*Thelma*If there is anything about Ma that I have learnt over the years, it’s the fact that she isn’t good at bluffing. When Ma lies, she blinks rapidly and her voice becomes very high-pitched.“There is nothing wrong with you, Thelma. What are you talking about?” Ma squeaks as her eyelids rapidly move and she averts her gaze from mine.I know she is well aware of what I am talking about, yet I decide to retell the events anyway, in case she suffered some form of mild amnesia.“I levitated yesterday, Ma. My eyes look more vomit green than their usual golden mix,” I start by saying.Ma raises her hand and waves it in dismissal, “That is nothing, dear. Don’t worry about it. We will figure everything out soon.”Nothing? Had she just dismissed the fact that I could levitate…equating it to something as mundane as having two hands? I flew…I fucking flew.Ma had shown more concern when I had started my period. She had fussed over me like I was going to bleed to death. Ma had taken me to the
*Thelma*I run back toward the diner to check up on Rebekah. She steps outside the door and glances up nervously. The small fire has died down but the sign is charred.“Is it me, or are you short-circuiting a lot of electrical things lately? Do you remember what happened to the light at the nightclub on your birthday?” Rebekah asks.I shrug. I don’t think it wise to tell her that electricity is just the tip of the iceberg. How would she react to me telling her that I can fly?“Are you okay?” I ask, ignoring what she has just said.“Yeah, I guess. Do you think that you are jinxed or something? Or haunted. Do you think that stupid Ouija board we messed with at that fortune teller’s shop opened some kind of demented gate?” Rebekah asks.I can’t help but giggle. Trust Rebekah to have a wild imagination. She is the one person who believes in the paranormal and all things mystic. A week ago she had asked me to accompany her to see some psychic. She wanted to know if her crush was going to c
*Thelma*I feel goosebumps begin to form down the nape of my neck at her words. What did she mean I was being hunted?Madam Emma stands up and speed walks to another table in the corner of the room. She picks up a pipe and puts it in her mouth. She retrieves a lighter from her pocket and proceeds to light the pipe. I can hear her chanting something beneath her breath before taking a puff.She walks back to where I am still sitting, her blue eyes looking at me as she takes a long drag of the smoke.Is she really taking a smoke break? Now?“Tash moesh. Tash moesh,” she chants before blowing a cloud of smoke into my face.I wave my hand around to fend off the smoke without much success. I try to hold my breath and cough. What the hell? Suddenly I hear a ringing in my ears and something tapping insistently on the window.Madam Emma walks over to the only small window in the room and parts the black curtains, which hang on a flimsy string nailed to the top of the window seal. I blink my ey
*Fernandez*To get to the isolated, antique mansion that’s perched on a small hill, I proceed down the unpaved, dusty road. I hasten my pace as I near the gate of the house.When I reach the iron bars of the gate, I take out my phone and dial a number. After dialing, I look up again and see a shining light coming from the roof of the house. I am sure it’s one of the guards watching me using some binoculars.Ouma’s house is heavily guarded, which is common for the property of an elder. As much as we are hunters, oftentimes we made enemies and became the hunted. Fighting evil comes with its set of dangers. Monsters that survived are always seeking revenge. The more we tried to kill them, the more they tried to do the same with us. We are a threat to their existence.I hear a ringing on the other end of the line; once, twice, before a female voice picks up.“It’s me. I’m at the gate,” I announce. The phone line cuts and immediately the monstrous wrought-iron gate squeaks and swings ope
*Kyle*Wolves howling reverberate through the silent forest as the sapphire moonlight illuminates it. An eerie, silent wind blows through the pine and spruce trees, causing them to sway. As my paws step on a twig, the sound of it breaking makes me even more alert to my surroundings.I am sure I am being watched, but I don’t know by who, or what.I had decided to run through the nearby woods because I feel much better when I shift. My wits are sharp again as my vampiric senses kick in. Managing to slow down, my run turns into a small trot. I tune out my inner thoughts and listen intently to the world around me. I can sense someone’s heartbeat and shallow breathing. I pivot sharply toward my right side; I am certain I see a figure darting behind a tree. Since the migraines started, I am not sure if everything is just a mess, or I am just a bit paranoid.As the Alpha of the Kwaad pack, I have trained rigorously to keep my physique strong and fierce. It’s my job to guide my pack, and kee
