I closed my eyes while tilting my head. I'm so tired. Sitting all day was boring as hell.
"Here, have a snack first," Koko said as he placed a soda and lasagna on the small table. We are now at their house. I decided to stop by here before going home."Koko, why don't you take the position of my father in the mean time? After all, you were Dad's apprentice.""What?" He laughed. "Tita Eliza is the Acting Mayor. Just take turns with you especially when she is busy with her business.""Argh. I can't handle the loads of paperwork. Samantha should be the one in charge in the Capitol because after all, she graduated Law." I frowned and leaned back on the chair. I can't believe I'm complaining now. But it would have been better if Samantha and I will change task. Maybe I should ask her when we meet.I took a bite before turning to Koko. His forehead was furrowed and he was deep in thought. "Is there a problem?"He looked at me. "It's just that something's off with Samantha these past weeks.""What do you mean?""I..I don't know. I feel like she became distant.""Is that so?" I tapped my nails on the armchair. "I haven't seen her all day yesterday except that little encounter.""She didn't come home?" He snapped his head to my direction."I asked Manang Rosing and she said that she goes home early every morning. Sometimes she doesn't and just stays in the cabin."Koko just raised his eyebrows at what I've said."Anyway, are there any other animals in the hacienda besides the normal ones?" I asked remembering what happened last night."Normal? Is there an abnormal animal?""No! I mean.. like those strange creatures.""There's none. Why? Did you see anything?" I became speechless. Should I tell him? He might just laugh at me."Hey!" He snapped his fingers in front of my face.I slapped his hand in annoyance. "I saw something last night.""Saw what?""Animal.""A lost cow?""No!""Then what? Go straight to the point!"I took a deep breath before looking into the void. "It was so dark that I couldn't see what it was. But I saw a pair of silver eyes, gold to be exact. And then I heard a growl from something like a wild beast," I said while remembering what I saw last night. "What do you think?" I turned to Koko who was in daze. His face looked like he had seen a ghost, pale as if he had been drained of blood."Koko." I woke him up."H-Huh? A-Ahm. Just give me a moment," he said and quickly stood up. I quickly stopped his hand. He's acting strange. He knows something and he's hiding it."Sit down." I ordered him in a cold voice.He grabbed his hand before sitting down. "Damn it," he cursed."Come on Koko, spill it out."He looked at me seriously. "You know the story about this place right?"I nodded. He's talking about Magnusthad. According to the story, there were two friends who bought a large land. But they fought for some unknown reasons. They cursed each other. They divided the land they bought and promised not to step on each other's territory. Thus the name Magnusthad also split in two. 'Asthad' here in our town and 'Magnuth' in the mountains next to it. That was according to the story. Story that came from our ancestors."Do you believe it?" Koko asked."No. There are no people living there.""Are you sure?" He asked seriously.I furrowed my eyebrows. "What do you mean?""Nevermind," he said and turned his back on me.That got me angry. Why was he avoiding this topic? "Seriously Koko? Just get to the point, will you?!""I'll take you home."I grabbed his arm violently. He's not getting away. "Nobody's going home until you say something!""Okay fine!" He snorted. "What you saw is a wolf. A f*cking werewolf!"I let go of his arm. What..? Koko brought his face closer to me and stared at me intently. "And your life is in danger.""W-What do you mean that my life is in danger?" I chase after Koko. "Tone down your voice Lauren. Let's talk about it inside the car," he warned.What? Tone down? He's the one screaming! Koko walked straight to his parked car on the side of the road. When we entered, I immediately confronted him. "Don't be impatient. I'll tell you everything. Just give me some time to collect my thoughts." He was pissed based on his tone.He started the car's engine and we started taking the wide road. I removed the blazer I was wearing, leaving only my sleeveless white top. Koko glanced at me and immediately looked away. I just silently looked outside while waiting for him to speak. Werewolves were mythical creatures. How come that they exist in this modern world? And why did someone show themselves to me? What does it need? I tiredly looked at Koko who was still silent and looking directly at the road. Maybe I'm being inconsiderate. If I'm tired, he's definitely more tired. He even came to pick me up. I guess I need to borrow a car from my father. I bothers him too much."The day before you came here, Austin and his men found one. A she-wolf. They thought it was just a giant dog. They were surprised when it turned into a human. She's deeply wounded and very weak so they caught it easily. We don't want to alarm the people so we keep it in private.""They're real," I uttered in daze. "But how come?""I don't know. But there were rumors back then that they were true. Grandpa also said that he saw one when he was young.""The one you caught, where is she now? I want to see her.""Are you insane? You should be worried about yourself! They don't openly show up to people for no reason!""I can protect myself. Stop being dramatic."He snapped his neck towards me and gave me a glare. "Can you really protect yourself? They are pure blooded. They can transform from human to beast. And even in their human form, they are 10 times stronger than us. But how about if they shift? Do you still have a fight? Austin just got lucky for catching that girl." I was stunned by Koko's words. "And I'm not being dramatic. I'm just concerned about you. Yes, you are trained to kill bad people but you aren't trained to kill wolves. I hope you see the big difference there Lauren."I remained