Methis Delis POV I yawned rather loudly as I woke up. The rays of sunlight from my window penetrated my closed eyelids so much that all I could see was an orange hue, similar to eigengrau."Brrssh..ching...Kling! I heard glass shatter from downstairs. The shock from the sound made me fully conscious almost instantly. "What was that?" I thought. I then hurriedly got off the bed and headed downstairs. As I got out of the room, I heard the voice of my dad shouting at Katherine. I slowed down and decided to eavesdrop. "Was he having a fight with Katherine?" I thought. Though a bit distant, I could hear them rather clearly. "Did you really think that would make me happy? huh?!" dad yelled."I swear, baby, I had no choice. I couldn't bear to see you that way any longer," Katherine said in a teary voice, "I had to do something, anything. I'm so sorry baby," she apologized desperately."There's no way I'm gonna let this slide," he said, "she's just eighteen. Eighteen godammit! and you made h
Xander's POV I heard the door unlock as I whipped up some spicy ramen in the kitchen."I'm back," Sophia said as she got in and shut the door. I closed the lid of the pot and came out from the kitchen to see her."Damn, looks like someone took a shower in the rain," I mocked with a chuckle."Not funny, Xan," she said as she marched into her room, with squishy footsteps that made me laugh even more. In a few minutes, she was out after probably having taken a hot bath. "So how was your first day?" I asked as I went into the kitchen to turn off the stove. "Terrible," she replied, "I mean, who knew that lectures would be even more boring than high school classes?" she asked rhetorically."Welcome to my world," I said as I served two bowls of steaming hot ramen on the table. "And, hey, FYI, it just gets worse," I added."Well, it isn't all bad. At least I get to meet Methis everyday just like back in high school," she quipped."Methis? That's the hot girl from the freshman party last nig
Jamal POV Now the Outback was a place for traitors and those who were accused and found guilty of mutiny. However, those sorts were sure to not survive in the face of others such as the witches and wizards of dark magic that were also sent here as punishment. From word-of-mouth sources, it was also speculated that tiny communities were formed by these outcasts to help their chances of survival. This I could support. On the first night, I saw campfires burn and after making sure that the White Witch was still in my sight, I followed them to come into a small town. Not too small to overlook, but not too big to take notice of. I came as close as I could dare but had to keep my distance. I would not want people to notice me in a land they have dwelt longer than I have. I did not want extra trouble for the ones I had already prepared myself for. Sure enough, I was able to recognize some of them. The ones I had personally banished after the Great Mutiny of the Dark Witch, others I had bani
Jamal POV I stopped dead in my tracks as I tried to piece together my thoughts. There was no way this was real. This was more serious than many could realize. Did the White Witch know? I now had to be very quick with finding her or there might be deadly consequences even I was unaware of. It was bad enough that even in her banished, weakened state, the Dark Witch had the ability to put up a fair fight against the White Witch. Now there was the possibility that there was someone else whose power could match the powers of the Dark Witch and effortlessly blend into a fight against the White Witch. Maybe even in exile, the Dark Witch needed to be kept in check. It was too much of a risk to leave her roaming about. As for me, the perfect solution was to find the Dark Witch and relieve her of her head. Perhaps the White Witch had other plans. I wandered around the cave almost aimlessly as I followed the scent trail. Their voices still echoed around the cave but I paid no heed to that. Some
Jamal POV “I’ve said once I’ll say it a thousand times. I won’t hesitate to put you out of existence if it comes to it.” I took some paces forward so she hears me clearly – it was not as if I was not already loud enough. “You are NOT indispensable; you are as replaceable as a torn underwear. Don’t overestimate your worth. You are just another whore in the whorehouse.” That last bit of words must have stung the Dark Witch so bad because her next moves were as vicious as her demeanour in battle. She was weak without her staff, but not powerless, and with the little power she had left, she used it on a spell that flung the White Witch miles away as black dust swirled around her. Now on her feet, the Dark Witch lunged at me quickly. The problem was, I was prepared for this. With help from my reflexes, I swerved to my left, side stepping her and thundering my fist in her side. She collapsed immediately and I flung her over to the wall of the cave. It was time to maul her to death. I tran
Methis Delis POV Lunch moved quickly after that and soon we were all done. I got up from my seat and headed to class. Class was going to be brief as we were just going to be given little orientation as to the projects we were currently working on. If there were any complaints from the companies about any student, it was going to be addressed in that class. I entered the class just in time as the Professor was coming into the class too. Xander came just two minutes after I had come. It was just a few minutes late but he seemed to have a smile on his face that showed he was pleased with the time he arrived – Xander had arrived at later times. One time he came an hour late and gave an excuse for traffic jam as if he was the only one living in the city, once, he said he had to buy a new shoe because his old one was swallowed by his cat. An excuse meant to amuse rather than to get out of trouble and amusement it did as everyone including the professor burst into laughter and he was let go
