Bolting through the forest, I noticed a clearing before me, which meant the river was just beyond my reach.
Papa! Please be there! Please!
Jumping into the clearing, I quickly slammed into a boy who was strolling by the river’s bank along with a group of kids. We both tumbled onto the floor as I found myself straddling him while he winced because of the blow.
I tried to hold myself back from falling into him entirely. Luckily, the sharp rocks didn’t dig into my skin as he had unwillingly protected me from that. My hands were firmly planted on his chest.
“Ouch! Watch where you’re going!” the boy complained, suffering the scrapes that were meant for me.
His voice was so soft and alluring, yet I grabbed onto my hood, refusing to gaze at him. From where I was, I could only see his chest rise and fall. For some reason, I froze in place, unsure of how to respond. Even though I knew a beast was coming for me, I couldn’t move from where I was.
Why... do I feel like I belong here?
I felt safe for the first time since all of this began.
“See, Loki! This wouldn’t have happened if you had listened to me! Ma’s going to be angry with us!” Another boy sighed next to us.
My body trembled, trying to control my emotions as I tried to figure out what my next move was.
If that thing is still following me, we…
“Shut up, Oz! We barely ever get out! This is better than staying under Flora’s constant oppression.” Loki snapped, grabbing onto the sleeves of my shirt.
A snake-like thing slithered down to his belly before gazing at me with his bright blue eyes. A throb rushed through my body, triggering me to bite my lip and dart my glance away from it. It was black with blue eyes like the beast that was chasing me, but instead of scaring me, it appeared utterly adorable.
The little snake also had fluffy wings spreading from its body.
Will they also want to hurt me?
“Hm, do you enjoy that girl being on you, Loki?” A female teased the boy I was with from behind me, triggering him to click his tongue.
In an instant, I could feel his glare, even though I couldn’t see it.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing? Get off me already!” He huffed as the sharpness in his voice caused me to get up right away.
What am I doing?!
However, before I could try to bolt away from them, the one named Oz grabbed onto my wrist, preventing me from running. The sudden warmth of his skin froze me where I was as my eyes met his sky blue ones. Within his iris was a purple ring, as he had two beauty marks on his right eye.
He also had silvery white hair that reminded me of the woman I had seen before Nene and I had to run for our lives.
Eh?
“Wait!” He declared, prompting a ripple to erupt from my body and into him.
A second later, he let go of me, gasping for air as if he were in pain. Stunned, I watched the boy grab onto his chest tightly, wincing and breathing irregularly.
Huh? What just—
A cat with folded ears and a curled tail, much like the snake from before, was in front of the troubled boy.
“Hey! What did you do to my brother?!” Loki questioned, grabbing me by my other hand, triggering our gaze to meet.
That was the moment his blue eyes with a purple squiggly circle in his iris met mine. The moment our skins touched, another pulse rippled through me and into him, prompting his gaze to widen as a gasp also left him.
Soon after touching me, he freed me to grab onto his chest tightly before falling onto his knees, heaving for air too. He also had white, silvery hair, as the only thing that set him apart was his pointy ears and a beauty mark by his right lip, rather than his eye.
“Oswald! Loki!” The black-haired Lycan girl ran towards the boys, followed by a little boy with silver hair and black dots, who was also a wolf.
Their fluffy ears and tail made them easily identifiable. The female had deep red eyes while the little boy had purple ones, a first on a wolf if the books were to be believed. A more petite girl with silver hair and a canine tail stood on the side with another, more petite Lycan boy with the same colored hair as her.
They also had red eyes like the black wolf who tended to the distressed boys. I didn’t know, but she was a hybrid between a Lycan and a human, which explained why she didn’t have fluffy ears and instead had pointed ones. They were the same as the woman I glimpsed the house before Nene, and I ran.
Even though I should’ve been concerned about the boys who were clearly in pain, my eyes quickly locked with the fiery blue eyes that radiated from the shadow of the forest.
“It’s—” My voice trembled as my legs instinctively gave out when the beast emerged from its hiding place.
It was a monster known as a shadow demon, one with a feline face and body. I had read about them in one of the many articles that came by the house every morning. These beasts came from a realm known as the Soul Cairn, which held the souls of dead gods within it.
Nene had also told me about them once. She also said that if I ever saw one, I should run the other way as fast as possible, yet my legs refused to listen to me anymore. Unable to help it, I soiled myself right where I sat, unable to cope with the sudden noise from its paws hitting the rocks.
It caused the other kids to gaze towards it as they also reacted similarly to how I had, while Loki and Oz were in their world.
“I found you, little book.” The beast snickered, gazing at me as I trembled right where I was.
It couldn’t care less about the kids who stood around me. No, it eyed me down like I was his savior.
Book? What book?
I had none on me. However, before it could take another step closer towards us, it suddenly burst into purple flames. With blinding speed, the woman from before Nene ran stood there with a sword drawn as relief washed over the kids’ faces. A sensation that wouldn’t fill me since I stared at the one who had begun all of this madness.
In her hands, she held a device, which I had little knowledge about, but would later learn was a tracker for the beast she had slayed.
