“Hi, Seth.”
A girl of medium height approached the table where Edith and Seth were enjoying their lunch in the cafeteria. Edith looked intently at the girl, who didn’t even care about the gaze that fell on her.
“Gloria?” said Jadden and Will simultaneously, with surprised looks on their faces.
Seth’s face turned flat and impassive, and he didn’t even return Gloria’s greeting. Edith noticed Seth’s change in his expression. She turned her gaze to Jadden, who looked awkward. Edith dropped her gaze on Will, who was expressing herself with a forced smile.
“Can I join you guys?” asked Gloria, who had widened her smile.
“NO! Come on, Edith, we’ll take a meal out. I want to skip class today. Jadden, I’ll borrow your book and ask you not to deal with this woman,” said Seth as he hardened his jaw.
Seth immediately pulled Edith’s hand to follow him in leaving the canteen and skipping school today. He gripped Edith’s hand firmly and quickened his pace towards the car.
Edith just watched Seth’s strange behaviour in silence. She could guess that Seth was holding back his anger, so she didn’t want to say much or ask Seth any questions until his expression calmed down.
“This is not the direction to the pack house, Seth; where are we going exactly?” asked Edith as her mind was filled with curiosity.
“The beach.”
“Seth, what’s wrong? You seem nervous.”
“I’ll tell you after we get to the cottege,” Seth replied briefly.
Arriving at the beach, Seth parked their car in front of a cottage that was built of wood but looked very beautiful. Edith saw that the view of the cottages not far from the beach was so complementary that a calming vibe could be felt by her.
“Let’s go in.”
Seth sat Edith on the sofa, close to the fireplace. Seth also seated himself beside Edith and took his mobile phone from his trousers. His hand moved smoothly across the screen, and Seth put the phone in his ear.
“Jadden, please order Liam to take Anne and Julian to the cottage. I need you to organise the pack for the next three days and report back to me without missing a beat.”
Seth hung up the phone. He rested his head on Edith’s lap and said, “Is it okay for me to look weak right now?”
“It’s okay to not be okay. Looking weak for a moment is not a bad thing. It is part of every individual’s process to become stronger. Can I help you, Seth?” asked Edith in a gentle tone.
Edith felt the movement of her body as he took a deep breath. His brow furrowed slightly, and then his face turned sad.
“Gloria was the first woman to introduce me to this whole thing about sex and drugs. Gloria was also my first love.”
Edith, who was rubbing Seth’s head, suddenly fell silent. She was surprised by Seth’s unexpected confession. She saw that Seth’s brownish eyes were blank, as if his mind were wandering out there.
“When I got too addicted, he left me without any further word, and I was so devastated after that. I became the person you knew when we first met, a scumbag with a penchant for women and a cocaine addict.”
Edith was still faithfully listening to Seth’s account of his dark past. She tried to be as calm as possible because what Seth needed right now was her support.
“Is she a werewolf?”
The question just came out naturally to her. She didn’t know what was on her mind until Edith dared to ask such a question. Her thoughts of courage did not go along with her courage to hear the answer.
“He’s just an ordinary human. We met in Spain, and he was willing to move to England to strengthen our relationship. Edith, I won’t make you uncomfortable with my past, but I want there to be no secrets between us. I’m sorry, I’m only telling you now when she came back because I thought it was a past worth forgetting,” Seth explained.
“She’s beautiful, and she once brought colour to your life, so it’s only natural that you’d be anxious when she reappears. I’m okay. I’m going for a short walk on the beach… by myself.”
Seth straightened up on the sofa and let Edith move away from him. Seth wanted to give Edith space to take this matter into consideration. It wasn’t impossible for Gloria to show up suddenly without any ulterior motive when his life with Edith was going well, and this was what made him furious.
“Fucking shit!”
It’s almost dawn. Edith hasn’t returned to the cottage. Julian asked Seth where his mother was. Seth only said that Edith was looking for shells on the beach, and shells would appear at night.
It’s Julian, with his ability to read other people’s minds, who finds out that his father is lying to him. He asked Seth to find his mother because he knew she was insecure.
Seth immediately walked down the beach. He used his sense of smell to find Edith’s whereabouts. He smelled Edith’s scent behind a large rock. Seth immediately stepped quickly towards there.
Seth couldn’t believe what he was seeing at the moment. He saw a blonde-haired woman who was making a whirlwind with both hands. Seth couldn’t possibly misrecognize the scent; he was sure it was Edith.
“Edith!”
The woman turned around as soon as she heard Seth’s voice. Seth widened his eyes in shock as he saw Edith’s face turn creepy, filled with fangs in her mouth. Only her green, beady eyes remained, and Seth could tell it was Edith.
Seth had read about the Veela, who would turn into creepy creatures when they were angry. Seth tried to approach Edith, who was just silently looking at him. The creature’s hands stopped moving so that the vortex disappeared. Seth saw the creature spread its wings, and a second later it was flying high above him.
Seth felt the wind blow very strongly. He knew it was Edith’s doing, but he still had to convince Edith to return to being human. Edith, in that form, must have lost her sanity.
“I don’t know if you can hear me or not. I want to apologise. I beg you to come back. I love you, I really do, and Julian… Julian is waiting for his mother.”
Seth saw Edith’s face gradually return to her beautiful, pale face. The strong wind slowly died down, replaced by a warm breeze. Edith put her feet on the sand. Her body was unsteady, unable to bear her own weight. She cupped her body with her wings as the air began to grow cold.
Seth took off his shirt after realising Edith was naked. Seth gave Edith his shirt when Edith folded her wings. Seth immediately put the shirt on her body.
“Let’s go home; Julian is waiting for you.”
Arriving at the cottege door, Seth already saw that Liam had turned into a wolf and was standing guard outside the cottege.
“Edith, I have to sweep d.
Edith just nodded; she didn’t want to talk for now. She stepped inside and went straight to her room.
Seth changed his form into a wolf, and he approached Liam, who had been waiting for him.
[Alpha Seth, [I haven’t smelled any vampire scent around here, but I saw a black aura from the cliff over there.] Liam said.
[Let’s check it out; it’s most likely a witch with a black aura. Damn it, we’re being followed!]