Chapter 5

Seraphine

***

No, no, no!

It had to be some kind of a cruel joke. There was no way any of it was true, or anywhere near it. How was it that werewolves were real? How was it that they weren't only a part of myths and lores? How? 

These were the kind of questions plaguing my mind as I paced across the room I was supposed to be resting inside. 

It had already been an hour since he broke the news to me, but my mind was still reeling from the shock. It was understandable though. My entire life was turned upside down within the span of a good few minutes. The reality I grew up believing in was shattered into thousands of pieces with one flick of his wrist. It was hard at first; I refused to trust him. Then, one look into the depths of those swirling pools of amber, and I knew he was being honest with me. Moreover, something inside me wanted to believe him so bad, that I let him have the benefit of the doubt. For now. 

Slow, deliberate knocks at the door brought me out of my thoughts. Looking up from where my eyes were fixed on the floor, I saw him standing in the doorway. His upper half was leaning against the doorframe whilst his legs supported his weight. If my memory was serving me right, his name was Alaris, I believe. 

"Hey." 

"Hi." With an awkward wave of my hand, I replied to his greeting. I even tried smiling in his direction. Though judging from the way his eyebrows crawled up his forehead, it must have come as something awkward. 

"How are you feeling?" Pushing himself away from the doorframe, he took a step inside the room only for me to retreat mine. 

With a shake of his head, he raised both of his arms up in the air. "I mean you no harm." His voice was stern and his words unwavering. "I only wanted to check on you. I know it must have been a lot for you." 

"It was." 

"I am sorry."

"What's with the sorry? It's not like it was your fault that humans are oblivious to certain facts about our world." I huffed out in annoyance. 

"Well…," he drawled, "for someone who was raised amongst humans as one of them, you sure are not taking it so bad." 

"What were you expecting?" I scoffed. "Me being hysterical?" 

"Full disclosure?" He raised one of his perfectly drawn, thick eyebrows, distracting my mind from the chaotic thoughts. 

"I think we are past that already. No?" A dry chuckle left my lips as I tried to mask my annoyance. Why was his presence affecting me so much? 

"I was kind of expecting you to at least try and make a run for it." He casually raised those broad, buffed shoulders of his before dropping them back into their original place. 

"I still am expecting myself to do exactly that." I shook my head in disbelief. 

"Why aren't you though?" He took another step into the room, his eyes never leaving mine. 

Ugh! 

I groaned internally. What was up with his eyes? I had never seen anything like them. Heck I knew a handful of beautiful women, but he could easily crush their confidence with a single glance. The way his lips were pulled into a thin line when he wasn't speaking had me wondering about so many things. Was he always this uptight? This was definitely not the way he was portraying himself earlier. Or was it my mind playing tricks on me? 

Shrugging off the worrying questions, I decided to pay more attention to our conversation as he moved closer to me. Though he made sure to leave a distance of a few feet between us when he came to stand before me, his presence was still intimidating. 

"I asked you something, little one. Why aren't you running for the hills?" It was only then did the graveness of the situation settle on me. For all I knew, he could keep me captive in his lands as he called them. Or worse, he could get rid of me. After all, I knew of a secret I was never meant to find out about. 

My eyes flickered behind him to the open door; I contemplated my next move. Should I make a dash for it? It would be the most sensible thing to do. But before I could ponder over my following actions, my eyes met his once again. That was all it took for me to shake off my current thoughts. 

"As crazy as this may sound… I trust you." I found the courage to speak up. 

"Should you? I am practically nothing but a stranger to you." He shrugged, bringing my attention to those toned arms of him once again. 

With a shake of my head, I took two steps in his direction. "Don't ask me why? Or how? I just feel like no evil will get to me as long as I am here. You saved me. I don't know what could have happened to me if I was left there all alone. I still can not recall what went wrong with me back there. My memory is all fuzzy even now, but I know you brought me here to make sure I was okay. Didn't you?" 

He didn't give me the confirmation. It wasn't like I needed it; I already had my answer. The only question left was why did he confide? 

Why tell me the truth when it didn't have anything to do with me?

"There has to be something wrong with you that you are so willing to put your faith in one of the beasts of the night." He scoffed, shaking his head to either side. 

"I am breathing and alive. Am I not?" This time, I smiled a little wider and brighter as I felt tension leaving my body. It was good talking about it all with someone who knew everything because I knew that once I left this place, I would never be able to say any of it out loud. It was meant to be a secret, and I would make sure that it stayed one even if that involved lying to my friends and family. 

"Let's give you a small tour of the grounds, little one. Then I can get someone to bring you home." He spoke up as he turned around to walk out of the door. 

Given no other choice, I began following him, trying to stay close. Though it was proving to be a difficult task given how long his legs were. I had to jog a little in between my steps just to keep up with him as he guided me out of the building which happened to be their own private hospital. There was a lot left for me to discover here; he had only shared some basics of how things worked on their lands. 

"Where exactly are we going?" By the time we stepped out of the building, I was already huffing. Athletics was not one of my stronger suits. 

"Out of here." Tilting his head to the side, he pointed straight ahead. 

I took it as a silent command to look ahead. And, oh boy! Was I shocked! My eyes were witnessing wonders. 

Subconsciously, I took a couple of steps forward as I allowed myself to take in the sight—one thing at a time. 

I never could have imagined for the life of me that something so precious could be hidden amongst the vast denseness of the forest surrounding the peaceful Bella Coola. It was like they had turned the place into a bustling town of their own while keeping nature untouched. Despite the fact that I could see the tall trees surrounding the sleek architecture in the distance, they had cobbled pathways running across the land as far as my eyes permitted me to see. With my widened eyes, I kept scrutinizing the land, not caring about the fact that my antics were earning me cautious glares from the onlookers. 

"It's…" I didn't have words to define the magical place. "I-it's…" I was talking to no one in particular even when I could feel his presence behind me.

"I know. We have that kind of effect on those who visit us." I caught him shrugging in my peripheral vision as if it was no big deal.

"You allow people to visit this place?" I looked over my shoulder in utter puzzlement. Why ask me to keep this to myself then? 

"Not humans." 

"Oh…" His brief reply struck me like an enlightenment. 

"How do you do it?" I tore my gaze away from my surroundings to meet his eyes. "Maintain all of this while making sure that it stays hidden at the same time. It doesn't seem easy to me." I waved my hands in the air as if I was trying to make a point but the man refused to budge. It was like nothing I said or did would ever get to him.

"One thing at a time, little one."

"I do have a name and I assure you it's not little one." He had been at it since I woke up. 

"You will get all of your answers, but one thing at a time." He shook his head to the sides. "This is enough for today. Alex will drive you back home." 

"B-but-" Before I could protest, he interrupted me. 

"He will also come to pick you up after your classes tomorrow. Meet him at the same spot—the rock where you fainted." 

I was too shocked to speak and continued opening and closing my mouth a couple of times as words failed me. He was allowing me to come visit the place again? I wanted to thank him for the little token of kindness he was extending my way. But before my mouth could form a coherent sentence, a girl walked up to where we were standing. 

"Alpha?" She spoke.