The hours rolled by fast on Akira’s side. The situation that occurred all the while seemed to have killed time. Between arriving in the pack-house while trying to ignore Adam at her best, greeting the girls while they came back with a variety of berries filling their baskets, having Ann on the verge of screaming when she told her the story about the bear incident and having her almost faint when she discreetly told her about keeping the accident between her and Adam a secret.

      For some reason, she trusted Ann more than anyone else she had met in the pack-house. Maybe one of the reasons is that she was the one who assisted her for most of the time she had stayed in this place. Despite Ann’s shy and timid personality, Akira was confident on her abilities to keep a secret. You couldn’t blame her as much. However, Jessica appeared to be the gossip-girl type. She wouldn’t want anything spreading like fire around.

      By dinner, Akira made no complains and just ate her meal. She refused to talk to Adam and kept herself preoccupied by shoving food into her mouth, practically taking advantage of the saying, “Don’t talk when your mouth is full.” as her excuse.

      Right after that, she wordlessly stood up from her seat but was held in place by Adam’s firm hand on her elbow. She gave him a sharp glare, causing him to release his grip and sit back while watching her walk away.

      “Aren’t you even going to talk to me?” he asked somberly.

      She stopped mid at her tracks. “We’ll probably just fall into the same argument. And better yet, like you said, you still have things more important to do. Well, I do, too.” she answered without facing him.

      “But . . .” his words dissolved into thin air.

      “My,” Sasha clicked her tongue while running her hand around her belly. They all watched Akira as she advanced towards the kitchen door and disappear from their line of view. “She’s in a bad mood. Mind telling me what you said to her, Adam?”

      “We had a disagreement earlier . . .” he started, leaning back on his chair and blowing out a large sigh through his nose.

      “Ah,” she chuckled. “You better leave her alone just for now.” Sasha advised. “Girls won’t stop sulking until the time they felt right.”

       “Is that so?”

      “Trust me.” A genuine smile curved the edges of her mouth.

      “But why wouldn’t she talk to me? I’m her mate.” he sounded so helpless it made a laugh bubble out of Sasha’s lips.

      “Always relying on the fact that you two are mates won’t help. Sometimes you should try looking over things that are out of that topic. There are many other reasons that you can use in order to knock some sense into each other’s head. Adam, if you can’t find another explanation to tell her, it will only cause her to think that you are stupid, annoying, and very infuriating. As they said, raison d'être.”

      “But what?” he questioned.

      “That, Alpha, is something that you should be able to find out on your own.”

-*-

Ann was trailing behind Akira, guiding her through the hallway towards Adam’s bedroom. The last time, she had Adam guide her towards his room. But despite of the arguments they had from the past two days, she still can’t find the rationality on staying on his room.

      “Is it a good idea to leave without talking to Alpha Adam?”

      “I can’t think of something even better.”

      “But you know, the lack of communication between two mates will lead to a great deal of misunderstanding.”

      “There you all go again with the ‘mates’ thing.” Akira sighed. “But even so, some people need a holiday from their so-called ‘soul-mates’ who, in fact, is a very persistent, demanding, and unwavering person. All the arguments with him are making me tired.”

      “Oh, well. I can’t argue on that with you, Akira.” Ann flashed her a big smile. “But it’s good to know you’re finally admitting you’re soul-mates!”

      Akira smacked her forehead in agitation. “For the hundredth time! I. Am. Not. His. Soul-mate!”

      “Okay, fine, I get you.”

      “Say, can I sleep with you?”

      “What?!”

      “I’m in no mood to sleep on the same room with that guy.”

      “You surely hate the Alpha’s guts.” Ann muttered. “But, either way, you don’t want to sleep with me. There’s not even enough space in the bed for the both of us.” she objected.

      “That’s fine. I can sleep on the floor.”

      “No, I won’t allow it.” she insisted. “You see, Akira. Everyone in the pack-house owns a single room to stay in. But everyone who stays in here pays for it. It’s one way the pack earns money for our funds that will be used for the welfare of the members. I’m already over the age limit of sleeping on the girl’s wing and I stay here because I don’t have anywhere else to go.”

      “So you’re saying . . . ?”

      They both stopped at their tracks. Akira regarded her with a sympathetic look while Ann drowned in shame.

      “Since I don’t have enough money, I perform numerous chores around in order to pay. So you see . . . the room I stay in is very small, and I’m afraid it won’t be enough to accompany two people for a night.” she turned around and sighed loudly, sagging her shoulders. “I didn’t even pay for a carpet so I’m afraid the floor is very cold.”

      “You don’t have enough money? Where are your parents?”

      She resumed on her tracks. “Long gone.” she replied sadly.

      Akira began walking as well to catch up. “What do you mean ‘long gone’?”

      Akira was still unfamiliar of the twists and turns on the third floor of the pack-house. As far as she knows, Adam’s room was only in the second floor. However, Ann had taken her to a new direction. The walls were the same. It was painted a dull white while the floor was covered in a layer of polished wood. The way was lit up with wall lights and the hall seemed to stretch on endless directions.