silent. He's right. But what should I do? Lock myself inside my room? How about my duties?"The population of Asthad is growing. There are also new faces. Little do we know that we are facing one of them every day.""Does Dad knows about this?""No. He doesn't need to know. It might harm his health even more."I started to bit my nails, a mannerism, especially when I'm restless."You have a gun right?" Koko asked after a long silence. I nodded my head. "Always carry it with you especially when you go out," he instructed.I combed my hair violently. Damn. Why did I suddenly became anxious? I have nothing to do with them in the first place.I went straight to my room after arriving home. I couldn't even look at Tita Eliza when I met her in the hallway. She didn't pay attention to me either. I looked at her over my shoulder and saw her enter Dad's room. I took off my office clothes and put on faded jeans and a shirt. I looked at the time on the big clock hanging on the wall. Seven o'clock. It's late but still early. My eyes landed on the gun lying on the table. I remembered Koko's instructions. I stared at it for a while before deciding to just leave it. After getting dressed, I peeked at the door. When I made sure that there was no one around, I went down quietly. I don't want them to see me and ask where I'm going.The moon was bright so I didn't bring a flashlight. I went to the horse stable. Fortunately, there was no one watching over it. I didn't have time to choose so I just took the horse that was closest to me. The horse was tramping when I took it out of their stable. He looks annoyed with me. I held the rope tightly while observing it's muscular body. Now, the question was, can I still ride a horse? I shrugged my shoulders. I won't know if I don't try. I quickly got on the back of the horse."Woahh.. Easy. Woahhh," I said laughing as the horse jumped up and down looking like it wanted to throw me to the ground. This one looks stubborn. What a pain. When the horse still didn't stop from moving violently, I put the rope around it's neck and gently strangled it. I heard the horse coughing but I didn't care. I'm being kind here but he doesn't want to cooperate. I caressed his head wheh he calmed down."Good boy. You like to go through violence—" I held onto the rope tightly when the horse suddenly sped away. I haven't order him to run yet! I shook my head head before adjusting my seat. I don't want to fall. I might even see a laughing horse if that happens. I focused my eyes on the road. The horse was running so fast, obviously angry at the human rider. In every hut that I passed, the workers turned their heads to see me.We traveled a long way and during those hours, this horse did nothing but gave me a headache. As soon as I got off his back, his leg extended. Fortunately, I managed to get away before he kicked me in the stomach. I just let it slide, he looked like he was going through something. I was about to tie him up when he gave me dagger looks. He retreated once, twice, thrice, until he was completely running away. I was left gaping. He left me alone. I clenched my fist.After calming myself, I looked at the cabin in front of me. It's too big for one person to live. Samantha was staying here. Since I came home, I haven't seen her. Was she that busy? There were many workers in the hacienda and they can almost be trusted so why can't she even go home? I don't want to ask Tita because she might say I'm interfering in her daughter's life. I came here personally because of what Koko had said about Samantha. Her actions made her look suspicious. I know I shouldn't be sticking my nose into someone else's life but I'm curious. She doesn't even visit our sick father. Did she totally became heartless?The light inside the cabin was on. The windows were closed and the curtains were properly covering the inside view. I knocked three times. No one answered. I repeated and I got the same response. No one seems to be here. I turned the doorknob. The door was not even locked. I licked my lips.Now, let's see what's inside Samantha's cabin.The door creaked loudly when I opened it. I peeked inside and there was really no one. I finally entered. I first noticed the boots scattered on the floor. The usual habit of removing shoes and not minding arranging it. There were also many coats and leather jackets hanging on the walls. These are the clothes that Samantha loved to wear then and certainly up today.There was nothing much here. A chair, a table. Apart from the bread toaster and coffee maker machine, there was no other furniture nor appliances to be seen. I looked up at the stairs. That must be Samantha's bedroom. I was about to go up when something caught my eye. On my side was a long black curtain. It swung open slightly and I saw a shiny object. I touched and pulled back the curtain and it was revealed to my eyes the things that Samantha was hiding.Spear, bow and arrow, and different kinds of guns. But what caught my attention was a crossbow. Where does Samantha use these things? I took an arrow and gently touched i
I took the other route. I avoided going through Samantha's cabin as much as possible. No news had come out about what happened last night. As Koko said before, it was better to keep the wolves a secret so that the people will not get afraid. But what puzzles me was Samantha and her group. They were fighting one on one with wolves. With their bravery and courage to face those creatures, they were in doubt used on fighting them. Did they know the existence of wolves ever since? Samantha is a big mystery to me. The horse slowed down. My mind was wondering too far I didn't realize that we were already here in the border. There was a small fence made of cement. This serves as a sign of the extent of Asthad's territory. And now, I was facing the thing that saves Samantha and the others. This was the trap that they were saying. A chasm. And it's dark, wide, and deep. Regardless of that, I was still able to see what was at the bottom of the pit. The sharp and thick metals were covered in bl
