Mathias (#1 The Chronicles of the Demon Wolf)

She opens her eyes and realized she’s standing in front of her grade school door. The place is quiet but banners and balloons are everywhere, decorating the hallway that leading to the hall. Slowly, she makes her way to the hall. There is a loud cheer accompanied by claps. She remembers this. This was her first sport event that she joined when she was seven years old. Chelsea was never a big fan of sports or anything that requires her to use her stamina but to capture her parents’ attention, she was willing to do something she hated. When she was seven, she joined the junior girl soccer team. After a year of hard work, she was finally selected into the team and this was their first match.

This wasn’t a school for a werewolf. This was a human school. Everyone here was a human. Chelsea is the only werewolf here but none of them knew about it. After she failed the physical test when she was five, Chelsea couldn’t attend school for werewolves. It was harsh but she grew used to it.

She opens the red double doors of the hall and enters. Parents were cheering for their children. Chelsea knows they couldn’t see her because she knows this is just her memories. She takes the farthest seat at the audience seating. Her eyes scanning the crowd. Of course, her parents weren’t there. They never did. The younger version of herself scanned the area as well. It was sad to see herself looking for her parents in the crowds well knowing they would never attend because the pack was much more important than a sports event like this. Despite the absence of her parents, she did her best. She scored three goals for her team that day and kept on winning the matches. She won the MVP award after the season ended. They never showed up to any of the matches. In the end, she stopped looking for them in the crowd even though she was hoping they were there.

While other parents were cheering for their children, nobody cheered for her. Chelsea feels tears dropped from her eyes. Why nobody ever truly loved her? Why she always be the unwanted one in the family? She brought home dozens of trophies and awards for sports and academic but they still never acknowledged her achievement. She had everything but her parents’ love and attention. By the end of the day, they blamed her for being too spoiled.

She gets up from the seat and walks out. The scene changed to the moment inside her bedroom. This time, she was fifteen and crying under the duvet.

Her first heartbreak. The first boy she fell in love with cheated on her with one of her friends. Another harsh reality. She was thirsty for love and sought it from another person. But, they betrayed her just the same.

“It doesn’t matter anymore,” someone says.

Chelsea turns around and sees a man standing before him. He’s tall and lean, pale looking. She knows his voice but she couldn’t recall where.

“Arthur De Vicenzo,” he introduces himself. “None of these matters anymore.”

“Why?” she asks him.

“I gave you the one thing that could help you change how the world looking at you.” he takes a step closer to her. His cold hand touches her cheek. “The world would bow to you.”

“All I ever experienced was being stepped on. Why should I trust you?”

His hand moves from her cheek to the back of her neck as his face inches closer to hers. “Because I know what you truly desired.”

Then, his lips press against hers. Her body freezes at the sudden action but soon relaxes as his words echo into the deepest part of her mind. Chelsea responds to his kiss and deepens it. Maybe he does know what she truly desired.

“You’re a lot stronger than you ever credited yourself for,” he says. “Love would make you weak.” His hand rests against her chest, right above her heart. “There is only hatred and rage inside of you, Chelsea.”

“I was never good enough for them,” she blurts out with tears pool in her eyes.

He chuckles, “Oh Chelsea, you are more than enough. All you got to do is let it go.”

Her surroundings change. Now, she’s surrounded with darkness and nothing else except for the bright light that just hovers above their position. She couldn’t look beyond that light. Deep inside of her, she could feel something is lurking in the dark, waiting for her. Something very dangerous.

Deadly.

“Where are we?” she asks him.

“This darkness would go away if you just let it go,” Arthur replies to her.

Then, her hands feel heavy out of sudden. Chelsea looks down and sees she’s holding onto a chain with blue energy around it. Following the length of the chain, it goes around the place she’s currently standing on. There are hundreds of wrap of chain around her. Is this where she let it go? What is this place? She has no answers to those questions. She focuses in one direction. There is something hidden behind the chain, something that is locked tight.

A silver door is hidden behind the chain. It seems like the chain is keeping the door stays shut or else something would come out of it. But, what is it behind that door? Does she want to know what’s behind the door? Maybe. But, what if it does more damage than good?

“What do you really desire, Chelsea?” Arthur questions her as she hesitates with her choices.

