Twisted Fate: In Love with Two, Mated to the Third

Tears rolled down Natasha's dampened eyes as she slowly surveyed her surroundings. The basement she resided in was an indoor farmhouse; her life was hell on earth. Natasha shut her eyes and drifted into the last and only fond memory she had of her mother.

...

"Come on, Tasha; it's time for bed!" A little girl, roughly between the ages of five and eight, rushed into the room in her nightie and flung herself onto the slightly oversized bed.

"Mum, tell me a bedtime story," she said as her mother tucked the bed sheet around her.

Her mother smiled sweetly at the little girl and joined her on the bed.

"In a faraway land, there lived a princess," she began, but the little girl shook her head.

"No, Mum, tell me the story of the great and mighty Lycan King," she said, delight and anticipation written over her face.

"Again? Tasha, I have already told you that story over a million times," the woman said exasperatedly.

"Are you sure you still want to hear it again?" she asked.

Little Natasha nodded eagerly to emphasize how much she wanted to hear that particular story.

"Okay then, here it goes," the woman said with a smile and began her story.

"Thousands of years ago, not too long after the Lycanthropes fought the full moon liberation, a war of freedom against the vampires who were their slavers. The great and mighty Lycan King, Lycaon, championed the full moon liberation.

Thanks to the Lycan King, the Lycanthropes emerged victorious in their struggle for freedom and liberation. For the next few decades, there was peace between the humans, Lycanthropes, and vampires. At least there was until the vampires struck again.

For many years after the full moon liberation, Lycaon was alone and without a mate.".

"Mum, what's a mate?" Natasha interrupted softly.

"It's like an unbreakable bond," the woman carefully explained. "A deep-rooted connection, straight from the moon goddess herself, binds both of your hearts, minds, and souls. It is the dream of every Lycan to find their mate, and one day, you will find yours too."

"Ooh, like you and Dad," Natasha gushed.

"Exactly," the woman beamed. "But in the case of Lycaon, the moon goddess was so impressed with his bravery, chivalry, and feats that she fell in love with him and became his mate.

Soon enough, she descended from her throne in the sky, becoming mortal to be with the one she loved, and that was when the blood-sucking monsters attacked. The vampires succeeded in ambushing and killing the moon goddess in her mortal form, and the moon, the Lycans' power source, vanished from the sky.

Lycaon was filled with a thirst for revenge and left with no other option. He summoned all the sorcerers and witches from across the earth, and together, they created the Blood Moon. A moon that enhanced the strength and agility of all Lycanthropes to a thousand-fold. And with this, the Blood Moon War began.

The tides of the war were in the Lycans' favor until, all of a sudden, they weren't. The great and mighty Lycan King, Lycaon, was killed during the battle, and the rest of the Lycan warriors were forced to retreat to the far end of their kingdom, hiding from the vampires, never to set foot on the outside world again.

The end"

"What? No! That can't be the end," protested Natasha. "I still have so many questions. For one, if the Lycan King was as mighty and powerful as the story says he was, how was he killed?" Her eyes were already getting sleepy, yet there was a deep longing for the answers.

"No one knows exactly how the Lycan King fell, and no one knows who could defeat him, but the one thing we do know and hold on to is the prophecy." Her mother said.

"What prophecy?"

"A prophecy that was foretold. Soon after thousand-night skies and a thousand sunshine, the Lycan King shall be reborn and liberate the Lycan race once more."

...

It had been at least fifteen years since she last heard her mother's voice. Natasha was no longer a child, so she knew that her mother's stories were nothing but made-up fantasy, and fictional concepts such as werewolves, Lycans, vampires, and, worst of all, a happy ending do not actually exist.

To Natasha, the only things that truly existed in her accursed world were merely pain, suffering, and futility. But even at that, Natasha longed for the hope that the concept of the Lycan King was some sort of metaphor--a metaphor for the Lycan King as her soon-coming savior.

Natasha's life was undeniably the absolute worst, but the idea that someday, someone would come and rescue her from her hell on earth was the only thing that prevented her from countless suicide attempts. It was the only thing that gave her a reason to live on, her only reason for hope. But the longer she lived, the more she realized that the idea of a savior- someone on their way to save her- was another made-up fantasy.

