CHAPTER 1

“Poor King…But grandma Genesis, it is not that bad if he takes me away… he would love me just as he does his daughter and buys me lots and lots of candy and ice-cream and toys and..” the little girl’s galloping imagination was cut off.

“And what will happen when the King finds out that you are not his baby, but you ate up all the candy he bought for her and played with her toys?” the confused little girl stuck a finger into her mouth and looked blankly at grandma Genesis.

“He would cut you up and take out all the candy from your stomach.” The little girls covered her mouth with both her palms and wide eyes.

“NO!!! Grandmama, I don’t want to go with him” she hid her face in her grandma's chest as Grandma Genesis kept rocking her chair, back and forth.

“Uh-hmm… So, I would advise you to go to sleep, now” there was a hint of demand in her tone and baby Selena quickly scrambled down her granny’s lap and ran to her bed, with her curly hair bouncing all the way, syncing with her move. She hid under her fluffy blanket with rabbit print and peeped out to see her Grandma, settling beside her, and started to sing her favorite lullaby, YOU ARE MY SUNSHINE...

*******************YEARS LATER******************

“ Selena Brook” the lecturer called out,startling Selena from her book. Fair, olive skin lets the sun rays paint glowy highlights on her cheek and bring out the moon tattoo, just below her ears, even more. Her jet black hair with large curly locks tousled to one side and her round eye with light grey iris looked up from a pair of heavily fanned eyelashes.As the topper of her class,she would answer any questions with confidence. But it seems useless now.

“The Dean needs you!!!” Selena felt a sudden choke in her throat as her eyes widened. Quietly picking up her books, she walked out of her class, down the corridor towards Dean’s office. A shuffle behind her probed to turn her head. It was Jeffry, one of her best friends who is also studying Marine Biology with her.

“Why is he calling for you?” he asked through a breathy voice while clutching his knees in front of Selene. She pursed her lips,placing her hand on her waist

“Probably to ask me out on a dinner? Or maybe a marriage proposal? What do you think, dumbass?” she bites and walked away from him,mumbling under her breath. He managed to catch up to her, though.

“What you going to do, if you know…he had already found out?” Selena turned around to face him

“It’s Doc!!! I can manage him. You go back to class, I don’t want some more issue tagging me” she turned around with an attitude, before resuming to Dean’s office. Once there, she knocked on the door and entered once permitted

“Doc…You need me?”

“Yes, sit down. Can you explain how a full-size dolphin is missing from our center? The one that was under your personal care, to be precise” just as she feared. Selena fumbled with her finger, eyes on her lap as questions kept firing towards her.

“Or why the CCTV didn’t work for 1 hour? Or how the dolphin managed to open the underwater steel entry?” Doctor Peterson, the Dean of the most respected Marine Biology Research Centre and University, is now fuming red.

“Doc, I have no idea what you are talking about...” Selena finally spoke up, faking a puppy-eye but it triggered more irritation for the Dean. He slammed his palm on his desk, booming a loud thud through the extra-large office of his.

“Damn it, Selena!!! Don’t you try to fool me!!! Everyone knows that you have been prying to set them free for the last two weeks. That research center is the primary funding for your scholarship. How do you think their reputation looks in the eye of the public when they found out that someone blinded the CCTV and ‘KIDNAPPED’ those dolphins?”

“Exactly, Doc. That’s the point. Those dolphins have healed months ago but are still in captivity when they could be free out there. Why? Because for damn publicity. That’s not the whole point of the research center and that is not why I begged you to take me in” Selena suddenly sprang up from her seat, eyes darting directly at The Dean’s eye.

Finally, Dean gave in and sighed slowly

“Fine!!! Since there is no evidence, I am not going to take any severe action against you. But that doesn’t mean I’m letting you walk away free. You are going to cover Rocky, the chimp for the next week.” Selena was obviously disappointed at the punishment but she complied. Rocky is a baby chimpanzee who lost her mother at birth and always insists to be carried around.

“ You are going to graduate in another month and so far, you have excellent grades. If someone finds out about your continued mischiefs, it will be a black mark on your record and you may lose your scholarship as well. Don’t do that to your future, Selena!!! You may go now” sighed, Selena turned around and walked slowly towards the door. She opened the door when a low voice halt her steps.

“By the way, frogs in Matron’s lunch box?!?! Original” Dean looked up from his reading glass while Selena smiled without turning around and walked out.