Jamal Kunis POV Was it just me or was my head getting clearer and clearer? I tried my best not to believe that there was some sort of hangover from the curse the Dark Witch had placed on me that lived on till this day but as the days went by, I was having a feeling that I was wrapped around more dark magic than I knew or cared to realize. The way back from the cave we had fought to the palace of the wolf world was not as treacherous as the going. Unlike the going where I had tailed the White Witch, we came back in unison and it was easier to keep an eye out for danger. The outcast settlement I had noticed before was now gone and according to the White Witch, there was a perfect explanation to that. The souls of the dead in the Outback often times needed to feed on the souls of others to keep them attached to the mortal world. As such, the souls of mortals were easy targets and raiding settlements was one way to make sure that they had excess souls to keep them locked on earth. “Why
Jamal Kunis POV “I don’t know. In the library. He is always there. He almost lives there.” She wiggled the fish as she spoke, absentmindedly staring at it and admiring her win. “Is he really my twin?” The question hit me in the face and I looked down at her. “Why would you ask that? Of course, he is.” “Well, my friends say that twins are usually alike. And he behaves nothing like me.” And neither you like him, I thought. I bent down to level with her. “If you both behaved the same how will we tell who is who?” I joked. Summer giggled at the joke. “I am a girl; he is a boy. It is easy to tell.” “Everybody has a separate behaviour, a distinct demeanour. So if your brother likes to read, then he likes to read. Not even twins are alike. But that doesn’t stop him from being your brother and that shouldn’t stop you from loving him.” “I do love him.” “That’s the spirit.” I encouraged her. “Now, could you go outside and throw that fish away it is staining the whole floor.” “OK, Daddy.
Jamal's POV"What do you mea....""Don't pretend like you haven't been thinking about me since the last time we met," she said, "I can see the nervousness in your eyes," she added as she leaned her face closer to mine while standing on her tippy toes. I quickly recoiled. Any further, and it'd have been a kiss.Ding!Finally, the ordeal was going to be over. The doors were about to slide open and I braced myself to get the hell out."Stop pretending like you don't want me!" She yelled.Affirmative. She's crazy."I would advise you to get some medical attention," I said as I slowly walked towards the doors which were now sliding open, "You need help," I added as I got out of the elevator."You can't keep it up forever. Your pretence can only take you so........." She was saying, her voice dwindling into a diminuendo as the doors slid shut. Talk about crazy.I walked down the corridor to Methis apartment and then knocked. I could hear footsteps approaching from within and took a deep bre
Jamal POV“I’m doing well, Sir.”“Why are you here? Same reason?”“Same reason, Sir.”“What have I told you in the past?”“That she is not meant for me. But hear this, Sir. I really don’t care what you think about us anymore and honestly it’s been hard for me as well having to see the one who I love reject me so often. So here’s what it is. I’m trying just one more time. Just one. That’s why I am here. To make my peace one last time. I really love her, Sir. I know that deep down you know it. She must have told you about out time during surrogacy. Even though you might look at it as a thing of tragedy which I completely understand, I implore you look at it from the point of I and Methis as well. She really enjoyed it, and so did I, Sir. You can ask for her own opinion. Just don’t intimidate her when doing it.”I sat staring for a while. Thinking if I should go on or just keep quiet. It would be nice to know what he was thinking but from the way Methis’ father kept his countenance, it w
Jamal POVI returned to the shore to see the woman sitting and examining the beast. She gave me a puzzled look.“Where did you come from?” she asked.“My pet wolf ran to me alerting me of danger,” I casually said.“Well, aren’t you a bad master leaving your pet wolf to deal with this thing alone?”“That thing knocked me unconscious that’s why I could not help him,” I lied.“Alright let’s go then. Where is your pet wolf?”“I just buried it.”“Poor thing.” She gave a little sob.We walked back to the boat and made our way back to the city.“What is that thing?” I asked.“I’m supposed to be asking you. You are the one stuck on that island with it.” She gave me a puzzled accusing look. “And a pet wolf.”“Well a different fisherman dropped me there and ran off,” I lied again.“Is it Bob? He’s the coward around here”“How did you see the beast?”“I was out fishing one day and I saw it shoot out of the sewer and I thought ‘What the hell?’ so I went after it but I lost it.”“Why didn’t you ca
