Chapter Four

The silence that fell upon the teepee was heavy. Laila waited in deep confusion for the next person to speak, hoping to provide context for what was said earlier. Samantha stared wide-eyed at the elderly woman for a moment before switching her gaze to Laila. All Laila could do was stare back at her, for she had become speechless, with many questions in her head.

After what felt like an eternity, the woman finally let go of Laila’s hand; this diverted her attention from Samantha back to her. Laila looked closely at the older woman’s features; her eyes were the major attraction of her face. Their shade of blue was so light they could have been transparent; they were like clear pools of water. The elderly woman sighed, and what followed was one of the most confusing interactions Laila had ever had with a person.

“Your name is Laila, and you have come from far in search of someone”

“Yes, that’s correct”

That was what she told Samantha, but the rest of her statement was what Laila was hiding, and yet, she was being told everything by a stranger.

“This person changed your life, didn’t they?”

Laila’s eyes widened in response.

“Y-yes, they did”

“And you are now looking to reverse the damages or, at the very least, pay them back for what they have done, not so?”

The woman spoke to Laila as if retelling her - her whole life story, and she did so in less than five minutes.

“How do you…know that? I know Samantha said that you see all but-”

“I don’t just see all; I feel all too, and I feel a very bitter and aggressive heart beating inside of you; that kind of emotion can only be caused by spite…”

She took a breath before proceeding,

“And a need for revenge”

Laila listened carefully to the words of the old woman; nothing of what she said was new, but they seemed to bear more effect coming from her. Now, fully invested in the story of her own life through the lips of another, she wanted to know more. If there was anything the all-seeing grandmother knew about her that she herself didn’t, she needed to find out.

“What else do you know about me, or can see?”

For the first time since she entered the teepee, the old woman looked Laila directly in her eyes, piercing deep into her soul. Laila could feel the woman’s gaze within her body as if it were physically moving inside her.

“I see another within you; she is dark, dangerous, and…”

“And?”

Laila stared hopelessly at the elderly woman; each second she spent quietly looking back at her raised her curiosity more, making her an anxious mess.

“Samantha”, she changed the subject

“Yes, Grandmother?”

“Take Laila outside and give her something to eat; her journey was a long one; she must rest now”

“Yes, grandmother, come, Laila”

Laila felt hopeless at that moment; she wanted to know more but also did not want to abuse the kindness she was shown so far. With a heavy heart, Laila agreed to leave, but it would not be the end of their discussion; it couldn’t be.

“Thank you for your time”

“Don’t worry, it is not the end”

With that final remark, Laila and Samantha left the teepee, leaving the older woman murmuring to herself once again.

Laila was conflicted about what had just happened; she hoped she would find answers where she was, but all she received was more questions. Knowing there was a person who knew more about her than herself was just a few steps away, was even more tormenting than anything she had been through so far.

The constant battle of thoughts in her mind prevented Laila from hearing the sounds from her surroundings; she had no clue Samantha was calling her until she felt her gentle touch on her shoulder.

“Laila, are you okay?”

“Huh? Oh, yes, I’m fine”

“You say so, but I’ve been calling for the past five minutes, and you couldn’t hear me. Where is your head?”

Laila sighed

“Your grandmother knows more about me than I do; she can actually give me the answers I’ve been looking for, but she sent me away. Why?”

“Well, grandmother tends to do that sometimes; her ways are quite strange, but we trust her regardless because we know she wouldn’t do something to hurt us”

“But what about me? She’s never met me before; what’s the reason there?”

“She also hides things from us because she knows it’s not the right time to tell us. Just be a little more patient; I’m sure she’ll come around and tell you”

Patient, that’s all I’ve been doing, Laila thought to herself.

“If you say so”

“Come on,” Samantha held out her hand, “I’ll get you something to eat”

Laila’s mind may have been resistant to Samantha’s attempt to distract her, but her stomach wasn’t; she was indeed hungry, and at that moment, it overpowered her need for answers.

*~*

In a teepee made of orange and green cloths, Laila sat on a grass mat awaiting Samantha’s return; she had stepped out for a moment to arrange the food she offered. As she waited, Laila admired the beauty of Samantha’s minimalist home; the size of her living space could not accommodate any more furniture than the wooden table, which looked self-crafted, and the bed, but there was enough space for a fire pit. Given the location of her home, which was mere steps away from the river, a fire pit was a necessity because of the cold.

Samantha returned not too long after with an assortment of fruit and bread rolls; she also had with her a small clay pot, which Laila guessed had something to put on the bread.

