/ ZHASK /Abby left me at the parking lot outside the club and told me not to follow her. I realized she needed a moment for herself after that intense fight. She had raised her voice at me and was on the verge of panic. I was used to that side of her. The Greya I knew would always argue with me. In fact, the first time we met we were arguing and at that moment, we both never expected we were each other's mates. Greya was loud and reckless, a fighter with a free spirit who didn't need my protection. She was stronger than me and sometimes, I always thought she was the one who was protecting me all those times after we mated. And this is probably why I fell so hard for her because I lost my mum when I was young, I didn't know what a mother's warmth was. But when I had Greya, she gave me that kind of warmth that made me feel safe and at peace Anyway, I watched Abby cross the street. I waited until she was safe in a cab before I headed to the apartment myself. I had gotten used to this t
/ ABBY / I wasn't asleep. I just pretended to be so he could go to the bedroom and sleep himself. But instead, he waited on the couch. I closed my eyes but a moment later, I could feel him moving towards me. Then, suddenly he was lifting me off the couch. I never dared to open my eyes and just let him do as he wanted. I breathed in his musky scent and it was warm and felt like home. I could also hear his heart beating in his chest and the warmth of his body as our skin touched. It was electrifying and felt safe at the same time.Then, I felt him place me on the bed. Still, I didn't open my eyes. For a second, I thought he was gonna sleep beside me, but he didn't. He took a warm blanket and covered me with it. I pretended to get cozy on the bed, stretching my arms and turning to the side, then I heard the sound of the door closing. I waited a few minutes before I opened my eyes and saw that he was gone.What he did was just heart-warming. I gotta admit, he was rather kind of sweet. He
/ ABBY /We went to the groceries afterwards and this time, he was calm again. I bought him some meat to eat because he said it was his favourite and we always ran out of those in the fridge. Then I also bought Zhask a phone so he could contact me anytime or if there’s an emergency.He took it and studied it as if he didn’t know what is was.“You don’t have that thing from where you came from?” I asked him.“No,” he said, flipping it over.“Well, you can call me using that. Here, let me save my number,” I told him, getting the phone back. I save my number on it then I save his number on mine, named it “Wolfie” because I liked that name better than his real one, then I gave it back to him.“Try giving me a call,” I said and gave him instructions on what keys to press.He learned fast so I didn’t have to elaborate it any further.“You can use that phone to call me, okay? I’ll be working tonight so I’ll be coming home late. You don’t have to worry. If I’m in danger, I’m gonna call you to
/ ABBY /I looked around the apartment for Zhask and even called his name over and over again. But there was no answer at all."Come on, you think this is funny?!" I shouted in the air, hoping I would get an answer, but all I ever heard was silence.Where the hell could he be? He wouldn't just leave without saying goodbye, right? This was so unlike him, considering he was the one who didn't want to be apart from me.I tried to call his phone. "Please pick up…." I whispered after hearing it ring.But then, I realized that his phone was ringing inside the apartment because it was sitting on top of the table in the living room.So I gave up and just sat on the couch, trying to think. He didn't leave me a note, he didn't say goodbye, he just vanished into thin air. It was past midnight already. Did he follow me to the convenience store? But that was impossible because I would have noticed. So what could have happened? Did his sanity come back? Did he finally realise he was a madman who es
/ ZHASK / A few hours earlier….I stood on the rooftop and waved my hand as I watched Greya leave for her part-time job. She made it clear that she didn't want me to follow after so I stayed and went inside. I felt alone. I kept trying to reconnect with Fenrer and did everything just to hear his voice again, but I still got no answer. I started getting worried about my situation. It's been days since I left my kingdom, I wonder what's already happening there. Did Beta Caden become Alpha already?The council must have been looking all over for me. I assumed by now, they would be raiding my chambers and asking for my presence. I just hoped the Blue Moon Pack could provide a good explanation or a convincing excuse. My position was in grave danger. Once they found out I was gone, I could be replaced anytime soon. This was the risk the Seer told me about. But like I said, Greya was worth risking everything for. I had it under control. I would take Greya back during the next full moon, it
/ ABBY /I woke up in what seemed to be a dark abandoned building. I realized I was sitting on a chair and my hands were tied behind my back. My head felt so heavy and I could taste blood in my mouth."Hello!" I called out helplessly. The room was empty except for the ruins or remains of things that used to be there. All windows were barred shut by boards of wood. I could not find the door either.There was a dim lamp light hanging on top of me but its light only added to the dimness of the place and my eyes were hurting from it."Hello? Is anyone there? Please, help!" I kept calling but it seemed like I was the only one around here.Then suddenly, after a moment of silence, a man appeared from a corner. He seemed to be an ordinary man, dressed in ordinary clothes until he approached me and I saw the looks in his eyes. It was bloody red, looking at me as if he wanted to kill me."W-who are you?" I asked, whimpering in fear."I see you're awake, Your Highness," he said in a deep voice,
