S A G E
The quarter moon in the sky set the air in a mysterious dark escape. The crackling sound of the burning timbers and the laughter around the campfire mingled together at the night of celebration. The sweep of the air danced with the leaves to sing a gentle harmony in my ears. Although I wasn't expecting that I would have a guest who hated me almost all her life, so far, my little camp party was enjoyable. Gwen, Cayde, and I were compressed sitting on the tree log with wine glasses in our hands and a plate of foods on my lap.
"Now that you're seventeen, I'm still not gonna allow you to be in a relationship."
My head tilted to Cayde, frowning at his dumb statement. "You're not my father, ginger-wart."
"Maybe your Daddy," Gwen hinted, playfully nudging my arm with hers.
Cayde and I looked at each other and we almost gagged at that idea. No, that would never happen. Yes, Cayde was sweet and all, totally handsome with her ginger hair and an almost pale complexion and he had these pair of dark eyes that could lure every girl into him just as easily. However, we considered each other best friends. Even if there was more, we were just like siblings, completely platonic at all.
"And maybe I should tell you a secret."
Gwen's eyes sparkled and she stared at me in anticipation. "What is it?"
I chuckled. "No, not just a secret. Secrets."
"Who's the guy, Sage? I'll make sure that he won't live another day," Cayde growled protectively after he chugged a glass of red wine.
"Or maybe it's a woman. Is it a teacher from our school?"
My mouth gaped open, producing a small gasp from Gwen's naughty imagination. I briefly glanced at my parents who were chatting with the other adults while Primrose, Bren, and Julia were enjoying themselves burning marshmallows in the campfire. "Shut it. My parents might hear you. Worst, Primrose might be listening, and then she could spread that foul information to the whole school."
"Prim won't do that," Cayde commented, his tone was certain and without any doubt.
"Just because you've dated her the whole summer doesn't mean you already know her, Cayde."
Holy moly, they were bickering again! Once Gwen had found out that Cayde was together with that cheer-captain, their argument had become a routine——nothing harmful though. I couldn't blame Gwen because Primrose had done a lot of awful things to us so I was on her side. But at the same time, Cayde was free to date anyone he likes anyway and I wouldn't stop him just because I didn't like the girl. To my relief, they'd broken up at the end of the summer which was expected anyway, given that Cayde was such a playboy——the other reason why we couldn't be together.
"And you already know her, huh?" the ginger haired-boy retorted with a smirk on his face. "As far as I know, you're the one who threw your friendship away three years ago."
My head jerked to Cayde in surprise. Wow, that was——that was a piece of new information! I didn't know that Gwen and Primrose were friends before. I guess I wasn't the only one who had secrets here.
Well, Gwen seemed surprised too. "How——How did you know that?" she asked Cayde, her voice was low but my other best friend didn't answer her. Gwen inhaled sharply. "Never mind, I have my reason."
Cayde nodded at her and I was more astounded that he didn't argue back and he looked like he understood Gwen, contrary to my clueless head who didn't get it at all.
"Uhmm, should I feel jealous now? This is my party but you're arguing about this girl who wasn't invited at all in the first place?"
My two best friends shifted their eyes at me, guilt struck to their faces. They really should feel guilty though because I was about to tell my secrets just a while ago but the topic turned sideways so easily.
"Sorry, what was it anyway? Your secrets," Gwen urged me to continue, serving the glass in my hand with a light red wine.
I bit my cheek in hesitation, wondering how should I tell them about my short-lived relationship during the summer. "Cayde isn't the only one who had a little trip during this summer. I dated this guy for a while but we ended it for a weird reason."
"Who is it, girl? And what base were you on?" Gwen teased.
"We just made out, nothing more than that but do you know Ethan?"
Cayde snickered. "Ethan Haynes? He's gay, Sage."
My eyes widened. "How do you even know about that? That's a secret between us."
Gwen snorted. "Almost everybody knows about that, sagebean. Don't tell me you've broken up because he confessed his sexual preference to you. And these are your secrets? You've dated a guy you'd initially thought was straight and got dump because of it."
"No, we dumped each other because I'd finally realized that I prefer girls just like he is with boys," I finally admitted, knowing that they would accept me nevertheless. "Think of it, I just needed to date a guy in order to realize this fully and I couldn't be more glad to Ethan when he told me he's gay. It saved me from breaking his heart."
"Are you kidding me?" Gwen exclaimed, staring at me in disbelief. "The way you always watch your parents being lovey-dovey is enough indication that you're into girls, Sage. That's not a secret anymore, at least to the both of us."
"She's right. That's not a secret anymore. Anything we don't know about you want to share?" Cayde asked, his tone was mocking.
I let out a puff and grimaced at both of them. "You're both ruining my night."