Suddenly, the lock on the basement door creaked, and as the door flung open, Natasha's jaw dropped in awe. Behold standing in front of her was a man dressed in all white, from the color of his hair to his three-piece tailored suit down to his leather shoes. Natasha was certain that this couldn't be anyone other than her long-awaited Lycan King.

But as quickly as her heart welled with joy, it was immediately crushed as soon as she spotted who stood right next to him, ironically dressed in all black--Madam Carina.

"Here she is?" Natasha heard Madam Carina say to the man in white.

"She's perfect. I will come by tomorrow to take her," said the man in white.

"You hear that mongrel? As of tomorrow, you will no longer be my burden. The doctor will be coming to pick you up tomorrow for what I call a generous offer, considering how worthless you are," said Madam Carina.

"Oh, my queen, you didn't have to; all I need is my regular apple because, according to you, that should be enough to keep the doctor away. But if you insist, I don't mind receiving a free medical checkup," said Natasha, with sarcasm boldly imprinted in every single word.

Even though Natasha had experienced the true meaning of hell firsthand and had several scars to show for it, the one part of her that remained unfazed and sharp as always was her ever-loose tongue and sense of humor. These were the only two things that kept her from breaking completely. That being said, they were always responsible for a number of whiplashes that could have easily been avoided if only her mouth could have stayed shut.

Madam Carina walked towards Natasha without uttering a word, stopping just a few feet away. She smacked Natasha's left cheek with her palm in a flash, causing a loud thunderous sound.

"You ungrateful little wretch! How dare you speak to me and your new owner in such a disrespectful manner?" Madam Carina shouted, her anger and disgust evident.

"That will be a minus 5%." The man in white walked towards them and said.

Madam Carina turned around in shock. "What?" she asked.

"You heard me. I'm sure you, of all people, should not tamper with the goods after the deal has been made."," the man replied.

He then squatted down and looked Natasha in the eye. "As for you, be assured that this won't be like your regular checkup, that's if you ever had one. I am going to be ripping you open and dissecting you. You will be more of my lab rat than a patient. And why, you may ask? Well, you are a very rare and special kind, so I am on a scientific quest to find out what makes you, you – even if it kills you," he said calmly.

Natasha was no stranger to pain, hatred, and despair. However, for the first time in a long time, she felt genuine fear as she looked back into his eyes. His words sank into the very fiber of her being, and she knew right there and then that her life was about to go from the frying pan to the fire and her hell was just about to heat up.

As he rose and walked out of the basement with Madam Carina, it finally dawned on Natasha that the Lycan King wasn't coming to save her; he never was.

"AHHHHHHHHH!" Natasha screamed and cried at the top of her lungs. Tears rolled down her cheeks, and mucus streamed from her nose, forming a disgusting mixture that clouded her face as she wailed out her pain. She looked at her wrist, at her bracelet, the only thing she had left of her parents.

Some say hell is a place for bad people when they die, but for Natasha Smith, it was a place she was all too familiar with. Life had been cruel to Natasha for the past fifteen years and counting.

Her life flipped upside down when she was about seven, the year she became orphaned. Although, Natasha had no recollection of the car accident that took her parents' lives and left her as the only survivor, she was told of it only by Madam Carina, who for some reason still unknown to her, became her supposed guardian.

The only evidences she had were her parents' sudden absence and the shift in her dreams, which had turned from a Barbie princess fantasy land into a reality of a slave-like daily lifestyle, which was more than enough proof for her.

From the moment she stepped into Madam Carina's mansion, even at the tender age of seven, Natasha had been working her bones out, living a life far beneath that of a servant. The farmhouse was where she laid her head at night, and if she dared to sleep earlier than expected or woke up later than assigned, she would be disciplined in ways beyond comprehension.

But even with all this, Natasha's spirit never broke, and she remained as strong as solid, believing dearly in her mother's story. Believing that someday, her Lycan King would come and save her from the pit of her hell and all this would be a thing of the past. Thoughts like these kept her strong and fearless even in the darkest times, but all that was until today, the day she realized her Lycan King had failed her.

Suddenly Natasha stopped crying, wiping her face clean with her hand, and molding herself into a strict mode with a frown. It was clear that her mind was made up on something; she had somehow found her resolve. Because amid her tears and wailing, Natasha's mind took a quick flash to the memories of her mother. Not once did she see her mother cry or feel helpless. Her mother never once looked as pathetic as she did right now. And with that, Natasha decided she was done playing the victim,she was done playing the role of a damsel in distress, waiting for her prince charming to come and save her.

