The Gate of Shadows

"I... I didn’t..." Kira tried to defend herself after I placed her in the spotlight.

The rest of the wolves were with their eyes open wide, too astonished to respond. Even Fenris appeared surprised by my outburst. I guess the true me was finally shining through.

Turning to my wolf, I simpered. "I think I’ll get something to eat in the store downstairs. If you’ll excuse me.”

I headed for the door, followed by him grabbing my hand and stopping me from going.

"You just fainted a couple of hours ago. I’ll go with you." He sighed, shaking his head.

Are you trying to worm yourself away from your kin?

In all honesty, I wanted to get away from him, too. He would never let me say how I felt about him, turning my heart heavy around him and his future family, a household I would be no part of.

This isn’t good. I want more.

"I’ll be okay. I’m just going to go downstairs for bread. Would you like some?" I smiled for Fenris's eyes to narrow, releasing a soft growl from his lips.

He touched my head and gently stroked my hair before a soft smile rose on his lips. "Bring me a coconut one."

I nodded.

"Well, if we’re ordering, I want a strawberry loaf." Liam broke the ice that was forming between everyone.

The other boys followed suit, each placing their orders. Layla and Kira both remained silent on the matter. After writing everything they wanted, I ended up with a list of items more extensive than I expected.

Do I even have enough hands to grab all this?

I’ll help you! Shade purred, rubbing her face on my cheek.

After the door closed behind me, I walked only a couple of steps before someone yanked me to the side. For a split second, I thought it was Cora coming back for a second round, but it wasn’t. It was a female black-haired Lycan who was jittery and avoiding my gaze.

I’ve never seen you before.

Unable to identify her, I couldn’t help but stare at her bewildered while she took a few steps away from me, fumbling about with her words.

"I’m so sorry! I-I just... Y-You came out of t-that room, right?" she bowed, pointing towards the door.

It was cute despite her erratic reactions. Her cheeks were redder than a tomato, too.

"Yes, did you need something?" I asked, puzzled by her strange demeanor.

Usually, Lycan’s were headstrong and combative, but this one was different. I couldn’t sense a single hateful thing about her, even though it was how everyone usually greeted me. However, when I examined her further, something more concerning caught my eye.

Something weird was coming from her; a faint black aura radiated from her body.

A curse?

She didn’t seem to be part of Cerberus, either. There was no uniform or emblem to identify her, meaning she was probably a civilian.

That’s right, they were planning to evacuate civilians into Cerberus headquarters grounds. But are they inside, too?

"Uh... Y-Yes, could you please give this to Liam?! It’s a thank you present for saving me." she blurted, presenting me with a beautifully covered box.

Did you do this?

The box's red base was decorated with vibrant ribbons, leaving me pondering if this was a piece of art. The contents wouldn’t matter with this presentation.

"I see... Isn't it better that you give it to him yourself?" I asked.

My words triggered a sort of meltdown on the poor girl. Never had I seen a Lycan tremble like her; her eyes and pupils were so wide I wondered if I had a demon-looking beast behind me.

"N-no! I couldn’t possibly do that! That would be too much!" she ranted, squealing when the thought surged.

Suddenly, her eyes grew, and she handed me the box before bolting for her life. It was almost like she saw a ghost.

"Wait! Who...?" I trailed off.

The entire thing left me utterly bewildered by the strange female. Her figure disappeared into the distance.

What a strange wolf…

Yeah, she seemed off, though. Shade shrugged.

I felt a presence behind me, triggering me to turn around. There, I saw Liam staring at me.

"Oh!" I squealed, startled by his sudden appearance.

My heart almost left me for a second there.

"Hey, Fenris asked me to come to help you with the shopping. I didn’t expect to see Melody, though. What did she want?" he asked.

Oh! I see, that’s why she ran! What a silly girl.

I giggled, realizing what had unfolded in front of me. The strange female was Melody.

Ah... I see. So that’s how it is. Pure love is cuter than I realize.

It was refreshing to see what an ordinary admiration was.

Nothing like my obsession.

"She wanted to thank you for saving her with this." I presented him with the box.

His eyes widened, tilting his head.

"Ah... Why didn’t she give it to me instead?" Liam queried.

I shook my head, "I don’t know."

It wasn’t my place to step into their relationship. However, I did root for the shy female, better than Kira. The white wolf appeared like a leech hanging over him, not that it was my place to judge.

"Oh... I don’t even know why she gave me this. She was the one who saved me that night." He created banter, walking towards the bakery downstairs.

It was refreshing to have him address me so directly. Usually, he would be so silent around me; we had never been alone.

"Maybe she perceived it differently," I noted.

Liam shook his head, gazing at me differently, cheeks puffed up.

"It’s hard to see it differently. She pushed me down before those knives hit me. I didn’t see them, but somehow, she did.” He sighed, shrugging, “I panicked when I thought they cut her, but they only sliced through her dress."

His words piqued my interest.

"Oh... Did you see the liquid in the blades?" I inquired.

He nodded his head, holding the precious box in his hands.

"Yeah, they were radiant purple. Just by looking at them, I felt sick. Melody seemed unaffected by them, though. She dragged me out of the bakery even though she isn’t a fighter." He sighed, frowning.

Lycans and their pride, but I guess it must’ve been a sight to see this cool-headed wolf lose his marbles.

Yet blades...

Radiant purple... It must be Wolfsbane. But how? Ryker said it wasn’t, though. Could he be lying to prevent chaos? Or is this something else? Modifications…?

Shaking off the thought, I glanced toward the brown wolf, hoping to squeeze any information out.

"I guess she was more worried about you than herself," I said.

He chuckled, "Hah, you think so?”

A soft smile rose on the wolf’s lips with light pink cheeks.

"Call it an intuition," I assured him.

"Oh? Is it the famously known woman's intuition I keep hearing about? I wonder, is it the same intuition I have when I see you and Fenris?" Liam questioned, triggering me to stop in my tracks.

My body ran cold when I hesitantly glanced over at him. He met with my gaze, triggering shivers to erupt within me.

Crap, I got careless.

At the moment's spur, I forgot who I was trying to open to.

Liam the cunning.

"I-I… don’t k-know what y-you mean." I tried to keep my cool.

My body broke into a cold sweat when Liam continued.

"Fenris never said anything to me, which hurts. But it became clear after he slipped up when Cora took you. The anger on his face was much more than wanting to protect you." He noted, studying me.

I froze again because of his words.

Is this why you agreed to come? Was all that friendly demeanor to create chatter to lower my guard?

I didn’t know how to respond to him anymore. Yet this wolf had me right where he wanted me.