Carena: “Please just go home and rest,” Theo insisted after offering to drive me home. Sawyer didn't come any closer to greet me; he just stood there and then drove away. I began to wonder if hiding the truth about Sawyer not being disabled was the right thing to do. What if my personal bias was hindering the investigation?“You too,” I replied, stepping out of the car and heading back inside. I found everyone gathered in the living room.“What kind of circus is going on now?” I sighed tiredly, putting my bag down and observing my family glaring at Tabitha.She was on the ground, her face buried in her hands, crying.“They're kicking me out, I have nowhere else to go,” she sobbed, recounting her story to me.“Oh, okay,” I shrugged. But as I began to walk past her, she suddenly grabbed my leg and started wailing.“Please forgive me. You must. You're the one who forgives everyone, so why can't you forgive me?” As she cried louder, I had to pry her arms from around my legs to get away f
Carena: "It's alright, you guys can stay here for the night," Sawyer reassured my shaken sister and father after the incident."Come on," he said, gently taking my hand and leading me down the hallway to his bedroom. I was still dazed from the whole incident. Everything seemed blocked out. Markiel and Riona, the most innocent people in the house, met a brutal demise that left me scarred."The warriors have reached a conclusion. Tabitha's absence and the locked doors from the outside indicate she started the fire. She locked the doors after Markiel and Riona, and then yours. Maanya said she was the one who opened your door. Since your father's and Maanya's doors didn't have locks from the outside, they managed to escape easily," Sawyer relayed the warriors' statements, but I stood with my head down, zoning out.The words of Markiel and the tragedy of Riona still echoed in my ears. Why would Tabitha do that? Was it anger because Maanya and Dad were kicking her out? Was she not guilty a
Carena: My hands trembled as I gripped the bloody pendant and stared at it. It was undoubtedly the same pendant."This can't be," I uttered to myself in fear."Arena, what are you sensing?" I asked her as the fear tightened around my neck. She seemed uncomfortable in this bedroom, almost as though we shouldn't be here."Death! So many murders," she uttered."What?" My breathing accelerated, my gaze falling on every corner of the room."He--he used to torture his victims here before taking them somewhere else. I can see him beat them up and do horrible things to them. Carena! Their screams--" I don't know how she was able to see the past, but it started to send shivers down my spine."He killed so many innocent and--bad people," her voice mixed with emotions and confusion."We should not have come here," she murmured in dismay, causing me to step away from the closet and reach for the door. I took off without even knowing I might get spotted running down the hallway like crazy. Thankf
Carena:"I know you are going through a lot right now. Losing a family is not something one can get over in a matter of minutes. So I understand the pain you are dealing with. But I believe you are making this decision in haste. Just give it some time, try to heal, and then decide what you want to do. I don't want to take advantage of you when you are at your lowest," he gently held my hands, not even touching anywhere else, and helped me get up from the couch."You can sleep in the bedroom. I am awake anyway and have some paperwork to do. I will also be visiting your house to see what happened," he left me in his bedroom, making sure I was settled in his bed while he stood beside me, scratching the back of his neck.He was still confused why he wasn't called when the fire started."Just rest and let me know if you need anything," he insisted before he left the room, shutting the door behind him.I sat in confusion. My body had gone numb. There was something I brought with me when I l
CarenaI stared into his eyes as he bent his face down, reaching my level. “I will not like it if I find out Theodore is poisoning your ears against me, Carena.”His eyes kept flickering with color, making my heart skip a beat one after another.“He is not—,” I managed to utter, but my confidence was all over the place.“I hope not,” he finally used a normal tone and straightened his back. “When are you coming back home?”My head lifted to watch him in worry. “We don’t live together, remember?”I was kind of in disbelief that he used such a tactic to save me from the fire and somehow decided we should now stay together?“Oh! So where do you plan to stay then?” he asked, tilting his head. “Because Theodore’s apartment won’t be suitable for you.”I understood the warning in his eyes. He was making it certain that he wouldn’t want to know I was staying with Theodore.“I won’t be staying with him. I will get myself a motel room,” I cleared my throat, but he was already set on dealing with
Carena:"I wasn't an ideal kid. My mother used to face so much trouble because of me. Living only with my mother and being known as the grandson of such a renowned warrior, I always felt immense pressure. There were times when I would get exhausted from being compared to my grandfather. But that wasn't the only issue. I grew up getting mocked by the pack's kids my age for not having a father figure at home. And because my mother used to work closely with Sawyer’s father, everyone suspected them of having an affair, leading to many nasty rumors. I had to deal with it every time I went out. They would even say that because I only had a mother, I'd end up becoming effeminate. As a child, I used to get so offended by people talking about me or my mother," he spoke in one breath, almost like he had rehearsed this conversation many times. But today, he was speaking it out loud for the first time as he finally had someone to share his feelings with."And then when Sawyer took over, I grew ev
Carena:"Have you eaten anything?" Sawyer inquired once I returned to the living room after taking a shower. I wanted to know what they were talking about."Yeah, I did," I answered, sitting uncomfortably with him."I didn't expect you to come here. Don't you have a war to prepare for?" I let out a laugh, trying to joke."I don't need to. My warriors are prepared. However, I wanted to come here and be with you. I know you must be hurting," he said, slowly leaning towards me, his face coming close to my shoulder.My father and sister sat on the carpet with the food on the table."Thank you. You have truly done a lot for us," I said, steadily pulling away, but there was no place left for me to move to."It's nothing. I want to do the most for you. So much that you never feel miserable," his voice came directly into my ear as he leaned into my neck and pressed his lips over my earlobe.My heart flipped, and I gently placed my hand on his chest to push him away."My father," I quickly tur
Carena:The warrior stepped back into my view after showing me the sight of Sawyer."There will be another opportunity. For now, we've decided it's best not to hire a chief," he said with a shrug, patting Theo's shoulder before exiting the property.Theo looked as though he had been struck by lightning. He hadn't even opened the letter yet."Oh!" he finally exclaimed, lowering his head and sighing in defeat.I couldn't help but continue staring at Sawyer, whom the warrior bowed to before departing."Sawyer orchestrated this," I hissed under my breath angrily."I'm sure it's not like that. They will reconsider, and maybe then I'll think—" Theo trailed off, clearly unsure of his own words.Sawyer must have had a hand in this."I'll read this letter and come back," Theo said, wanting to get away to process his emotions. I knew why he desperately wanted this promotion. It would allow him to exert authority over grouping warriors and starting research and searches for missing people.He co