Aland tried to hold back the pain from the silver stake in his stomach. Jonea, on the other hand, looked pale and frightened.
Jonea wanted to remove the silver stake from her hand, but Aland held Jonea's hand. It was like torture for Jonea. She wanted to run away from there, but Aland kept holding Jonea by his side.
"I'm sorry," Jonea said in a low, trembling voice. "I love you, Aland," Jonea admits her feelings for the first time. "But I also hate you!"
Aland's pair of bluish-gray eyes opened wide. Aland smiled happily between the pain and vision that was starting to blur. He was so happy when he heard Jonea's love confession.
"I've seen everything. The day Miller had an accident. He fell from the school stairs." Jonea shook her head slowly. "I have seen evidence of CCTV footage which has disappeared without a trace. I see you… you're at the top of the stairs with Miller."
Jonea couldn't hold back the tears. She was crying uncontrollably. Jonea immediately lowered her head to hide her sad face.
"At first, I doubted what I saw. I got the video file from your laptop. Yes, I stole it without your permission. When I saw the videotape of Miller falling down the stairs and you at the top, I tried to ignore it. Because so much love and trust in you.
Suddenly the sadness and fear in Jonea's chest turned into anger. She lifted her face, eyes puffy, and started to turn red.
"The same video was also given to me by Mrs Abraham. You're at the top of the ladder in the video and just pushed Miller from there."
Aland winced in pain. He started to close his eyes while holding his stomach, which continued to bleed. The wound couldn't heal quickly due to the silver.
Aland held Jonea's hand and made the girl hold on to the silver stake.
"I deserved it," Aland said haltingly. "I don't deserve to say this. But, Jonea, I really love you. Since the first time we met, I knew you were my mate. The mate that the Moon Goddess destined for me. I wanted to mark you as mine, but guilt prevented me from doing so."
Jonea was really shaking. She wants to run from there. She didn't want to hear Aland's words that would make her falter. Jonea was frightened by her own actions. All the mixed feelings in her heart.
Suddenly, Aland held Jonea's hand and made the girl pull out the silver stake stuck in her stomach.
Jonea shook her head. "No, Aland. Your wounds will open even more."
"I am giving you this silver stake, indeed, so you can use it to pay for what I did to you and Miller."
Aland held a silver stake from his stomach in Jonea's hand. The silver stake slipped from Jonea's hand.
The girl's hands were stained with Aland's blood. Jonea stared at her hands with a panicked and confused face.
Aland fell down, holding his torn stomach.
There was the sound of footsteps approaching.
"Go on, Jonea. Get as far away from Abraham's family as possible. They won't let you live even after all this is over. Hide, and don't let anyone find you, including me," Aland pleaded while enduring the pain.
Every time Aland spoke, the pain in his stomach worsened, and blood kept seeping out.
Jonea wiped the tears. Aland's blood stained Jonea's pale face.
Jonea panicked even more when the sound of footsteps drew closer to them. Jonea was sure that anyone who saw her in this condition, they would definitely kill Jonea on the spot.
"Go!" Aland shouted, waking Jonea from her confusion.
The girl immediately picked up the silver stake she had just dropped and the painting she had not had time to destroy. Jonea ran as fast as she could leave Aland and her life at Abraham High School that night.
The girl ran like crazy. Jonea escapes down a path in the school forest. She left Abraham High School. Several times Jonea tripped and fell down.
The girl was crying too. She shouted desperately while still gripping the bloodstained silver stake in her hand. Jonea screamed in pain. She was so hurt inside.
With a body covered in blood, dirt, and dried mud, Jonea crawled. She struggled to her feet again. Jonea wanted so badly to turn to the art club and hug Aland. But she couldn't do it.
The tears on Jonea's face turned red with Aland's blood. Every time she saw blood, she ran again as hard as she could while hugging the painting she was still able to save.
***
A year later…
Mrs. Abraham soaked in warm water in the jacuzzi while enjoying wine. Her head looked up at the open bathroom ceiling and immediately connected to the free air.
An assistant came closer, carrying a towel for the woman. The assistant bowed and conveyed a message to Mrs. Abraham.
"Ma’am, the hunters and warriors have searched for the girl and her family almost all over our territory. But, they have not managed to find her. It was as if the earth had swallowed the girl and her family."
Mrs. Abraham sat up straight as she put down her glass of wine. "Don't stop looking before you find the body. No matter what, you guys should be able to get Jonea and her family. Kill them immediately and get rid of them if you see them."
The assistant nodded, ready to carry out the order.
"What about Hunter? How far has he progressed in leading the war against the Lycans?"
"Right now, Mister Hunter is at the border leading the war. Our troops managed to repel the attack from the vampire race. The Lycans have also been conquered. The rebels have been eliminated. The borders have been re-secured under Lord Hunter's leadership."
Mrs. Abraham lifted her chin haughtily. "What about the packs that joined and affiliated with us? Are they underwhelming after seeing Hunter's real work for this country?"
"They have given full support to Abraham Group, ma’am. There is almost no resistance to the performance and plans we provide."
"ALMOST?" growled Mrs. Abraham. "Is there anything you haven't told me yet? I don't want any mistakes."
The assistant was a little nervous. He could not hide any facts from his master.
"There are several groups of humans living in the outskirts and villages. They refuse to be recruited and join our army. They still refuse DNA alteration surgery."
Mrs. Abraham growled. "Why does Hunter always go soft on matters like this? Humans are no longer needed. We have to turn them all into werewolf soldiers. The more these people are left alone, sooner or later they will return to causing trouble."
Mrs. Abraham stood up, and the assistant immediately stretched out a towel for the woman to wear. The assistant kept his head down and didn't even look at Mrs. Abraham, who wasn't wearing a single piece of clothing. The woman pulled the towel and came out of the jacuzzi soaked.
"You no longer need to wait for a decision from Hunter. The research conducted by our research institute is very advanced. Although we haven't been able to find the exact formula, as we had hoped for so far. But, the operation to change the DNA must still be done no matter what. If they still refuse to kill them."
Mrs. Abraham went to her desk and checked the laptop. The woman again opened the folder she had shown Jonea a year ago.
The folder contains research evidence files and a video recording containing Miller's accident.
Mrs. Abraham smiled triumphantly. "Thanks to this video, I managed to get rid of that girl forever. I still haven't been able to kill her, though. At least I can still maintain Pack Abraham's power until this moment. Because that girl is very dangerous for the survival of our pack."
Mrs. Abraham also deleted the video and lost it forever.
"And Aland Hamilton, sorry if I have to sacrifice you! Even though this video is fake, I expected the results to be less satisfactory. The girl really believed what she saw. What a naive girl."
Mrs. Abraham went to the window.
“What is she doing right now? Is she still as stubborn as before, or is she really down to the point where she dies? If she's still alive, there's no way the warriors can't find it."