      The minute they came to a stop, Akira spotted a plain door on one of the corners. It had Ann’s name plainly plastered on the surface. She scrutinized it closely and studied Ann’s name. She never really asked what her surname was.

      Annabelle Hillarie Edevane

      “Your second name is Hillarie and your surname is Edevane?”

      “You could say that.” she responded. Her hand clamped over the door’s knob, twisting it open. Ann’s hand went to the wall next to her, her fingers flicking a small light switch. Light illuminated the whole room, driving away the darkness that it was once coated in. The image slowly came to her line of view and she spotted a single bed pushed on the corner of the room. A girl’s room couldn’t get any plainer. As Ann had stated a while ago, the floor wasn’t even carpeted. The sheets of her bed were a plain white with a thick blanket spread neatly. One pillow was inclined against the wooden headboard, practically making Akira’s jaw drop.

      A simple study desk was on the opposite side of the room, along with the lamp, a picture frame and a pile of books. A black bag was sitting alone on the chair. She saw a small window that gave a view of the outdoors, but other than that, nothing more. The room felt very cramped, indeed. There isn’t enough space to place more things in.

      Poor girl, Akira wistfully thought. It must’ve been very hard.

      “You don’t have to stare, you know. You can come in.” she told her, smiling like nothing even happened.

      She took a step forward consciously. Despite the small room, everything was well organized. The floor was squeaky clean it made her afraid to even mess things up. She placed a hand on the door frame and entered fully, allowing her eyes to roam.

      “I know it’s not that much.” Ann stated.

      Akira advanced towards her study table. The picture frame had a picture of a young woman in it. She noticed the tight resemblance of Ann’s big, round eyes and button nose. It instantly gave her the conclusion of the woman being her mother.

      “You said your parents were long gone.” she started. “If this was your mother, where’s your father?”

      “Yes, that’s my mother.” Ann’s eyes twinkled at the sight of her mother’s portrait. “I didn’t get a chance to see my father because he died even before I was born. But even then, he never was able to tell my mother he was a werewolf.” Tears pooled on her eyes, slipping through the edges and dripping down her cheeks. “He was about to tell her that night, and the same goes for my mother to inform of him about her pregnancy. But tragedy struck and my father was killed on a rogue raid.”

      “A rogue raid?”

      “Rogues are wolves that do not live on a pack. It turned out that my father was assigned on raiding a house that allows rogues to stay for the night. Nobody really thought that he’d die right there . . .” she blubbered and sniffed.

      Akira reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder.  “Oh, Ann. But I think it’s okay since you have your mother, right?”

      “Yes, but that’s really not the end of the story. And she never really knew I was her daughter.” she looked up at Akira with her glassy eyes. But after a while, her head dropped again while sobbing.

       “What? What are you talking about?”

       “My mother was heartbroken when my father didn’t return to her side. She never really got to tell him that she was pregnant with his child. After the contractions started, she ran to the nearest hospital and started giving birth to me. But after a few minutes that I had slipped out of her womb, I turned into a cub.” her cries got even louder as she blubbered out her story. “All werewolves would turn into their animal a while after they’re born. The minute the nurses and the doctor started screaming about me being a monster, my mother forced to sit up and saw me laying there . . . turning into an animal. I guess she couldn’t help it. She started screaming as well . . . that I wasn’t her child and to get me away from her because I was a monster. When the nearest pack had come to learn of it, they all needed wipe out their memories—including my mother’s. And after all of that, everything about me and my father . . . never existed.”

      Before she even knew it, Akira began to cry with her. She pulled Ann into her arms and they both cried. If she ever was on a situation like that, she wouldn’t be able to handle it. Having your mother not even know you were there . . . “Oh, Ann. All along, there’s someone even in a worse position than me.”

      “You don’t need to cry because of me, Akira. Alpha Adam would get angry if he knew I made you cry.”

      “How horrible.” she muttered.

      “Well,” Ann stepped back and chuckled humorlessly. She gently took the picture from Akira’s hands and placed it back on her study table. “I have to guide you back to your room.”

      “This night, I won’t complain of anything. Only for you, Ann.”

      “You don’t need to do me any favor.”

      “What do you say about me being your sister?” Akira suggested. “I always wanted a little sister.”

      “R-really? You don’t have to do that you know.”

      “Oh, just shut up and be my little sister.” she grabbed Ann’s shoulder and engulfed her into a loving embrace. “Just be yourself.”

      “Okay . . . I guess.”

      Slowly, Ann’s hand found their way to wrap around Akira’s torso as well.

-*-

Akira couldn’t stop thinking about Ann’s life-summary. She couldn’t help but feel pity towards the girl. How could one have a child without knowing? Ann could’ve probably grown up without the love of a mother. How can she handle things like this?

