CARA
Dear Selene….I think I am hearing auditory illusions all of a sudden. My ears must be playing games with me.Dane!?…. Dane can't possibly be here. He can't possibly be back. There is no way he is even an inductee in this ceremony!Silence settles all over the atmosphere once again, and steady footsteps begin to echo down one of the aisles leading to the podium.The central aisle….Rhia turns around, and before I can stop myself from joining her, I am already staring wide-eyed…. at Dane.He is here.He is really here.And he is walking down majestically towards the podium to receive his warrior mark.All the air in my lungs evaporates. I struggle to breathe properly, and my heart thunders for all the wrong reasons.All the pent up emotions rush back up my throat like bitter bile, and I fight with everything I have not to puke out the delicious cereal I had for breakfast this morning.Every cell in my body ignites to life as I continue watching Dane wordlessly and breathlessly as he climbs up the podium. As he solemnly swears his oath before everyone and folds up his shirt from the wrist to bare his upper arm in order to receive his mark.The muscles of his arm ripple in a way that makes me swallow, and I curse myself silently for still lusting after this bastard.He is taller now. More manly. More muscular with broader shoulders and chest to fit. The lights of the chandeliers above the podium glimmers all over him.And I suck in a breath I desperately need.The few dispersed strands of blonde hair that is spread across his short wavy deep brown hair looks more shiner and prominent. His jawline looks more angled and a little bit harsher than I can remember.And that mouth…. his mouth seems to have undergone a major resculpturing during these past two years. It is now a fucking luscious masterpiece that I can't seem to get my eyes off from.And speaking about eyes…. his eyes are still that shade of deep forest green that I lost myself into years ago, but now, they seem to bear some sort of fierceness as they stare at the stylus in my father's hand applying the mark on him.A sharp scar that he did not possess two years ago now bisects his left upper eyelid and runs all the way through his eyebrow to disappear around the side of his forehead in a curvy fashion.By mere looking at him, I do not need a soothsayer to tell me that Dane has changed a lot. A whole fucking lot.The rest of his physical body features speak volumes of that change. They look so carved like they were sharpened by the harshest of elements….And yet, somehow, they still make him as captivatingly perfect as ever. After all these years, he is still fucking gorgeous.The tons of mouth watering males I have lived with in the Defense Academy for the past two years do not even come a close second to him.Finally, he descends down the stairs of the podium after receiving his warrior mark. I quickly avert my eyes away from him, not ready for him to see me, even by mistake.Two years was enough to change him, but that same two years was not enough to change my stupid, lingering feelings for him.Other inductees are mentioned. Rhia and Killian are marked. Al receives his mark too.When my name bounces off the walls of the auditorium, it takes me a hazy while and the squeezing of Rhia's hand around mine for me to recover myself and get my paralyzed ass up from the pew.With my heart thudding wildly against my chest, I walk down the aisle and ascend the podium.All of my painstakingly efforts and hard work, with the huge support system I had, led me to this very moment. And I am going to grab the reward with everything I have.My arm is already bare to receive the mark due to the strapless dress I am wearing.“Hello darling,” my father whispers quietly to me with a proud smile. His smile offers me some sort of relief and comfort.I let his loving gesture absorb into me as I relax. I smile back at him before facing the crowd.Forcing my eyes to glue to one of the exit doors and not to wander around looking for a certain green eyed jerk, I begin to say my oath boldly in front of everyone.“I, Cara Griffin, do solemnly swear to honor and uphold the virtues of courage, integrity, strength and sound wisdom, both in duty and in character. I pledge my allegiance to the guidance of Selene, and to my home. In my moments of doubt and weakness, I shall find clarity and strength within the truth, and within the purity of the bonds I share with the people I love. I carry within me the flame of hope, the beacon of light that guides through the darkest of nights, and the legacy for the generations to come. I vow to defend, to protect, and to uphold this sacred oath, until my last breath.”I exhale after saying my oath. My dad nods with a smile, dips the stylus into the crucible, and after seconds that felt like celestial eternity, I eventually receive my mark.Finally, I am now a Greenwood full fledged warrior. I am no longer a warrior in training.But I can't help but feel that I am still that eighteen year old girl who was left behind by the one person she ever loved.The one person she can't fucking erase out of her head.And he is back. He is here.☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆Later in the early evening, after the whole buzz of the induction ceremony, Rhia is at my side as we walk towards the banquet hall, the venue where a cocktail party is being held.This is an after party of the induction ceremony that lasts till nighttime. In some occasions, even till midnight.Killian and Al are suddenly MIA. But I am very certain that they went back to the packhouse definitely to sneak in some bottles of booze they will enjoy later in the dead of night.But what if they are wi—“My mark still tingles.” Rhia chuckles happily as she examines her arm. “What about yours?”“Me, I don't feel anything.” I say flatly, recollecting myself from my thoughts.Her eyes narrow at me.“Cara, are you alright?” She asks just as we enter inside the hall, which is already filled with people strolling around with glasses of wine in their hands.CARAOf course I am not alright.I feel like I am about to experience a full blown panic attack.How can I be alright when there are plenty chances of me stumbling into Dane in here of all fucking people and of all fucking places!?But I do not want to trouble Rhia with my anxiety. So, she does not need to know the truth.“I am fine. I just need to use the restroom.” I smile, being careful not to make my fake expression look exaggerated. Rhia has this invisible dexterity of sniffing out exaggerations.“Alright. Take your time. Meanwhile….” she suddenly appears to my front, winking mischievously at me. “Don’t fuck around in there.”I laugh. Rhia's brazen mouth never lacks the nastiest statements. I am still surprised that her V card still exists after all these years.“I am coming.” I turn around, heading straight for the exit. The restroom is the least place I want to be in right now….I need to go somewhere far away from here. Somewhere I do not want to see him.Why the hell is he ba
DANEHell.Hell is staying away from her. Hell is not being able to touch her again. Hell is not being able to finally hold her in my arms after all these years that I have lived like an exiled, untamed animal without her.She stood before me. I felt her breaths on my face. I felt the heat of her supple skin merely inches apart from mine.And yet, I could not bring myself to risk even a slight graze. Not even a touch.The stunning sunset bathes the garden in sultry, soft colourful hues around me.But my eyes only linger at the long, wavy golden blonde locks of Cara's hair shimmering in the sunset as she walks away from me.Every step she takes as she drifts farther away steals that divine sight of her hair from me. Bit by bit…Until there is nothing left but an empty garden pathway staring back at me.Unable to bear the pain and pretense any longer, I drop down to my knees on the ground, and succumb to the agony that has shrouded my soul in its complete darkness for two whole years.A
DANENow back home, I ignore the tension hanging in the air of my mother's study office, which is almost suffocating.The warrior stands with her back to the bookshelf, arms folded. Her pixie hair cut is dyed green black, a colour I think suits her gloomy, heartless demeanor very well.She even has a large eagle wing tat on her right arm now, adding to the collection of the rest of her tats existing on almost half of her back and stomach.Carmden Morgan never loved tats. But after dad's death, she began swimming in tons of them.I relax comfortably into the plush soft sofa facing her desk, playing with the plain silver ring around my index finger and not caring that fire embers are shooting from her eyes directed at me.Why is she still silent!? Can we get on with this conversation already?“Julian told me you want to be allocated to the packhouse.” She finally spits out the words like they are bitter medicine she needs to get rid off her tongue.“You are acting like I didn't tell you
