Chapter 14

"How can any girl be so hairy?? She probably smells"

"Look at her ears, so big like a rabbit's"

"I hear she's the daughter of a business mogul in the country. Cameron Peyton, they say"

"She doesn't look anything like her handsome, well-toned dad"

"Watch her fat butt roll as she walks, very sexy thing?"

"Her parents have a lot of money! Do you know she asked her mom to stop sending her money once?"

"I also heard she finds it hard to shed tears. Do you believe that?"

I heard students booing and jeering at me as I walked past them towards the hall. And yes, my ears were actually bigger when I was little. They only shrunk when I entered my teenage years. I was hairy, and smelled under the hair. It was not body odour, it happened when I got sweaty as a result of playing too much or being under the sun, even if I wore suncream. I also didn't look anything like Cameron. I didn't have a toned stomach and I wasn't looking physically fit like he was, but we had a little resemblance because he was my father, but I had a striking resemblance with my mom, but without the hair. Cameron was black. He was the only black in my family..He was from Jamaica while my mom was American, so the race was mixed. He was also really tall. I was only average height. Mom was average too. And they both had flat stomachs unlike me. Except for Cameron's nose and his long fingers which I took from his genes, we had no absolute resemblance. Our skins were totally different. I took the rest of my genes from mom. Except the hair. Neither of them was as hairy or as fat as I was.

And Since the incident of the attempted assassination happened in Kangaroo estate, almost everyone in the school had started to take some unwanted interest in me. It was as if I wasn't all that noticed before then. As most of the students in my school were from average class homes and were only in my school based on scholarship, they envied me. I, alongside three boys were the only students in the whole school who got admitted under merit and through all the necessary means, without bribes or grants or scholarships, whatever it is other students entered through.

And most of the rumors they carried about me were not necessarily true. They did it to taunt me, and I must say, it got to me everytime. I was only a little girl. I had friends, yes but they also bullied me in the name of teasing. Whenever I frowned or withdrew to myself, they usually said: 'Stop being ungrateful. You have everything. Smile!. If I were in your shoes, I'd paint the town red everytime"

And I always felt in my mind that these people did not know what happened everyday in my house. Maybe they'd be kinder to me if they knew.

"Aria, can we follow you home after school? We want to watch TV, and eat ice cream from your refrigerator. Maybe eat some chicken too" they would always say

"I don't know about that" i would reply because I didn't know what else to say. I couldn't ask Cameron for permission because he and I never talked one on one, and I couldn't ask Mom if my friends could come over, because she'd need the permission of Cameron because he owned everything. I didn't want to go through all that process.

I had always imagined how his response would be like. Played it out in my mind several times

"I don't want that witch to bring nobody into MY house. Let them go play elsewhere. I wouldn't tolerate any kid destroy any of the silverware and gold materials in MY house! I spent years building my wealth from scratch! She's even lucky I let her live under my roof."with his thick, masculine and annoying voice.

So it was futile to even try. How can you even get permission from someone who to him, you were as good as invisible?

But my friends never understood. They always thought I was pompous and selfish.

"I know how much icecream you get to bring to school everyday, but you can't even get us a bowl to share. How selfish! If only our parents could afford these everyday!" They would lament, and I'd only shake my head. I did sneak icecream from the refrigerator into my bag once and took it to school..They were so excited but still blamed me for bringing just one, when I could afford bringing ten or twelve or even twenty. So, even though I had friends we do things together in school, I still felt ignored.

It was a new week that week, and Joe was still not back in school. It was going to be a International Quiz week, and Joe was the best in Mathematics and Introductory Technology Quizzes, but it was already starting and he was still not in view. I wondered what had happened to him. I was sure no one knew about the day I kicked him so hard that he bled and whimpered under my violent kicks. It was after that incident he suddenly disappeared. I didn't know where he lived or anything.

When I thought it through, I realized that until the experience at the underground room owing to my kidnap, I didn't know anything about this boy other than his name was Joe, and he was called Big Joe because he had an intimidating stature, and that he was very smart, and was a big, annoying bully.

I tried finding out from our teachers and other students where Joe lived. Most of them did not know. The few that knew could not describe the place accurately. It was already closing hour when I remembered that I hadn't asked Uncle Robinson. I wondered if I should ask him.

For some reason, I cared to know what had come over Big Joe(as they call him). I wonder if any teacher had noticed that he wasn't around and if they had, what were they doing about it? I needed to ask him a lot of things.

That afternoon, I was determined to ask Uncle Robinson not minding the fact that I shouldn't even talk to him, not minding the fact that he remembers me. He was called Sword; an alpha in the Blue Wolf pack and only God knows how many kids he had initiated into this pack. Or maybe he killed humans. What did werewolves do? Did they initiate humans into their pack or kill them? Don't blame me for any possibly 'wrong' thing I say here, I'm only telling you what I know and I've seen about them.

School was getting scanty; everyone was returning home in their parents' vehicles or the school bus. There was a phone booth in the middle of the school, newly installed there. I ran there quickly to call Sir Colin. I knew his number because he gave it to me by himself.