“Sorry for the wait; it was a little difficult to find the apples”

“That’s okay, you shouldn’t have gone through so much trouble; I’m fine with anything”

“No way, you’re my guest, and you did have a long journey”

Setting the food down on the table, Samantha gently pushed it towards Laila until it was just slightly touching her stomach.

“Dig in”

“Thank you”

All the fruits that needed peeling were already peeled, and the ones that needed to be cut were done so; its presentation was well done. It was hard to believe she was receiving such in the middle of the woods. In the clay pot was a combination of fruit, all smashed together; it was like jam but less thick.

After demolishing half of the tray, Laila was given tea to wash the food down. The meal wasn’t just filling; it helped calm her down from the new stress that arose. But it wouldn’t last too long, for the questions were in dire need of answers, and one way or another, she was going to find them.

“Samantha, can I ask you a question?”

“You never rest, do you?”

“Not until I have some answers for at least half of my questions”

Samantha breathed out

“If that’s the only way you can rest, what’s your question?”

“When we first met, you told Claire that I didn’t feel like ‘just anyone’. What did you mean? How did you know I wasn’t…normal?”

“Because we can sense our own, you were a little hard to pick up on, which is why I believe Claire was defensive of you”

“Hard to pick up? How do you mean?”

“Your scent, it’s usually much stronger, but yours was faint; I wonder why”

At first, what Samantha was saying sounded like gibberish, but after she took a moment, it all made a lot more sense to Laila. Being told she was recognized by scent would have been weird in any other case but not that one.

“One more question”

“Okay, one more, but after that you need to rest”

“I will, I promise, but you have to promise you’ll answer my question too, no holding back”

Samantha straightened her back; her body language was telling that she already knew what Laila was going to ask.

“Back at grandmother’s teepee, she kept referring to me as a ‘newborn’; what did she mean?”

Laila stared at Samantha for a long moment, waiting to see if she’d tell her the truth or dismiss her as the grandmother did. Instead of responding right away, Samantha closed the teepee ‘door’ as if it would do much; she then faced Laila and began to speak in a low tone.

“I didn’t want to think it was true, but after you asked about how I knew you weren’t normal, it’s starting to make a little more sense”

“What is?”

“Grandmother calling you a ‘newborn’”

“So? What is it, a newborn?”

Samantha moved closer

“A newborn is one who is created not by the moon but by a man”

If it hadn’t been for all the strange things Laila had seen and heard, she would have thought Samantha had lost her mind, but even still, it did not make any sort of sense.

“What on earth does that mean?”

“We’re all created by the moon; she is the one we received life from, and we did so from birth. A ‘newborn’, however, was not made by the moon, but by a man, and that is why they are so different”

Slowly and carefully, Laila listened to Samantha. She asked for the full truth, and she was receiving it, whether it made sense or not.

“Okay, and how does-how does a man create a newborn?”

“Through physical contact, like a bite or even a scratch”

“So, like vampires?”

Samantha turned away with a scrunched-up face of disgust

“Oh please don’t bring those up”

“Sorry, sorry”

“Newborns haven’t existed for thousands of years; they were deemed unnatural and banned from being produced, which is why I told grandmother it wasn’t possible. She seemed so sure, but-”

“But?”

Samantha took Laila’s hand in hers and flipped it over to see her palm. With her finger, she passed over each line like palm reading.

“It’s all very faint; I can feel you but not the way I’m supposed to”

“Why?”

“Because you might just be a newborn”

Laila and Samantha looked at one another; one knew everything, and the other was just discovering, but they both had the same confusion.

“Is that why you’re looking for someone? Is he the one who…birthed you?”

“When you put it like that, it sounds strange, but I guess that’s exactly what I’m doing”

A moment had gone by in silence, and both Laila and Samantha catered to their thoughts. Laila was glad that she was finally getting somewhere, but she had become more curious about her origins than ever. Samantha appeared disturbed by what she had just found out. Laila had only just found out about the newborn, but from her companion's reaction, it looked to be very serious.

“Samantha, are you okay?”

The question startled her.

“Y-yes, I’m fine”

Getting off the ground, she headed toward the exit

“You should rest. Please make use of my bed; I’ll be back later to check on you”

Samantha looked agitated but tried to cover it with a smile. She did not feel suspicious, but Laila was curious about where she would go after their discussion, which wasn’t even supposed to be heard.

“Okay, thanks for answering my questions”

“No problem, feel free to ask me again sometime”

Even her response was different from the way she did when she was first asked the question. Laila watched as Samantha exited the teepee; her mind was already filled to the brim with thoughts she couldn’t handle anymore. All she could do was save their conversation for later and hope she would have a sound mind by then.

