Chapter 40 Secret behind Eclipse

**Valerie**
Alyssa was rather candid or even blunt, to some extent. I supposed it’s not easy for people who had suffered from such a trauma like her to speak out their miserable stories in a frank way. But Alyssa, on the opposite, was eager to share.
After being confined with the secret for so long, she desperately wanted someone to listen to her, comfort her and guide her, like a lamb missing her flock.
Alyssa Woodland, as the only daughter of Alpha Felix, princess of the strongest north pack, was an Omega.
“See, it was quite straight-forward, isn’t it?” She shrugged, trying to sound indifferent. But her voice was shaking as her eyes flared at me. “That’s why I can never inherit the throne. No wolf would be willing to submit to someone like me. Omega’s leadership? Fuck it! Even the most ordinary werewolf could easily topple it and put me to death!”
Her utterance left me in complete shock.
I could feel the perspiration was growing on my forehead, though the room was quite cool.
What she just said was absolutely a bombshell.
Who’d expect the princess of the Eclipse would be an Omega?
And then I suddenly realized why Felix urged them to get married as quickly as possible. He had no other choices but to rely on the Red Moon, otherwise the whole pack would fall into endless uproars.
I swallowed hard and hesitated. Honestly, I didn’t quite know how to reply. Since the first time Samantha mentioned about Omegas, that her family would give birth to an Omega on each generation, I had considered it to be related to genes.
But Alyssa was born in an Alpha family…
“A curse, uh?” She said with a cynical smile on her face, “5 years. I had played the fucking role for 5 years. I’m just weak, not sick! I have knew it since the first time I shifted. Don’t you think it’s absurd? Father thinks the marriage would be able to save his reputation, to keep the so-call glories of Woodland family. But people are not nuts. Suspicions are growing among the pack members. And many of them have already doubted my ability as an Alpha’s daughter.”
“It must be difficult for you…” I said lowly, beholding her eyes.
“Difficult…” She mumbled and sneered, “Yeah, difficult. That’s actually an easy word.”
She took a deep breath, casting stares at the outside window as if being lost in somewhere else.
“What do you want to do if the arrangement fails?” I broke up the momentary silence with a question.
She turned to look at me bemusedly before shaking her head.
“I have never thought about it.” She said, “All I want is to escape from this trap, from being caged as a fake princess. I’m tired of fooling myself. The hierarchy, the maneuvers and the plots. Father has always told me that these things are for my own good, for my safety. Bullshit. It’s all for the power. I have been his puppet for such a long time…”
“You need a hope,” I said, “Have you ever considered about finding your mate?”
“Mate?” she raised one eyebrow, “I don’t think it’s real. And hopes are toxic. If you keep hopes, you lose hopes.”
“Yeah, but that’s life, isn’t it?” I said with a smoothed voice, trying to cheer her up, “what if the mate thing is real?”
“Even if it’s real, I doubted that I would be able to find mine. It’s rare for the blessed ones, how’s it possible for me.”
I had an impulse to tell her it’s indeed possible because the magic had even occurred to a weak human like me. But I thought it would be risky to tell her my stories, as I hadn’t really acknowledge her stance.
“Or like somewhere you want to go?” I proposed, “You can’t just go back to the Eclipse, can you?”
She shook her head, “of course not. I planed to travel into the far north. I have heard that there’s a place of freedom and equality and I hope it’s not a myth.”
I was surprised by what she said. If I didn’t take it wrong, she must refer to the Lost Land.
“I hope so,” I grinned, “Maybe we have the same destiny.”
***
With the help of Alyssa, we had a more liable plan for the escape, though it was still very difficult.
She decided to take me out after the dinner. When the night fell, I would be able to camouflage myself into the darkness
Alyssa told me to wear the uniform of Eclipse and pretended to be her maid. As most of the guards didn’t acknowledge how I look like, it might be possible for me to sneak out without being recognized.
It ran smoothly at first.
Lowering my head to avoid eye-contact with anyone else, we had successfully deceived the guards stationing at the corridors. No one noticed me in particular as Alyssa tried to make a fuss by complaining the guards and distracted most attentions.
But when we reached the front door, it became complicated. The wolf guarding on the side of the door glanced at me cautiously.
“What? Any problems?” Alyssa blurted out in an annoyed tone, “I wasn’t even allowed to take a stroll around the place? The stifling air is killing me!”
“Please wait a minute, Ms. Woodland. We just need to check something.” The guard bowed before signaling at his fellow for a whisper.
Though he did his best to keep his voice low, I heard what he had said.
“Call Mrs. Manson over…”
His fellow nodded with a serious look and ran back into the hall.
Clenching my fist tightly against the dress, I managed to stay calm. The reason why he needed Mrs. Manson was clear. He had to ensure that I wasn’t the human girl they were aiming at.
Time was tickling. Both Alyssa and I became growingly nervous.
And there’s nothing we could do at this very moment.
“Gosh!!! The girl!! She’s on the third floor!” A yelp came inside the castle.
The guard standing in our way was alerted immediately. He left us at the door and dashed into the hall without hesitation.
“Run!” As he disappeared out of our visions, Alyssa took my hand and pulled me into a race.
“Hide in the bushes!” She shoved me a push before turning up on her heels and walked hastily back into the castle.
“Thank you, Alyssa. Take care!”
I nodded with a low farewell before crouching to move further into the thickness.
My heart was pounding against my chest fierily in excitement.
Our plan had succeed.
The one who screamed and misled the guards was actually Samantha. Though she didn’t think it was safe for me to sneak out of the castle, she wished me to find what Xavier was going through. She offered to assist as a distraction.
I waited in complete stillness deep in the bushes until those horrible yells and footsteps trailed away. Stretching my legs quietly, I was ready to move forward.
I couldn’t stay here for too long. As the sunrise came, those short bushes wouldn’t be able to cover my body anymore.
There was no single star hanging over the sky on this ominous night, only the crescent shining with faint lights.
I bent over and move my body warily along the bushes, making my way to the back of the castle.
For this moment, I could only think about one place which might be safe for me to stay.
The garden where Lucas had taken me to visit the statue