2: The Little Boy
The waitress is soon back with their orders. The three girls momentarily forget their conversation and dig. For someone who ordered the most food, Kylie is the first to finish eating. She wipes the corners of her mouth with a napkin. "Such a nice meal," she says, satisfied. The other two just stare at her. For people who have been sister and friend to her for years, it still surprises them to see her eat the most and finish it all up in the twinkling of an eye.
"What is it?" Kylie asks when she notices their stares.
"You know what? Never mind," Serah replies.
Her twin scoffs. "Anyway, Camilla darling, you don't have to feel downcast. The day is just starting, after all. Just give it time and everything will fall in place," she says. The certainty in her tone brings a smile to her friend's face.
In a few minutes, the three girls are in the street.
"Where do you guys think we should go?" Kylie asks.
"I would have loved to go to work," Camilla replies.
The twins glance at each other and give her a weird look. "It's a Saturday," they say in unison.
Camila's eyes roll. "I know that. I just wish it were a weekday so I can spend time at the library," she replies.
Without warning, Kylie links their arms and begins to pull her. "Um, where are we going?" Serah asks from behind the two.
"We're heading to the park. Maybe we can do something there," Kylie replies.
"Not a bad idea," Serah whispers.
Camilla facepalms. "Alright. Let's go then."
The park is busy today, as should be. It's mid-morning on a Saturday, after all. Families and friends had already arrived before the three girls got there.
"Looks like we'll have lots of company today," Kylie says.
Serah scoffs. "We're here to have fun with the birthday girl, not talk to total strangers," she reminds her sister.
"But the three of us can't stay here alone. We still need more people to…."
Camilla blocks out their voices as an argument starts brewing between the twins. Those two are so different, it makes them argue over the smallest things. She decides to watch the people in the park. There are about three families here. They look so closely knit and happy. One family to the right came with a birthday cake. "One of them must be celebrating today," she whispers to herself. A tear slips down her cheek.
"I see you are sad. But there's no reason to be," she hears someone say. Camilla looks around her but apart from her bickering friends, no one else is close to them.
'Maybe I'm just hearing things,' she says in thought.
"No, you're not," the voice comes again.
Camilla looks around for the second time, confused. Deciding not to let it slide, she says, "Who are you and why do you sound so close, yet I can't see you?"
"That's because I'm inside you, silly. My name is Ava and I'm your wolf," the voice responds.
Camilla is frozen for some time. Then she suddenly starts jumping.
Kylie hears her scream and stops yelling at her sister. "Camilla, what is it?" she asks as the two of them rush to their friend's side.
"You guys won't believe it," Camilla squeals.
The twins exchange glances and stare at her. "What happened?" they ask in unison.
Camilla collapses on the vibrant green grass. While trying to catch her breath, she says, "My wolf….my wolf just spoke to me."
Serah's face breaks into smiles while her sister continues squealing from where their friend stopped. "You see what we told you? The day is just starting and everything will fall into place," Serah says.
"So what's her name?" Kylie asks as the two sisters sit beside her.
"She said her name is Ava," comes the reply.
"A lovely name," Serah remarks.
"I'm so happy for you. At least you have something to be excited about," Kylie says, giving Camilla a tight hug.
During the conversation, a child inches closer to the three of them.
Serah is the first to notice him. "Hello there. How can we help you?" she asks.
"Um....hi," he stutters. He brings out a little package from behind his back. "I just wanted to give this to Miss Camilla."
His shyness made him look cuter. "Really? That's for me?" Camilla asks.
"Yes, Miss. It's not much but…." He doesn't get the chance to finish his statement before she pulls him into her arms.
"Thank you so much. I really appreciate this," she whispers in his ears. The little boy smiles, hands her the gift, and runs back to his parents.
"I wonder who he is and how he knows you," Kylie comments when the boy is out of earshot.
"I could be anyone, Kylie. Don't forget that the Gael family is very popular," Serah replies as she takes a seat on the bench beside them, internally wondering why the other two are still sitting on the grass.
"He might be from the daycare I used to work at. His face looks a little familiar," Camilla says as she unwraps the little box. The twins wait for her, anticipating what could be inside.
Tears well up in Camilla's eyes when she sees the contents of the box. There was a necklace with a star pendant and a chocolate bar beside it.
"Aww, this is so cute," Kylie gushes.
"He's definitely from the daycare," Camilla states with a broad smile.
"How are you so sure?" Serah asks.
"The older kids once asked me my birthday. On another day, they asked me what I would consider the best gift," she replies.
"And the answer was a necklace with a star pendant?" Serah questions with a raised eyebrow.
"Well yeah. I didn't know what else to tell them because I didn't really have anything in mind at the time," she answers. Kylie helps her hook the necklace at the back of her neck.
Serah smirks. "This kid's got taste. The gold really compliments your skin," she says.
"I agree," her sister affirms
Feeling Special"I'll go over to thank him and his parents properly," Camilla says and leaves the two sisters.The boy runs up to her when she gets close to their picnic spot. "Did you like it?" he asks nervously.She laughs and scoops him up in her arms, carrying him back to his parents. "I love it," she replies."We're glad you do. He told us a lot about you, especially how well you looked after them at the daycare," the woman who should be his mom, says.Camilla's cheeks turn reddish. "I'm glad to hear such a good report. I just wanted to thank you," she replies. After bidding them a happy weekend, she goes back to the spot she shares with the twins."We should leave now. Our parents will be waiting for us to come home with you," Serah says as she gets her bag."Don't you think we should stay here a little more? I'm enjoying the feel o
Kylie was the first one to lay her back on the floor."We've barely been working for ten minutes and you're already tired," Serah remarks. "I think I take back my earlier comment. You're lazier than Camilla.""Good. Now, apologize for making me look like the black sheep in our group," Camilla says with a mock frown.Serah waves her hand nonchalantly. "Oh please. If you like, wait for me to say that. You'll wait until you grow old with ten cats.""But for real though, I now understand why Mom and Dad advised us to open the window," Kylie says, panting."Yeah. These gifts are so many and they were wrapped so securely," Serah agrees. Camilla doesn't join their conversation. She's more interested in why so many people would go this far for her. After all, she doesn't even know half the people in this living room and they're more than twelve!Kylie snaps her fingers in her friend's face. "You really need to stop zoning out like this," she says.