"Hello sir. We have an extracurricular activity going on in school at the moment, please do not come for me until 2:30" I lied. He agreed and asked me to take care of myself, and that he'd be at my school by 2:20. I disconnected the call and went back to my class. If only I had Joe's cell number. I didn't even know if he had a cellphone

But at least his home had one. I wish I had it. There was no way I could reach him other than to talk to Uncle Robinson. I stood up and walked to his office. His windows were shut tight but I knew he was still in there. I had gone to check on him once and realized he was bent over piles of notes,marking and recording the scores on each sheet, he was also painting some pictures on a board. His glasses were on his nose rather than his eyes, and he looked like he'd not be finishing anytime soon. So I waited for him. I didn't want to barge in until he packed all his things and made to leave. Then, I would ask him as we both walk out of the school premises. That was my plan, but when I went towards Uncle Robinson's office again, he was not there!

I was shocked. Before I went to make the phone call, he was there, scrutinizing every work before him carefully. Now he was gone. Did that mean I was alone in the whole school? My heart shook in my chest. That would mean the gate must have been locked. I looked around the offices and rooms, walking carefully because there were little rocks everywhere. Not a soul. Everyone was gone.

I walked towards the gate, and as I was going, I heard some footsteps. So I hid behind the administrative block with my lips sealed. The footsteps drew nearer to me, and I could clearly see its owner. It was Uncle Robinson and he was walking so stealthily I could swear something was going on. This time, he had a long, thick tail on his behind and half of his body was a beast's, like a big cat... No, there is it! A wolf! It was a werewolf!

He had in his hand a sack, which seemed like it held something heavy.

The sack looked so heavy , like you'd know this sack weighed at least 60kg but he carried it with so much ease that I wondered if it was his pack that gave him those superpowers. He went straight into his office and dumped the sack there.

"Come out!" He yelled. I wondered who he was talking to. I froze in the corner I was hiding and I just hugged myself because I thought he had found me out

"I said,come out!"

"Sword, please" someone winced in pain. It was a young girl's voice and it sounded so familiar.I trembled. Then the sack made some noise and someone came out of it. I saw the figure from where I was hiding. Anita!

It was Anita! Anita was a young girl in my school. About thirteen or fourteen years old. What's going on? That moment, I wished Sir Colin would delay a bit more, so I could see what went on in the school premises after closing hour. It was strange but it was real. Anita came out of the sack, totally drenched with sweat.

"Please, please" she begged, sobbing.

"Keep quiet! This will serve as a deterrent for other agents who want to leak our secrets to outsiders" he said. He stretched forth his hand in the air and a horsewhip appeared in them. Then, he pulled off Anita's shorts and flogged her on the bottom, ignoring her wails. I wondered if they knew that they were loud and could be caught.

"No one can hear you, I hope you remember that?" He said to her amidst sobs and wails, as if he had heard my thoughts. I marvelled. How come I could hear them then? After he flogged her to his satisfaction, he lifted her onto his table roughly and parted her thighs. I wonder what he was going to do to her. I felt hot tears rested on my eyeballs waiting for a trigger to fall down my cheeks.

"I don't want to be with you. I want to be free! Just leave me alone!I want my own mate! I don't want you!" She cried as Uncle Robinson pinned her hands to the wall and pulled her hair backwards. Her very long hair. Then he tied the hair round a pole.

"You'll have to murder your mom. I told you. At least bring someone to replace your unlucky ass"

"I can't!! She's all I've got" she cried some more. Her breaths were rougher now. It was then I knew what was going on. Or maybe I thought I knew

"No. You have me too. We made a covenant, darling wife. Why did you break it? Why did you tell a vamp our little secret?" You're only trying to create a war again! Why are you trying to get yourself mated to someone else? He's a vampire, he's only gonna suck you dry"

"I don't care!"

It was like a movie. I actually rubbed my eyes twice to be sure I was really in that scene, watching them from a corner, and that their words and actions were not just a wild imagination playing out in my head. No, it was so real.

"I don't want mama to die. Please save me, Sword. I want to be free"

"I made that law. In the history of alphas and Omegas, there hasn't been a law as such but I made that law. If you do not want me, you're gonna be alone forever"

"No, my own mate will come along!"

"Really? It's been forty years and he hasn't come along!"

"He might as well be Nick"

"Nick isn't your mate, I am! You're going to be alone forever and you'll get hurt and possibly get killed!"

"Then leave me be! I don't want you!"

"But I want you. Alpha Martinez linked us! I've been waiting for my mate for thirty years, and you forty!! Shouldn't you be glad you finally found one?? That you found me?!" He yelled

"No, I want to be with Nick"

"It seems you forgot how your father got killed in the war. We are not friends with vampires, when will that sink into your skull?"

"WELL, Nick is nice. I want him"

"Let me protect you, Anita. I love you, mate. Don't give yourself as meat to the vamps; you're going to end up like Aloha" he said seriously

"Nick is not going to hurt me, i want him!"

"Then renounce your identity by killing someone close, so you won't disgrace our pack."

"If anything happens to you, another war is going to break out and more wolves might lose their lives. I won't let that happen, you adamant asshole!"

