“Huu… Haa…” Roxanne breathed slowly, calming her anxious heart.
As soon as the woman vanished, Roxanne was able to move her stuff once again.
“That woman… Just what is her identity?” She mumbled.
Realizing that she would find no answers in her current predicament, Roxanne decided to head to her suite to ruminate on the woman’s words.
There was a lot she needed to comprehend after all.
“My life is in danger… and I shouldn’t go to the gym?” Roxanne whispered in puzzlement as she left the park and made her way to the hotel she was lodged in.
There was also the issue of her family. Whoever this Katrina woman was, she certainly knew a lot about her.
“Those Arts… For her to have so many, just who is she?”
After walking in deep thoughts for some time, Roxanne didn’t even realize the time she reached her hotel. Immediately she got to her room, as was her usual routine, Roxanne crashed on her bed and gave a deep sigh.
“What now?” She asked, facing the ceiling above her.
Before the year started, her life was practically uneventful and she even grew worried about the boredom that seemed to fill her everyday activities. However, recently there had been a sharp turn, suddenly overturning her dull life.
Her eyes suddenly sparked as Katrina’s words echoed in her head.
“… You should be careful about going to the Boxing Gym. That will be the point of danger…”
If that statement was true, then what about Coach and everyone else who stayed at the gym? Hannah, the receptionist, as well as the other members of the gym… their lives were in danger too!
“She said she can’t see the whole future, but what if I avoid going and the others suffer instead?” Roxanne reasoned.
If that was the case, then would she be able to live with herself? Knowing that by avoiding the point of danger, she would be abandoning everyone else there, could she really do it?
“I can’t!” She clenched her fist.
After all, her coach had been with her through so many times together. She wasn’t just going to abandon him now!
“I have to go… At least to stop whatever danger is there…”
Deciding to do this, Roxanne prepared herself for whatever would happen.
Quickly picking her phone, Roxanne inputted the number of her coach, one she had memorized for moments like this. Pressing the call button, she patiently waited for the call to go through.
“Zzzzrrrrnngggggg” Roxanne’s phone buzzed, indicating the call was currently going through on the other end.
Her coach finally picked the call, much to Roxanne’s relief.
“Who’s this?” Donald’s voice sounded through the phone’s speaker.
Roxanne was well aware that her coach might be confused by the number. After all, she bought a new phone and changed her number after she left home. This way, she remained inaccessible.
This would be the first time she would actually call someone with this new line.
“It’s Roxanne!”
A brief moment of silence ensued after she introduced herself. Roxanne felt a slight feeling of discomfort, not liking the silence that pervaded the call.
“O-oh, Roxanne?! You surprised me there. I didn’t know you changed your number. As a matter of fact, I’ve been trying to reach your other line for some time now…” Donald responded.
Roxanne heaved a sigh of relief, happy her coach was still well.
“R-really? Why?” Roxanne asked.
She was a little curious as to the reason Donald would try calling her first. Did he want a rematch, after all?
“A man came here, asking for you. I-I don’t really understand. But, he said you should know him and that he’s from the ‘village’, whatever that means-”
Roxanne’s eyes bulged in shock. The pack? Were they already unto her?
“Did you just say-?!” Roxanne wanted to ask, but Donald continued speaking.
“He said he has come for you… And that he’s not leaving without you. He also said that if you don’t listen to him and return soon, he’ll make short work of me and my guys here at the gym” Donald added, as though speaking mechanically.
“C-coach! Are you okay? Can you hear me?” Roxanne asked in protest.
Crazy thoughts began to rush through her head.
“Could it be… Asher? He’s here already?!” Roxanne panicked.
That would explain the strange reactions she had been having for some time now.
If he was at the gym, it went beyond him to resort to threat or force to get what he wanted. Still, Roxanne felt deep within her that something was off.
A deep sense of trust told her Asher wouldn’t do that. Yet, considering how he treated her in their first encounter, she couldn’t put it past him.
“Coach is sounding weird… Could this be as a result of an Art?” Roxanne questioned.
Donald was certainly speaking too mechanically, as though everything was scripted. If Asher had used [Domination] on him, or whatever Art, it would make sense.
Was he keeping the people in the gym hostage so she could come back to him? Was this why the strange woman warned her about the gym?
If this was the case, it was not something she could avoid. Asher was her problem, and she didn’t want anyone she cared about being dragged into it.
Ignoring the deep nudge within her that disagreed with her thoughts, Roxanne clenched her fists in anger.
“He said… Come alone, by 10:00pm… Come alone!” Donald added, having a low undertone.
Her eyes bulged upon hearing this. She was trapped under his condition. Failure to cooperate would mean something terrible.
Asher could be merciless at times.
“Roxanne.. You’re mine…”
Before she could protest, the call ended, making Roxanne let out a fit of rage!
“Ahhh! Damnit! Asher… how dare you?” She growled with a dark gleam in her eyes.
This was certainly something she couldn’t ignore!
[Meanwhile]
“It is done…” Donald said with a wicked smile, placing his phone on the desk before him as he turned around to his brethren who appeared resolved for the coming storm.
“So, what now…?” One of the men asked, curious about the werewolf girl’s reaction.
“Now, we wait! She’ll definitely come… she’s that kind of stupid girl, after all” Donald answered, widening his grin.
“The time for culling is nigh, brethren… And when this night is over, we would have rid this world of one more of those abominations!” He declared to the men who all seemed pleased.
Their eyes displayed neither compassion or understanding. No. There was only one thing evident from their expressions. Pure malice!