My best friends laughed out loud, earning all the attention around us. Particularly, Primrose who tossed a sharp glare at me which I just brushed off. However, Bren decided to finally hang out with us and the two cheerleaders trailed behind as they sat on the log near our spot.
Bren poured himself a glass of juice then added a bit of alcohol from a silver flask he had brought with him. "So... I've heard that you had an argument with those new kids, Cayde."
Cayde's expression turned cold while my mind took its own accord, recalling how mysterious those blue eyes were.
"I was just making it interesting for them after I've heard them talking about our place being boring."
I almost rolled my eyes about how childish he was. If only Gwen and I hadn't interrupted, he would be beaten to a pulp. Val's brother looked ripped and solid hard while Cayde's body was leaner and taller. But maybe I could trust his speed, given that he was the best player on our ice hockey team.
"But Val here seems to get along with that blonde girl," Primrose chimed in.
Of course, she must have seen me talking to Val in our last class of the day. She was also there or better yet, she'd found out about it from another source, knowing she had a lot of connection in our school. Or maybe she'd heard it from Bren.
I could feel two pairs of eyes aiming at me but I just ignored them. "I was just trying to help Val to navigate around the school. She looks nice anyway and I think we could be friends."
"Oh no, don't even try to pull her into your lameness," Julia unnecessarily chided. "We're going to invite her to tryouts into our popular clique. Right, Prim?"
Prim was about to speak but Gwen suddenly interjected. "For the first time, I would like to agree with her. Sorry, but you better stay away from them, Sage."
I looked at her in disbelief. "Cayde?" I called out, hoping that he would oppose for me. It was my damn birthday anyway.
But unfortunately, he was on their side. "Sorry, Sage. Gwen is right. You don't even know them."
I sighed heavily. "Yet. I can be friends with whoever I want anyway. I don't need both of your permission." I saw Primrose rolled her eyes, annoying me further. "And I'll make sure that Val won't even step foot in your own dolled-up club. I can sure assure you that."
Primrose raised one of her brows. "Is that a challenge?"
"Yes, are you scared?" I taunted, giving her a curved-up smile.
The brunette clenched her jaw but she gave me an impish smile in return. "Of course not. Loser gets to be a slave for a week. Deal?"
I gulped nervously but eventually nodded in agreement. I couldn't back down anyway because I was the one who had challenged her in the first place. "Deal."
"No!" Gwen cried out, giving me a look of horror. "Sage, what are you doing? Don't you know you're challenging a conniving vixen? You will surely lose!"
"Gosh, thanks for that compliment, bitch," Primrose retorted, flipping her hair. "But it's a deal between me and Miss Crochet here. You got nothing to do with it."
Gwen stood up, clearly irritated about the situation. Of course, she was. She didn't want me to be a slave for Primrose and on the other hand, she also didn't want me to be friends with Val for some reason. I turned to Cayde and he was shaking his head in disapproval, too. I knew they meant well but I also had to decide on my own. I was glad that I didn't tell them about this indescribable connection I had with Val, that I was crushing so hard on her already.
"Hey, who's coming?" Julia said, earning our attention to the car pulling over along with the police vehicle.
"It's my father," Cayde said, standing up in alarm.
Mr. Russell and my Mom also came over to them as Mr. Voss climbed out of his SUV with three police officers getting out of their own. Something must have happened because their faces looked like a war was about to start. And they needed to report it to the town sheriff as soon as possible, hence why they were here, probably about to spoil my camp party.
We watched them conversing from a distance, the rattling sound of the leaves covering their murmurs. The air was getting colder already as if to warn us about something. I'd noticed that Gwen and Cayde were looking at each other's eyes, their faces were stone cold. Were they really upset about my little fiasco with Primrose just a while ago? I hope not because I was determined to get close with Val though.
After a few minutes, my Mom left them to walk towards us and my other mother met her halfway. They talked for a while then they sauntered directly towards me, guilt flowing in their eyes.
"I'm sorry, love. We need to pack up now," Ma informed us as my Mom held me inside her embrace.
"What? Why?" I questioned my Mom straightaway.
"It's dangerous here. I'll tell you tomorrow but first, we all need to get you home," she answered, rubbing my arms comfortingly. "Please, all of you, get into the RV. My wife will drive you all home with one of our officers."
"What about my car? There's school tomorrow. I can't leave it here," Bren asked, worried about his big Chevy.
My Mom tossed him a glance while running her fingers through her short hair in distress. "Right. How about this? I'll let Olsen drive my daughter's car so that he could tag along until you're home."
Bren looked satisfied with the idea but I was still upset that some bad circumstances out there had ruined my night. Unfortunately, we didn't have a choice but to pack up quickly and contained ourselves in the RV my parents rented for this oh-so-joyous event. But somehow, I understood that they were just doing their job and it just so happened that my Mom was in-charge of the patrol team all over the town.