Jamal POVI could not believe I was about to do this now. I was about to wrestle this large snake. I could feel my hands sweat as I made my way to the edge of the island. I stopped just beyond the water and took a deep look into the water. From here, I could see its massive outline looming deep beneath the blue, casting a dark shadow in the sea. If that thing truly did swallow the key, then it must have digested already. Either way, today was the day I made my biggest hunting kill. The only problem is unlike other animals I have hunted, this one seemed to have some sense of reasoning. So maybe I could use that against him. I usually did not like to strike first in a fight so maybe I could make this snake strike first. I’d egg him on.“HEY!” I shouted from the edge of the island. “I am ready! Let’s go! Let’s fight!”The beast circled around the water, creating little waves that emerged on the top of the ocean and splashed on the island. I was beginning to question the sanity behind thi
Xander POVI had been chatty at work for some time now. I talked often, perhaps more often than I realized because I was getting more compliments like "What made you start talking so often?" or subtler ones such as "You look to be in a good mood recently." One time, a young lady working with us asked me what had happened during the time I had first begun working here till this moment. They all thought I had received good news that carried me for a long time but in reality, I was the saddest I had ever been in my entire life. I had not realized I talked more often until all the compliments came pouring in. But somehow it all made sense.I was talking more often so I distracted myself from the pain I was feeling. My subconscious mind was trying desperately to find a new connection to forget the broken one o had with Methis. In the past few weeks, I had experienced pain that hit harder than hammer, pain that cut deeper than sword. It was more than a heartbreak. A heartbreak was not the k
Methis POVI woke up the next morning, a pounding headache threatening to split my forehead into two and tossed it in the bed next to me.Again, typical. The practice of waking up with another problem bothering me had almost become routine so I wasn't really surprised.Nevertheless, I dragged myself out of bed and prepared for school. Irrespective of my feelings, life had to go on right?The first few classes were boring as hell, and I was extremely uninterested, which made the ring of the bell for lunch break a very welcome development.I walked into the cafeteria and almost immediately, my eyes fell on her. Sophia, sat alone at a table, picking her food, a bored look in her eyes.It made me feel like shit, she was alone because of me. I was her best friend, we did everything together including lunch and now we were fighting she had to suffer the discomfort of sitting in the cafeteria and eating alone, with nobody to talk to.I had to fix that.Taking a deep breath, I grabbed my tray
Jamal’s POVI woke up, already feeling exhausted and drained, I allowed my body to revert to its human form as the involuntary transformation subsided. I lay there for a moment, the gritty sand beneath me a stark reminder of the ordeal I had just faced. The sun dipped low on the horizon, casting a warm glow across the island.As evening descended, I woke from a restless slumber. My surroundings were eerily quiet, except for the distant murmur of the ocean. Pushing myself up, I took stock of his situation. The city lights shimmered in the distance, a connection to my realm that seemed both distant and unattainable.My exploration of the island unfolded like a surreal odyssey. The air was thick with the scent of salt and untamed nature as I ventured into the heart of the unknown. The landscape revealed itself in layers — dense clusters of foliage, rugged terrain, and mysterious, hidden corners.The island's interior held a complex tapestry of life. Vibrant flowers bloomed in patches, th
Jamal’s POVThe dark witch, a shadow from the recesses of his past, cast an ominous pall over my thoughts. Her malevolence, the catalyst for the arduous journey through the realms, loomed as a reminder of the trials I had faced. In the face of this formidable adversary, I found the strength to swim against the currents.With a newfound surge of determination, O pushed against the encroaching darkness. The thought of Methis waiting, of my cubs growing up without their father, of the pack relying on my leadership, propelled me toward the surface. The image of the moonlit realm, my sovereign domain, beckoned as a distant haven.Yet, the cruel reality of physical exhaustion proved insurmountable. As my limbs strained against the water, the weight of my shifting form, soaked and weary, became an anchor dragging him into the depths.Then, everything went dark.* * *I woke up to a sound.Vaguely aware that I was lying on the floor, in the pitch darkness, my vision swimming around me, I groa
Methis’s POV“You know if you keep at this you won’t ever heal. No one is above problems. Not even me the counsellor.”“Well go deal with your own problems instead of mine!” I blurted out. All he needed to do was raise his eyebrow at me and I realized my mistake. “I am so sorry, Sir. I did not mean it that way, Sir.”“It’s fine, Miss Delis we all lose our cool occasionally.”“Please just call me Methis.”“So what’s the issue here Mehtis?”“It’s my best friend. I think she hates me now.”“Why would assume that?”“Well, I went to talk to her today and she snubbed me. A friend of mine and her brother had a fight earlier so she is mad at me for it all.”“Understandable.”“What do I do?” I asked.“Just talk to her. Keep aside any friendliness. Talk to her like a new person. Like you are meeting a stranger that you want to make your friend but this stranger has some prejudice about your race. Just imagine that sort of scenario. Then apply it in real life. alright?”“Alright. I have a test t