"Good afternoon, sir," the guard greets.Alpha Adan smiles at him. "Hello, Lucius. What's the matter?" he asks."The daughter of Orson Gael is here to see you," Lucius, the head guard says.The Alpha's eyes light up. "Well, what are you waiting for? Let the child in," he demands.In a matter of seconds, Camilla is face to face with the Alpha. "Hello, my dear. How are you today?" Alpha Adan greets as he gestures to a seat.Camilla is a little lost in the new look of his office. The last time she was in there, things were different and most importantly, the paint was of a different color."I see you noticed the changes," the alpha says."Yes, Uncle Adan. What's up with all this?" she asks, still staring at the purple paint."Well, as today is your birthday, I decided to do something in honor of my little friend," he says proudly. The astonished look on her face gives him a feeling of satisfaction."For real? But you didn't
6: Finding HimGlancing at the armor for the fifth time since they got back to the office, Camilla still can't believe what happened some minutes back. How did they decide to bring her into the army so soon? Most importantly, why?"You seem excited. I'm glad," alpha Adan says as he sees her steal several glances at what used to be her aunt's armor."Yeah, I'm excited. This doesn't happen to just anyone, you know," she replies as she eats some of the cake he got for her.Alpha Adan seems a little surprised. "I don't understand. Weren't you planning to take over the family's legacy?" he asks."Of course I was, but I didn't think it was going to be this soon. Plus, Waylen didn't take up his. I still wonder why." Her countenance drops for a moment. The thought of him reminds her of what brought her to the alpha's lodge in the first place. "By the way, I have something to ask.""Go on."She tells him about the argument she got into with her friends concerning the bestowing of blessings. He
7: It can't beThe sound of hurried footsteps follows. Waylen turns and sees her, waves, and seeing her distraught look, decides to walk over.'Maybe she wants to tell me something,' he thinks.Camilla takes a step back from him. His colleagues frown. What could be wrong with her? They pause their work to watch the two siblings."What's wrong, Camille?" Waylen asks as he approaches her."No, it can't be," she whispers."Camille...""No!" With a vigorous shake of the head, she turns on her heels and is gone."What the..?" one of the carpenters say."What could be wrong with her?" Waylen thinks out loud. "I'll have to follow her and talk it out.""It's not closing time yet. You can't leave before then and by the way, you haven't even completed your work for the day," their supervisor chimes. A tall man with snow-white skin and a broken nose, sometimes Waylen wonders if he's an undercover vampire. The thought always made him shiver.Seeing as there wasn't much he can do before the day is
8: MissingStartled by the sudden and hurried slamming of his office door, Alpha Adan looks up from his paperwork. Waylen is breathing heavily, pacing about."Are you going to tell me what the problem is?" Alpha Adan asks when Waylen doesn't say anything for a few minutes.The young man ignores him and continues to pace. The alpha goes back to his work when it's evident the young man isn't ready to speak yet."How can you remain so calm?" comes Waylen's voice."Pardon me?" The older man looks up from the paperwork a second time."You heard me. I ran in here distraught but you're sitting there like nothing happened," Waylen says with some bitterness.Calmly dropping his pen and resting his back in the chair, the alpha intertwines his fingers. "You came in here in a flurry. Naturally, one would expect you to say something to explain the state in which you barged into my office," he replies.Waylen's stare doesn't waver. Seeing him that way, the alpha sighs and says, "Alright. What's the
9: WorriesTwo days later and there's still no sign of Camilla anywhere. Her friends and their parents are searching for her; Waylen has almost gone mad and Alpha Adan's worry keeps increasin"I'm sorry sir but we still haven't found her. She's nowhere in the town," Lucius say"Then search beyond the town. Have you checked the borders?" the alpha asks in a rough ton"No sir. We"You said you haven't found her but you haven't even exhausted all the possibilities!" the alpha yellLucius is somewhat startled. He always knew that the Gael family holds a precious place in his master's heart but it never occurred to him that they were this important. Alpha Adan has a son but even he has never been given this kind of importanc"Sir, you were the one who told us to hold off searching the borders," says the head guard calml"Oh, I see." Alpha Adan clears his throat. "Well, in that case, I'm giving you permission to search wherever you like within our territory"Alright sir," Lucius says and le
10: FoundAnother day without her. Waylen hasn't given up yet but Alpha Adan ordered him not to interfere with the search. Staring at the picture they took as children, tears threaten to fall from his eyes but he pushes them back.On the day of his eighteenth birthday, all Waylen could see or think about was her. There were no blessings conducted for him. He simply woke up to see no one but his sister in the house. Apparently, their parents were out but he didn't mind. It was the perfect way for him to leave the house unrestricted."Happy birthday," Camilla said when she saw him, giving him a hug. Her hugs always felt weird to him. They made his body feel electrified."Thanks, Camille," he replied, managing to return her hug with a side one.He was gone as soon as possible, to avoid seeing his parents. He didn't want them to slow him down.~~~After a fun day, Waylen came home to a lovely aroma coming from the kitchen. His dad was in the living room, waiting for him."There's my boy,"