Chapter 2 Buried Alive
FIONA
I heard the trunk of a car open before Bale suddenly grabbed my arms while Shania took my legs. Both of them lifted me effortlessly as they carried me through the house like my body meant absolutely nothing to them anymore. Every movement sent unbearable pain crashing through my broken body, sharp enough to make my vision blur repeatedly, but no matter how hard I tried, I still couldn’t scream or even make a sound.
Cold night air brushed against my face the moment they stepped outside.
“Hurry up,” Shania muttered impatiently while looking around nervously.
Bale tightened his grip on my arms. “I still think this is a bad idea.”
Shania scoffed immediately. “And what exactly do you want us to do now? Let everyone in the pack kmow that their Alpha killed a helpless woman because he's in love with her friend?”
Neither of them waited for another response before they reached the car and threw me into the trunk carelessly. My head slammed violently against cold metal before the trunk shut completely and darkness swallowed me whole.
A second later, the engine started.
The car began moving while every bump on the road shook painfully through my body, making it feel like my bones were breaking all over again. I tried moving my fingers first, but nothing happened. Then I tried turning my head, but my body refused to cooperate no matter how desperately I struggled against it.
Slowly, Bale and Shania's voices drifted in from the front seat.
“What if someone sees us?” Bale asked quietly after several minutes passed.
“Tch. We’re heading to the outskirts,” Shania replied casually. “Nobody goes there this late.”
“I still think we should’ve just called an ambulance.”
“And explain what exactly?” she snapped immediately. “What story are you planning to tell them?”
Silence followed after that.
Then Shania laughed softly. It was the same laugh I had heard countless times growing up beside her, but now it sounded cruel enough to tear through whatever remained of my heart.
“Stop panicking already, Bale,” she continued calmly. “We finish this tonight and tomorrow everything goes back to normal.”
Another silence followed before Bale finally spoke again.
“You’re sure nobody will ever find her?”
“Not where we’re going.”
The car continued driving for what felt like hours even though it probably wasn’t more than twenty minutes, and by the time it finally stopped, my entire body already felt numb from pain.
The engine shut off.
Doors opened.
Then closed again.
A second later, the trunk opened and freezing air rushed over me before Bale and Shania dragged me out carelessly and dropped me onto the ground.
Sharp rocks immediately dug into my back.
I stared weakly upward at the dark sky where countless stars scattered endlessly above me.
“Start digging,” Shania instructed coldly.
The sound of metal cutting through dirt immediately followed.
They were digging my grave.
Panic exploded inside me instantly.
I wanted to scream.
Wanted to beg them to stop.
Wanted to curse both of them for what they had done to me.
But my body still refused to move no matter how desperately I fought against it.
“How deep should it be?” Bale asked while breathing heavily.
“Deep enough that wolves won’t dig her up later.”
The digging continued while I lay there helplessly listening to them prepare a grave for me like I was already dead, and after several more minutes passed, Shania finally spoke again.
“That should be enough.”
Footsteps approached me afterward before Bale suddenly appeared above me, his face barely visible against the darkness as he stared down at me silently for a long moment.
Then he sighed quietly.
“I’m sorry, Fiona,” he muttered softly. “But it’s nothing personal.”
Rage exploded inside me immediately at those words.
Nothing personal?
After everything they had done?
I wanted to tell him I hoped both of them suffered for the rest of their miserable lives. But all I could do was stare helplessly upward at him.
A second later, Bale grabbed my arms again while Shania lifted my legs before both of them carried me toward the grave they had just finished digging, then dropped me inside without hesitation.
Pain shot violently through my body the moment I hit the bottom.
I stared upward weakly at the small rectangle of sky above me, silently realizing those stars would probably be the last thing I ever saw.
Then the first shovelful of dirt landed on my chest.
Another hit my face immediately afterward.
Dirt filled my mouth and nose instantly, making panic consume me completely when I realized I couldn’t breathe or even cough it out.
More dirt followed.
Then more.
And more.
Slowly covering my face, my eyes, my ears, until darkness completely surrounded me again.
My lungs burned desperately for air while terror completely shattered whatever remained of my thoughts, and in those final moments, I prayed silently to anyone willing to listen.
To the Moon Goddess.
To anyone at all.
Please…
Please don’t let me die like this.
But the dirt kept falling endlessly.
My thoughts slowly became weaker afterward as memories started surfacing one after another inside my mind.
The orphanage.
Sister Mary reading stories before bedtime.
Shania braiding my hair when we were younger while promising me someday everything would finally become okay for both of us.
Lies.
Everything had been lies from the very beginning.
The burning inside my lungs slowly disappeared after that.
Then everything became dark.
White light surrounded me completely when I opened my eyes again.
The dirt and the pain were gone.
I was standing in endless white light stretching endlessly in every direction without beginning or end.
“Welcome, child.”
The voice echoed around me from everywhere at once.
I looked around carefully even though there was nothing there except endless white light.
“Who are you?” I asked cautiously.
“I am the Moon Goddess.”
My breathing stopped briefly.
“Am I dead?”
The answer came instantly. “Yes.”
Strangely enough, I didn't feel fear or pain after hearing that. I just felt empty.
“But your death was unjust,” the Moon Goddess continued calmly. “And during your final moments, you called for me.”
“I did?”
“You prayed for another chance.”
Hope flickered weakly inside my chest for the first time since all of this started.
“What kind of chance?”
“I can return your soul to the mortal world,” she answered. “You may live again and seek justice against those who wronged you.”
My heart started beating harder immediately.
“How?”
“You will awaken inside another body and begin another life, but there are conditions attached.”
Of course there were conditions.
Nothing ever came freely.
“What conditions?” I asked, tightening my fists slightly.
“You will have one hundred and fifty days in your new life.”
I frowned immediately. “To do what?”
“You must find your true mate and receive their mark before your time expires.”
My chest tightened slightly.
“And if I fail?”
Silence filled the endless white space briefly before the Moon Goddess finally answered.
“If you fail, your soul will perish permanently. There will be no afterlife, no reincarnation, and no second chance afterward.”
The white light around me suddenly felt colder.
“Your existence itself will disappear forever.”
