As promised, Zaden and the leader’s pack took or dragged Selena to the camping site. And as expected, she didn’t have any peace of mind. For time being, her mind hearing capability only works on protecting these 5 people. It might have worked for her father and brother as well, but there is no way of finding out since they are not with her.
Zaden and Orion behaved as if they have vowed to make Selena suffer. They attended to the girls, talked to them in private, even gave a welcoming hug to them. Their thought train was wrecking hell in Selena, purely raw. She could never figure out how school girls, younger than her, could have known such vivid information about sex. If only their thoughts had been put to work all at once, Zaden and Orion would be ripped to pieces. Sophie also came to the camping, as the teacher’s pet. The lake that they have chosen is Lake Thao, the same lake that allowed everyone to fish at their wish. A brand new wooden plank bridge with a simple handrail had been installed there. A new installation to facilitate or encourage fishing.
Selena was sitting on the bank of the river with her head between her knees when someone plopped next to her.
“Having fun?” It was Orion
“You know, I just made a blacklist and you are number 1 on it, followed by your alpha. Congratulations!!!” she said with a pursed lips, making Orion chuckle. Right at that moment, Sophie ran into Orion’s lap.
“Orion, can we go swimming?” she asked in the most cutest accent.
“Oh no sweety, you are not good at swimming and this lake is very deep…” he said in a sweet tone but all they get is downward curled lips and a sad face. She turned to Selena for her next shot.
“Prewty girl, can you swim in deep waters?” sensing where this is going, Selena shook her head ‘NO’ with the same downward curled lips and sad eyes.
“I don’t understand, you are grownups, you are supposed to know everything” Orion looked at Selena with a longing look
“Not really, sweety… we have our own inabilities too,” he said, eyes still on Selena. He had been trying to tell her how he feel about her, but till now he doesn’t know-how. There are things grown-up are incapable of.
After complaining a few more minutes, Sophie ran away to her mother, probably with the same question, making Selena and Orion smile
“Selena…do you like it here, in Mount Manuka?” he asked, probing her to talk.
“Yes…what not to like…I mean, I miss my family but Zaden promised to bring me to meet them once this 15days is over” she said casually. She rolled her eye, followed by a tight blink when a girl passed by them, ogling Orion. Orion laughed at her
“Shut up” she snapped and glared back at the girl
“Ok fine…what do you like the most here?” he asked after his laughter is suppressed
“The nature…the clean breeze and the beautiful mountains…” she answered
“I mean, whom do you like the most here?” Orion
“Everyone except for those school girls,” she said still glaring at them
“No, no, I mean specifically… do you find anyone that you like exceptionally deeper than all of us?” Orion probed and his laugh line around at the corner of his eyes haven’t faded from his last laughter. Selena’s eye froze at the ground when one face pops up in regards to Orion’s question, Zaden. Her fingers trails to fiddle with the grass.
“Well…” just at that moment, they heard a large splash and snapped their head towards the source. Sophie’s mother was wrecking hell, shouting and wringing her hand at the edge of the plank bridge. Zaden was nowhere nearby. Selena and Orion stood up and ran to the water at lightning speed. Orion jumped immediately but Selena stood there looking into the water and ripple marks and had an instinct to where Sophie must have fallen. She jumped in that direction.
Just as she expected, she saw something dancing in pink, the dress Sophie was wearing, and steered herself towards it. She managed to grab the child and swim-up but just before she could hit the surface, her left foot entangled with something hard. Selena struggled to release her feet but the grip was too strong. Bubbles of her breath are wasted in the struggle. Her brain started working. She could hold on a few more minutes but the child might not and Sophie could be the indicator of their location. She stretched her arms up and pushed Sophie to the surface, still fighting to release her legs. The child popped up on the water’s surface, till her chest. Within a flash, someone had come to grab Sophie.
Once Sophie was out of her hand, Selena bent down to untangle her feet from whatever that it’s stuck on. It wasn’t something, it was someone. A skinny hand was encircling her feet–a very old, white, and long-nailed hand. She subconsciously screamed releasing an array of bubbles to the surface. Orion who had just passed Sophie to her mother looked back and didn’t see Selena resurfacing but pops of bubbles came up. He knew something went wrong and he jumped back. Zaden already reached her and struggling to release her feet. Once Orion was there, they pulled her together with their wolf strength, effectively releasing her and they resurfaced up. Selena in the middle, Zaden’s hand crossed over her right chest to her left waist, and Orion’s hand crossed over from her left chest to right waist. Her hand was on both man’s shoulders and she was losing consciousness as black twinkled vision took over.
A few blinks. A blurry vision. Selena was gaining back her consciousness. The first person she saw once she regained completely was Zaden’s dripping wet and worried face. He gave her gentle slaps and she pushed herself to sit. She was surrounded by the schoolgirls and the leader’s pack.
“Selena…can you hear me?” Orion was on her right. Selena held her forehead with the base of her palm. A stabbing pain was exerted from her ankles. She hissed as she tried to turn her ankle. A red band has formed right around her ankle and the rest of her foot was purplish.
“Let’s go to the hospital” Zaden bent down to lift her
“Wait!!! There was something in the water!!!” there was an array of gasps from the girls.