Cayde had suggested driving the RV but Mr. Voss called him to accompany him back home. So it was just Ingrid on the passenger seat with Gwen and me who were in the backseat of the RV with my Ma as the driver while the two cheerleaders were in Bren's Chevy.
However, once the engine roared to life, Primrose suddenly climbed into the van, startling Gwen according to the face she was making. Their eyes locked and they probably would be dead by now just from the way they kill each other with their intense eyes.
"Mrs. Sullivan, my Dad wants me here instead, if that's okay with you?" she questioned, grimacing at both of us.
"Of course. Suit yourself, darling," Ma responded with a warm smile.
There were just two seats facing each other inside the vehicle with an attached table in between. The rest of the space was behind a curtain further back. Gwen and I were sitting next to each other so Primrose just decided to settle herself on the other seat. I only heard her let out a tired breath before occupying herself with her phone.
There was only silence inside the recreational van along with the low noises from the stereo my Ma had turned on. Glancing at the dashboard, the digital watch was showing it was already nine in the evening. Gwen was staring out of the window and I was wondering if she was still upset with me—— for even provoking the brunette in front of us.
I opened my mouth to say something but the wheel suddenly rolled over a deep bump, causing the vehicle to lurch more on the side.
"Sorry, didn't saw that coming," I heard my Ma apologized from the driver seat.
By chance, I was able to grab a handgrip to support myself but when I turned to see if the two were fine, I saw my best friend and Primrose in an awkward position. Her forearm was pressed across the cheerleader's chest while her other hand was gripping her sleeve, perhaps to stop her face flat on the table.
I cleared my throat, startling the two to jerk away from each other. They didn't say anything to each other after that scenario and just went back pretending they didn't exist. Now I was curious why they had a fallout.
"Hey, look at that," Gwen finally had gathered herself and slid the windows, seeing a few police vehicles on the side of the road.
Mr. Russell and my Mom were already there but when I saw a familiar car surrounded by the authorities, my heart instantly assaulted with fear. As my mother passed slowly across the scene, probably curious too, I did a double-take and looked for the plate number of the car.
And without any doubt, I knew that it was Ethan's. Of course, I was familiar with that car because it was the one he'd been using on our dates before. What the hell happened to him? Was he okay? Was he alive? Was it a car accident? Or did he go missing? Or maybe...
I shook my head, erasing that vile thought in my head.
"Are you okay, Sage?" I heard Gwen asked, her tone was concerned.
"It was Ethan's car, " I mumbled but only silence responded. Gwen and Primrose were shocked as well, sensing that this was going to be a similar case. Same as a couple of teens gone missing every month which hadn't been solved yet. The reason why my Mom had to work overtime and had only too little time for her family.
I hoped not. I wished it was just a car accident and he only had gotten minor injuries. Otherwise, I would be devastated because Ethan was a good friend of mine.
Dammit, Ethan! I just wished he's fine.
........
VALKYRIE The shadow of the night slowly separated the light from the sight of the world as the sun said farewell once again. Like the dark speck in my heart for being separated from my mate for the first time, the cold air brushed through my skin as a reminder of my longing. It was still the very first day of our separation and yet it felt like my soul was being slogged apart by two black holes already. However, I needed to fulfill my duty first as one of the second-in-command to the Alpha so I tried to divide my emotions aside for a meanwhile. I was sitting at the table next to my father and one of our deltas, Enzo while the Alpha of the Wolf Grave and his own two warriors were seated across from us. Although our pack was more formidable than them, Zymir had more experience with his age and Wolf Grave was a necessary ally towards the main goal of my father——peace among our kind. My father had insisted me to come to the meeting with them which was taking place in neutral territory,
VALKYRIEVida tended to Sage's friend immediately once we had arrived at the clinic in our territory. I examined the wallet he had in his pocket and according to his identification card, his name is Ethan Haynes, seventeen years of age. It seemed that he was close to Sage based also on the photo I got from one of the pockets. My mate was sitting on his lap while his arms were around her waist as they were smiling at the camera.It made me confused. I'd thought she was with that Cayde and now she looked so cozy with this guy I just saved from his death earlier. Why would he keep something like this in his wallet anyway? It was too sweet for my liking. Clenching my jaw, I torn the photo into two and tossed one of the half pieces in the trash bin, then kept the other with me."Here, put some pants on, will you?" Ulva chuckled, lending me her jogger pants she probably took from their villa nearby. "And by the way, it's nice to you again."I just disregarded her, placing the wallet on the
