CHAPTER 20

SHRANAIA’S POV

I’m at a loss for words and nervous. I placed my ear to the child’s chest to hear whether his heart was beating, but I couldn’t hear anything. I looked in the mirror and noticed a man’s form. I'm not sure where it came from. I attempted to give the infant air by mouth to mouth.

“Breathe!” I yelled, thumping his chest. “Please!” I cried, and I tried all I could to bring it back to life.

“What happened to him?” Gena, who was now sitting next to me, said.

“I don’t know,” I said, continuing what I was doing.

Vixen approached her and then turned to gaze at the boy. But I pushed him and tried everything I could to get him to breathe again. I tapped his chest hard in frustration and wrath, prompting him to open his eyes and breathe again. His breathing was heavy, and he got up and coughed at the same time.

“It’s a good thing you’re still alive,” I sobbed as I held him.

“Shranaia,” Vixen said, pulling me away from the boy’s embrace. “We need to take him to the clinic,” he said, and I rose up and took his hand from my arm.

“I’ll take him to the clinic,” I said.

I brought the kid to the clinic, and while there, the nurse took care of him. I couldn’t help but feel concerned as I remembered the man I saw in the woods. I rose up, then ran to the mirror to see the man, but as I got there, it abruptly cracked, and Ron instantly held me to protect me. We couldn’t believe it when we glanced in the mirror.

“No,” I shouted as I shoved Ron.

“Shranaia!” he called my name, but I ignored him.

I need to know who that person is, and I’m very sure I’ve seen him before. If it’s Deacon, it’s impossible because his body is bigger than the man I saw. I closed my eyes and quickly felt his presence and his odd scent, which I followed. Ron was no longer able to keep up with me as I ran, and as I sprinted, I arrived at the woodland where Vixen and I fought.

When I arrived, I glanced around but couldn’t see anything but high trees. But I believe its origin is what will lead me to him and his location. I could hear this terrifying chuckle while running, and my eyes widened as I realized who was laughing. I can’t be wrong, and even if it's been many years, I’ll never forget it since they’re the reason why I loss my parents.

“Faustino,” I mentioned his name, then I followed him.

While I was following him, I couldn’t help but not take out my fangs, but to fight it, I immediately changed my form to a wolf. While running, I felt a peculiar anxiousness in my chest as I ran, as well as the wrath that had built up inside of me. I won’t stop chasing him until I get revenge on him, and I will make sure that he will no longer live in this world.

While running, I was surprised when suddenly someone rushed at me, and when I returned to my form, I saw Vixen there. I was trying to get away from him, but I couldn’t until he suddenly tapped my forehead, then at that moment I suddenly lost consciousness.

I awoke with a headache and could hear Gena and Rara’s voices. I sat down, then glanced at them both, and they both looked at me and asked how I was feeling. I didn’t admit that I was fine, because I honestly feel like I have a lump on my head that is hurting. I couldn’t help but grip my palm as I remembered what had happened earlier.

“What happened earlier?” Rara inquired.

“He’s dead on me,” I said angrily, then stood up and walked out to avenge Vixen for what he had done to me earlier.

“Shranaia! Where are you going?” they shouted, but I didn’t respond.

When I found Vixen, he stared at me, and I noticed uncle and aunt frowning because my angry expression was obvious. I strike Vixen, who immediately dodges my assault, and I even hear Luna chuckling. “I didn’t expect her to be this upset with Vixen; she hasn’t been this angry in a long time.”

I don’t know what happened before or what we were arguing about. I only see his furious expression when I look at him. “Shranaia, listen to me first,” he pleaded, but I didn’t care, so I rushed at him again.

“Why did you do that earlier?! I’m upset with you, I was about to hunt him, I was about to get my revenge!” I yelled angrily at him.

“You don’t have to go through it all in rage, Shranaia!” he yelled back, ignoring my attacks on him.

“I don’t care!” I was ready to smack him with my fist when he seized it and spun it around.

“Shranaia, you have no idea what you saw earlier or if it was real or not.”

For a little while, I was surprised by what he said, but I fought to break free from his grasp on me. I kicked his foot, and he moved it. I had a chance to strike him in the face, but he seized my fist and twirled me around like you were dancing. When he did this, he gripped me with his other hand, bringing our faces closer together.

He seemed to be dancing with me in retaliation for what he had done to me. “Let go of me,” I ordered forcefully, and he smirked at me.

“I know you want to revenge, Shranaia, but this is not the time,” he whispered to me.

“I’m not asking for your opinion, let me go!” I yelled angrily, and he jolted me and rose me up.

“What’s up with you two?” Gena said, and I turned to face her.

I patted myself on the back before turning my back on Vixen. I didn’t glance back as I left, Rara and Gena were still following me. When I went to my cabin, I yelled out loud because I was so annoyed and angry that I couldn’t even repay him for what I had done. But what he did to me earlier irritated me much more.