*Kyle*My people have reported that the Lombard farm is quiet. There isn’t any sign of danger, thus now I am second guessing what the teller told me. If the witch is in trouble, there should be signs pointing to that fact. Now I have to convince her danger is brewing without any tangible threat lurking. What a nuisance….Pressing my foot on the accelerator of my Pagani Huayra BC, the car jerks forward. I practice the speech I’m going to say to the witch; as I do, I wonder what she looks like. For a witch, twenty-one years of age is quite young. I can’t imagine having a meaningful conversation with an adolescent about how her life's in danger and how I can save her.Save her from who or what? I pray Mathias has assembled a group to attack the Lombard farm as planned. The attack will be fake, but should be enough to drive the point of danger across. I come to the rescue, sweep her off her feet, and boom. The girl is mine.As I direct my focus back to driving, I notice the road leading t
*Thelma*The fireplace's dwindling flame crackles; the air stills as the dust settles. In deafening silence, the imposing figure in front of me causes my mouth to turn dry.I didn’t need anyone to tell me that this was the hybrid, Kwaad, Madam Emma spoke of. The beast that had entered the house earlier had been both majestic and terrifying, standing at what must have been twelve feet, on his hind legs, with a delicate slouch. With white fur that reminded me of a ball of wool, I wonder how it would feel burying my fingers into that beautiful mane. His gray eyes had a pleasurably unsettling effect, reassuring in their reflectiveness, yet menacing. Kyle is daunting, even in his human form. His gray eyes are like silver-fire; I feel lost in their flame as he regards me, but I don’t want to be found. Not yet.He steps closer to me…his scent causing my head to spin. I step back, but can’t escape, as my back hits something hard…a wall. With a finger, he tilts my chin up to face him. I lic
*Thelma*Kyle grips the steering wheel of his car tightly as we drive further away from my home. I gaze out of the window into the dark. The darkness seems to reflect my feelings as we move further and further away from my comfort zone into the unknown. Tears burn the back of my eyes but I try to blink them away. The serious look on Kyle’s face tells me he isn’t one to sympathize with mopey women; he made that abundantly clear during my farewell with Roy and Ma. Although I can feel the heat radiating from the man sitting beside me, I feel so alone. I have no idea where we are going, and my emotions have caused my throat to clamp up; I couldn’t speak if I tried.We left the other man and Rhea behind. I’m not sure if they will follow us, but for now, I don’t see any other car. It’s only Kyle and me. Alone. Ma had placed her palm on the window as the car drove away, fat tears streaming down her face. The memory of Ma crying silently while Roy tried to look strong from the door breaks
*Tobias*I look at the bloody mess in my bathroom and am thankful the maids paid attention when I demanded no one enter my room. Before leaving, I had made sure to lock the doors behind me for extra measures.I take a small cloth and begin wiping the blood on the walls. I open a tap and try to wash the one in the sink down the drain. Damn it. This particular move had really cost me a tooth. How else would I have made my attack believable? Pulling out my tooth had been excruciating.After I am sure the bathroom is clean and disinfected, I start washing off the makeup on my face and the fake blood from my hair and body. I wince when the towel makes contact with an open wound. The makeup had tied the whole look together, but I had to actually cause my body harm in case a doctor took a look at me.
*Thelma*What? Tobias attacked? By whom? I turn and run after Kyle wondering if whoever was trying to attack me is who attacked Tobias. I pray not; Kyle told me this place was safe and protected. How or where did Tobias run into danger?I smell blood as four men rush into the corridor with a wounded man on a stretcher. A pained sound comes from the man, who I hardly recognize as Tobias, is bleeding and both of his eyes are swollen shut. I push past Kyle and kneel beside the stretcher.“Tobias, are you okay?” I ask.The man struggles to open his swollen eyes; his cheekbones and jaw are bruised purplish-blue. Tobias rests shirtless on the stretcher that has been placed on the floor. It looks like someone whipped him mercilessly…repeatedly. The shredded f
*Kyle*The scotch I’m drinking feels great as the spicy liquid goes down my throat. I feel it as my Beta tries to mind-link with me, and I wonder what the problem is. It has only been an hour since I last spoke with him. Had Rhia given him a magical wedgy for leaving her in bed to run to my call?“What’s up?” I answer.“After I left the house, I went to see Leo and asked him to check if he can find anything about Tobias,” he starts.Ahh, how had I forgotten about Leo? He works with the human police. I could have asked him myself, but the thought slipped my mind.“Good catch, Beta. Does Leo know anything?” I ask and wait impatiently for his answer.