/ ABBY /I closed my eyes, expecting my end. It was sad to know I would die here, in this dark and lonely place without even remembering who I was. I wished Zhask was here with me. I didn't think he abandoned me. I knew he would never do that. I was sure of it. But I guessed he could be dead by now too. The thought made me feel nauseous.My tears streamed down my cheeks and I wept hard as I stood almost to the edge of the embankment.I heard the man cocking his head. I never opened my eyes. I waited for the sound of the gun, waited for the inevitable pain.Suddenly, I heard a bang. But strange enough, nothing happened to me. I didn't fall or got hit. So I opened my eyes and to my surprise I found Zhask in a hospital gown, strangling the man with his bare hands. And the gun was on the ground.My eyes lit up to see him there and hope was building up inside of me."Zhask!" I called.He looked at me and smiled. "Run!" He warned as he continue to strangle the man. There was fear in his eye
/ ABBY / Zhask wrapped his arms around me while I cried against his chest. I still couldn't believe what I just did. It happened so fast. All I ever remembered was how angry I was and how much I wanted to kill him.Zhask rubbed my back gently with his hands. The gesture calmed me down a bit. I stopped crying and tried to take in some deep breaths. "You did not kill him," he spoke softly in my ears. "It was Safira, your wolf. She only wanted to protect you."I raised my head to look at him and furrowed my eyebrows. "Who?" I asked, curious."Safira… sweet and gentle, Fenrer's dearest," he said with a gentle smile and touched my face. He wiped my tears with his thumb. "There's a lot you need to know about her, and I would be much willing to tell you everything now that she's awake."I broke away from him after realizing I had been too close. I felt so connected to him earlier after knowing he had come to save me but now that I have come to my senses, it suddenly felt too awkward.I wipe
/ ABBY /The woman who saved Zhask and me took us both to her house a little further away from where she found us.She treated our wounds and gave us water and a proper meal. She even gave me clothes to wear and made Zhask lay down on one of their beds to rest.Her house was small but it was spacious, with big windows which remained open for the rest of the day. It was located in what seemed to be a small village with people whose main source of food was farming. The village was surrounded by fields of crops and small green hills, and little streams. It reminded me of the island where Adam and I used to live, except this village was even more traditional than that place. There was no car, no technology, nothing that the modern human world ever owned. Or maybe we were just too far from the mainland?The portal had sucked us up and brought us out into the open field near a river. That's where the little kid found us. Now, I had to adjust my state of being before I could decide what to d
/ ABBY / It took me a few minutes to recover from the impact. I bit off my shirt and tore some fabric to wrap around my wound.Things were all over the place in the kitchen. All that stuff Elvon owned was scattered on the floor, it felt like an earthquake happened.But there was no earthquake. I looked around and found a glowing and pulsing white light where the counter once was.I saw Genebeth standing up, gushes on her face as well, as she shook off dust and broken shards of wood and glass off her.Mark and Elvon were in the corner, all over each other, struggling to stand up. Mark was still holding a piece of chicken in his hands, his face looked like he had seen a ghost."What the hell was that!" he yelled in panic.Elvon finally gathered his strength and stared at the white glowing light in the corner. It looked exactly like the light I had seen back in the woods when I first met Zhask. "It can't be...." I muttered and stared in wonder."It seems like someone has opened a porta
/ ABBY /Elvon and Mark gathered weird stuff in the kitchen. Stuff we barely recognized, some of them were amulets, pearls, potions, and other witchcraft stuff. The scent of smoke was heavier than usual and the whole room just felt so weird and dark and moist.We sat in the living room for ours, just letting them do whatever thing they were doing and just waiting until something would happen. So far, nothing happened yet and we were bored to death.It was already evening and we were starving. We couldn't cook our meals there because they had transformed the kitchen into some sort of magical room or whatever. So Genebeth decided to just eat outside.We didn't want to disturb the two magicians in there so we left them behind, promising we'd come back with food later. There was a small fast-food restaurant down there near the apartment building and we all went there to eat. They served us some chicken and some soup and ramen. I didn't realize I was hungry when I finally tasted food."S
/ ABBY /"You're taking me to where?" the man asked, clearly confused about what madness we just brought him into."To our apartment. To meet our friend," Shade replied, trying to convince him to come.We were standing just outside his house, making a deal with a man who possibly had no idea what he was about to do. "I guess this is too quick for you, isn't it?" Genebeth muttered beside me. "Why don't we introduce ourselves first? I'm Genebeth, for a start."Genebeth nudged at me, urging me to say something. "I'm Abby," I said, extending my hand to him."And I'm Shade. You are?"The man shook my hand first, "I'm Mark."Then he shook Genebeth's and Shade's after."Done with the introductions. Let's get to the point now," Shade said, pulling out her wallet. "Here take it. It's all yours.""I can't possibly...""Just take it," Shade cut him off. "Take it and get in the car. We won't ask you anything more."Mark took the wallet and his eyes widened upon seeing how much money was inside.
