the landscape as the sharp sounds of swords clashing could be heard from a distance.
She saw them. It was a lady judging from her feminine clothes and long hair that danced in the wind, another was a man whose face she couldn't see properly, and they were fighting…a beast.
The whole scenario was confusing, and Valeska had to ask, fear evident in her tone, "What's happening?"
However, the wolf didn't reply to her this time around. It only continued to stare at the scene and Valeska wished at that moment she was able to listen to the thoughts of the wolf.
Valeska heard another crash that caused her to focus back on the trio that were battling.
'He's searching for you, and he will soon find you. You'd better be ready to meet him because that's when everything begins.' Then the wolf turned to her with a grin.
"Wait…who are you?" Valeska asked.
'I'm a part of you, and when the time is right, we'll see each other again, but it won't be a dream.' Valeska stared at the white wolf with confusion etched on her face.
The wolf didn't bother to explain, and just like that, it vanished, leaving her amid the ruins and bloodshed.