Chapter 5

5 years later...

MARCUS closed his eyes again when the sunlight hits his face. He turned to the other side of the bed to see if his girlfriend Hera was awake, but she was gone. He sat up in a daze and looked around the room. She was nowhere to be seen.

He picked up his boxer shorts from the floor and put them on before going to the sink to wash his face. He looked at his reflection for a moment, thinking about where he and Hera would go next to find their missing friend Calista.

During the time they were searching for Calista, Marcus suspected that she might be really dead. But no matter how many times he told Hera, she refused to believe him. She continues to believe her suspicion that Calista is still alive, despite the lack of a reasonable basis.

Marcus met Calista and Hera when he was twelve years old. He was orphaned and living in an orphanage at the time. Because of his lack of parents and his age, he was frequently bullied by his classmates. Calista, on the other hand, is exceptional in that she befriends him although he is several years older than her. More than that, Calista became his way of getting to know Hera which he will be grateful for forever.

It also hurts Marcus to accept what happened to Calista, but he has grown to accept the reality over the years. He only wished Hera would learn to accept it too so they could move on with their lives and slowly start again. He was certain Calista would want the same thing if she were still alive.

Marcus' gaze was drawn to the reflection of the scar on his neck. It was a bite mark left by Hera when she turned him into a werewolf. Hera at first refused to grant his wish to make him into a werewolf, but after he explained why, she agreed.

Because he is a mortal and much weaker than Hera, he cannot protect her against enemies. One of the main reasons he made that choice was Hera's decision to abandon her relatives to find and pursue justice for Calista's tragedy. He was aware that her decision could endanger her, especially since Henry was watching her every move. He can't let anything bad happen to Hera now that she's the only important person in his life.

"What could my darling have been thinking, and he didn't even notice I was already here?"

Marcus turned around when he heard Hera's soft voice. She was sitting in the center of their bed, smiling and staring at him. He approached her and kissed her on the lips tenderly.

"You know you're the only one who always fills my mind..." he smiled. "Especially here," he said, pointing to his heart.

Hera smiled even wider because of what he said. She pushed him onto the bed and hit his stomach jokingly. "You better make sure of that!"

Marcus laughed and looked at Hera. "Where have you been?"

"I was just taking some fresh air outside."

Marcus simply nodded. He took the remote from the bedside table and turned on the television.

They were both silenced when the show they were watching was abruptly interrupted by a flash report.

The news is about a small village whose residents were brutally murdered.

"It was a big dog! No, a wolf! I saw it! It killed my sons!" The elderly woman was almost enraged as she spoke to the reporter while sobbing uncontrollably.

Hera clenched her fists, her teary eyes fixed on the elderly woman on television. "This is what Althaia wants... To show everyone how powerful she is."

Marcus held Hera's hand to ease her mood.

Hera looked at Marcus. "I think you should return to our tribe and check their situation."

Marcus paused for a moment. "Am I the only one heading back? What about you?"

Hera rose from the bed and put on her shoes. "I'll keep looking for her. I need to speed up the search to put an end to these killings."

"What if Calista is already dead, Hera_."

"We've already discussed this," Hera interrupted Marcus. She looked up at him after tying her shoelaces. "You have to believe me on this, Marcus, because I know she's still alive."

Marcus stooped and fixed his gaze on the ground. "If she's still alive, why is she still not showing up? With the news of the werewolves murdering innocent people so widely circulated, why is she still doing nothing?"

Hera remained silent at first. "Maybe she isn't ready yet."

*****

CALLIE dropped her cell phone after seeing the news on her social media account about the village being attacked by werewolves. She closes her eyes, concerned about the situation of her tribesmen.

Callie couldn't quite imagine that because of the death of their former Queen Mother everything would all end like this. This is not what the late queen had taught them. She never taught them to harm other people.

"Is this what you want to happen, Althaia?"

Callie put her thoughts on hold when she heard her Mama Mercy.

"Callie, the food is starting to get cold!"

"Yes!" She grabbed her phone and stuffed it into her shoulder bag before following her Mama Mercy to the dining room table.

Mercy was at the dinner table with Simeon, who was wiping his silver dagger. Callie came to a complete stop and just stared at what he was doing.

Simeon was aware of Callie's stares, but instead of hiding the dagger, he appeared to be tutting it in front of her.

Years had passed yet Simeon remains emotionally distant from Calista. One of the reasons he treated Calista so coldly was that he disagreed with Mercy's decision to name her after their deceased daughter Callie.

"Simeon, will you please keep that thing?" irritated Mercy asked as she sat down at the table. She motioned to Callie to take a seat next to her.

They were simply eating breakfast quietly. When Callie was finished, she said goodbye and told them she was going to school.

"Go with your Papa," her Mama Mercy strongly urged. "He's passing by your school so just go with him."

Simeon got up first and went out of the house. Callie hesitated and followed him.

*****

CALLIE and Simeon were silent inside the car.

As Simeon focused on driving, Callie couldn't help but glance at his dagger to his side. She couldn't help but be saddened by the fact that he still didn't trust her. She noticed whenever she was around, he always carries that thing. Calista assumed that maybe if he notices anything suspicious concerning her, he will not hesitate to kill her with the dagger.

"Why are you staring at my dagger? Are you scared?" Simeon suddenly asked when he noticed her staring at his weapon.

Callie shook her head and looked out the window of the car. "If you always carry that dagger because you're afraid I'll hurt you, please know that I will do nothing to harm you." She dared to look at his Papa Simeon. "I am very grateful to you and Mama Mercy, and I can't think of any way to repay your kindness to me. However, keep this in mind, Papa. I promise that I will do everything to protect our family... Even if it means risking my life."

Simeon scoffed. Callie was perplexed by his reaction.

"Calista, how can I trust your words after witnessing how you fought against your people? You're going to sacrifice your life for us mortals? How can I believe someone like you who has neglected her race?"

"They were the first to turn their backs on me," Callie said with a heavy heart. "They murdered my family... They tried to kill me."

Simeon immediately stopped the car when they were in front of Callie's school gate.

"Perhaps they had valid reasons for killing your family," Simeon coldly said without even looking at Callie. "Maybe you aren't the victim after all... You might have done something that caused your tribesmen to abandon you."

Callie's vision became blurry as a result of the tears that had formed in her eyes. She couldn't believe what Simeon told her.

"My family did not deserve to die in such a horrible way," Callie said, her voice shaking. She quickly wiped the tears that were streaming down her cheeks. "We live a good life and never hurt anyone," she added before getting out of the car.

Callie couldn't stop her tears from falling until she arrived on their campus.

When she entered a hallway, she collided with someone and fell to the ground.

She started picking up her valuables on the floor, but she came to a halt when she recognized a familiar scent. She looked up to see who she had crossed paths with and was surprised to see the same guy she had seen five years ago in the hospital.

She unconsciously uttered his name. "Clyde?"

Clyde leaned and crouched in front of her, smiling. He wiped the tears from her cheeks with his thumb. "I am glad to know you know who I am."