Chapter 21
“Who do you seek?” The middle aged woman at the door asked Lian.
Lian had to put on a friendly smile. “I’m here to see Ryan.”
The woman’s reaction was odd. She quickly broke their eye contact and looked away. He noticed her quivering pupils and her trembly hands.
“Is something wrong?” He asked.
“Go away, Ryan is not home.” She said, in a harsh tone.
Lian knew something was off the moment she broke their eye contact. “Did something happen to him?” He asked again.
“I’m not taking any more questions. Please leave.” The woman replied and tried closing the door on him.
Lian stopped the door from closing with his hand. The woman was surprised. *Why is he so persistent?*
“I’m here to see what I can do to help him. I’m Lian, the alpha of diamond pack.” He said. In that kind of situation, the only thing that could make someone tremble and Chase people away from their doorstep whenever questions are asked about a particular person, is either they have been threatened or they don’t want to reveal the ongoing situation.
Lian had to pretend as if he knew what happened to Ryan.
As expected, the woman reluctantly let him in after confirming that he was really an alpha, with the hope of helping her son.
She led him to the last room down a passage and unlocked the door, which was locked with a big and heavy padlock.
Lian was about to enter the room but then was stopped.
“Please, redeem my son… I need my son back.” She begged and started shedding tears.
Lian assured her that everything was under control and went into the room.
It was slightly dark in there but he could see clearly, as he wasn’t human.
He sighted a creature lying palely on the floor at a corner of the room and he carefully, approached it.
As he walked closer, the creature started growling but Lian didn’t retreat.
Just when he was about six inches away the creature sprang on its feet and sprinted to where Lian was. Within that second, Lian got everything about it’s appearance.
Truly, it was Ryan but the real Ryan’s appearance was fading away so quickly and a black, red eyed beast was taking over. He had claws and fangs.
He held Lian’s neck and tried to stab Lian on the chest, with his claws.
Lian’s eyes started to blaze like fire. They turned into an Amber colour and he stared right into the beast’s eyes, fiercely.
It groaned in pain and Lian threw him roughly to the wall and then he fell.
Lian walked towards him and held his neck. “Ryan… wake up!” He urged intensely and slowly, the real Ryan awoke, even though the appearance was still the beast’s.
Lian commanded him to close his eyes which he did, and Lian closed his eyes too and travelled through his memory.
He saw he vague memory of Ryan getting possessed by some mischievous spirit but that wasn’t what he needed.
After going through patiently, he finally saw what he wanted to see. The memory of Ryan cleaning the forest’s entrance during the pack’s sanitation.This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.
He saw Alan and Asher walking away, leaving Ryan only and then Miss Maria came around. She seemed to give him instructions and then left. Lian didn’t have the ability to hear anything, he could only see.
As he tried to look further, he fell out of the memory realm into the real world. He groaned in pain as he felt his forehead pounding. He had spent too much time in there, for the first time.
There was nothing special in what he just saw but he had that feeling that something was totally off.
He opened his eyes to see a pair of red, burning eyes. The spirit in Ryan was awoke.
Before Lian could anticipate anything, Ryan held his neck, raised him up and pinned him to the wall violently.
Ryan sniffed disgustingly like a dog and smiled in an evil manner.
“Your heart must be very tasty.” He rumbled.
Ryan’s claws sharpened and he made an attempt to dig out Lian’s heart. Lian anticipated the move and held him by the wrist. He twisted the wrist and kicked Ryan in the stomach, making him fall back.
Lian pounced on him and strangulated him to the brink of death.
“Get out of that body, now!” He commanded. The spirit left Ryan’s body but before it fled, Lian had a spiritual combat with it. If not, the spirit will go into the world and possess people.
After getting defeated, the spirit perished and was never to exist again.
***
“It’s a spirit that feeds on hearts.” Marlin said.
“Right. How is that dude? What about the other guys?” Shane asked Lian with so much interest.
“Yeah, I called Doctor Blake to take care of him. About Alan, he is out of the country.. on a fun trip and as for Asher, that dude’s painting the town red somewhere.” Lian said.
“Does that mean nothing happened to them?”Marlin asked and Lian nodded.
“It makes sense actually. Those guys weren’t around when Ryan entered the forest.” Shane added.
“Guys… something is off.” Lian announced and the two others leaned closely.
“After Alan and Asher left, Miss Maria was the first and last one to see and talk to Ryan.”
“What did she say to him?” Shane asked.
“I can’t hear that dude.” Lian retorted.
“What did you see after that?” Marlin asked Lian and watched him keenly. He seemed very much serious than Shane.
“After that… I blacked out.”
“Fuck!” Shane cursed. He was expecting something grand after that. He just wanted to catch the culprit as soon as possible.
“It’s totally off.” Marlin suddenly said, then he continued. “Miss Maria was only meant to assign their portions to them, which is usually done and pasted on the announcement board. And I remember seeing Miss Lisa as the supervisor. Then why was Miss Maria with Ryan that day?”
“This is getting more interesting…” Lian smirked.
***
Mia was home all alone. She finished her final exams and there was no need for her to go to school anymore. Prom night and graduation were coming up in some days. She thought graduating from high school was going to be some stuff she would be happy about but here she was, bored to the extreme.
There was no one to talk to. Lian wasn’t home, Jabi was probably dealing with the love of her life and Alexander? Totally out of the list.
Just then she heard the sound of a car driving into the compound and she knew already that it was Lian.
She thought he wasn’t coming home that day ’cause it was late in the night.
He dragged his feet in tiredly and didn’t even notice she was there in the living room.
“Lian, can we talk?” She asked, making her presence known.
“Sure…” He drawled. He would always have time for her even if he was at the close of dying from tiredness.
They settled down and Mia started. “It’s about Alex…” She said.
Just hearing that name, made Lian’s blood boil. Either ways, he didn’t object and listened to her quietly and patiently.
“Can you please accept him as my friend? Just like you accept Jabi and Axel. I’m tired of seeing you assault him and all. I can’t even face him now because I feel guilty of what my brother has done to him.”
“Who gave you the permit to feel guilty?” Lian questioned and she stared blankly.”I’m doing this for you Mia, to protect you.”
“Protect me? You protect me by assaulting my friend? This doesn’t make sense Lian.”
“I’ll pass for this night. Listen up Mia, stay away from that punk if you don’t want to see him die before your very eyes.”