"I don't want to renounce my identity and I do not want to kill my mother and I do not want to be your mate! I want Nick and no one else!"

"Then you'd have to pay with your own blood" he said while tying her hands behind her. The way Cameron did to mom every night. I looked away quickly. "I'm not going to let you be friends with a vamp" I looked away because of the sight before me. I heard her moans and heavy breaths as he thrust in and out of her. I realized that was what he did to her everyday, and she could not tell anyone about it, because they had made a covenant. They were in fact married to each other in the other world. So in a way, what they did was legal.

They were silent for a moment until he broke the silence.

"When last did you hunt? You look so malnourished" he said touching her face, which was half wolf's.

"I haven't been hunting. The last I went hunting, I got hurt and I've not healed"

"This is why you should let me protect you. Nick won't protect you. We are not related, Vamps and werewolves ain't one at all. Please mate, know this or you'll end up dead"

"I really like Nick. He loves me too"

"It's a trap"

"No it isn't. I smell him everyday. He's telling me the truth. He has asked me to warn you to leave me alone or he'll attack, so it's you who should prevent the war, not me!"

Uncle Robinson moved two steps backwards and panted. It seemed he was mad at her for her last statement

For some reason, my feet were frozen on the spot and I could not force myself to move. I felt like it was some force that held me down, but at the same time, it might have been just a reaction to shock. Shock. Yes I was indeed shocked.

" I have some fresh meat in store. Follow me and eat with me, you look too pale" He said and made to leave. It was at that moment I should have exited but I could not. Who I wanted to talk to, was Joe. But that moment after seeing and hearing all those things, my mind told me that something really bad had already happened to him. Maybe he had paid with his blood already. Maybe he was tied to a tree whose roots were fixated on a rolling tunnel in a cold, dark , underground room, with his body parts cut off, and never to be found again. Maybe. Just maybe.

"Your mother will be our next hunt if you don't stop being stubborn. Now, follow me, you need to get your colour back" Indeed, Anita's eyes looked weak. Her wolf was malnourished, she had sunken eyes and panted every now and then.

"I don't want your meat. I just need you to leave me alone" With that, he returned to her in less than a second with forceful speed, with his eyes bloodshot, and claws longer and deadlier. He was very angry. I thought he might hurt her or kill her. I wondered why Anita didn't want him. I wondered how I was able to hear them talk. I wondered if they saw me or not.

My thoughts were still flowing around in the corners of my head when I heard Anita's voice. "I'll pay" she said softly. Her voice was shaky yet firm. I didn't know how to explain it. It was as if you were afraid of something and yet confident and determined at the same time. Was she insane?

"What did you say?" Robinson asked. I thought I was the only one who didn't believe my ears

"Since there's no other option, I'll pay with my own blood. It's either you let me go or I die" she said clearly. Uncle Robinson was now buckling his trouser belts again after he had had a field day on her.

"You're too young, Anita. You're only fifty-nine. Even Aloha who transgressed lived two hundred years at least. What are you even talking about?" He said.

"Sword, I can't be in this forever. I can't. And I can't kill my precious mom either, it's just so impossible for me. You won't free me, so kill me"

"Wow" Sword said and he suddenly grew monstrous and angry in a matter of minutes. His eyes were bloodshot, and his teeth grew long and pointed like a wolf's, his fingers turned to class and he had a hairy wolf's tail on his buttock. His head began to expand, displaying veins in weird places.

"I am taking your life right here, right now then!" He said angrily. I could see his eyes turning red, and his teeth growing out of their gums and out of his lips outrageously. He was in a rage but Anita didn't bat an eyelid. How can you tell someone you're taking their life so easily??

"I came here prepared. I already gave her an hint that I might be leaving her soon . I already said goodbye to my friends, so it's fine, and...

Slash!! Slash! Slash!! He didn't let her finish. He slashed and gored her to death. It was the sound of a sword-- The sword that hadn't been anywhere there, some seconds ago. I looked closely and realized it was no sword-- it was his claws and teeth. Blood flowed on the desk, floor and splashed onto his face. He gored her three times. He did it so easily that I wondered how many people he had killed in the past. Everywhere was bloody. There in the corner they both had had sex barely five minutes ago, he dug a hole, put her body in the sack and dumped her there. He was howling and panting and telling as he dug the hole deep enough. It seemed he regretted his action. I screamed. But it was only in my head. My mouth was wide awake in horrific horror, my palms sweaty and cold, my legs numb.

Just then, I found my voice and power was restored to my hands and feet. With calculated steps and palpitating heartbeats, I crept out of my hiding place and as soon as I was beyond reach and sight, I took to my heels. I didn't stop until I was three metres away from the school gate. Sir Colin soon arrived at the gate and drove me away.

That night, in my bed, I thought about what had become of Anita. Soon, everyone would notice Anita was absent in class, and would wonder why she was skipping classes. Everyone would think she was ill, and hope that in few days, she'd return to school but Uncle Robinson and I knew she never would. Anita was gone. The beautiful, bright girl in senior class was gone.

But where was Joe? I knew after witnessing that incident, I'd never be able to face Uncle Robinson or ask him any question about Joe.