The night was absolute. The moon and the stars had hidden themselves behind the veil of a thick cloud. Even seeing a meter ahead was also difficult. The chilling, mist-shrouded night loomed like a nightmare.
In this inky blackness that swallowed all the lights and sound, she was running through the jungle.
She didn't know for how long she was running. Her heart pounded in the rib cage frantically.
She had left behind the towering high-rise and the neon-lightened settlement of her pack, now, she was sprinting through the forest outside the pack's territory.
She didn't know where to go; the only thing that was on her mind was - that she had to go far away from her pack; she had to save her baby.
"Esther, don't stop! Run faster, you can do it!" She murmured like a lunatic.
Behind her, the footsteps of the pack's army were still heard. They still followed her, even after covering such a long distance!
"Esther, run as much as you can! You can't escape from us!"
She heard the voice of Abraham, the Gama. It was said that everyone had their day - well, it was his day instead! He was so eager to take revenge for her rejection five years ago!
Esther felt she was running out of strength. She wouldn't be able to run any longer. Her legs went numb; her heart was pounding like it was going to burst!
"What should I do now?" She freaked out.
She was in the middle of the forest, and there was neither any other pack's territory nor any human settlement around some kilometers. The pack's army was still behind her, chasing her. And if they could catch her...
She didn't even dare to think about the consequences.
Her eyes pierced the darkness. The area where she was currently, was surrounded by big trees. She hid herself behind the trunk of one of the trees.
Though she knew she couldn't hide here for long, they'd eventually find her, but at this point in time, she didn't have any strength left.
"Esther, do you really think you can hide from us!" She heard Abraham scream again. They were nearer. With their wolf instinct, they'd find her soon.
Tears fell rolling down Esther's cheeks. How fool she was! She thought she could escape when she clearly knew how ferocious her pack's army was!
Esther got up with all her strength, she had to run away. But as she turned around, she was startled!
Abraham, the Gama of her pack, was standing behind her! She couldn't get to know when he arrived behind her. As their eyes met, he let out a devious smile.
"Hello, Esther!"
Esther's right hand instinctively rested on her belly. She was pregnant, and she had to save her baby at any cost!
'Tsk tsk...'
Abraham laughed. "Esther, I told you, not to go behind our Alpha. Now see, what happened!"
He leaned over her face, his menacing voice whispered in her ears. "You should've chosen me, but alas!"
Without completing his sentence he grabbed her neck.
'Ahh-!' Esther screamed in pain.
"First, you betrayed our pack, then you dared to fly away! Do you know the consequences? Let me show you then."
He dragged her through the forest. Esther tried to escape, but all her protests went in vain.
*****
All the pack members gathered in the pack house's hall. In the middle of the room, Esther was kept handcuffed; her mouth was tied with a piece of cloth so that she couldn't even make a single sound.
In front of her, there sat Eryndor, the alpha of the Moonlight pack; beside him gracefully sat Lyra, the new Luna.
"Esther, you're really something! After all these, you still dared to leave!"
Eryndor's voice rang in her ears. Esther couldn't say a single word, she stared at him.
How could a man change so much! Was it the same Eryndor, even one tap on her would make whom restless!
"Alpha, we want justice. We want her to be dead! How can she live when my child has gone for her!"
A woman screamed in fury. Yes, this was the same woman, the member of her pack, who once didn't even dare to turn her head up!
The reason was... She was not the Luna of this pack anymore, and she was labeled as a traitor!
Yes. To the whole Moonlight pack, she was now considered a traitor.
She still remembered the day. She rescued a woman from near the border of her pack's territory. She was frail and on the verge of collapse.
Esther healed her by serving her day and night. But in the end, she turned out to be a spy of one of the rival packs!
With the help of her given information, the pack attacked them at midnight; they couldn't even get prepared for the battle; somehow, they only did the defense.
As a result, they lost countless lives, the members of their pack. There were children, women, and elders too!
When the fight settled, Esther was labeled as a traitor. She was imprisoned. Esther cried, screamed, and fought with all her might to prove her innocence, but she failed.
"Calm down. No one can slip away from the Moonlight pack, the guilty will be punished."
Alpha Eryndor's voice echoed throughout the hall, and the woman turned her head down again.
"Abraham!" Eryndor called.
"Yes, Alpha?" He stepped forward.
"Put her in the prison, and increase the guard so that she can't escape again. Rest, I'll see."
Without many words, Eryndor left the hall. Esther saw him go, helplessly. Beside him, her place was now claimed by the new Luna, Lyra.
One by one, all the pack members left, leaving her alone, with the pack army.
Feeling a sudden pull, Esther groaned in pain. She was being dragged back to the dark cell.
This time, she didn't protest. She didn't have any energy left to protest. As they pulled her through the hallway, she muttered, with her voice barely anove whisper.
"I'm not a traitor!"