CARAThe Martial Base is bigger than any establishment I have ever seen in Greenwood.I have been here with my dad. Countless times since I was a kid. But every new time I step my feet onto these grounds, I feel like I am being sucked up into its harsh but mesmerizing beauty.I slowly drive my car forward towards the giant gates guarding the entrance of the base. Their onyx colour is a darker sync to the deep ash color of the high, barbed wired four walls guarding the base perimeter.As I approach the gates, I lower my car window and poke out my head just in time to hear a familiar baritone voice ringing out from the left watchtower stationed on the left high side of the gates.That's fucking Jasper. I can recognize his aquaman voice anywhere.“Cara!” He looks down at me with a smile.I give him a bright one in return. “Open the damn gates Jasper.”“Easy princess.” He drawls out with a smirk, and disappears back into the watchtower.Seconds later, the gates open wide, and I drive thro
CARAI take a huge bite.Dear goddess…. It feels like all my taste buds just got electricifed to life.Kian has really mastered this baking stuff superpower.“Hmmm,” I moan, taking another bite. “Maybe this cake is also one of the reasons why that girl followed you here, Kian. It tastes so damn good.”“Thanks.” He says with a corky smile.Rhia swiftly steals a cake chunk from Kian and tucks it inside her jacket, eyeing him. “If you end up not teaching me how you made these—”“Calm down tigress,” he shoves his floppy onyx hair off his forehead with a chuckle. “You know I don't go back on my word.”“You better not. You are too handsome for me to chop and mash you into dog food for Silver.”Silver is Rhia's German Shepherd. Huge with fluffy silver fur with sparses of faint black strands. That pet of hers can smell a fading scent as far as six hundred paces away from a single spot.“Silver loves me.” Kian defends. “She would never eat me even if I am processed into dog food.”These two….
CARAI was wrong back there in the briefing room. Everything about this job looks like it will be so damn hard.Thanks to Dane, it took me a full whole minute before I could finally breathe properly again after I climbed down that podium and left the briefing room.But now, once again, I am finding it hard to breathe, thanks to the mountain piles of paperwork I am currently staring at right here in my new office.They look like tall skyscrapers, and they seem to be waiting comfortably and patiently for their new mistress right there on the floor beside the corners of my desk.“Garrick really left a shit ton of work before he got sacked.” Sienna, my subordinate in charge of weapon maintenance, hisses as she joins me too in staring at the piles. “I am here if you need any help, and to be honest, you will be needing tons of it.”I sigh. She is right, and I am instantly in love with her trait of not mincing words with me. I love working with people who are honest, open, and straightforwar
CARAI gasp. Damn…Using raw silver in battle!? That will be one hell of a deadly machination against the vicious rogues now dwelling in the Wastelands if they ever dream of laying ambush on our pack.To be honest, I hate war drums and battle fields, but just like my mum always says, so long as good and bad exist in this world, there will always be a border line and power tussle between the two.My ears spike up in full attention as Sienna continues speaking. “My idea was just about melting silver ore into its molten form, its liquid form. Next, that liquid is poured into a weapon, like a handy plasma gun, but a handy plasma gun that is lightweight but can also bear the heat temperature of the molten silver.”“Whoah. Tell me more.” I press on.“Imagine condensing millions of tiny silver particles into its fluid nature and delivering it straight to the enemy in full capacity, like shooting lethal liquid bullets off from a rifle. It will just hit past the skin and muscles, and diffuse d
CARAThe sparring gym is filled already with all fifty of us by the time I arrive. And surely, I am definitely screwed….My prediction was right. Dane is here.My heartbeat skyrockets the instant my eyes lock on him.He is dressed in dark green combat trousers and a tight-fitted short-sleeve black shirt that only seem to accentuate his muscled arms and broad chest, making no effort to hide how fucking sexy his body is.My pulse races in my veins. He sure as hell definitely works out a lot….Standing right there in the spacious center of the large bi-circular sitting formation created by the others, he is whispering to my brother Al, who smiles afterwards and ruffles Dane's hair.“Cara, join the others.” I am ripped out of my staring trance when I realize that it is Gamma Carmden’s voice talking to me from the back of the circle.Damn, she is here. And she is now striding boldly through the circle's path as she makes her way towards the center where Dane stands….I instantly avert my