      Now she understands. The result of her past had Ann grow into a girl with the lack of self-confidence. It was nice having her open up to her, though. At first, Ann seemed to have been reluctant to state anything about herself to Akira when they first met each other. She was very shy and delicate. Her goofy smile made her look like she never even had a troubling past at all.

      Deep inside, Ann was a very strong girl.

      “What are you doing out here again?” Adam suddenly appeared out of nowhere. “Don’t tell me you’re still angry.”

      She swung back and forth on the rocking bench while staring at the sky. A crescent moon was starting to appear once again. She gave Adam a brief glance before redirecting her gaze back to the sky. “What I’m here for is not about you, you arrogant jerk. I was on your room but I decided to come out again.”

      “Don’t tell me you don’t feel like being in our room.”

      “That and another reason. Oh, and by the way, there is no ‘our’ in that room.” she replied.

      “What’s on your mind?” Adam walked forward and sat beside her. This time, she made no attempts to move away or even complain, knowing the fact that this guy would move again to keep the distance between them. Besides, she made Ann a promise.

      “It’s none of your business.”

      “Come on, can’t you even talk to me a little?”

      “It’s about Ann.” she told him.

      “Mm-hmm? Did she do something to you?”

      “No, not that. It’s just . . . her life’s been really hard.”

      “So she told you.” he gave out a sigh as he looked up at the stars, imitating Akira’s actions.

      “You know?”

      “I do. I know her past very well. All alphas must know of their members’ records. However, Ann’s story specifically was marked on my mind. It’s one of the saddest and most touching story I ever heard.”

       “Well, that’s a first.”

       “During my first day, I decided to look through the files and well . . . I came upon Ann’s. She was one of the girls in the pack-house that was very shy and timid—clumsy even. No one talks to her and she never really liked being around anyone else except the kitchen and Jamie. When I read about her, it just sort of made me cry.”

      “I never really asked you about your life-story.” Akira bit her bottom lip in order to contain her laughter but her efforts were futile. She burst out into hysterical laughter, causing Adam to smile at the sound of her voice.

      “Well, at least it made you laugh. There’s nothing funny about it, is there?”

      “No. It’s just you piped in unnecessarily. I never really needed your side of the story. You just butted in.”

      “That’s not very nice to say.”

      “You have no choice but to deal with it because that’s the best thing you’ll ever hear from me.”

      ”You’re so mean.”

      “Bear this in mind, only to you.”

      “Oh, you’ll need to go to sleep.”

      “Why?”

      “Because you’re going to school tomorrow.”

      “WHAT!”

      “You told me you want to resume your school, so I decided to enter you. Classes starts tomorrow, so better be prepared. How old are you, anyway?”

      “Why . . . ?” Akira fell from her seat and groaned in annoyance. “I hate school . . .”

      “Don’t be nervous. It’s just like any other school, except this time, it’s filled with werewolves.”

      “Freaking hell.”

      “Get up, you’re overreacting.”

      “I hate you.”

      “No. You love me.”

      “In your dreams, bastard. You’re so busy being a jerk you don’t even know how old I am.”

      “Well, then, let’s start over. How old are you?”

      “I’m ten.”

      “Seriously?”

      “Fine. Seventeen.”

      “Perfect, We’re on the same class.”

      “What?! How old are you?”

      “You’re busy arguing with me and escaping, you don’t even know how old I am.”

      “As if that’s important.”

      “Now you really hurt me.”

      “Shut up. How old are you?”

      “I’m eleven.”

      “Not surprising, since you’re so immature.”

      “Okay, I’m eighteen.”

      “Who are you to decide for me, anyway?!” Akira stood from her seat and glared at Adam.

      “Your alpha, and dear mate.”

      “I can’t believe you.”

      “Better believe it!”

      “You’re so annoying. How could you even run the pack while going to school?”

      “I’ll temporarily hand everything to my father’s hand while I’m at school.” he answered in a ‘duh’ tone.

      “How is going to school supposed to help? I’m already in hell, you’re making it worse.”

      “It’s because I’m the devil. Besides, you’ll be able to learn more about werewolves.”

      “Can’t you just tell me? Why should you mix Algebra and freaking Trigonometry with it?”

      “It’s better to fill that pretty little brain of yours.”

      “Well why can’t you just stay here while I go to school!”

      “Are you forgetting? You can’t go too far without being in pain.”

      Akira let out an agitated sob. “You’re heartless.”

      Adam winked at her. “It’s because my heart is already in your hands, love.”

      “Well, let me crush it. You’re such a flirt.”

      “You like me like that.”

      “I like you like nothing.”

      “You’re so mean.”

      “Shut up! I didn’t even know werewolves go to school.”

      Just then, a window slid open and a head popped out. “Do you guys mind keeping it down?”

I'm currently aiming for a hundred votes! That isn't a requirement, though! I just hope you all enjoy! Oh, and don't forget to comment!