/ ABBY /The car slowed down as we drove back to the blue house by the river. We took it as a chance to listen to what excuse Shade had to say."I stole some money from my parents and ran away from home," she explained to us. I could sense the desperation in her voice. There was also a look of disappointment on her face.Now it made sense where she got all that money. There was no way someone like Shade, a student without even a job, could pay for all our living expenses. There was no way.Genebeth gasped and we both went silent. "Oh my God, Shade," Genebeth muttered, reaching a hand to Shade's shoulder to empathize with her. "No big deal, I've done it a few times before, they always let me come back," she added, trying to be nonchalant about it but I could sense her worry. "Yeah, you're right. Probably this time, they're going to abandon me. I stole a lot. Like a lot. Enough to sustain my independence, including the bail money I got Adam and Zhask out of prison, and yeah, the money
/ ABBY /"Are you seriously going to pay him?" I asked Shade as we got back into her car. "Yeah," she replied nonchalantly, starting the car up and pulling into the driveway."How much?" I asked again, not sure if I would agree with this one."Not for you to worry about, girl. Let's just get back and tell Elvon about him," she told me as drove our car back to our apartment."What if he's not the one we're looking for?" Genebeth asked, leaving over from the back seat to get closer to us."Then we'll keep looking," Shade answered. We got back to the apartment and rushed upstairs to the rooftop.We found Lylion sitting on a bench by the floor, eyes closed and snoring."Lylion!" Genebeth called out to his surprise. He stood up and alerted himself."What's the matter?" He asked, his hands already on his sword, probably thinking we were in danger."Where's Elvon? We found the man in his dreams!" Shade muttered out loud."He's inside," Lylion replied and opened the door for us.Elvon was
/ ABBY /"Who the hell are you?" the man asked, staring at us with a very annoyed look on his face. He looked like he had just woken up with his ruffled hair and drooping eyes.Shade cleared her throat. "Uhm, you may not know us but we're here to ask for your help," she explained."I think you got the wrong person!" He snapped and started closing the door."No, no, no... Wait!" Shade stopped him and pulled something from her pocket. "I got something."It was a necklace, but not too fancy to be called a piece of jewellery. A charm, maybe. And she raised just at the man's eye level."You know about this, right?" Shade asked again, showing the man the object and letting him study it for a while.He seemed to know about it because his eyes narrowed. "Why do you have something like that?" He asked, getting curious now. "Because a friend of ours is one of you and he needs your help," Shade replied, trying to smile and convince the man.He debated against himself for a moment before he fi
/ ABBY /After I met Zhask, I went to visit my adoptive parents with Genebeth and Shade. They were worried sick about me but I told them I was fine. I explained to them what happened, but it was more kind of a lie as I left out a few important details. I didn't want them to worry about me."Mom, Dad, I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I didn't want you all to worry. I was trying to recover my memories and I went with someone without saying goodbye. Don't worry, I'm fine. I'm so close now but I need you to understand that there's always a hole in me that can only be filled once I figured out who I was before you found me four years ago, and I'm not going to stop until I remembered everything. Not when I'm already so close."Mom hugged me and carressed my back. "I understand, sweetie. It's your life. Your father and I knew this would happen but we're always ready to let you go. Thank you for being the daughter we never thought we could have again. Thank you for being Abby. We never
/ ABBY /We arrived at the mainland at six in the morning, just in time before the folks in town woke up. We returned the yacht to its original place in the port, and Shade welcomed us with warm hugs.I hugged her back, and we were crying. "I thought we'd never find you," she whispered to me."I never thought I'd see you all too," I replied, wiping my tears. "You're safe now, Abby. You're home," she told me and hugged me again.She paid our driver and told him not to speak anything about her elusive act last night or her parents would definitely ground her again or worse, send her out of the country for school."I guess that concludes our mission for the day," Genebeth declared. "Now let's go get some food. I'm starving.""Yup, let's go," Shade added, ready to walk towards her car which was waiting for us across the road.But I stopped her. "Uhmmm. I want to see Zhask first. Can you take me to him?" I pleaded desperately.Shade looked at me and understood how I felt. "Okay, hop in!"