I quickly reached the Plaza. There's a lot of people here and most of them were couples, young couples to be exact. I sat on the bleachers while looking around. I've only been waiting for Koko for a few seconds but I'm getting impatient. I looked up at the ice cream seller under the acacia tree. I reached into my pocket for a coin and bought one. I haven't tasted food like this for a long time. I was eating it furiously while one of my feet taps the ground continuously. My heart was still beating fast. I've been away from this town for a long time while Samantha grew up here and had been with Dad ever since. But why did they give me this information when I just arrived in this town? It should be Samantha, not me. When my eyes caught Koko's car, I easily stood up and approached him, carrying the book that the strange man purposely gave me earlier."What is this all about?" he asked me with a wrinkled forehead after getting off the car."Let's go somewhere else," I said and pulled his
After parking the car in the garage, I immediately went to the horse stable. It's still early so there aren't many workers in the hacienda yet. I picked a brown horse. I'm about to ride on his back when a black horse nearby suddenly caught my attention. He was in the other stable alone and his black eyes were looking at me. I returned the taken horse to his stable and approached the black horse. The horse started to wagged his tail. He let out a low grunt too as I approached him. I caressed its neck. This was the horse Koko was talking about before. I grinned. Looks like we'll get along well. I didn't think twice and immediately took him out of his stable. I love horses ever since and as I watched the horse in front of me, I can't help but to be mesmerized. This one was way bigger and taller than normal stallions. His legs and muscles look strong and sturdy and I'm sure that he can endure a long and fast ride. I climbed on his back. "From now on, I will call you Brigo. That will be
The Rogue slowly approached and encircle us around. I have my gun pointed at him and watching carefully his every move. The rain started to pour. I tightened my grip on my weapon as the rain grew stronger and I could barely see through it's thickness. Brigo was just next to me who was in a poor state. I can't ride him again because his wound was so bad and it's obvious that he's already weak from the amount of blood he'd lost. I kept thinking on how I could get out of this woods with my horse in his condition. My conscience can't bear to just leave him here. He came here with me so we should also go out of this forest together. But we need first to defeat the enemy in front of us. I need to face it and there was nowhere to run anyway. We need to kill it for us to escape. The Rogue jumped and immediately attacked us. I quickly dodged and when his large body passed by my side, I strongly thrust the dagger held in my left hand. The Rogue whimpered in pain. I immediately pulled the dag
Me and the brown wolf kept on staring at each other. It was only interrupted when four giant wolves appeared. They were stunned when they saw me. The brown wolf glanced at me once more before he faced the newly arrived wolves. I just stayed where I was standing while looking at them talking using the wolves language. From their posture and their expressive eyes, there's no mistaking it that they belong to a pack. The four wolves quickly left in the direction where the three wounded Rogues ran earlier. I think the brown wolf gave instructions to capture the three."W-Who are you?" I dare to ask.The wolf stared at me for a moment before gradually changing it's form in front of me. My eyes widened when a gorgeous man appeared in front of me."Hi," he greeted me with all smiles. I was dumbstruck. I find it hard to utter a word. I felt like I was stoned when he smiled at me. His brown eyes were now green. He has a red lips and his thick left eyebrow has a lining on it. My eyes went down
We traveled for about 30 minutes before we arrived at the Witch's house. Jacob carefully placed me on the ground."Is that the house?" I asked him while looking at the small house in front of us. "Yeah," Jacob answered. I studied it. The house was made of pure wood. It was small but it looks sturdy. Behind the house was a huge rock covered with thick moss. Around the house was a small river and the blue water was sparkling and flowing fast. The small river just goes around the house without any direct source of water. There's no doubt that this was a house of a Witch.I cleared my throat. "H-Hello?" I said in a rather loud voice. I heard the laughter of Jacob and Sebastian. I looked at them in confusion. What? Am I doing it wrong? "Lauren, you wouldn't see a Witch if you call them out outside their house's. You need to knock on their door," Jacob explained with a slight laugh. Oh, so that's how it is. "Sorry, I didn't know." "It's fine because you kept on entertaining us," he sai
I slowly opened my eyes when I felt thirsty. I stared at the ceiling for a long time and wondered if the ceiling in my bedroom was this color. When I realized that it wasn't , I jumped out of bed. "Shit," I mumbled and rubbed my temple because of the dizziness I felt from my sudden movements. I looked up at the table nearby and quickly picked up the glass and a pitcher of water to quench my thirst.I looked around the room. A combination of gray and white color. The room was very elegant with only few things, it was also clean. The bed I was in was big and spacious, the sheets and bedsheets were also white. Only then did I notice that I was wearing different clothes. I was wearing a loose white dress with the SpongeBob logo on the front while I was wearing short walking shorts underneath. I took a deep breath and calmed myself down to the foreign things I was seeing. I now remembered where I was and why I was lying here. Jacob must be nuts! He's gone crazy! What should I do now? Sho