Chapter 4

I closed my eyes while tilting my head. I'm so tired. Sitting all day was boring as hell.

"Here, have a snack first," Koko said as he placed a soda and lasagna on the small table. We are now at their house. I decided to stop by here before going home.

"Koko, why don't you take the position of my father in the mean time? After all, you were Dad's apprentice."

"What?" He laughed. "Tita Eliza is the Acting Mayor. Just take turns with you especially when she is busy with her business."

"Argh. I can't handle the loads of paperwork. Samantha should be the one in charge in the Capitol because after all, she graduated Law." I frowned and leaned back on the chair. I can't believe I'm complaining now. But it would have been better if Samantha and I will change task. Maybe I should ask her when we meet.

I took a bite before turning to Koko. His forehead was furrowed and he was deep in thought. "Is there a problem?"

He looked at me. "It's just that something's off with Samantha these past weeks."

"What do you mean?"

"I..I don't know. I feel like she became distant."

"Is that so?" I tapped my nails on the armchair. "I haven't seen her all day yesterday except that little encounter."

"She didn't come home?" He snapped his head to my direction.

"I asked Manang Rosing and she said that she goes home early every morning. Sometimes she doesn't and just stays in the cabin."

Koko just raised his eyebrows at what I've said.

"Anyway, are there any other animals in the hacienda besides the normal ones?" I asked remembering what happened last night.

"Normal? Is there an abnormal animal?"

"No! I mean.. like those strange creatures."

"There's none. Why? Did you see anything?" I became speechless. Should I tell him? He might just laugh at me.

"Hey!" He snapped his fingers in front of my face.

I slapped his hand in annoyance. "I saw something last night."

"Saw what?"

"Animal."

"A lost cow?"

"No!"

"Then what? Go straight to the point!"

I took a deep breath before looking into the void. "It was so dark that I couldn't see what it was. But I saw a pair of silver eyes, gold to be exact. And then I heard a growl from something like a wild beast," I said while remembering what I saw last night. "What do you think?" I turned to Koko who was in daze. His face looked like he had seen a ghost, pale as if he had been drained of blood.

"Koko." I woke him up.

"H-Huh? A-Ahm. Just give me a moment," he said and quickly stood up. I quickly stopped his hand. He's acting strange. He knows something and he's hiding it.

"Sit down." I ordered him in a cold voice.

He grabbed his hand before sitting down. "Damn it," he cursed.

"Come on Koko, spill it out."

He looked at me seriously. "You know the story about this place right?"

I nodded. He's talking about Magnusthad. According to the story, there were two friends who bought a large land. But they fought for some unknown reasons. They cursed each other. They divided the land they bought and promised not to step on each other's territory. Thus the name Magnusthad also split in two. 'Asthad' here in our town and 'Magnuth' in the mountains next to it. That was according to the story. Story that came from our ancestors.

"Do you believe it?" Koko asked.

"No. There are no people living there."

"Are you sure?" He asked seriously.

I furrowed my eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

"Nevermind," he said and turned his back on me.

That got me angry. Why was he avoiding this topic? "Seriously Koko? Just get to the point, will you?!"

"I'll take you home."

I grabbed his arm violently. He's not getting away. "Nobody's going home until you say something!"

"Okay fine!" He snorted. "What you saw is a wolf. A f*cking werewolf!"

I let go of his arm. What..? Koko brought his face closer to me and stared at me intently. "And your life is in danger."

"W-What do you mean that my life is in danger?" I chase after Koko. "Tone down your voice Lauren. Let's talk about it inside the car," he warned.

What? Tone down? He's the one screaming! Koko walked straight to his parked car on the side of the road. When we entered, I immediately confronted him. "Don't be impatient. I'll tell you everything. Just give me some time to collect my thoughts." He was pissed based on his tone.

He started the car's engine and we started taking the wide road. I removed the blazer I was wearing, leaving only my sleeveless white top. Koko glanced at me and immediately looked away. I just silently looked outside while waiting for him to speak. Werewolves were mythical creatures. How come that they exist in this modern world? And why did someone show themselves to me? What does it need? I tiredly looked at Koko who was still silent and looking directly at the road. Maybe I'm being inconsiderate. If I'm tired, he's definitely more tired. He even came to pick me up. I guess I need to borrow a car from my father. I bothers him too much.