She merely walked a few meters and meet Jeffry, Noah, and Oliver, fellow accomplices, leaned against a wall. They inquired with concern and she explained what happen. Soon, it was lunch and they meet up at the cafeteria when Jewel joined them. The five of them are a team, always stayed together in good and bad. Selena and Jeffry are the ones working in the university's Wild Life Research Center but they are often accompanied by the rest of them.

“Our final class is on Friday and we will be free for another 3 weeks before the graduation date. After that, Selena and Jeffry will be busy with their work and further research thingy. Why not we take these 3 weeks to live life a bit? There is an unexplored mountain about 3 hours travel from here– Mount Manuka. Shall we?” Jewel is always the perfectionist of the team, thinking and having things preplanned.

“Sure, I will ask my dad and also Matron for a few days off, then we will see how it goes” Selena agreed

********A FEW DAYS LATER*********

Selena just finished her classes and headed to the research center with a thousand and one step-by-step chores, repeating in her head but all that fall apart the minute she stepped into the center. Ria, one of her co-workers ran towards her, carrying a piece of dreaded news.

“Sahara gave birth to a crimpled cub. All the other tigers are attacking the cub and Sahara is fighting with all her strength but I don’t think she can last long. All the other keepers are terrified to go in. Selena, you have to do something.” They have reached the tiger’s cage by the time Ria ended her statement. Matron and a few other helpers were already there, throwing firecrackers into the cage every time a tiger approaches Sahara.

“Matron, Selena is here!!! She could resolve this” Ria marched next to Matron with a concerned filled face

“NO!!! Selena is a part-timer and these tigers are vicious. We can’t take risk and…” before Matron could go any further, the heavy latch on the cage clanked open behind them. Matron slammed her body against the tempered glass window as Selena slowly paced her foot into the cage. There were a total of 5 men eating tigers in the cage including Sahara and upon entering, Selena scanned each of their position. Sahara is exhausted and wounded that she might pass out any moment now. The cub is hidden underneath Sahara’s paws. It had a crimpled rear leg, from the look of it. The rest of the tigers is clearly in an attack mode. Her inner voice activated

'Calm down…calm down girl. These are just cats. Show them who is the Alpha. It’s all in the head, not the size of your physic. '

She straightened her back and lifted her chin to downgrade those animals. They seem to be a bit confused but held their position. Now, she slowly dropped her head and looked up at those cats in a glaring manner. Some of them started to soften up in the eye.

'Don’t do anything to save the cub until they are all locked up or else, they will get agitated and attack without hesitation. Remember, the cub is the cause of this whole bizatch.

With a little action plan, Selena took her own time, carefully studying each of these cats. Tiny shifts in their leg– the fierceness in their eyes– tiny flinch in their breathing– nothing misses her sharp eyesight. Matron knew the second best thing they could do now, besides shooting the cub is to remain as still as possible. When Selena was confident that she has weaved dominance into each of the beasts, she bounced her eyes to the floor and back to the tigers.

In her head, a single word rang loud and clear.

'Bow'

Immediately, one of those tigers plopped to the ground with their head over their paws but the other two remained reluctant. They tried to shake their head, to knock off the alpha aura around them. But the little girl is not backing up. Selena repeated her eye movement and command again

'You have no control over me. I– and only I– can control you. Nothing you do can shake me because I have all the ability to bring you down. Now, BOW'

Her confidence and adamant to tame them is her only weapon here– not that she ever needs anything else. The other two also bowed to the ground. Next, Selena’s mind motioned them to enter the tunnel leading out of this cage, to another artificial ground. Her light grey eyes pointed to the tunnel while exerting great power. That’s where they were supposed to be and this simple cage was for Sahara to give birth and recuperate. They obeyed and walked away slowly to the tunnel. Once the tunnel entrance was sealed, Selena released a breath of relief, kneeled down to Sahara, and patted her. She completely ignored the cub as the mother will be highly defensive at the moment. Selena patted until Sahara calmed down and removed her palms from the cub.

Oh my dear, what a beauty it was!!!. A bright orange cub with blackish-brown stripes all over his body and a single stripe running from its forehead through his eye. Selena’s eyes teared up as she picked up the cub and looked over at the glass window to Matron with a frowned eyebrow and a wide grin, portraiting genuine happiness.

“How did she do that?” one of the spectators murmured with a wide eye.

“That’s Selena” Matron said in a low but proud manner. Soon, medical attention was given to mother and cub and Selena started preparing for their trip in peace. To her oblivion, Jewel's harmless suggestion is about to wreak havoc in her life.