Chapter 2_ Not Nice Meeting You

After several hours of driving, they arrived at the place, which was—

“Are we in a different dimension?” Amethyst scanned the area. Fireflies bragged about their rainbow lights to compete with the moon. Hooting owls rested on the branches of tall trees, where they glittered under the moonlight. The orchestra of crickets and other night insects welcomed them with an opening song.

Rinari and Thea looked at each other with no trace of amusement on their faces.

In front, a stone path waved at them. Amethyst brisked towards it and jumped over. One stone after another shined beneath her feet, like some sort of reactive microorganism get stimulated by the friction at each step.

“Cool!” Amethyst whispered to Thea. “This place is extra! I wanna live here.”

The pathway led to a steel gate, with clematis and passiflora covering the walls.

From where they stood, waist-high fences covered in Bermuda grasses formed a mini labyrinth. A Hershey’s Kisses- shaped house, at the center of the lovely maze garden, made Amethyst’s jaw drop. She was like a child, excited about some chocolate. The glass walls of the house reflected the greenery outside.

Abre.

The gate slowly opened with Rinari’s word, and they kept on walking on the luminous stone steps. Amethyst stopped midway and took her phone out.

“This is for I*. Modern-day Hansel and Gretel set.” She took one photo of the house in the background and asked Thea, “Is that house also made of chocolate?”

“Who knows?”

The stone path ended, but as they set feet on the grassy lawn, several wolves emerged from the fences. Both teenagers tugged Rinari’s arms, hiding behind her as the pack advanced in their direction, growling.

“That’s a lot of Huskies,” Amethyst said.

“Auntie, how do we get to the house?”

“I’ll give Lucia a call.” She felt for her pants’ pocket, searched her bag but—a pen, some receipt, an empty wallet—nothing. She coyly smiled at Thea. “Sheesh! No phone.”

“Yeah, right? Why do we even use them when we can just—” Rinari hushed Thea with a deadly look.

“I brought mine,” Amethyst said with a triumphant smile. She handed the phone, but as soon as Rinari got hold of it, one wolf pounced on Amethyst. She dropped onto the lawn.

“Stop! No!” Rinari rushed to rescue Amethyst, but the wolf cried back off! She and Thea froze.

“Get off me!” Amethyst cried at the wolf still pinning her. But it didn’t bite her. It just sniffed and barked, as if trying to shoo away something bad in her. Amethyst struggled to free herself, but unconsciousness consumed her.

***

Artemian stood by the doorway of Nic’s room. They brought the still unconscious Amethyst there to rest. It was the only available room because the other rooms were filled with plant nurseries Lucia had been experimenting with.

“Looks like I gave her a scare, huh?” he asked with a smirk. “She smells different,” he continued, looking at Rinari. The latter looked away coyly at his embarrassing statement. She looked at Lucia to see if she found the conversation awkward, but she was smiling as if it was nothing.

“C’mon, Art. You’re making my best friend uncomfortable.” Lucia places her arm on Rinari’s shoulder and guided her to the receiving area. Thea and Artemian followed. They all sat on the couch with the other members of the pack.

“This place is cozy,” Rinari cut the silence filling the air.

“Art thought of the design. He knows you’ll like it when you come and visit.”

“Lu,” Rinari whispered. Her soft voice warmed the hearts of those who heard her speak. “I’m sorry.” She hugged her beloved friend.

“You don’t have to. You guys have been each other’s first love for so long. I can’t just replace that.” Tears well in her eyes as she returned Rinari’s embrace.

Thea’s eyes grew wider with the revelation. Ouch!

Artemian gave a cough to break the sentimental mood. Both the girls laughed at him. “We can’t defy nature. The love I have for you both is special on a different level, don’t ask me to define it.” He smiled and hugged his girls. “I’ve missed this bonding.”

He stopped and sniffed. He frowned at the idea that had been bothering him since the moment Rinari’s party arrived.

“What is it?” Lucia asked while her hand was on Artemian’s tattooed arm.

“That’s it. I just figured out the difference between their scents. Rin’s scent was honey-sweet blended with rose petals, but Amethyst’s—it’s sinister and vile.”

***

Thea put the pen down after scribbling some notes on an anahaw leaf. It read: We can’t talk about her, nor mention her name. She’ll hear us. Let’s come up with a name for her. I swear I’m not saying these words out loud in my head. Need an extra barrier to hide all these thoughts. I hate this.

Lucia mouthed the word why upon reading Thea’s note.

Rinari took the pen and wrote: she detests witches.

“But why?” Artemian uttered the words. He didn’t want to look ridiculous in front of his pack. The three girls threw him a deadly knives glance. “I mean, doesn’t she know about—”

A shriek coming from Nic’s room cut Artemian’s word, and they all rushed to the awakened girl.

“What’s the matter, honey?”

“There’s a man, on top of me.” Rinari hugged her trembling daughter. “It was the same man who broke into my room the other night.”

“How does he look like?” Lucia asked.

“He has long hair, down the shoulder. He’s muscular and hairy… and he’s half-naked!”

The Quin couple looked at each other. They have the same image in mind. Nicolai Rex. 

“You said he was in your room the night before?” Lucia asked when her husband left to give them girls' space.

 “Yes.”

“What did he do to you?”

“About to kiss me. I don’t know. I’m not sure, but he was on top of me.”

