“Hello boys, how are you doing?” Father asked as he stepped into the room. Looking at the three of us intensely, he walked to an empty chair, and sat down, then resumed his gazing. He was really expecting an answer? “Fine, father.” I answered, for me and my brothers. He nodded then, his eyes finding the document which laid idly on the floor. “I see that you have found the document of division, and retirement…” He started.We nodded, knowing that he needed echoes of agreement either in words or in deed, to keep his speech reeling, else there would be consequences. “What do you think of it? Is it not the best birthday gift?” He asked, and my brothers and I nodded simultaneously again, even though we actually thought otherwise. We would take our concerns to our step mother. She was the best advocate for us. She might not be our real mother, but she at least tried to show up, unlike the only blood relative we had left in the world. “I am glad that you think so, my boys. You see, i
I watched Daniel stutter, probably at loss at what to say, but I could also see the relief on his face. He had gotten the best deal out of the three of us. I looked at Noah. He wasn’t happy, but I knew it was because Dora had been chosen for Daniel. I couldn’t stomach the sight, so ignoring the consequences of walking out on my father, I stood up and walked out of the room, fuming silently, not believing that this was happening, not understanding either why I was acting this way. I banged the door on its hinges when I stepped into my room, anger riding over me in waves; however, dissipating a bit when I saw my stepmother folding my clothes. She shouldn’t be doing that. There were servants for that. Where was the butler? “What is the matter, Adam?” I saw the question first on her face, before it translated to her lips. I shook my head, walking to the beanbag close to my little library and settling in. I was not sure how to tell her how I felt. Dad has always ostracized her from
MAYAI watched as Adam and his brothers kept looking around the area where they had beaten me to near death, in scrutiny, as if they were searching for something, as if they were trying to remember something. Did this place make them uncomfortable as it made me? Are their hearts bleeding in guilt for the atrocity that they had committed against me, because their ego had been bruised? I hope so. I hope it bleeds to death. Beside me was Diana. She was watching them too. They had come, with the other elders of the pack, to wish goodbye to the witches’ community this morning. I could see Naomi’s parents-I hadn’t taken the time to seek them out at the party that night; seeing my mother had done enough disorganizing problems on me. I was so happy to see them though, that I hadn’t known when a smile slithered across my lips, until I saw the strange look of confusion on Rebekah’s face. She returned the smile still, and gave me a little wave, to the surprise of Naomi who didn’t think she
Immediately we touched down to the community via teleportation, I quickly started down the road to Peter's huts, glad they had arrived at the same spot where we had taken off from. "Maya, wait!" I heard Diana call, and faltered in my steps, coming to a total halt when she barreled into me. "You couldn't wait for me? Why?" "Well, I had thought the queen would have need for the magicians of the community, seeing that you are a high class mage, just like earlier." I answered, resuming walking, stopping again when I heard Raul call my name. What again? I turned around this time, to look at the company of witches that were already dissembling, each heading to their houses. And then I saw Adam staring at me, even with Rachel in his arms, even with Rachel talking about whatever. His eyes still remain fixed on me, undeterred, when Rachel stomped her feet, after realizing she wasn't the center of his attention; when she glared at me after finding out that I was the object of his attention
“What do you mean by Adam is here?” My incredulity rang loud in my question, so much so that my thoughts on the long white hair strand were forgotten. I stood up from the bed then, and started pacing wildly in my room, not understanding why Adam was like a leech that refused to get away. Was he that desperate for my pussy? Well, wouldn’t that be the same tactic which he had employed before? Show enough desperation to bed the girl. He had expected me to fall into the trap when he had mentioned the cave, thinking I was a different girl. Too bad for him. His desperation wasn't going to thaw the ice. If anything, it was making me annoyed, and more revengeful. “He has been here for the past thirty minutes. Mother had tried sending him away, knowing from your attitude in the party, that you don’t have a good relationship with him. But he has been persistent. And not even Dad threatening thunder and brimstone, and I vowing to cut his balls had managed to fend him off. Dude is determin
I was the only reason he was here?I chuckled, then stopped short when I saw the myriad of emotions in his eyes, the story in them, the seemingly want in them for me.He generally looked like a puppy panting after his master for a tap on the head. He looked at me like I was a drop of water needed by a traveler in the dry sandy desert.But I knew Adam. I knew what he had done.As I stared at him, my mind reeled off his deeds again—not that I ever forgot his inhumane acts— and my hands clenched into tight fists, as I struggled to hold back the urge to slap him. The anger bubbling inside me threatened to overflow, but I forced myself to remain composed, to keep my emotions in check.What was Adam’s plan? How could he look so serene, so calm, while talking to me as if nothing had happened? It was infuriating. If I didn't know what he had done, if I hadn't discovered the truth about his betrayal, I might have fallen for his facade once again. I might have been drawn back into his web of
