Chapter 3

MY eyes fluttered open when I felt something light hit my face. I picked up the crumpled paper and then threw it back outside the window of my bedroom. I stood up from my interrupted sleep and headed towards the open window of my room.

I put my head out to see who it was and out there, I saw Jeremy and Lance. Lance wore an emotion on his face that I couldn’t understand while sitting on a large rock, while Jeremy is sitting on a hammock, holding the crumpled sheet of paper that I threw at him earlier while rocking his hammock hard. I see that’s why Lance was frowning all this time. It’s because Jeremy stole his favorite spot.

“It’s good that you are awake, Mr. Loverman. If I didn’t accidentally push you towards Jennifer, you would still be admiring her from afar until now, hoping when your love for her would be reciprocated,” Jeremy teased his friend.

“Idiot, that’s uncool,” Lance replied.

“You’re just jealous because I stole your favorite spot,” Jeremy fostered.

“It’s too early. Tell me Remy, you're only here because you and Lance just wanted to eat for free,” I called them out.

Jeremy frowned, but before he could complain about calling him Remy, my mother interrupted us.

“You three children, come and eat!” My mother called them from the kitchen. Our house is small, you can hear a small noise even if you are outside the house or inside the bedroom.

Jeremy stood up from the hammock and nimbly jumped through the window of my bedroom. Lance followed and copied what Jeremy did. We went to the kitchen together and found that my mother was already sitting by the table.

In front of her is a green round table where the inadobong pakbet and rice were served. She even brewed four glasses of coffee for us.

We took our seat around the green table with matching green chairs. We prayed for our food first before we started eating.

I looked at Mom. She’s in her fifties. She’s a short woman with a gentle face. She has long straight brown hair that she always styles into a braid. I inherited the color of my eyes from her that has the same color as her hair. She has a foreign blood in her veins. It’s no wonder why she looked like a westerner.

My mother once told me that I inherited my tall height and wavy hair from my father. I also inherited my werewolf genes from him. I’m not angry because I belong to that race, but if there’s a chance that I can make one wish, I would wish to be born out of a normal family.

AFTER returning home from school, I did not see my mother and father at home. That’s why I sneaked to the nearby forest where my parents would stay whenever my father wanted to shift into his wolf form.

The whole sky is about to turn dark when I have finally arrived at the center of the forest. I shifted into my wolf form to heighten all my senses. I searched around the place and it took me more than a minute before I found where they were.

I did not approach them anymore. I hid myself in the darkness a distance away from them. My father had transformed back into his human form, that’s why he did not sense my presence.

“IS it really necessary?” I asked Joseph in tears.

His eyes turned gloomy as he stared back at me. He caressed my cheek softly to give me some comfort. He stared intently at my face, taking note of every detail, memorizing what I look like as if he was afraid that he would forget me.

“I have to, Fedela. I need to leave and rule my people. I can’t stay here any longer. I can’t be with you anymore. I would rather leave than stay and bring you harm. They can’t find out about your existence, especially those werewolves who never respected the rules.”

“How about our son? Why don’t you take her with you? He would be safer if he’s with you and live among your people,” I asked him. It pains me to think about losing my son, but I have to do what is best for her.

Tears escaped my husband’s eyes, but his lips formed a smile.

“You may be right, but I will have to leave you the proof of our love. I want him to live and grow among humans. I know you can protect him and hide his real identity. He’s not destined to become my heir, but to become my queen’s guardian. From now on, he will make you feel the love that I can’t make you feel personally.”

Even though my heart is wrenching in pain and I couldn’t stop the tears from my eyes. I couldn’t stop myself from smiling because of his sweet words. We already have a child and we are in a situation where we have to let go of each other, still his sweet words made their way to my heart.

“I love you so much, Joseph,” I whispered with a faint smile on my face.

“I love you more,” he answered back before leaning down to press a kiss on my lips.

“I’m leaving before I start to change my mind,” he told me with a forced laugh. After that he shifted back into his wolf form and then I saw his black wolf.

“Wait!” I called out to him when he turned his back to me.

He turned to face me again and let out a soft growl that made me laugh. “Are you not going to tell me ‘Fedela, if by chance you fell in love with someone else, then know that I would be happy for you’,” I asked him a lame question.

He shifted back into his human form upon hearing my question just to give me an answer.

I closed my eyes before I saw his naked body.

“Don’t act like you’ve never seen this before.”

“Shut up,” I pretended to be angry at him.

I felt him reach out to both of my hands and he removed it from covering my eyes. I stared straight into his eyes. I did a great deal of self control to stop myself from peeking at his naked body.

“I don’t have to say it because I know that I’m the only one you’ll ever love,” he smirked and then winked at me. He pecked a soft kiss on my lips before running away from me and shifting back to his wolf form.

I ROSE out of the sea before the two could. I went straight to where we parked our bicycles, from there I took the towel I brought. I dried myself and shook off the grains of sand that stuck to my body.

Suddenly, I felt the urge to visit the boulevard. I placed my towel on my shoulder and started walking towards the boulevard.

Upon arriving on the top of the road by the shore, or the place they call boulevard, one beautiful woman immediately caught my attention. She also looked at me, and when our eyes met, my heart drummed inside my chest. I’m confused why I suddenly felt this way.

The woman started to walk towards me. I think she’s a foot shorter than me. She’s wearing a white dress that made her look even more beautiful.

When she finally got close to me, a dog unexpectedly appeared between us. The dog hit her which made her lose her balance. I acted on impulse and came for her rescue, making her fall to my arms.

Her white ponytail slipped from her straight black hair. Our gaze collided while our bodies were pressed together. It was like someone was urging me to kiss her lips, but I resisted those feelings. I helped her stand up properly. I took a deep breath and tried to force out the thoughts inside my head. I shouldn’t feel this attracted to the woman in front of me.

I forced myself to think about Jennifer, my current girlfriend. When a mental picture of her pretty face appeared in my mind, I was able to get rid of the feelings I had for this mysterious woman that I’m trying so hard to push away.

“Akira,” she said in a gentle voice. She said my name like she just mentioned the name of the person she loves.

“What?” I asked her. I’m not sure if I’m the “Akira” that she’s pertaining to.

She gave me her sweetest smile. “I’m happy to meet you, Akira,” she told me.

“How did you know my name?” I asked, deeply confused.

She wasn’t able to answer my question because Jeremy and Lance went out of nowhere and placed their hands on my shoulder. She gave me another sweet smile before leaving us. I removed the two heavy arms of these assholes around my shoulder to chase after the woman and stop her from leaving. I still want to trap her between my arms and push her on a bed of roses.

I stopped in the middle of my tracks.

What am I doing and thinking?