Chapter three

The tension in the Wright's home was intense in the living room, as Snow strived to hold back her anger and reason with her mother.

"Mom, you can't be serious." She cried.

The next few minutes, Snow's face got soaked with tears, and she could not help herself from breaking down.

"I am dead serious, Snow. Until you learn to respect us and decide to stay away from that boy, this will be your punishment." Mrs. Wright announced.

Snow folded her hand in a fist as the anger she felt seemed to increase rapidly along with her fear of not being able to see Angel for an entire month.

"Mom, please. Don't do this to me." She uttered in a trembling voice.

Mrs. Wright could see the devastation on her daughter's face, which made her more determined to keep Angel and Snow apart. She did not want Snow being with someone that she is willing to choose first above others, including herself.

She knew the task that was waiting for her daughter in the future was one that needed Snow to be strong-hearted. 

Since Snow is closer to the age that will make her eligible to enter the family line of work, Mrs. Wright could not allow her daughter to have any weaknesses, and she feared that Angel could be a risky weakness for Snow to have because they knew nothing about him.

"Honey, we won't be discussing this issue again. Your dad and I won't accept him to be your friend. You can use this one month to meditate on your behavior and if his friendship is worth all the trouble that it is causing between us as a family." Mrs. Wright explained.

"Mom! Angel and I have been friends for nine years, and he has never hurt me or brought harm to me. If anything, I am the guilty one. Please don't ruin our friendship." Snow pleaded.

She felt desperate and frustrated at the same time. She was exhausting all of her options and words to tell her mother to make her understand that Angel was one of the important person in her life, yet Mrs. Wright was not giving in to her plea.

"You and Kelvin have been friends longer than that. But I don't see you want to be with him like the way you desire to be with that boy. Also, the only reason your dad and I allowed you to be friends with him was that you were young at that time. Later, you kept on rebelling against our warning of you not seeing him, and that's another reason while you guys are still friends." Mrs. Wright explained.

"Don't ground me, mom. I promise to be on my best behavior. I won't cause trouble for you and dad." Snow begged when she realized that she had lost the argument.

"I am sorry. However, your dad and I are doing this for your own good and protection."

"Fine! I accept getting grounded! But know that I dislike you guys, and I will not quit being friends with Angel. So I hope dad and you are ready to keep me in my room forever." 

After screaming these words at her mother, Snow raced up the stairs and into her room, then slammed the door. She leaned against the wooden door and allowed herself to break down and cry.

"Angel, is that you?" Mr. William said when he heard his front door open.

After a few seconds passed with no response from the person that entered the house, Mr. William became alarmed and stood up from his seat.

"Yeah, it's me. You don't need those claws," Angel said after he met the old man in the living room.

"You have to stop sneaking into this house like that." Mr. William replied as his claws shifted back to human nails. 

"It's not like I can announce my presence at the front door since people are not allowed to know that I can speak. You and the other elders were the ones that made that dumb rule anyway, so why are you scolding me for being silent." 

"Yeah, but it is for our sake because we don't need people asking you unnecessary questions that may lead them to suspect us. Nobody would question a mute person, and that makes it a perfect cover for you. I am your adopted father and you are a mute boy that I found, that's the only information people need to learn about us."

"Who knew having two identities would be this tiring?"

Angel walked past Mr. William and took a seat on the sofa. He then let out a deep sigh.

"What happened to you?" Mr. William asked when he noticed the bloodstains on Angel's shirt.

"Nothing," Angel replied, striving to dismiss the subject.

"You got into a fight with that boy Kelvin again."

"Kind of."

"I can guess that it was because of Snow once again?"

Angel did not respond. He knew that his silence and his words would still give the same answer.

"You are going to be the next leader of our clan. You can't have a mere human beating you. What will happen if our people hear about this?"

"I could kill him. You know my strength is not something Kelvin can handle. Using force on him will only leave his bones broken. Also, he's Snow's friend, and hurting him may leave me in her bad book."

"Don't forget why we are here. The other elders and I have turned a blind eye to the relationship that you have with that girl because you had the trust of one member of the Wright family, which is beneficial for your mission. But over the years, the closeness you have with her has made a few of the elders uncomfortable."

Angel frowned after hearing Mr. William's remark. Everything was getting too complicated for him to handle at such a critical moment in his life. His head and heart were at war, and he got left with two options and one choice.

"As you said, I am your future leader, and I don't need some old dudes telling me what to do or how to go about my business. I will complete my mission, okay!"  Angel harshly stated.

He got up from the sofa and was about to leave the living room when Mr. William's voice stopped him.

"I hope so. Your eighteenth birthday is one month from now. The moon will be full, and your strength will increase. Get rid of the entire Wright family on that day and complete your mission. Don't fail your parents."

Angel shut his eyes for a second as the sentence, "You have to get rid of the entire Wright family on that day and complete your mission," sunk into his ear.

He felt a piercing pain in his chest, but he ignored it and kept on walking without giving a response to the old man's statement.