“Sorry about that, I was just on a roll. Let me tell you the full story.” Adam whispered, turning to me, and I cringed. His whisper wasn’t good for me, and there wasn’t much space on the hay to make enough distance between us. Price to pay for a confession. Should be worth it please. “As I mentioned before. I bullied Maya. Me and my brothers. And as I mentioned before, she didn’t have the wolf gene, so she was the butt of jokes to a lot of the people in the pack. It had continued for more than a year without my father knowing, or rather without any report being made boldly to him, until a particular day.”A pause.“She had been bullied in the school’s cafeteria, and her friend, Naomi—the only one that she had deemed worthy to speak with in our pack—had made the report to the principal who oversaw the running of the school’s activities…”Adam chuckled drily. Most likely remembering the episode that wasn’t at all funny to me.“Naomi was adamant for justice to be gotten for Maya, prob
My breath hitched in my throat when Adam stopped at my words, and turned to face me. But not just his face now, but his entire frame; his rib area was on the hay, and his body was at a 180 degree angle. His eyes were full of emotions that were not healthy to my heart. “Why did you turn? I think you should return to your former position.” I met his gaze head on, aware that any slight movement I indulged would sell me off—that I was affected by him. If my words hadn’t revealed that much already.“Do I make you uncomfortable, Dora?” Adam’s eyes perused the contours of my face as if commiting the edges of my face—or rather mask—to memory, though I noticed that his gaze lingered the most on my lips when his eyes caught them. “Yes, you make me uncomfortable, Adam. I don’t like you, your brothers included. You all have this negative aura. Are you going to continue the story or not?” He huffed then, and turned away from me, returning to his former position. Thank the goddess. “Would y
At my question about the Queen’s vigilante beasts, Laura jerked and glanced at Peter, who in turn looked at Diana before finally landing his gaze on me. “How do you know about the beasts?”He asked, his tone taking a stern quality.I knew that it was on the tip of his tongue to ask if I had seen them, but then that was impossible, so he didn’t. Yet, it showed that Peter assumed anything was possible when it came to me, showed that I had a penchant for being at places or doing things quite spectacular. I could read that at least in his eyes.“Levina told me all about it when we had left the school’s premises. According to her, the beasts are being deployed as vigilantes in the community. Have any of you seen them?”Laura shook her head. “Levina must have told you that already. So, I don’t know why you would ask that…” She paused, probably seeing the slanting of my mouth in a smirk. “Quench that curiosity, Maya. Nothing good will come out of it this time around. The beasts aren’t Pro
Peter and Laura had said nothing when I came into the house, choosing only to stare at me or rather to peruse my entire self as if looking for hurt on my body. Their eyes had been like lasers, scrutinizing every inch of me as if they could see through my skin to the very core of my being. I had offered them a tentative greeting and shifted uneasily on my feet, feeling like a child caught with her hand in the cookie jar. Finally, Laura had broken the silence. “Go and freshen up, and take dinner. We can talk later.”Relief had flooded through me, though I knew it was only temporary. I had taken my time in the bath, letting the hot water soothe my nerves and wash away the grime and stress of the day. Each minute spent under the warm spray was another minute delaying the inevitable scolding. I had lingered even longer at dinner, chewing each bite slowly and deliberately, trying to stretch the meal as far as I could. But eventually, the plate was empty, and I could no longer delay.N
Expectation?I didn’t really have one for her, only that she stays true to herself and to me, just as Naomi had done.At least I had a new friend. Hopefully it will be enough to convince Laura to sleep tonight without scolding me. I was sure that the news of today had reached her ears. Peter’s too. “Thanks so much, Levina. You are a lifesaver.” I finally responded, piquing my eyebrows when she chuckled at my statement, when she loosened my hands from her waist, and turned aside to look at me. “I think there is a misplacement of some sorts. You are the lifesaver, Dora. It is because of you that I will be able to have a better school and social life; my life actually as a whole. I should be the one showing the appreciation.” She said with a beautiful laugh, her eyes sparkling under the board of moonlight, a sharp contrast to the first time I had actually noticed her. In the cafeteria, her eyes had been empty, totally void of feelings. She had been totally lost. I felt happy again th
It took me three hours to finish detention. Three hours of trying to fight my worst fears. Three hours spent cursing professor Bulock. How could such a cruel thing be used as detention? How could such a cruel method be utilized? I remembered his last words to me in class this morning, his last words that had sent a chill down my back. ‘No way for her to learn about our ways, for her to learn about respect and discipline in class if not through that.’ ‘That’ meaning detention. It would explain the reason why I had been the only one in detention. No one wanted their worst fears thrown at them. No wonder the sheer decorum in school.The bullying had only continued because of who the bully was. But I was sure that Rachel would repent if she was subjected to her fears. Three hours of living with them, and I knew that I wouldn’t disrespect Professor Bulock in his class again, so far as he let me be too. You are still giving conditions? My mind taunted me and I shrugged my shoulders.
