CHAPTER 23
“Whoever told you that I lost my mind doesn’t know anything about me,” she said. She sounded sincere and genuine, but the person who told me she was crazy was the only teenager by I trusted in this town.
I trusted Gelo more than her. I also believed that Gelo could lie to me for the better. Or he may even don’t know the truth about Mila. Or what he said was the absolute truth and Mila’s turning crazy to make me think that the things she was saying were real.
“How can I know if you’re telling the truth or just fooling me?” I took a step back. She could grab me instantly or put a knife in my belly. I don’t want to be kidnapped again. That night when the teachers kidnapped me was one of my haunting moments.
She let out a sigh and touched my wrist. “Come with me inside. I can’t tell you everything here.” She was about to pull me inside when I stayed at my place. I won’t go with a stranger like her.
“I don’t trust you. I won’t go with you.”
Her lifeless eyes blinked. She was pale as a dead body, yet she was still a human. My gut was telling me that she needed my help and I have something that can help her.
“I don’t need you to trust me. I need you to listen to me and hear the truth about me. You know that I’m a human and I can’t transform into a wolf and kill you.” I have trust issues. Whatever she tells me, I’m not sure if it’s going to be true.
“You can have a knife. You can have a gun inside. There are a lot of ways for you to kill me. I still don’t trust you. And my brothers are waiting for me at home because I’m holding the last piece of our lunch.”
Hope splattered through her face. Am I her only hope for something? “Just a few minutes. We won’t be staying for more than ten or even five. I don’t have a gun. My knife can’t kill a person. And I don’t kill.”
“Why me? I’m just a stranger and new to this town. There are smarter and stronger being out there who can help you with whatever you’re having troubles with.”
“Because in my blood and heart, I know I can trust you.” It touched me. She’s one of the five who trusted me. Will I let that trust slip as an excuse?
I had to believe her just for a while. She wasn’t that huge to capture me completely. Her grasp on my wrist wasn’t that strong. Her problem could also be my problem in the future, or at least I could relate to her. Her problem must be simple.
I followed her inside. I glanced from left to right and no one was watching. Her house was simpler than I thought. She didn’t have a television or a fancy couch. Everything was made out of bamboo.
Windows were not made of stained glass, but rather small sticks of bamboo patched together. Inside the hut was warm and uncomfortable. Mila didn’t have any air conditioner or electric fan inside. This house was far from poor.
“Who are you? What are you?” I asked. I needed the basic answers to these questions right now. A hunger for answers ignited inside me. I had to swallow anything before I leave this place.
“I’m a human as everyone believed, but I’m not crazy. I had to pretend that I’m crazy so no one would touch me. I’m the last one who survived in my family. The only human in this town. I know you can help me. I heard that you’re a half-blood and you belong to the family of humans. I don’t know the whole truth about you but I know you can help me.”
“I’m nothing. Just a teenager who wanted to seek justice for my parents. I never choose to stay here. But my family had to stay here for my safety. Why don’t you show yourself out there and people will help you?”
Her face turned serious and raged. “If I show myself to these werewolves, they’re going to kill me. They’re more deadly than what you think. Catherine, if I heard your name right, please help me.”
“Do you need groceries or foods or things? I’ll try to give that to you. If you need these things to survive…”
She shook her head. “I don’t need any basic things. Someone is already providing me with anything that I need for everyday survival.”
Someone is helping the crazy woman? Whoever that person is, I wished for his or her long life. If that’s the case, then why does she need me here? And if someone believes in her, maybe I should let myself trust her for this time.
“Then why do you need my help? And why me again?
“My parents are killed. Just like you, I’m seeking justice for my parents. If we team up, we’ll be able to…”
I didn’t let her finish. Her words would hypnotize me into grinding for justice again. I stopped searching for that in the past few days. I rested my head for that. And now, this woman is reminding me of my main goal in this town.
“I can’t help you. We’re different.”
“What if I tell you that I know who killed your parents?” she threatened. She can’t. She’s lying, luring me into helping her.
“You don’t know my parents. I know you’re saying that for me to help you. It’s still a no. I will not put myself in danger for you.”
“Catherine, please! I’m sorry if I lied to you and tried to lure you. But you’re the only one I can trust in this town because we both lived as humans. And what if the person behind who killed our parents is the same?”
I quickly turned to her. “Do you know who killed yours?”
She nodded. “The alpha of the pack in this town.”
Her confession froze my jaws. The alpha killed her parents because she’s living in this town. Mom and Dad also lived here before. I don’t know if they ever had an encounter with the Alpha. The possibility that the Alpha is the one who ordered the assassination of my parents, and the werewolves who visited us that night are coming for me.
If the Alpha is also the one who killed my parents, why does he want to capture me? And why does everyone in this town think that I’m special? Being a half-blood means that I’m powerless and incomparable to those who are pure werewolves, but why does everyone treat me the opposite?
For my parents who sacrificed their life for me, I had to trust Mila. She knew something or at least connect me to the greatest revelation.