“You brats! When I tell you to stay in one place—” The woman stopped in her tracks upon spotting me.
“Ma!” one kid called out to her, but her purple gaze was glued on me.
The only thing that tore them away was the sound of the two boys in agony, which in a split second, her expression changed from bewilderment to pure indignation.
“You!” She yelled, eyes shimmering.
However, before she could move, Loki’s screams ripped her gaze from me as we all gazed at the poor boy. Something was sprouting from his back as his shirt ripped apart, while his bear skin started to tear apart, before two blood-drenched wings erupted from him.
Gasping for air, the poor boy struggled to get a grip as the red liquid dripped from his freshly sprouted wings and onto the floor below him. At that moment, my fight-or-flight mindset kicked in again as I tried to make a break for it.
Sadly, before I could even take a single step, the unknown woman with silver hair and brown strips slammed me to the ground. How she closed the gap between us was unknown to me, but she pulled me up by my locks as my feet couldn’t touch the ground anymore.
“What the fuck did you do to them?!” she snarled, growling soon after.
Why did I ever want to get near you?! You’re crazy!
“I-I didn’t d-do anything, p-please!” I cried, hanging my head as I winced while she tugged on it tighter.
Her voice was full of venom, close to what that other vampire had sounded like, but unlike before, it was strictly directed at me.
“Rem… please. Calm down,” A man’s voice said from behind us, triggering her to turn towards him with me in her grip.
It was a black-haired Lycan, whose crimson gaze locked on the woman who held me captive with such gentleness. For a moment, she lessened the hold on my hair, clicking her tongue.
“Alijah, she—” Rem started as he didn’t let her finish.
“I know, I can see it too, but that’s even more reason not to hurt her. You know why.” The wolf pleaded with her.
The kids who weren’t immobilized ran to him, fearful of everything that was happening. They gathered like little ducks around him as her eyes focused back onto me. For a moment, I felt tiny in her sight as I was helpless to do anything about it.
“Talk! What did you do to my boys, Monster!” Rem growled.
I felt a sharp pain in my chest.
Eh? Monster… why does it sound so familiar? Am I one? Is it I who is causing pain to everyone? I did... didn’t I?
This was the bird all over again, yet I didn’t know how I did it.
“I-I didn’t m-mean to! P-please! Let me go!” I pleaded, yet this woman didn’t see my tears or fear as genuine.
The emotions that swirled within me conflicted with one another. They were unfamiliar to me, yet at the same time, they were.
Why… do I feel like this isn’t the first time?
“You didn’t mean to?” A soft cackle left her lips, shaking her head. “Please! Everything you touch, you destroy! Didn’t you know? If there had ever been an abomination on this earth, it would be you!”
At that moment, I felt her actual animosity towards me. Even though I didn’t know what I had done to deserve it, it must’ve been something bad. There was no way for anyone to feel like this for no reason.
“I-I’m s-sorry!” I wept.
Rem went to open her mouth, only to stop when a new presence made itself known to us.
“Enough!” a voice I yearned to hear erupted from behind me.
I turned towards it slightly to see my father standing there, appearing flustered and out of breath.
“Papa!” I cried, trigging the hybrid to cock her head at him before narrowing her eyes.
Rem clicked her tongue, narrowing her eyes.
“What the actual fuck!? Papa?! Cain, you’re the freaking books sperm donor!?” She growled, eyes shimmering.
Dad shook his head, sighing. “Rem, if you don’t release her. Your brother back at the village will have a few missing limbs if I don’t make Lilith retreat soon. We know how much of an issue she is.”
Upon hearing his warning, she glared more intensely than she did at me when she heard the elf’s name. In an instant, she let go of me, allowing me to fall to the ground. The impact caused me to slice my hands and knees on the sharp rocks below. The pain was nothing compared to the relief I had from seeing my father.
Ignoring the stings, I tried to take a few steps towards him as something tackled me from the side, and I found myself on the floor again. Shifting my gaze towards my captor, I found myself face-to-face with Loki, who heaved for air with his wings spread wide. I felt like a lamb caught by the big, bad wolf when he grabbed onto my injured hand before bringing it to his lips.
I winced, feeling his tongue lap my wound, as a second later, Rem pulled him off me while Dad picked me up from behind. However, it didn’t matter that I was safely in my father’s arms, as all I could see was Rem’s expressions, which burned into my mind.
She truly believed I was a monster, and in her eyes, I was something that shouldn’t exist. The last thing I saw was her holding Loki as Papa and I disappeared into the darkness. Her words would replay in my mind even when time again flowed towards our present day.
I never forgot the boys I met that day, either. Although I would lie if I said I remembered their faces anymore. Even though our fates were linked, I tried not to think of them, but that didn’t matter anymore.
I’m no longer the girl that they met that day. No, I realized I’m someone who can never be loved. Yes, I’m something despised and hunted by everyone who knows of my existence. Even so, I want to live, because even though the world is ugly and scary, it’s also a beautiful thing to experience.
However, I’m no longer an innocent girl. No, my hands have been covered in blood since way before Nene. I simply didn’t know it yet.