I should be in the classroom reserved for detention but I was back at the bleak place again. That place thrummed with filth and despair, just like before.I sighed when a woman's despairing cry echoed in my soul, tearing at me, reprimanding me, drawing me back from the edge of a great precipice. Had I fallen asleep during detention?It was just as before.Every cell in my body craved food and something else, something I could lay my finger on, mostly because I had rehearsed the dream by now. Blood.The hunger raked at me with merciless claws until a red haze covered my sight and my pulse hammered with the need for immediate sustenance. Desperate, I scanned the area above my resting place for the presence of enemies and, finding none, burst through the rich layers of soil, into the air, my heart thundering in my ears, my mind screaming. I landed in a crouch in the midst of dense shrubbery and thick vegetation, and took a slow, careful look around me, not in the least concerned abo
It was the last class of the day, and I was counting down the minutes to the clinging of the dismissal bell. Five minutes to go. I thought giddily, throwing a glance at my watch. I was deathly hungry. After I had left the principal’s office, there had been no time to get to the cafeteria. I had returned to class hungry. It became crazier whenever I remembered the detention—a delay to having Laura’s food. “Well, it seems someone is in a hurry to go somewhere.” I withheld a visible flinch, somehow knowing that the lady lecturing us on magic and music was talking about me. I expected a frown on her face, but I saw a smile on her lips rather; a soft smile, as if I reminded her of someone interesting, someone that she cared about. I forced a smile on my lips too, and hers widened. She shook her head, and gathered her supplies on the table. “I will see you all on Thursday. Make sure to get your assignment ready by then. No excuses.” Assignment? She had given an assignment? I felt m
When we got to the principal’s office, he was in a meeting with someone, and so we had to wait by the door till he was done. We waited for about fifteen minutes before the door opened and Prof. Bulock stepped out of the office. When he saw I and Levina, a still milk-soaked Levina, he piqued his eyebrows, keeping his steely gaze on me. “What did you do to sweet Levina? What did you do this time around?” I snorted. “Does it look like I did anything to her? If your mind was free from prejudice as it should be, you would have noticed that. You would have noticed too, that I was her ally and not a foe. So much for the magic you claim to have for observation. Now, if you will excuse us, Prof Bulock, we have to see Mr Lethon.”Professor Bulock was standing right at the entrance, and his hand clutched the knob tight. Still, he was lucky I had held back from putting the emphasis on the right syllable in his name that would highlight a castrated cow. I wondered what he would do if I ever
“How long has this been happening?” I asked Sinclair immediately we left the cafeteria, enroute to the principal’s office. Levina has refused to say a word since we left, but that was okay. People reacted to situations differently. If I would take a bet, she was contemplating her father’s reaction when he finally heard the news. There was a minute silence, during which I inhaled the strength to shout at him if he chose not to talk about this troubling matter. But then, he started speaking. “For a while now. It’s not regular, but it happens occasionally, sometimes in the cafeteria, sometimes in the training field. Actually since her father had been elected the school’s principal.” I sharply turned to look at him. “And how many years is that?” “Five years.” My tongue tasted something bitter and bland. She has been bullied for five years? How had the father stayed unaware all this time? How had no one thought to slither the piece of information to Mr Lethon? Did they hate him an
There was laughter everywhere in the cafeteria. The matrons serving the food said and did nothing. Sinclair sighed in exasperation. I wasn’t sure of Raul’s reaction to his sister’s bullying. I didn’t look. No. I was already transported in time to the cafeteria back at the pack.I was transported to the past, to the particular time when Noah had poured milk on me; to the time when Daniel had joined them; to the time when the entire student populace, or most, had joined them in throwing food at me; to the time when the matrons had done nothing to help me; until Noami had run and called the principal. My fists clenched, while watching the girl sniff. She was about to cry.I didn’t know when I moved, didn’t care to know how I had gotten in front of Rachel in less than two seconds.I grabbed her by the neck and pulled her out of the chair. “Don’t dare use your magic on me, or you are gone, Rachel.” I said when I saw her hand twitching. It was a gamble. A very risky one, knowing th