‘Disperse’
With that mind-link, everyone left in a rush.
“What was there?”Orion asked since he didn’t go deep enough to have seen the hand. Zaden saw it since he went down to her leg to release her
“There was something down there holding her feet. A creepy hand and a pair of red eyes peeping out from the river’s bottom. I have no idea what it is and how long it has been here, but we will ask the elders if they know anything” Zaden explained in low and Orion’s eyes widened before he turned to the lake. He wanted to jump back in to check what was that but Selena stopped him, fisting his shirt in her palm.
“We don’t know what that is, it’s not safe” Selena calmed him down
“This is it…this is where it’s going to fall apart…” Zaden mumbled with his eyes glaring at the waters, his heart was writhing in its cavity as time froze.
Zaden carried her to their hospital. Thankfully, nothing serious happen to her ankle, sprain, and bruises. Orion stayed with Selena while Zaden went back with Makeala to grab some of her stuff and they also need to talk with Grandpa Kai. He was still shocked and terrified of the incident that he refused to move away from her side.
“I have no idea and I have never heard of such a thing in our waters as well. I linked the elderlies if they have heard or seen such a thing, they also have no idea, Zaden. What are we going to do? We can’t have something that dangerous in our waters, where people go fishing regularly” Grandpa Kai said
“That’s the thing. All this while, so many people have been going to the lake for fishing. Even today, Sophie, Orion, and I went to the bottom of the lake but it only pulled Selena. Why? It must be specifically attracted to her.” Zaden said and they all remained silent. Theoretically, he is correct. With a dead-end in their hand, they went back to the hospital, visited Selena. She was heavily dossed with drugs to fall asleep.
Darkness took over fast as the sun submerged behind the mountains and no matter what happen, Selena has to shift to her wolf. Zaden carried her to Lake Khalifa. She was still weak due to the drugs injected into her body, so she leaned on Zaden’s chest, not speaking a word all the way to the lake. Zaden gently placed her down. It was 11. 45 pm and her wolf takes over exactly at 12 midnight.
“How are you feeling…” Zaden asked, sitting next to her, bent knees to his chest.
“Drowsy…” she yawned
“But I’m glad I don’t have to go resistance training tomorrow…” she bumped her shoulders to Zaden
“Who said anything about skipping?” he bumped back
“Hey…I’m sick, see!!!” Selena pointed at her now heavily wrapped ankle and Zaden chuckled
“Drama queen!!! Aren’t you scared?” Zaden asked and Selena put on a calm smile, merely a smile
“Are you saying I will die?” she cocked her eyebrow at Zaden and a grip felt in his heart at her boldness. Zaden licked his lips in frustration.
“That’s not what I’m saying…” he tried to divert the negativity she sputtered.
“That’s ok, you can say it. The first step in solving any issue is to face the issue as it is and accept the root cause” there comes another calm smile
“If that’s what is going to happen, then be it. I don’t have regrets in my life. I just…just wish I could see my dad for one last time but then again, it could become a danger to them. Why take the risk?” she shrugged.
“What is the second step?” Zaden tried to lighten the situation and it worked. They both laughed out.
“Asking the right question…That’s your second step, remember that” She tapped her temple, then gazed at the horizon while Zaden gazed at her. For a fragile, little thing, she is surely far more matured, calm, and possess great clarity. Not long after that, her wolf came through and Zaden rushed his word as fast as she could.
“She has her ankle sprained, be careful” he was grabbing her legs so that she won’t rush to move. Instead of panicking, the black-eyed semi-wolf, giggled
“You seem to care about her more than you do for me…” she said
“Are you jealous of your other half?” Zaden
“Sort of…” and they both chuckled before Zaden placed a kiss on her lips.
“No sex today” Zaden whispered to her ears and she let out a pretend sob. Zaden gently pushed to lie down and he snuggled to her stomach
“Why do you like my stomach so much?” Zaden kept silent at first to her question
“It’s soft and warm, like a baby’s blanket, smells like my mate and most importantly, I can hear her cute heartbeat from here…I forget all my worries and stresses when I snuggle to your body.” Zaden kissed her navel.
“You have any idea what attacked you?” Zaden asked
“It’s an ancient creature…lurking from one water body to another, summoned to look for someone. They feed it with specific blood and then release it to water. It will be craving for that 1 blood, refusing to eat anything else except for moss. It is rumored that Samrat had one, called Goya but died 200 years ago. Apparently, it has been lurking for the past 200 years and found its target today…” she said, successfully making him anxious. He slowly sat up, with a frown and ghastly facade.
“You mean someone knows that she is here?” he asked
“Those creatures, amphisbaena, they are just like snakes but with hands. They don’t have the ability to mind-link or what so ever but if my guess is correct, it must be traveling back to its master. If it reaches his master, then yes, they know I am here” she said with a sad smile and before his eye, the woman laid on the grass turned into a wolf in a swift, while he keeps staring without blinking. She then licked his cheeks, begging to see his wolf in full form. He shifted heavy-heartedly and she moved with great effort to snuggle in the crook of his neck, cooing softly while his wolf froze. A set of sequences has been initiated– his worst fear about to come to reality.