*Tobias*I survey my brother’s gray eyes and smile, which is more of a permanent scowl that has been etched on his face since my arrival. Although we are identical twins, I have always felt the absence of the bond twins usually share, partly due to the fact that we are a very rare breed of twins.Kyle inherited both vampiric and wolf powers from our biological parents, but I on the other hand was born devoid of the physical attributes and powers that my brother is blessed with. He has always been the best of our pair; he has everything I wish I could lay claim to.Our adopted Leviathan father had always praised Kyle for his power and level-headedness. He had trained with Kyle day and night to make him even stronger than he already was.I am the one who needed
*Thelma*I watch the spiral of the stairs below me as Kyle continues to carry me up them. I decide to stop struggling, as I am afraid this will just cause the giant monster who is carrying me to lose his footing and fall, which wouldn’t be beneficial for either of us.Once we reach the top, Kyle enters a dimly lit room; I can tell it’s his bedroom by the woody scent. He locks the door before walking over to the bed and throwing me onto it. I close my eyes and brace myself for the painful impact; I am surprised that the bed is soft and cushions my landing very well.When I open my eyes, they meet him, his orbs blazing with anger as he surveys me. Kyle’s eyes seem to flicker a red hue….I wince. Pure rage and disappointment, not like a parent has with their apathetic teenager, but something eve
*Kyle*The floorboards make a weird sound as I walk toward my bedroom for my date with Thelma. I can’t help but wonder if the house needs new floorboards already. Hasn’t it only been a year since Billy, the construction guy, put in new tiles?The thought quickly is pushed to the back of my mind as I hasten my footsteps toward the bedroom. I am both nervous and excited to see Thelma today.Hopefully my request for a bottle of champagne over ice with two flute glasses and a tray of chocolate-dipped strawberries has already been prepared.Glancing at my Rolex, I realize I only have about thirty minutes to spare before Thelma arrives. I must prepare myself because tonight I plan to get her to fall in love with me–well, maybe a little bit in love.
*Tobias*Looking dejectedly in the mirror, I shudder. The scuffle between my anxieties and my bad mood is ongoing. The migraines aren’t doing anything to improve my disposition.Coming here was a gamble. I knew that this would put me back in the depressing position of always being compared to Kyle.He is always the better one, right? More handsome, stronger and obviously much more responsible. I am tired of being known simply as Kyle’s brother; I am a man with my own two legs to stand on. I have my own identity, and this time, I will claim my place just as Tobias Logan, not Kyle’s weaker sibling.Tobias the drunkard, the one who always needs saving…I am so over that narrative.The healer I went to see
*Yasmeen*I whirl at the sound of someone sniffling, probably weeping. The witch rushes past me and I can see from her wet cheeks that she is crying. I can’t help but smile, despite my head, which feels like an army of ants is marching up and down my scalp. My day has been going quite miserably considering how Alpha Kyle seems to be avoiding me and ignoring my advances. What the hell does he want? I am the type of woman men crave, lust for, think of when they pleasure themselves, and more. I raise a hand to my head and try my best to scratch at the itchiness caused by the stupid wig I am wearing. I can feel the headgear shift clumsily as I attempt to scrape aggressively underneath its lace surface. Damn it! How do other women manage to wear these things on their heads for hours on end and still look graceful? This thing feels like a hair hat that was made with remnants of lice. Trying to distract myself from the discomfort, I walk down the corridor toward where the witch came from.
*Thelma*An earthly scent swarms around the new arrival; it should be enough to quench my curiosity, but there is something unsettling about Tobias.He has a devilish grin that tells me he has more of a quirky and flirtatious side to him, unlike his brother, Kyle. With his dark curly hair, a tanned skin tone, defined cheekbones and almond-shaped brown eyes, Tobias looks nothing like his brother.“The two of you don’t look alike at all,” I muse. I clasp my hand to my mouth realizing I have spoken my private thoughts out loud.“Who is more handsome,” Tobias asks with a mischievous sparkle in his eyes.I find myself mentally comparing the two men. Tobias is a little shorter than Kyle, but he is just