Chapter 30: Evelyn: A Stake In My Memory

Chapter 30: Evelyn: A Stake In My Memory Evelyn~ I twitched my eyes slightly, then slowly turned my head toward the center of the beautiful settlement, where, sure enough, a very real wooden stake stood tall, surrounded by neatly stacked logs. Were they seriously planning to burn me?! Rael, completely unfazed, lifted the little girl in his arms and tossed her playfully into the air. "Aw, that’s so thoughtful of you!" Thoughtful? EXCUSE ME?! How in the world could burning someone ever be called thoughtful?! "Alpha Rael! Should we light the stake now?!" One of the men near the pile shouted with too much excitement, like he was thrilled at the idea of watching me roast. Rael nodded casually. "That would be nice!" THAT WOULD BE NICE?! NO, IT WOULDN’T! There was nothing nice about this! Not even a little bit! A few of them moved forward, holding their torches to the logs beneath the stake, and in seconds, flames erupted, licking up the logs and setting the towering structure ablaze. The scene in front of me instantly triggered every painful, horrifying memory I had buried deep inside. Honestly, I hated being burned alive more than anything. It was the worst possible way to die. The process was slow and agonizing. The fire would melt my skin, scorch my nerves, and destroy every organ in my body inch by inch. But because I had such an extraordinary healing ability, my skin and organs would regenerate, and the fire would burn them all over again. Over and over until I was completely numb from the pain. Some people would walk away after lighting the fire because they didn’t care about things that would happen to me, but others ... they stayed. They watched. They watched until they were absolutely sure I was dead. When they realized the flames weren’t enough to kill me, they’d seal me inside a coffin and toss it into a lake or the sea like a fucking garbage. Drowning wasn’t any better than burning, but at least it gave me a chance to escape because all I had to do was break the coffin lid above me. Of course, it was never that easy. Breaking a coffin underwater wasn’t just about strength. It was a fight against time. A race where your lungs screamed for air, your ears pounded from the pressure, and your vision blurred until the whole world seemed to slip away. But still, between burning alive and drowning, I always chose the water. It wasn’t because the water was kinder, but because in the water, at least there was no audience. There were no eyes that watched me burn, no cheers for my suffering, and no satisfaction as the flames devoured my body. There was only silence, a silence that was both terrifying and oddly comforting. I wasn’t even sure which part hurt more—the physical pain, or the cruel joy people seemed to get from watching me suffer. Whatever it was, I would’ve given anything to never feel either again. Now, standing in front of that fire once more, every piece of pain I thought I had buried came rushing back. It clawed its way out of my chest, screaming at me to run, to get away before it happened all over again. I had gotten too comfortable with the peaceful life in the Valedorn Kingdom, so much so that I’d forgotten to stay alert while entering unfamiliar territory. "Bring our new Luna here!" I flinched when I heard the cheers from the people gathered around the burning wooden stake. They raised their torches high, as if they couldn’t wait to set me on fire as soon as possible. I slowly backed away, inch by inch, glancing around for an escape route, but the settlement was surrounded by cliffs, and the only way out was either through the narrow passage or to climb up the steep rock walls. I could try climbing, but they’d easily catch me while I was halfway up. "Evelyn, this—" Just as Rael reached out to take my hand, I quickly pulled away and bolted through the narrow path, running as fast as I could. Luckily, most of the werewolves had gathered near the burning stake, which made slipping away much easier. "Evelyn, where are you going?!" Rael shouted from behind me. He must be furious now that I’d escaped before he got the chance to burn me, right? "Stop, Evelyn!" my wolf suddenly snapped inside my head. "Where do you think you’re going?!" Between my ragged breaths, I replied, "Anywhere!" Anywhere that didn’t smell like smoke and fire. Anywhere I wouldn’t be tied to a wooden stake and set ablaze. Being burned alive by humans was already horrible enough, let alone getting burned alive by a pack of werewolves, who were infamous for their brutal ways of life. I knew that all too well because I’d seen it before, long ago, when a group of rogues slaughtered my entire pack and burned our home to the ground. "Have you lost your mind?!" My wolf scolded me. "How can you compare Rael’s pack to those monsters?! Evelyn, that stake might not even be for you!" Maybe. There was a chance. But that stake wasn’t just a piece of wood to me. It held too many painful memories, memories I couldn’t put into words. Even though a part of me wanted to believe that Rael and his pack weren’t planning to burn me, my body reacted on its own. It remembered the pain, and it wanted to run. I sprinted deep into the forest at the foot of the mountain. I kept running until my lungs felt like they were on fire and my feet ached so badly I thought they might rip off at the ankle. I didn’t look back. I didn’t care about Rael’s shouts or the howls of his pack behind me. I didn’t care when sharp branches scraped my skin. I just wanted to keep running. I just wanted to disappear. I just wanted to be left alone.