I had no intention of paying attention to Vixen right now, but what he did before made me feel as if I was aware of what was going on. Rara fell asleep in my cabin as Gena go home. I, on the other hand, sat outdoors and gazed about, recalling good memories from my childhood, particularly while I was still living with my parents. While seated, I noticed Vixen walking to my cabin, so I quickly entered and shut the door, but I gasped as it stopped the iron he was holding.

“The heck!” I said, irritated.

“Let me in, Shranaia,” he said in a calm voice, but I didn't listen to him.

“I don’t want to,” I answered, then tried to close the door.

“What are you doing, Shranaia? Are you still mad at me, don’t you?”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

“Shranaia…”

“Stop calling my name.”

“My baby then?” I stopped for a moment when he said that, and I felt something tickle in my body.

“You can’t fool me, Vixen,” I pretended to be annoyed, and Rara woke up because of our noise.

“What are you two doing? Are you both not done with what happened earlier?” she said, then looked around.

I didn’t respond because I was too busy keeping Vixen out of this cabin. Rara stood up and looked out the window. My eyes widened as she signaled him to come over there, and I tried to stop her, but it was too late, which is why I sighed deeply. When Vixen came in, he grinned at me, dropped the food he was carrying and was about to capture me.

“Don’t you dare…” I muttered as I prepared to flee.

“Running is one of your favorite things to do, Shranaia,” he teased.

“Because you’re chasing me,” I said.

“I haven’t done anything yet,” he responded, grinning even more.

I stared at Rara, who merely shrugged her shoulders at me before smiling and waving as she ran through the window. I don't know what he’s thinking, and whatever it is, I don’t like it.

When I was going to escape, I was shocked by his sudden arrival in front of me, and I abruptly fell on the floor, forcing him to instantly join me and save me from hitting my head on the floor. Because of what he did, I closed my eyes firmly, and because we were so near, our lips almost touched.

“What are you doing?” I inquired.

“Caught you?” he asked, his face puzzled.

“You’re too near to me, can you get up now? You’re heavy,” I asked, and he did as I suggested, then I glanced at myself.

He’s like Flash with the speed of his actions earlier, and I had no idea he’d be like that. I was clutching my head when I rose and smelled the food he had brought, so I got up to see and eat it. When I got close, I became hungry, and I ate it without looking at him, but I could hear him chuckling, and I know he was watching me while I ate.

“I know you’ll enjoy it since it’s your favorite,” he said, and I stared at him.

“It doesn’t mean that we’re both ok,” I shouted fiercely, and he lifted both of his hands as if surrendering. “I know what I saw earlier, and I saw him before I even entered the mirror.”

He got up and sat in front of me, saying, “I know what you see, Shiro told me what happened earlier,” and I put down my fork and gazed at him.

“What did he say?” I inquired, and he looked me in the eyes.

I could see him laughing, but he tapped my forehead, then said. “Eat what you’re eating first, then I’ll tell you what he told me,” he said, and all I did was eat the food he provided.

After that, I sipped water and stared at him, waiting for him to say something or tell me anything. He extended his hand to me, and I glared at him, but he merely grinned, then cocked an eyebrow at me as if saying I’d come with him. I grabbed his hand, and we proceeded outside. To be honest, I'm still annoyed at him, but what he’s doing implies that we’re both comfortable with whatever we’re doing. We arrived at a cabin with a view of a mountain and a view of the ocean and the surrounding area.

“What are we doing here?” I asked.

“Isn’t the view here lovely?” he said, and I arched an eyebrow at him.

“All of a sudden, you bring me here just to tell me that? Aren’t you going to tell me what the boy told you?” I grumbled, and he chuckled. “What I said wasn’t funny at all, Vixen.”

“Easy, your blood pressure is too high; could you perhaps calm down first?”

“How can I relax if you’ve been making my head hot?” I said.

He grabbed both of my shoulders, and I took a deep breath and gave him a stern look. “He told me what happened when he got inside,” he said, making me stunned. “Before he came in, he felt something that didn’t appear to belong to them earlier, and it was one of the youngsters there,” he explained, and I remembered what had happened earlier.

“The boy is at the end, next to the girl,” I said, and he turned to face me.

“Right next to the girl? But there was no young girl at the other end of the mirror, and they were all boys, Shranaia,” he added, as my eyes dilated.

“What?” I said in disbelief, then I covered my mouth.

I’m not sure how it happened, and it appears that I was duped earlier. It’s difficult not to have a girl since the crazy lad from before is the strangest of all. I tried to recall what had happened earlier and the girl I had mentioned, and I still don’t understand how it happened that they were all guys when there was a female at the end of the mirror earlier.

“There was no female earlier since the females were still not ready. The girl and the boy are separated because their strengths are different,” he explained.

“That’s impossible, I saw her, and Gena saw her as well,” I remarked, confirming what I witnessed.

“What is her face?” he inquired, and I responded by describing how it seemed.

He stood up then I followed him where he was going and when we got to the school we immediately went straight to the library, I don’t know what he was looking for there. From the end of this library, I could see a nice row of books, then Vixen pulled one of them, and there was a ladder as it opened.

“Woah, incredible,” I said.