Claire's POV The moment Luna Lisa was gone and it was just Alex and me, I turned to peek at him with a smile. However, the frown on his face was enough to stop me. I knew at that moment that the man was not in any mood to engage with anyone. Not his mother, not me either. It was understandable, given the fact that the man was probably going through a crisis while trying to understand why his life was the way it was, especially having to come face to face with the same parents who abandoned him.I should try to cheer him up, I know. But something in me kept telling me that there was nothing I could say or do that would make the man smile even a little. He needed to gather his thoughts together, and I was ready to give him that time. So, I yawned to get his attention. The moment he looked at me, I faked a stretch."I'm sleepy," I lied smoothly to him. I lay on the bed and covered my body with the duvet. I expected him to leave after my little act, but the man just scoffed at me."Quit
ALEXAKIS Talk to her, she said. Talk to her before finalizing anything.I couldn't believe that I listened to Claire and was currently on my way to see the older woman. It had looked like it was such an easy feat when Claire had said it, but now I was not so sure for my sanity if the woman who was my mother and I get talking. How could I have allowed Claire to push me into this? Was it because she offered me comfort?A smile crept up my lips as I remembered that little scene between us. The way I just held on to her like she was all that I ever needed ever since I came to the beginning of my existence. And technically, yes, she was the only one I needed. At least, at the moment when I felt all alone in this strange place.The sun must mirror my mood because it reflected as such -not shining brightly, just releasing enough warmth to keep the earth from being cold."Thinking you've hit the jackpot?" I heard a male voice snarl behind me. Without turning around, I knew who it was. "Kier
ALEXAKIS "Fuck!" I yelled again. This time, I heard squirrels and other animals running around the forest, thinking that a predator was around. Not that they could hide from me if I decided that I wanted to hunt them."What? He did it for his people?" The more I thought of it, the more my anger rose. "He bloody ruined my life!" I screamed. By now, I was sure I was the only one left in the woods because I scared the animals off. And no, I was not apologetic about it.What if I had perished in the forest? What if the wolves didn't take me in back then? Was that how I would have been the sacrifice for peace to reign in the pack?I felt burning anger rise more and more in me until I couldn't control myself anymore. My hands grew claws and furs, and I slashed at a tree in front of me. The anger did little to calm a bit, so I dug my claws into the tree again. I whimpered within myself, clearly not knowing why I was bestowed with a fate that was worse than death. I said worse than death bec
ALEXAKIS By the time I woke up, the sun that hid its face partially that morning was high in the sky, its light burning through my body, making my throat feel patched. With the temperature, I could tell that it was already high noon. I gulped some saliva to moisturize my throat before I let out a yawn. "Awake?" Claire asked me.I got up from her lap and let out another yawn. She chuckled at me slightly, and I snorted at her. She showed me her tongue, mocking me in a gentle way."How long was I asleep?" I asked her. I got up from the bed and stretched out the tiredness from my body. "More than 3 hours, I supposed." She eyed me wearily. "How do you feel now?" She asked me. With the question she asked and how carefully she asked it, I knew that she was talking about the matter with Luna Lisa. I sighed, not knowing how to begin."You did talk to her, right?" She asked again. I nodded. "Oh. It's okay if you don't want to share what both of you discussed with me." She said.I sat down b
CLAIREBy the time it was early evening, I was ready to leave with Alex. I paced about the length of the room, keen for his return. I know you all think that I should stop him, and ask him to stay with his mother, but it was his choice to make since this was all about him. All I could do was just stand by him while making sure everything was in order in his life. And by order, I meant seeing that smile return to his face just the way it always was before he learned about his relatives.I paused in my pacing and looked out the window to see if I would see any traces of him, but I got nothing. I went to the door and peeped, but still, I got nothing about him. I became tense, seeing as how it was already getting dark a bit, yet he was not here. According to him, we were supposed to leave once it was evening. After pacing for about five minutes more, I got tired of just pacing about and decided to go in search of the man.I left the room I was staying in and went through the long corrido
ALEXAKIS I stood in front of the mirror and watched as my black hair stood out in pikes, and my grey eyes bore deeply into me as if they were accusing me. And if they were, I knew they had every right. After all, I had defiled even my own words... right after I promised to leave the pack. But there was nothing I could do about the whole thing. If I hadn't seen what I saw, then I wouldn't have minded leaving no matter how hard Luna Lisa and her people tried to trap me into staying. But I already saw it and since there was no way I could un-see the whole thing - that is even if there was a word like un-see - then I had no choice but to remain behind until I could figure out everything.And to figure out everything, I had to know about the pack. I had to know about everything and everyone who made up the Morning Dew Pack members. To do that, I needed someone who knew the ins and outs of the pack. Somebody like... Luna Lisa. I shook my head in disagreement. There was no way I would go t
ALEXAKIS After Luna Lisa had ordered the man to take me around as I wished, she left immediately without saying a word anymore. For two days after her verdict, I kept following Kieran about, watching as he moved from one part of the pack to another just to make sure everything was going on smoothly.I looked up just in time to see the man diving for the left, and I quickly followed. If I hadn't looked up when I did, I knew I would have lost him just like I did that first day I started following him about. I didn't know why but I kept feeling like the man was deliberately trying to shake me off his tail. Something in me kept telling me that the man would have bluntly told me off if not that he didn't want to defile the order of his Luna -at least, not directly. He was doing it stylishly though. If the way he kept turning me away from himself was any indicator."Were you going to disappear on me again?" I asked him as I met up with him at the corner that led to the market. The man rasp
ALEXAKIS Seeing the opportunity for Claire to start doing something to earn some cash for herself, seeing as how she lost her earning -or thought that she did since I got all her money back from that traitor friend of hers- and she didn't like sitting still at a place for long, I rushed to her place.From the moment when I dropped her back at the place and told her that we were aborting the mission to leave, I hadn't set my eyes on her anymore. I knew she wasn't petty though. So she wouldn't hold my weird action against me. I should talk to her and let her know what it was that I saw. But that would be putting her in danger and I wanted to avoid that as much as possible. The less she knew, the safer she would be. I got to her place and knocked."Who is there?" She asked. I heard her footsteps approaching the door and I waited for her to open the door. The moment she did and saw that it was me, she closed it back, almost slamming it in my face."Claire," I called out to her. I turned