*~*

By evening, Laila had reached her limit; she could no longer stay in Samantha’s home, and she barely even managed to sleep despite being given a soft bed to rest in. The conversation Laila had with Samantha early that day made her hungry for more answers, but she could only receive those answers from the grandmother.

Laila’s impatience had reached the point where she was considering going to the grandmother's hut uninvited; after all, camping there was not part of the plan. All she needed to know was where the person she was looking for was, and she knew the all-seeing grandmother could help her.

In the middle of her decision-making, Laila was interrupted by none other than Samantha; she finally returned after spending the whole day out.

“Did you sleep well?”

“I barely slept at all”

She smiled

“Makes sense”

“Where have you been?”

“Just asking around, nothing too important, but grandmother will see you now”

Laila immediately rose to her feet.

“She will?”

“Mm-hmm, just take care not to ask too many questions; just because grandmother sees all doesn’t mean her power should be misused”

“Okay, no problem”

Samantha and Laila started for grandmother’s place. On the way, Laila witnessed the beautiful sight of humans and wolves bonding by the open fire. The sight not only moved her but the one inside her as well; it developed a need to belong and exist in that space, but Laila held back and ignored it, for once again it was trying to fight for her body.

Outside of the peaceful sight, Laila spotted three humans carrying wolves over their shoulders; they appeared dead, but after looking more, they seemed more ill. The situation piqued Laila’s interest; she wished to see more but couldn’t, as they all retreated into a tent. Samantha was the only other way she could find out what happened, but she felt like she intruded enough for one day.

After a few more fires, Samantha and Laila arrived at the teepee. Before Samantha ushered Laila in, she briefly spoke her mind.

“I’ve been thinking a lot about your situation”

“Really? What have you concluded?”

“Nothing really, because I can’t understand you, but I will ask: what do you intend to do after you’ve found the man you’re looking for? It’s not like it’ll change anything”

“You’re right about that, but I’ve spent the past three years waiting for the chance to see him again; it’s more about closure than anything else. I just…want to see his face”

“I see”

Stepping to the side, Samantha pulled the cloth to open for Laila.

“Good luck then”

Nodding at Samantha, Laila went into the teepee and sat where she did when she first arrived, but this time, without Samantha. Grandmother was sitting in the same place she had left her, but she was not tending to her basket, for it had already been done. Just a little behind her was the end product; it dawned a remarkable pattern.

“Have you been well?”

“Well enough”

“I can sense you’re still troubled, dear girl”

“Anyone would be in my shoes; I just met someone who can tell me my entire life story and more, but is keeping it from me”

“You have it all wrong. I do not wish to keep your life from you; I am simply trying to protect you”

“From what?”

Laila’s tone had become gruff; noticing this, she quickly rushed to apologize but was beaten to it.

“Your spirit is quite the dark one, but it hasn’t always been like that, am I right?”

“Yes, I wasn’t always this angry, but it changed when-”

“You changed, and because you’ve changed, you cannot feel the older you anymore; it's like she’s gone and been replaced with an unruly one”

Laila took a deep breath

“Yes, it’s something like that, but I already know that what I need to know is where he is”

“He? You mean the man who did this to you?”

“Yes, him”

“I tell you, dear, nothing will change once you find him; you will still be the same”

“I’m aware and have come to terms with it, but I still want to know, please”

The elderly woman looked over Laila’s face for a moment; her expressionless face was quite creepy, which made Laila slightly uncomfortable.

“You seek Lucius, Alpha Lucius”

The title made it hard to confirm, but Laila was sure it was still him, the man she was looking for.

“Yes, that’s him. Can you tell me where he is?”

“At sunrise, two of my children will take you to him. It will be a long journey; I encourage you to rest up”

“I will”

Laila could feel the relief settle in, but she had the feeling there was more to be said.

“You need to be careful where you’re going, young lady”

“Why?”

“Because you might think your vengeance will be enough to carry you through, but the reality will be much different once you come face to face with him”

It was a warning, but it did not feel like one; it was more like she was telling her she would change her mind once she saw Lucius again. Laila did not want to come off as smug, but also did not want to accept what she was being told.

“Vengeance has carried me all the way here; I’m sure it will carry me further”

“I’m sure it will too, but it is in your best interest that you don’t let it; that world that you’re about to enter, his world, is going to be much different from what you’ve ever imagined”

It was difficult to fight with a woman who had the reputation of ‘seeing all’; no matter what she could have said, it still wouldn’t be enough to challenge her. Laila gritted her teeth; she knew for a long time that finding Lucius would not be an easy task, but now that she was at the point where she would finally meet him again, and with the advice from grandmother, she couldn’t help but falter.

Just what kind of world does Lucius belong to?