5 The Darkest Hour

“It can't be!” Anna screamed after the doctor came out with the results. “I'm so sorry. But you don't have a lot of time remaining,” the doctor tried to be as comforting as he could but still, it didn’t make sense to her. She had been healthy all her life and now the doctor was saying things that didn’t make sense to her. “How can I even be this sick? I only came here because I needed to have my normal blood tests and I didn't have any other symptoms! What are you trying to say?” She fought back. Having had a difficult childhood, Anna didn't think that things would get any worse. “Are there people who are supposed to suffer more than others?” She thought to herself while still maintaining a brave face. Anna felt healthy and no number of tests would convince her enough that she was dying. She believed she would still go back home healthy because that was the kind of a person she was; healthy to the core. After thinking for a few minutes, she took a deep breath and stood up to leave. But the doctor was not through with her yet. He had to clarify a few things to her because it was a serious condition. She had Leukemia! “One more thing, Annalisa, you need to be very careful. Take care of the little blood that you have left. You can't allow anyone to take advantage of you. You need as much energy as you can get,” he said. Anna smiled foolishly and then spoke, “If I ever forget to take care of my body, come kill me!” she joked and the doctor laughed. It was a sign she was handling her condition well. The news that she had received that day was expected to change her everyday life. Though she was scared of the future, she handled it like a pro. She could hear the doctor's words echoing in her head… “I'm sorry but you have cancer. I need your relatives here. You can't go home alone. You need help,” He said a million things that he felt needed to be done but to Anna, he was just being extra. “I brought myself, and I can easily take myself back home. So don’t stress!” She was hesitant. The more the doctor repeated those words, the more confusion it brought to her but she pretended to be handling it well. “I need to inform them because they need to take care of you. You need someone to be watching over you.” He insisted. “If there was anyone I could bring, trust me I would. But now there is no one. No relatives or anything. I'm just a lone ranger passing through the wilderness of life alone. Trust me, doctor, I can handle it. I have handled worse,” Her voice faded. True to her words, she had gone through worse times and wasn't even sure she would manage but she did and that was worth a lot more. It meant that even the dark glaring cloud was going to lose the battle it had declared against her. She was a born victor. Years ago, Anna was handed over to the man that her mother believed would take care of her better than her. She hoped she would be protected since her father had died but then things took a drastic turn when she fell for him. Steven was a well-known young man. He had his life all perfect and even fought in wars. People called him Steve. He was a Highlander and everybody wanted to be associated with him. That's why Anna's mum felt that he would protect her daughter. What she didn’t know was that the relationship was going to bring her daughter more pain in the future than the happiness she envisioned. In the first years, he treated her like a princess until Anna turned eighteen and her emotions got stuck on the man. She dreamt of him and with time got hooked on him. She wanted to be with him every time and unknowingly, things moved fast and they got married! A decision that was supposed to be celebrated became Steve's worst nightmare. He said it was not meant to happen. That some revelations had come out and he felt trapped. The girl he had always protected since she was ten belonged to the enemy. He never disclosed it to anyone. He just changed towards her without any explanation. Anna got depressed. She thought getting married to an alpha male like Steve was going to be fun but it was not. All the connection they had for years started going downhill and she felt like she had wronged him unknowingly. Like the respectful girl she had always been, she approached him and asked him what the matter was but all he told her was that things were going to change henceforth, and well, they did. Steve regretted waking up next to her every morning. Having married her had made him lose recognition amongst leaders and he also developed health issues. It was believed that if any of the highlanders married anyone from the plains they would have to do a lot more to survive including getting some blood into their system to soothe the ancestors for committing such a sin. It was looked at as some form of cult but well, for someone as complicated as Steve there was just so much that was hidden in the closet and only time would tell. In the meantime, the two kingdoms were never supposed to mix! But now that they had, what needed to be done was done without fail because the consequences were going to be felt across the land. “I only need ten more years and once I am through, I will do what my heart desires!” Steve encouraged himself. Steve could not wait to sort out the mess he had put himself into by marrying someone who had connections with the Plains lineage. He already had someone in mind he would woo once it was settled. This was the woman he had been cheating on her with all through. Every day, Steve hated his life more and became angry at Anna for no reason. Though he didn't want to continue being with her, he had already sinned and he had to live with it for some time at least. As a result, Anna didn't get the love and affection a wife would get from a loving husband. Steve was an alpha which automatically made Anna a Luna but she was never treated by him like a Luna. To him, she was a nobody. She hailed from a low-class family that was connected to plains werewolves and had nothing to offer to him but pain and regrets. Not even beauty and he never wanted to be seen with her in public as it made people talk and he hated being gossiped about. To him, she was an embarrassment. After a lot of begging from Anna, Steve decided to tell her the truth since the mistake was supposed to be addressed sooner. “I invited you here because we need to talk about the marriage. We have sinned by being together and so we have to face the consequences. I am afraid but if I am to live you will have to give me your blood.” He said unapologetically. “Why do you say that?” she asked innocently. “Because your lineage goes back to the plains and I only accepted to give you refuge because I thought you belonged to the highlands but after the day we tied the knot, a lot of things have happened making me dig deeper as to why and now that I know, I have to do what needs to be done!” he said. Anna had to give him blood. Though Steve was a werewolf, Anna had yet to evolve fully into one. She was still growing but that didn’t stop him from getting blood from her. It was the only way she was going to live with Steve as his wife. It was never a big issue at first until the doctor spoke about her health and she wondered if she could still be needed by Steve now that she would not be of any use to him. “Doctor this is not true. Maybe you should do more blood tests. I can't be sick!” She finally screamed to the doctor upon realizing there was no other way out. “It is the sad truth. I hope you take this matter seriously and go to a bigger facility. You need urgent medical attention.” Those were the doctor's final words. Among the doctor’s instructions, she was also supposed to stop giving Steve blood and save herself.