“How old are you?”

“Eighteen, next Monday.”

“That’s the fifth of the second month.” Lucia looked at Rinari. “I can no longer do anything about it. I think you should tell her the truth.”

***

Outside the house, the pack was preparing the food, oblivious to the commotion inside. Some were grilling fish. Others were assigned to cook barbecue.

“Has anyone seen Nic?” Artemian walked into the center to get the pack’s attention.

“He ran towards the forest.”

With that, the Alpha’s feature changed. His face protruded, forming a muzzle. Large, sharp teeth emerged as replacements to the normal ones he had. His ears grew larger, pointing upward. Hair covered his body. And as he grew bigger, his clothes were torn by the force. His arms stretched to form front limbs until he was down on four. He sprinted to the shrub area and tracked his son.

“He can’t go far. It could be dangerous to him. It’s his first time to shape-shift.”

Artemian didn’t mind the spiky branches scraping him. Nic must be found before he might lose control of himself and cause havoc in nearby houses. He might lose consciousness along the way. Someone might catch him returning to being human—that was the primary concern.

As the Alpha, his determination to keep everyone in his pack safe kept him rushing despite the stones and sticks poking his paws. He didn’t mind exhaustion and the stinging pain from scratches caused by almost everything on the forest floor. Nic was his son, after all.

“Where are you?”

“I’m here."

He halted when Nic’s voice answered in his head. He stopped, catching his breath.

“Where exactly?”

A wolf stepped out of the shrubbery with its head down, not wanting to make eye contact. “Do I look awful? My handsome face has turned to this.”

Artemian scanned Nic’s wolf form. His grey coat had a long white stripe at the center.

“Don’t be stupid. You look exceptional.”

He walked towards Nic and rubbed his muzzle to his. Seeing his son growing up as a fine young man and a wolf made him howl with excitement.

They stayed in the open air amidst the forest, enjoying the moon, when Nic asked him who the girl in his room was. They were back in human form, only covered in wide leaves.

“Amethyst,” he said. “She’s the daughter of Rin.”

“Your first love.” Artemian only smiled at the words when Nic asked, “Can I reject a mate, dad?”

Taken aback by the question, the Alpha tapped his son’s shoulder. “Your life, your choice.”

“I want to choose who I really love, not who my nature dictates I should be with.”

“Rinari may be my first love, but your mom is my Luna. And I didn’t regret choosing her despite the pain we, three, had been in.”

***

“Tell me what?” Rinari jolted with the slightly intense tone of Amethyst. “Mom? are you hiding something from me?”

“I’ll tell you when you’re ready to listen. But not now, okay?” She looked at Lucia, hinting Amethyst that they went to her house to celebrate, not to ruin the mood.

“Okay. I won’t ask questions—for now.”

After the stressful conversation, they all gathered in the garden to join the merry-making. Moments later, the father and son walked in as laughter permeated the air.

“Happy birthday Nicolai!” The men lifted their mugs filled with beer in a celebratory toast. The young women batted eyes as Nic passed their way. But he didn’t even look at them. His eyes were locked on a stranger with a familiar scent. Why is that smell so addicting?

Nic shook his head in the attempt to resist the desire to inhale all the scent he could gain. He clenched a fist to stop the urge of shifting again.

“Hi there, son.” Lucia approached and gave Nic a bear hug. “Happy birthday.”

“Thanks, mom. Hi auntie Rin.” Nic hugged Rinari, who squinted and smiled when a thought crossed her mind.

“Have you been out these past few nights?” she asked, tapping Nic’s back. But what she really meant was, have you been to our place?

“How did you know?”

“Mother’s instinct. I’m your second mom, am I not?”

Nic smiled at her and looked at Amethyst, whose eyes were fixed on her mobile phone. His salivary gland produced enzymes, but he locked his jaw to prevent himself from drooling.

He stood there like a statue, not knowing what to do. His wolf's instinct's kicking to be freed. The icy night air didn’t help in cooling down the heated fervor growing inside him. And when Amethyst looked at him, all he had to say was excuse me. And he ran away like a mad dog.

“What is wrong with him? Have I done something wrong?”

“Nah- ah, girl. It’s him, not you. But I think it’s partly you.” Thea beamed while giving her a cheesy expression.

“Whatever, I’ll head to the maze. Wanna come?”

“Nope. I’d rather see hotties in their pants than bugs.”

“Suit yourself.”

Amethyst strode to the other side of the garden and went into a conservatory instead of going to the maze. Its purlins held pots with different species of orchids. Tropical flowers such as elephant’s ears and birds of paradise dominated the left side of the greenhouse. Arid plants like star and fairy castle cacti grew on the other side.

She sat in front of the anthurium when a low grunt distracted her. She followed where the sound came from and saw Nic on the ground, twisting in pain.

“Are you okay?” She rushed to his side and grabbed his arms to assist him to stand, but he pushed her away. She slumped and hurt her hips on the impact. The rough ground scraped her palms. “I was just trying to help!” she snapped at him.

Nic glared at her. His eyes were red as a blazing fire. He crawled towards Amethyst and placed himself above her.

“You have this hobby of being pinned down, haven’t you?” he snarled and buried his nose between her neck and shoulder.

“Don’t tell me you were that guy?” she asked in surprise, trying to push him off.

“It’s not nice meeting you,” he said, licking her neck.