All these years, she spent it trying to make everyone recognized her efforts. She wanted to be recognized for what she did for her pack. She wanted to be loved by her parents just the same how they loved Sebastian. Then, she met Mathias—the man who was destined to be her mate. He was supposed to wipe away those tears from her face—not causing it even more.

“To make them regret abandoning me,” she answers them.

“Run, Eva!” Mathias shouts as he holds the Lycan’s arms apart from breaking Eva into pieces.

She drops to the floor, choking as the air was temporarily restricted from her throat. Eva gets up from the dirt floor and goes as far as she could from the Lycan. Its claws extended and slash onto Mathias’ right side, exposing his flesh out. He groans but keeping his stance.

“Mathias, you couldn’t—”

“Run!” he cuts her off.

Reluctantly, Eva runs to the exit. Mathias stares into the eyes of the Lycan hoping to see Chelsea in control. But, he knows it’s too late. She broke the control of her own mind and let the demon wolf taking over her body and mind completely. There is no turning back on that. Once the control is broken, it would take a miracle to form it back.

Somehow, hidden in his mind, his demon wolf is liking this creature standing before him. A small smile tugs at the corner of his lips before Chelsea pushes him away. Mathias’ back hit against one of the coffins on the wall. He presses his palm against his injury to check the color of his blood. A demon wolf is not always immune to the poison of another demon wolf. He learned that the hard way when a fight broke between him and Enzo a year ago.

Seeing his blood is still red, not turning black, Mathias stands properly. At least Chelsea’s demon wolf’s claws didn’t poison him.

“You’re better than this, Chelsea,” he says before she grabs him by the neck and smashes him against another coffin.

She rises her right claws and slashes across his chest. Mathias groans in pain but it doesn’t stop him from standing up. He knows he did her wrong. He hurt her and now she’s making him pay for the bill that is due. She keeps slashing her claws on him. Mathias does nothing to stop her.

“Hatred and rage would not do good. It would destroy you. You would live in regret forever.” he coughs out blood and drops to the dirt floor like a rock.

“Love destroys,” someone else answers.

Arthur is leaning against the wall not far from them. The smug on his face is well known to Mathias. He made Chelsea broke the control. She wasn’t supposed to complete the transformation. Amanda told him Chelsea had another day before it completed. The transformation shouldn’t be completed unless someone did something to the host.

“Oh yes, I speed it up,” Arthur confesses, pushing himself from the wall and walks to Mathias. “You have the greatest gift, Mathias. Too bad, you’ve wasted it. Now, look at her.” he points to the demon wolf standing behind before continue, “She’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

“You’re turning her into a monster!”

Arthur laughs. “I turned her into a monster? I wasn’t the one who sunk his canines on her neck. You did this to her because you were selfish.”

Mathias glances at her. Chelsea shifts to her human form before Arthur places his cloak around her naked body. Her head hangs low as if she refuses to stare Mathias in the eyes.

From that moment, he realizes something.

He lost her.

“The final battle is yet to come,” Arthur tells him. “You should get those wounds checked. When you’re ready, you know where to find me.”

With that, he escorts Chelsea to the other end of the tunnel.

“Chel...sea…” Mathias raises his hand as if he’s trying to reach for her retreating figure.

He was wrong about her claws not poisoning him. He could feel the poison in his veins now. His breathing shortens and heart races—pumping his poisoned blood faster. His eyesight turns red. In the back of his mind, his demon wolf is pounding against the invisible wall.

The tunnel begins to crumble around him. Debris and dust fall from the ceiling. Mathias couldn’t move a muscle. He’s paralyzed by the poison. Maybe this is the end for him.

Everything flashed before his eyes. If he would just accept Chelsea the way she was, this wouldn’t have happened. This could have been prevented if he acknowledged her on the moment they met.

All of this…

How could he be so dumb? Arthur was waiting for this moment to happen. He was waiting when Mathias was at his weakest state. The matter of the heart is where Mathias is weak.

The crack on the ceiling continues. Mathias watches as a large debris fall, heading straight to his head. He closes his eyes—fully accepting his fate.

“You’re even more pathetic if you think you’re going to die now,” someone says.

Opening his eyes, Enzo is towering him, taking the impact of the debris. The younger brother put his hands on Mathias’ shoulders and suddenly, they’re no longer in the crumbling tunnel.

The last thing he sees is his siblings rushing to his aid.

Then, darkness takes over.