"The day before you came here, Austin and his men found one. A she-wolf. They thought it was just a giant dog. They were surprised when it turned into a human. She's deeply wounded and very weak so they caught it easily. We don't want to alarm the people so we keep it in private."

"They're real," I uttered in daze. "But how come?"

"I don't know. But there were rumors back then that they were true. Grandpa also said that he saw one when he was young."

"The one you caught, where is she now? I want to see her."

"Are you insane? You should be worried about yourself! They don't openly show up to people for no reason!"

"I can protect myself. Stop being dramatic."

He snapped his neck towards me and gave me a glare. "Can you really protect yourself? They are pure blooded. They can transform from human to beast. And even in their human form, they are 10 times stronger than us. But how about if they shift? Do you still have a fight? Austin just got lucky for catching that girl." I was stunned by Koko's words. "And I'm not being dramatic. I'm just concerned about you. Yes, you are trained to kill bad people but you aren't trained to kill wolves. I hope you see the big difference there Lauren."

I remained silent. He's right. But what should I do? Lock myself inside my room? How about my duties?

"The population of Asthad is growing. There are also new faces. Little do we know that we are facing one of them every day."

"Does Dad knows about this?"

"No. He doesn't need to know. It might harm his health even more."

I started to bit my nails, a mannerism, especially when I'm restless.

"You have a gun right?" Koko asked after a long silence. I nodded my head. "Always carry it with you especially when you go out," he instructed.

I combed my hair violently. Damn. Why did I suddenly became anxious? I have nothing to do with them in the first place.

I went straight to my room after arriving home. I couldn't even look at Tita Eliza when I met her in the hallway. She didn't pay attention to me either. I looked at her over my shoulder and saw her enter Dad's room. I took off my office clothes and put on faded jeans and a shirt. I looked at the time on the big clock hanging on the wall. Seven o'clock. It's late but still early. My eyes landed on the gun lying on the table. I remembered Koko's instructions. I stared at it for a while before deciding to just leave it. After getting dressed, I peeked at the door. When I made sure that there was no one around, I went down quietly. I don't want them to see me and ask where I'm going.

The moon was bright so I didn't bring a flashlight. I went to the horse stable. Fortunately, there was no one watching over it. I didn't have time to choose so I just took the horse that was closest to me. The horse was tramping when I took it out of their stable. He looks annoyed with me. I held the rope tightly while observing it's muscular body. Now, the question was, can I still ride a horse? I shrugged my shoulders. I won't know if I don't try. I quickly got on the back of the horse.

"Woahh.. Easy. Woahhh," I said laughing as the horse jumped up and down looking like it wanted to throw me to the ground. This one looks stubborn. What a pain. When the horse still didn't stop from moving violently, I put the rope around it's neck and gently strangled it. I heard the horse coughing but I didn't care. I'm being kind here but he doesn't want to cooperate. I caressed his head wheh he calmed down.

"Good boy. You like to go through violence—" I held onto the rope tightly when the horse suddenly sped away. I haven't order him to run yet! I shook my head head before adjusting my seat. I don't want to fall. I might even see a laughing horse if that happens. I focused my eyes on the road. The horse was running so fast, obviously angry at the human rider. In every hut that I passed, the workers turned their heads to see me.

We traveled a long way and during those hours, this horse did nothing but gave me a headache. As soon as I got off his back, his leg extended. Fortunately, I managed to get away before he kicked me in the stomach. I just let it slide, he looked like he was going through something. I was about to tie him up when he gave me dagger looks. He retreated once, twice, thrice, until he was completely running away. I was left gaping. He left me alone. I clenched my fist.

After calming myself, I looked at the cabin in front of me. It's too big for one person to live. Samantha was staying here. Since I came home, I haven't seen her. Was she that busy? There were many workers in the hacienda and they can almost be trusted so why can't she even go home? I don't want to ask Tita because she might say I'm interfering in her daughter's life. I came here personally because of what Koko had said about Samantha. Her actions made her look suspicious. I know I shouldn't be sticking my nose into someone else's life but I'm curious. She doesn't even visit our sick father. Did she totally became heartless?

The light inside the cabin was on. The windows were closed and the curtains were properly covering the inside view. I knocked three times. No one answered. I repeated and I got the same response. No one seems to be here. I turned the doorknob. The door was not even locked. I licked my lips.

Now, let's see what's inside Samantha's cabin.