One year later, the graduation ceremony.
“Enough, Seth, let’s go home!”
Seth didn’t move. He was still hardening his jaw at the sight of the young man in front of him lying on the ground, covered in wounds. It didn’t occur to him to forgive the person who had upset him until Jadden’s voice snapped him out of his rage.
“For the next one, I will not have mercy on you.” Seth said as he turned the young man’s body with his foot.
“I’m not afraid of your threats, Seth.” The young man further fueled Seth’s simmering anger.
Seth pulled the young man’s T-shirt to his feet. He again threw his fist into the face of the young man, who was grinning as if he were teasing him. Not once, but many times, until the young man fell back to the ground.
“Seth…” Jadden’s words were cut off as Seth stared intently at him.
Seth turned his gaze back to the young man and said, “You always talk too much, Tom. You and your big mouth won’t be able to save you this time. I’m going to kill you!”
“Just do it! You’ll still be a loser. Maybe your mate is already with another man,” said Tom.
Seth bent down in front of Tom. His hands were already gripping his neck tightly. A stifled screech escaped Tom’s mouth. The man was enduring the pain of Seth choking him.
“Seth, you can kill him!” Jadden screamed.
Suddenly, Seth heard a voice calling him. The gentle voice came back at a time when he was always losing control. The voice penetrated his innermost being as if it were holding him back from giving his compassion to the young man.
“Seth, you will not become a killer.”
Seth stared in disbelief at the shadow standing near him. He felt the soft caress of the hand touching Seth’s hand that was gripping Tom’s neck. The shadow smiled warmly at him. He had missed that smile so much.
“Edith…”
*
“Are you okay?” Kai asked Edith, who suddenly held her chest tightly.
“I’m fine, but it feels like I’m somewhere else and seeing someone, Kai.”
Kai seemed to think for a moment. These past few days, he often saw Edith as if she were talking to someone, even though Kai did not see the person she was talking to. He wanted to confirm it but was always reluctant to ask Edith directly.
“Edith, I want to ask you something. Who was the person you saw earlier?”
“A brown-haired man with a not-so-tall stature. I felt like I recognized him. Ah, yes, I remember. I saw the sad look in his brown eyes. I don’t know why my heart started to break when I looked into those eyes, Kai,” Edith said hesitantly.
Kai wanted to deny the thing that had long been feared by him. This was bound to happen one day. Seth and Edith did have a very strong bond, even though Kai tried with all his strength and feelings to separate the two of them.
Hundreds of miles of distance seemed unable to erode the destiny of both of them. Kai could only nod weakly when he heard Edith’s heart feeling, which implied she was missing Seth.
“Maybe you’re too tired; you should rest. I’ll look after Skyler.”
Edith nodded softly as Kai kissed her lips. She handed the baby over to Kai, who took turns looking after her. Edith caressed her baby’s face and said, “You’re full, so don’t bite Dad.”
“Take it easy; she’s a sweet baby, just like her mummy.”
Edith left both of them to go into the room. She was still thinking about the recent happenings that made her heart uneasy. She was sure that she recognized the person in her mind, but her head ached as Edith tried hard to remember him.
“My heart tells me that he is someone important, but why can’t I remember him at all?” muttered Edith as she lay on her bed.
“What if he… aarrgghh, my head is painful!”
Edith gave up. Her memories wouldn’t come back easily if she kept pushing them. Pieces of her past started to come to her in the past few days without her expectation. They easily came out of nowhere, but they overwhelmed Edith as she tried to recall them.
Edith could not close her eyes. She still remembered the face with the sad gaze she saw earlier. Her heart felt like it was being torn apart as those brown eyes stared back at her as if they were feeling a deep longing.
Edith assumed that the person in her vision recognized her and concluded that they were very close. Edith was hesitant to ask Kai about this because Kai never talked about what happened after Edith woke up from her long sleep.
Edith looked toward the doorway as Kai walked closer to the bed. Kai stroked Edith’s mane as he sat on the edge of the bed.
“Why aren’t you sleeping? Is there something bothering you?” Kai asked.
“Do you know the person I was talking about earlier, Kai?”
Reluctant to answer the question from Edith, Kai replied by asking back; she was very curious.
“Yes, he’s someone who always annoys me, and we often fight.”
Edith straightened her seat. She suddenly felt enthusiastic about Kai’s answer. She wanted to hear more about him.
“Do I know him?”
“Yes, he’s your ex-boyfriend.”
“That’s it?”
“Yeah, he’s an arrogant bastard who likes to do tricks on women.”
“How can someone like that be my boyfriend? I can’t possibly like a man like him.”
“I don’t know, because I wasn’t close to you back then.”
“I must have lost my mind back then.”
“That’s okay; don’t think about it. He’s not necessarily thinking about you either.” Kai said so confidently.
“Yeah, you’re right, I should go to bed. Is Juliette asleep?”
Edith laid back down. She decided not to think about him anymore after listening to Kai’s explanation. She never liked those jerks who liked to play with women.
“She’s already asleep. Would you like some company?” Kai said as he caressed Edith’s cheek.
“Of course, you can always make me comfortable, Kai.”
Kai laid himself down beside Edith. She cuddled Edith’s body and made her as comfortable as possible. Until the sound of soft snoring was heard by his ears. Kai got up from the bed and covered Edith’s body with the blanket.
Kai looked deeply at Edith from next to the bed. He exhaled slowly and muttered, “Even though I’m close to you, your heart feels unreachable. I always lose to him; he always wins your heart. Go to sleep; I will only always take care of you, not someone who becomes your mate, Edith.”
Kai stepped out of the room. He approached the window and saw that the full moon had perfectly illuminated the night that felt empty to him. He decided to shift into his wolf form and seek some fresh air outside.
His black fur brushed against the cold night breeze. He walked slowly through the courtyard and continued his steps until he arrived beside the river, which was still covered in thick ice. Kai heard the rustling of dry twigs in the darkness until he caught the shadow of someone heading towards him.
“How long are you going to hide that fact from her, Kai?”