Chapter 7: Eyes

Rori's eyes darkened as she thought about Drake. She had considered visiting him without his knowledge because she felt he needed to be with someone who would comfort him even though he denied it. She was about to answer the door in her apartment just behind her when it opened with little force. It was her sister, Sandra in a cloud of green silk and cream-colored lace, her hair cascading over her shoulders as she looked at her in an unusual manner, more like despair.

"You are thinking about something," Sandra said. "It is your human friend right?"

"I don't know what you talking about, Sandy," Rori lied, trying to avoid looking in the direction of her sister's eyes.

Sandra sat down, almost in a thud. At full stretch, she stood almost a foot shorter than her younger sister, Rori, and she seemed extremely nervous, as her hands fluttered like tiny birds.

"How is Mark?" Rori asked, trying to occupy herself with the onions lined neatly inside a tray.

"Mark is fine as usual," Sandra said, almost certain she was saying the truth. "He is with his pack members, discussing about the humans who are walking through our streets and not minding their business."

"What do you mean by that?" Rori asked. To her, someone not minding his or her business did not involve someone using his or her freedom of movement to a full extent.

"Everywhere in the world is in chaos. Everyone is turning into something. Children are getting mad because of stupid video games. The streets are not safe," Sandra lamented.

"Everywhere is not safe," Rori corrected in a seemingly graceful manner. She was so unlike her sister. "I have been hearing rumors concerning the woman that was found close to the river," she continued. "Her name is Rosetta just in case I didn't tell you. She was the fiancee of my human friend. I don't know the full details of the rumors I am hearing from people around here, but I sincerely hope that Mark and his pack members had absolutely nothing to do with her death."

Sandra almost laughed but she held herself from making a fool of herself in her sister's presence. "Everyone hears rumors everyday," she explained. "It depends on who is sharing the rumors and what the rumors are about. You can't lay an accusing finger on my husband without proofs. Besides, all Mark has done since becoming an alpha is to show the community the importance of being a good werewolf."

"Mark? Good? Werewolf?" It was Rori turn to laugh as she shifted the onions aside and moved to where her sister was sitting. "Do you even believe what you are saying?" She asked.

"I believe my husband," Sandra replied, almost in a haste. "He has been truthful with me ever since we got married. He has given me all I deserve. I can't sit here and watch you insult him as if he is some kind of monster that has been chained inside a cage for many years. If you must speak about my husband, you must do so with a bit of respect."

"Respect?" Sandra's words always made Rori wonder if all she has been saying to her elder sister, the detailed expression on her face when she tries to explain the current situation of things was a joke, as though she knew something that she didn't know, as though there was more to tell that she didn't want to talk about. In most cases in the past, there was always more, a lot more of Sandra Reeler to tell, but no one knew it unless they were good enough to lure her out of her self created imaginary den.

"Mark can be worse," Rori confessed. "I am not trying to lay any unverifiable accusation on him because I am close to him as much as you are close to him. Just not closer. Even grandfather would suspect him just by taking a good look at him."

Sandra stood up and pressed her hips as hard as she could. From the look of things from different angles, she was slightly pissed.

"You don't have to stand up," Rori persuaded her to sit.

"I prefer standing up," Sandra protested. "I am comfortable the way I am. Now, if you are bold enough, I would love to hear what you have to say about my husband."

Rori shook her head. Just how worse could her day go with her sister, or how great her sister's hunger to follow in her mother's footsteps by justifying her spouse.

"I am waiting for you to go on with what you are saying," Sandra urged.

"I can't continue in this state you her," Rori confessed.

"Why?" Sandra asked. "Are you terrified that there is no truth in your words?"

"I am not terrified, Sandy. I just don't want to start an unreasonable fight with you that will lead to nowhere. Look, whether Mark is a good or bad alpha, we can never be sure. You can't openly declare your husband as a saint when you don't know anything about him beside what he tells you. That is what I want you to understand. Anyone can pretend to be someone who they are not. Once you start to dig deep, you will realize that I am saying the truth."

Sandra eyed Rori. She was not cut out for the morning life destined for the women of her times, as she knew only too well. She would rather have breakfast in a pit than settle down with her sister only to talk about her husband."What makes you think you are good, Rori? What makes you think that you are any different from my husband?" Sandra smiled mischievously at her sister. "Just because he is the alpha of a strong werewolf pack and no one knows or sees anything you do in the dark?"

"Are you asking me to justify myself?" Rori was in shock.

"Am I?" Sandra teased her.

A few seconds later, Sandra was gone, leaving Rori in a state of guilt.

*

"Because it is important!" Rori's eyes blazed as she looked at herself in the mirror. There was no one else in the room except her. Sandra had just left, but she did not leave with all her parts. She left some for her to deal with. Deep down, Rori knew she was right, that her sister was right. She couldn't justify herself after everything that has happened between her and Mark. The thoughts were still very clear in her head. She could feel his breath above her. His light-skinned body brushing her soft hair as he let every bit of energy inside him to pass through her. She couldn't stop. He couldn't stop either. It was as if their bodies were in uniform, moving slowly, in accordance to some unknown law that she couldn't tolerate, that she wouldn't tolerate because of the intense pleasure that was building up inside of her. She was helpless as Mark told her to turn around. He was in control as he had always been, and the thoughts of him being in control, ordering her here and there, telling her what to do and what not to do infuriated her. Although she herself had known for years that it was hopeless for her to resist a man especially in a tight situation like the one she had found herself in with Mark, she was sure that he didn't give a damn about anything except his pleasure and the gratification he was getting from proving his potency. Indeed he was!

Rori's face turned sour as she tried to push away the thoughts of Mark exploring her body and replace it with the thoughts of Drake and the last time they were together, talking about the future, her future, their future with such intense pleasure. She could clearly recall Drake's face when they were talking about his relationship with Rosetta.

"It all depends on when it is time for the relationship to come to an end," Drake had said, trying to fake a smile. "What do I know? Sometimes, I see myself as a sailing humble peacock with no wings to fly. I am a lot of mess honestly. I act like I am dealing with stuffs when in fact I am just dealing with myself. Sometimes, I wonder if disappearing away, lost in the dark is the solution to man's ability to conquer the feeling within. But, loneliness in its true nature is a man who doesn't want to be lonely. It is how I feel, Rori. In the end, it doesn't matter what happens at the other end, I will still be sitting alone, close to the beach, on top families of clustered sands, legs crossed, thinking about memories that didn't happen. I will be thinking about Rosetta's smile and the clothes that should have been in her wardrobe after our marriage. Are you paying attention to what I am saying?"

Rori had nodded.

"Excellent!" Drake had smiled with wide eyes. "Most importantly, Rori, I will be thinking about Rosetta's eyes. It is the light of her beauty. Her eyes!"