Chapter 11

“After so many trials, I have finally found someone that can stand his ground against me. Mark, can you believe it?” I was elated from the happening outside that I could not help but mention it to Mark once I step into the room assigned to me. I probably was not aware that I have already dropped the jacket to the floor.




As I was drowning in my happiness despite how drenched I am, I put my hand to my hair, aiming for the band I used in holding my hair together. And as I loosen it, I realize I have not heard anything yet from Mark which prompts me to turn around with my hand still trying to get rid of the band.




“Why are you not saying anything?” I have to ask him. And at long last, my hair was free. With a little flip, I get it to the right coordinate.




“Haven’t found anything to say,” he says with a slight shake of his head. Why does it seem to me like he is disappointed in some way? Did I do anything wrong? Even the tone of his voice felt like he was being forced to speak.




“Are we okay?” and then it dawned on me. “Or is this about me mentioning that I eventually found someone that could hold his ground against me? I didn’t mean for it to sound offensive,”




“It’s not even about that, Soma. But when you say that, it makes me want to know what’s going on around here.”




Now, that was getting confusing. I have no idea what he is delving into and to say I can process it is a complete lie. But he sure does have something to say to me.




“What are you talking about?” I quiz, already having a twitch on my face.




He nods and then walks into the room completely, shutting the door close in that way. First, he goes to pick up the jacket I had unconsciously dropped on the floor before saying, “I feel there’s something more to that little spar you had with that warrior,”




“Did you just call it little? It was intense! So much that I almost lost. Didn’t you watch the major parts of the match?”




“I did. But that’s not the point here,”




“What’s your point then?”




He takes a deep breath, making it seem like he is about to make a big reveal. And no lies it was creeping the shit out of me. The curiosity to know what he has in his mind is actually eating me up. I was in total oblivion of why he was doing this.




Finally, he starts to say, “I understand that you got into a stalemate for the first time ever—”




“Of course, I did,” I cut him off mid-sentence.




“Let me finish what I’m about to say first,” he tells me off and I give him an apologetic smile. “So, about that, you got into a stalemate but I think you are going too far with your reaction to what happened,”




“Elaborate.”




“I saw your expression after the whole thing ended. The way you looked at him seemed rather strange to me and I don’t know why I have this tingling feeling about why you did that. It’s more like saying there’s more to the fight between you two because Soma never looks at a man with such hunger in her eyes,”




How sensitive is this turning into? A whole lot. And I have no idea how to twist the whole thing. Not that I could not talk about even the deepest of things with him, but right now, I was feeling insecure after hearing what he has to say.




“I will say you are imagining things. There is nothing asides from admiration about his feat.” I try as much as to be confident, but my body wants to start failing me. I’m trying to muster every of my willpower to prevent myself from looking to the side because that would be a sure giveaway.




“You don’t sound confident for someone who claims there’s nothing. If something is going on tell me so we could talk it out.”




That was another cue to get me to talk. My lips are still sealed, though. I was not ready to disclose something I’m not even sure of.




“Who says there’s something? Leave me the hell alone, Mark.”




And from there I turn around intending to sit on the bed which I settle in immediately. The next thing I follow up with is to lie on it—




‘But I can’t.’




“Dammit!” I almost yell on top of my voice because that annoying voice of Mark in my head just got me the worst pounding of my head.




I glare at him while sitting up. “What did you do that for?”




“So you can at least talk,” he says without any remorse of the mental interruption. I’m going to have to set up a mental blockage.




“Pathetic excuse. Now get out of my room!”




Despite being serious about him leaving, it seems he does not believe me as he stands still where he has been all along. Upon observation, I realized I could do something correlating to throwing him out of the room and that is when I decide to stand up to my feet.




Mark gets the memo instantly and so raises his hands in surrender before I could get to him. “Okay, I’ll be leaving. But just know that you have a lot to tell me later,”




After making the statement, he turns around, and a few seconds later he is out of the room with the door shut close. Immediately, I collapse back on my bed.




I was exhausted, yes, and at the same time needed to get my head around Mark’s supposed see-through in me. I think I’m being predictable these days and perhaps that was why I made terrible choices during all three of the spars. I was lucky I did not lose any.




What I need now is to get a good sleep. But first I need to shower because I stink like hell. I can’t even stay in the clothing for any longer than this. 




Standing up to my feet about a minute or two later, I proceed to take the top off but I suddenly get interrupted by a knock on the door. I wanted to ignore it but it comes again.




“What is it again, Mark?” I ask, supposedly thinking it is him. But I get surprised when it is revealed that it is not Mark.




“It’s Leonard.” a voice from outside says and I could only utter an ‘oh’ in response. “Can I come in?”




Bloody no!




Instead of affirming or not if he could come inside, I choose to go up to the door to answer him from there. Why would I let him come into my room alone with me? I find it creepy.




“Uhm, hi Leonard,” I say as I stare at Leonard through my already half-opened door. He was still in the same clothing he had on outside, which means he came directly to this place from there.




“Hey Alpha.”




“I would have loved to invite you in but I’m a mess right now. Can we talk later when I’m done?”




“That’s no biggie. I can do that. Just inform me when you’re ready.”




I fake a smile at him. “I sure will.”




“And one last thing. You did well today.”




“Thank you,” I say, still maintaining the fake smile.




He starts to move like he was about to leave but then stops. “Care to tell me what made you end the last match in a draw? You were like a shadow of yourself in it,”




“Uhm,” I try to think of what to say for an excuse but nothing seems to be coming to mind. Except one... “Let’s just say I was exhausted from the first two spars. Made me lose the strength to get on with the last one,”




“Hmph. Sounds like a pretty good reason. I think I’m going to take it.”




“You should.”




“Let me leave you to do your thing now. I’ll see you later?”




“Definitely.”




“Okay,” and he was away from the entrance the next moment. Seconds later, I peep out the door to confirm if he has gone out the hallway and when affirmed, I go inside and shut the door close, ensuring to bolt it.




Now that it’s left with me alone in the room, I have to get every other thing out of my head so I could get myself the proper shower. There was still a lot to do, especially in regards to why I am here in this territory in the first place.




I don’t think an ordinary coincidence brought me to the Dark Moon. Something tells me the moon goddess has something in store for me. It’s left for me to find that out and make good use of it.