More Than Meets The Eye

"So… about the last question," Madeline reminded.

"Again, what's a guilty pleasure?" Xavier inquired, curious as to what it meant whilst already having a couple of ideas regarding what it could've meant.

"It's something you enjoy doing that might be frowned upon by others," she explained.

"Ah."

"Then I suppose my guilty pleasure is not sleeping."

Madeline didn't have anything to say to that.

However… it seemed like Xavier did.

The corners of his lips curved up into a devilish smile - it was the first time Madeline had ever seen him smile and that managed to scare her to bits.

"Why are you suddenly smiling like that?" She stuttered, her confidence down the drain as she couldn't think of what to say to get out of this situation.

"Because it's your turn now, and I get to ask you any question I want."

"Am I right?"

Madeline narrowed her eyes.

"You are," she said bitterly.

"So," Xavier began.

Fighting the urge to get up and run, Madeline's heart raced in her chest.

'Please don't ask me anything about my personal life, please don't ask me anything about my personal life,' Madeline repeated in her head. It was a sensitive topic to her.

Thankfully, Xavier asked instead, "What were you doing before you stumbled upon Eudora?"

Madeline answered almost instantly - like she'd expected him to ask that question, "I'd dropped my phone when I had stopped along the road to check my tires."

"Hm. Fascinating," Xavier mused.

"Next question, what's one thing no one knows about you?"

Madeline pursed her lips.

"That I'm adopted," she answered.

Rendered speechless, Xavier stared at her.

When he'd asked her that question, he thought her answer would be anything but that.

Perhaps she had an even longer name than he did.

Or maybe… she knew about werewolves all along.

Heck, he considered she'd answer something regarding Briar.

But no, she'd just told him she was adopted.

How does someone react to that?

"You're not joking, are you?"

"Do I seem like someone who'd joke about being adopted?" Madeline questioned, genuinely curious as to whether or not Xavier thought of her that lowly.

"No," Xavier responded.

"Exactly."

"So… do you want to talk about it?"

"Look at you being considerate."

"For someone trying to change the subject, you're doing a horrible job at it."

"I'm not trying to change the subject," Madeline denied, lifting her chin up in the air.

Xavier sipped from his drink.

"Alright then, if you're not willing to talk then don't talk," he said.

"I never declared I didn't want to talk."

"You never declared you wanted to either."

"Fair point," Madeline sighed.

She knew she was going to regret this, but they were still playing a game of icebreaker.

Xavier had previously explained that whatever said or done at his place couldn't be heard or noticed by other werewolves since there was some sort of material infused in the ground that did something, although Madeline couldn't seem to recall what it did.

For a moment, she felt silly. She was telling Xavier about her adoption. Something she hadn't even told Briar regarding. It was a sensitive topic to her, one that she didn't like to discuss with others… but Xavier didn't know her. And somehow, that made it easier for her to do what she loved doing most. Talk.

Then, she began telling her life story to him. The man that was practically a stranger to her. She explained how she was born to two parents who didn't have the means to properly care for her, so when she was two months old, she was adopted by a couple looking to have a child of their own but were unable to.

Strangely, talking to Xavier about it didn't feel out of place or unnatural. Madeline couldn't help but go on and on about her story.

"Wow," was all Xavier managed to say.

Madeline nodded.

"Do you know who your parents are?" Xavier inquired completely out of the blue.

Madeline shook her head.

"I don't. Never tried finding them. I rather stay ignorant when it comes to who they actually are."

"Hmm, interesting."

Xavier didn't really know how to react to her story.

Yes, he had to admit, he had some doubts as to who Madeline actually was.

All his life he spent reading every book and scripture he could read regarding werewolves, and how soulmates worked for them.

Never was there anything written about a werewolf and a mortal. It was completely unheard of.

Xavier was still in shock over it, but hearing Madeline's story... there was still one small seed of doubt in his mind.

She was special - and no it wasn't only because she was his soulmate. There was something else.

Regular humans couldn't just visit Eudora.

Why? Because there was a special barrier separating Eudora from the rest of the world. One only a werewolf could pass through.

That, and the veil.

The veil was a mist that covered Eudora from the human eye. It was what helped werewolves go undetected by humans for centuries.

Werewolves sightings were covered up easily, and when investigations were done, nothing was found. All because of the veil, and the barrier.

Not just anyone could pass through.

So the fact that Madeline could intrigued him.

He hadn't asked her much about how she'd stumbled upon Eudora, and when he did, it seemed like it was coincidental.

'Was it all truly a coincidence?' He wondered to himself.

Much to his surprise, he believed her words.

She didn't seem like someone with ill intentions or someone that'd exploit the existence of werewolves to the rest of the human race.

Xavier had a brooding look on his face. One half of him knew doubting her was wrong. The other half of him wondered how was this possible and stuck with the facts.

And the fact of the matter was that no human can see through the veil and get past the barrier. It wasn't humanly possible.

Or was it?

It was a miracle on its own, that a human could be soulmates with a werewolf.

Perhaps there was more than meets the eye…

Or perhaps Xavier was simply in denial that he was destined to be with a mortal.