"Never again will I put my fate in fantasy stories," she said to herself.

With her mind set in stone, Natasha began thinking of her next step. She had to find a way to escape from this hell hole. She needed to save herself because the longer she waited, the more she realized there was nobody in the entire world who gave a damn about her. That meant if she was ever going to escape, she and only she could save herself.

....

After a long and arduous night, the next day finally arrived, the day Natasha's fate was to be changed from a slave-like life to an even worse fate. The day was fast closing, and the man in white was yet to arrive.

Madam Carina sat anxiously by the door, waiting for his arrival. Finally, as the sun began to set - around the same time he had arrived the day before - the doorbell rang.

"Welcome, sir. We've been expecting you," she said, ushering him inside.

"Thank you, but let's get straight to business," he replied coldly, sternly.

"Ofuz, right this way," she said, leading him to the basement. Something seemed different about her guest - perhaps his voice or his lighter skin tone - but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"I hope you're ready, you vile thing," she said as she opened the basement door ajar. But to her greatest surprise, Natasha was nowhere to be found in the basement. Madam Carina was positive she had locked her in there yesterday and had made sure it remained locked until now, so there was no way she could have escaped.

They both walked into the basement, looking around for where Natasha could have hidden, until their eyes met with a human-sized hole on the wall that opened outside the building.

"She was right here," Madam Carina said.

"What kind of joke is this? What am I supposed to be looking at?" the man in white flared.

"Sound the alarms! She was here! You saw her yourself yesterday," Madam Carina said to him before bolting out of the basement, screaming, "Sound the alarms! She must not escape!"

...

Natasha continued to run, her blistered feet carrying her as fast as they could. She didn't stop for a second, even though she had been running for at least six hours. Her hands swung in the air, covered in her own blood from the injuries she sustained while digging her escape route.

Left with no other option, since the key to open the basement was safely in Madam Carina's possession, Natasha searched the entire basement for something that could aid her escape until she found a hammer and a chisel.

Slowly but steadily began burrowing into the wall that opened to the outside of the building and affter a few misses, she eventually made a hole wide enough to crawl through.

As soon as she made it out, she ran as fast as she could, never looking back and taking every turn she saw to make it impossible for anyone to pursue her.

Soon her body began to give up on her. Her legs struggled to take the next step, her head spun, and her eyes struggled to maintain clear vision. Natasha collapsed to the ground.

"Is this it? Is this how it ends for me? Well, at least anything is better than dying as a prison slave," she said to herself as she prepared to give it all up. Suddenly, as her eyes became blurry and her ears struggled to pick up sound, Natasha saw a man stretching his hand towards her from a distance.

Natasha's senses were shutting down right before she could identify him, but with her last bit of strength, she whispered "Finally, you came, my Lycan King."

Natasha opened her eyes to see rays of sunlight streaming through the window. Her head ached with an intense migraine, and she tried to remember where she was and what had happened.

"Where am I?" she murmured and turned to stare out the window, gazing disinterestedly at the specks of dust that danced in the shaft of afternoon sunlight slanting through the car window. The blue sky was dotted with fluffy white clouds that drifted lazily in the gentle breeze, and the ground shimmered in the heat of the dappling sun shining through the trees on both sides of the road, creating mysterious shadows as they drove along.

"Finally, you are awake," said a voice that completely jolted her out of her slumber. Natasha turned towards the driver's seat, half-expecting to see someone she knew but was met with the face of a complete stranger.

This man was a bit elderly-he looked like he was in his late sixties-and he had a pair of black shades which seemed obviously as a disguise.

-"Who a-r-e- you?" Natasha said fearfully.

"Don't worry, it's going to be alright," he said in a calm and friendly tone.

"Please don't take me away. Let me out of this car, please, I beg of you," Natasha pleaded.

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I can't do that."

"If you don't, I'm going to distract you until you crash, and we both die," Natasha threatened, with her hands in the air, ready to make her move at the first sign of objection from him.

"Come on, Natasha; you can't be serious...."