SAGEIt was the chirping of the bird that woke me up from my deep sleep. Groaning at the warmth of the morning, I gradually opened one of my eyes to glance to my side, hoping that my dream was real. But I was stupid to think that I would see her sleeping next to me when I only found no one. Come to think of it, I'd been dreaming about someone who didn't have any face before and yet that person made me feel safe——like a guardian angel. And it was also dumb of me to even dreamt of it being Val who I just met yesterday. Not that I could blame myself because dreams are something out of control.Maybe because I was thinking about those blue eyes of hers all day long to the extent that she had appeared in my dream. However, recalling about yesterday caused me to open my eyes wide as my head turned to the digital clock on my nightstand. It was still six in the morning and I had plenty of time before I get into the shower for school. And yet, I forced myself to climb out of the bed and then p
SAGEI didn't know if it was a good thing for all of us but classes were shortened by fifteen minutes after another person had gone missing for the fourth time. Three days had already passed since Ethan had gone missing. The rest of the persons who had disappeared for four months-long were from the other school while Ethan was the first from Stormhill High. Not to mention, someone was murdered this time and I bet it was giving my Mom a migraine already. I'd heard that the dead kid was also from the other school which gave me the conclusion that the students of Rassler Academy were being targeted and Ethan just got caught in it.That must be the case on why this was happening to my friend.As I sulked in my seat, the teacher was lecturing about the composition of magma when a crumpled paper landed on my desk, almost scaring the soul out of me. Knowing it was from Val who was sitting behind my seat, I glanced over Mr. Dawson first before taking the paper in my hand and opened it under t
VALKYRIETo say I was beyond ecstatic was underrated. My mate had accepted our connections without any difficulty and it felt surreal to me. To think that Sage had an unprejudiced soul even though I didn't entirely explain things in detail to her—— that I was in fact, a werewolf. She just trusted me so easily and I would be a fool to break that so I was pondering about what to do with that Ethan. How could I tell Sage that he was under our care while the town was looking for his whereabouts? How could I prevent myself from lying to her without telling her the terrible truth?"Val, are we ready now?" Vance asked, pulling me out of my deep thoughts.I whirled around to make eye contact with the scout team I'd gathered for tonight. The moonlight blessed us with its waxing gibbous curse as it pasted in the sky with a white glow, overlaying the darkness of the wood but created more shadows instead. The breeze was cold but wasn't enough to slip into my black parka jacket and cargo pants. Ne
VALKYRIEDeath is an inevitable consequence in our lives. It is a timeless wonder that can't be stopped as it ends in a collision of two rocks, in a burst of a raindrop, while others fade out slowly. It is mysterious and has no physical form and yet, it's tremendously legendary among all others and has more impact than life itself. Throughout your life, you can be anything you want but in death, you can be everything and at the same time, nothing at all.Everyone has a clock inside them, ticking and circling in repeat. Then it crumbles like bread falling into dust once the loops expire. Our kind wasn't an exception as ours were supposed to be more elongated and yet, humans were proven to be at the top of the pedestal when it comes to surviving and reproducing. Surely because we were facing a more dangerous way of life as we were designed by the curse of the moonlight.But why did my existence bring demise to the maiden who was sleeping innocently in her own world? Why it had to be me
VALKYRIEMeet the parents? Why not? It wasn't like I'd be dead after this because in fact, they could never hurt me physically. However, the moment I was sat on the chair, listening to Sage's Mom asking why I trespassed into her daughter's room, I was stupefied beyond imagination. My mate's home was giving off a warm vibe as it was simple and yet full of love. They even had a set of framed family photos on one part of the wall in the hallway while the scent of the coffee and bacons invading my nostrils made me feel somehow calm. But of course, it wasn't a big deal when you were finally sitting in front of your future beloved wife's two mothers seeking for their approval. Note the sarcasm there, folks.For someone working in authority, Sage's other Mom looked like she wouldn't even hurt a fly but once I heard the deepness of her voice, the authoritarian tone in it, it gave complexity to her personality. She was already in her uniform, her raven black hair was braided neatly around the
SAGESomeone definitely dropped a bomb in my mind as it wanted to explode with so much information, or rather an unbelievable revelation. My brain was in the loop, cycling through the words that it had acquired seconds ago. And it wasn't helping when the ocean eyes I had begun to adore sullen down into dread as she stared at me. Apparently, they held meaning and they held truth which I couldn't handle at all.It must be a lie, right? The demise of my ex was still unknown and yet, here she was, telling me that she had something to do with his disappearance."No," I finally uttered after what seemed like forever, my eyes firmly at Val. "No, you're lying. Why would you kidnap him? He's irrelevant?"Val almost snorted, but I heard an amount of it before she stopped herself. She clamped her lips inward before speaking out, "Sorry, but I certainly didn't kidnap him and I'm telling you the truth. Ethan Haynes is on our property and recovering from 'the attack'. He's irrelevant though, indeed