Natasha flung herself on him before he could complete his statement, blocking his field of vision. She began screaming at the top of her voice, trying to distort his senses and possibly be heard and rescued by anyone passing by. However, that was unlikely since they were on a straight road in the middle of nowhere.

Their tussle for the steering wheel lasted about fifteen seconds, ending in Natasha's victory.

"STOP!" he yelled as he drove the car to an abrupt halt.

Natasha froze at the sound of his voice. Not sure what to do next, his voice sounded different this time, although she had no idea why she felt so.

Suddenly, out of the blue, he started laughing, tears trickling through his glasses and down his cheeks. Natasha had no idea what to make of this, so she remained speechless, her lips slightly parted in awe.

"It's good to know those years of hardship were not enough to stomp out the fire in you," he said, followed by a short pause. "Your mother would be proud."

At the mention of her mother, Natasha's head began to spin. His words sent goose bumps crawling through her skin, and she froze in shock, for in all her time living with Madam Carina, not once had she heard words of admiration towards herself or her mother.

"My m-o-th-er?" Natasha stammered.

"The Lycan King, huh? Who would have thought all those nights she stayed awake telling you those stories would eventually pay off," he said

Natasha lost all her words, and her mouth remained open, but her tongue failed to speak. What in the world was going on? She asked herself.

"Who are you?" Natasha asked, though deep down, she felt she already knew the answer. Without giving a reply, he removed his shades and roughened his curled hair, bringing to light a face Natasha hadn't since for over fifteen years.

"Dad!" Natasha screamed, tears streaming down her face.

"My little wolf," he replied, and they embraced in a warm hug. Never in a million years did she expect this mystery man to be her father, Henry Smith.

"How is this possible? I thought you and Mom were dead. How did you find me?" Natasha asked, but her tone quickly changed. "What took you so long to find me and rescue me?"

"I know I have much to explain, but first, we must go. I promise to answer all your questions and explain everything to you once we get to our destination," her father said as he struggled to start the car.

"Okay, fine, but at least tell me where we're going," Natasha demanded.

"We are going to Hayden."

"Hayden? I thought that place only existed in Mother's fairytales," Natasha said, puzzled.

Just as he was about to answer, Henry heard movement within the trees. "Trust me when I say Hayden is very much a real place, and from what I can tell, it seems we are already there."

They sat anxiously in the car, not knowing what to expect. The car was silent enough to hear a pin drop as they sat at the edge of their seats, hoping for something to happen, for the suspense alone was beginning to eat them whole.

Summoning all the courage he had, Henry finally spoke, but right before he could make a meaningful sentence, their Nissan Traveler Jeep was hit from the right side, knocking it off the road and tumbling down into the woods.

...

Natasha opened her eyes to find herself on the bare forest floor with their Jeep tumbled upside down a few meters away. Her vision was blurry, and her hearing was distorted by a nonstop beeping sound buzzing through her brain. She tried to rise and turned to her right, only to witness a sight that cleared away the blurriness in her vision.

Henry was unconscious and about to be devoured by a creature far beyond Natasha's imagination. Standing over Henry was a wolf with midnight fur on its two feet.

Natasha didn't give herself enough time to rise to her feet. She crawled as fast as she could to where her father lay. "Please don't!" she screamed.

"... Don't kill him" In a state of dread and confusion, she lay over her father's form, trying to shield him with her body.

She jerked her terrified gaze upwards and stared into the Lycan's eyes, flaming golden eyes that burned with rage. He paid zero attention to her and kept intent on attacking her father. Still, she had no option but to continue her plea, for she wasn't ready to lose her father again.

The Lycan finally lost his patience and raised his giant paw, ready to make a hit on Henry, even if it meant turning Natasha into collateral damage.

Suddenly, a colossal tree log flew in and slammed the Lycan off balance.

Struggling to regain his posture, he and Natasha looked towards where the tree was thrown. "Step away from my granddaughter, Liam, or you will regret the day you were crowned Alpha!" A loud voice spoke out, and a few seconds later, a well-aged, muscular man stepped into the clearing, and a ray of sunlight fell on him.

Upon seeing the man, the Lycan bowed his head as a sign of respect. He was in the presence of the oldest Lycan and the first and only hybrid Lycan- who just so happens to be Natasha's grandfather- the living legend Lucian Crow.