Chapter 9 – Warning Lisa
Nick opened his mouth to say something, but he slowly closed it, making a sad face. Aniya caressed his right cheek and continued, “My father told me they have a strict code about only killing Werewolves, never when they are humans, but there are some extremists in the Hunters that don’t follow the code. He also told me that some Werewolves don’t care about locking themselves up like you do, and many even like to wake up covered in blood near their most recent victims. Those Werewolves can’t be allowed to exist, because they only give a reason for Hunters to continue their killings. If your parents and many others could live a peaceful life, even with the mutation, why not give a chance to every Werewolf out there?”
“Aniya, you don’t understand... we lose our reason when we change! The moment the full moon appears, we stop feeling anything, and we remember nothing. I saw my parents changing for the first time when I was fifteen because they told me I should see and understand what was going to happen to me. That sight was terrifying! They didn’t stop going against the bars of the cage where they were locked, trying to get me. I threw two dead rabbits into the cage, and I saw them eating from the door crack. Wild beasts, growling, tearing apart the rabbit and eating every single piece. They then looked at each other and made a low growl. I left when my mother was on her fours and my father was approaching her from behind. In the morning, I went to free them, and as usual, they didn’t remember a thing. Seeing my parents trying to kill me... not to mention what they were about to do when I left... Those are my worst memories, right after the memory of my mother shouting at me to run and to never stop running when the Hunters came for them...”
Nick put his hands over his face, and Aniya heard him sobbing. She immediately hugged him, and the same faint yellow light surrounded them as she spoke in a low, gentle voice, “I am here for you, Nick. You are not alone anymore. We just need to be sure no one finds you, or even suspects our relationship. You shouldn’t have come here today. You barely missed my father. He has some information about you, but not your name or picture, but he could get suspicious.”
Nick quickly cleaned his face and smiled. “Imagine that, a powerful Werewolf crying like a lost puppy! If my father saw me right now, he would have punched my head! I had to come, Aniya. I needed to explain everything to you so that you didn’t hate me or fear me.”
“Silly, I don’t hate you. I was quite scared last night, but I think I understand what you have been through. What I don’t understand is why Werewolves live alone or separated from others. I mean, wolves live in packs for protection. Why can’t Werewolves also live like that?”
“Maybe that old book of your family says something about it, but my father told me that Werewolf communities used to exist centuries ago, but Hunters wiped them out, one member at a time. Not even children were left alive at those times, because the Hunters considered Werewolf communities a tremendous threat and that most likely everyone living there was a Werewolf or was going to become one, eventually. Besides, it’s kind of hard to control mindless beasts, you know? On those occasions when the full moon was about to appear, all the Werewolves in those communities tried to lock themselves up, and the Hunters came and killed them all.”
Aniya wrinkled her lips. “You said you always have trouble on the full moon and the two nights after. Do you change three times a month?”
“Yes, and now I need to go hide inside a cave that I know, and lock myself with the chains I hid in a hole. I can’t return to my house now that they found me.”
Aniya approached him and asked, with a worried expression, “But what if they already knew about that cave? Considering they found your house!”
“Then, this could very well be the last time we see each other. I won’t risk being out in the open tonight. I might kill someone.”
Aniya quickly grabbed a notebook from her desk and took some money from her purse. She wrote something on a piece of paper that she ripped out and gave to him, together with the money. “Here, grab a taxi, buy some food, and go to this address. The key is buried in the dirt of the second vase on the right of the front door. Enter and put the key back in there again. I have a panic room hidden inside the closet in the master bedroom. You just need to open the disguised opening at the bottom, go down the ladder, and you will be in a room with a table and some chairs. On one wall, there is a big safe door with a round bulletproof window in the middle, and you can lock yourself inside. I will come to see you before nightfall. No one knows I have that house, not even my personal driver.”
Nick frowned at the address. “Why do you have a panic room in a secret house?”
“Because some years ago, a stalker got into my mansion and tried to choke me while I was sleeping. I was almost dying when one of our maids came, alarmed by the sound of my bedside lamp crashing on the floor. After that night, my parents increased the security, and I bought that house just in case I had to disappear or run for cover. Now go, waste no more time. We are taking a tremendous risk just by being here for so long. No one can suspect you or me, at least, not until I find out everything about the Hunters, like how many they are, who they are, and where they live.”
As she was pushing him towards the door, Nick asked, “Why do you want to know so much about them? You should just disappear before they suspect you!”
“They won’t suspect me. I never changed, and wolf’s bane does not affect me, remember? It’s always good to know as much as possible about someone that is trying to kill us. I made a minor case about my stalker, and I almost died because of that. I will not make the same mistake again!”
Near the door, Nick twisted his body towards her and put one hand on her waist while the other caressed her left shoulder. His lips approached hers, and Aniya felt jolts of pure bliss running through her body. As he kissed her, the jolts increased in number and strength, and as she felt his tongue gently caressing hers, the surrounding light increased, and they were bathed by a strong yellow light that slowly disappeared when their lips parted.
Nick spoke in a low voice while glancing around. “The last time I saw this light was when my parents were alive. Their bond was so strong that every time they kissed, we didn’t need any light in the house. I always envied them for their strong connection, but ours might one day put their bond to shame. I will wait for you tonight, Aniya.”
As soon as he left the room, Aniya fell on her knees, overwhelmed by the sensations that were rushing through her body. Her assistant entered and immediately locked the door behind her and kneeled in front of Aniya, pure panic on her face, “Miss Aniya... what’s wrong...”
The once frowning and serious young woman was trembling all over. “Nothing... is wrong... I just got the best kiss of my life... I am still s-shaking...”
Anna Kent helped her to get up and accompanied Aniya to her chair and seated her there. Aniya rested her head on her arms over the desk, and Anna asked while sitting on the chair in front of her, with a big smile on her face, “It was about time for you to fall in love, Miss Aniya! But who was that man? He was gorgeous! And his eyes, those deep green eyes...”
“He is... someone my parents can’t ever meet, Anna. My father would kill him on the spot if he found out. Don’t ask me more, because I can’t tell you. I just need you to promise me you will keep your mouth shut about him.”
“Of course, Miss Aniya, you didn’t even have to ask me that! You know I am a tomb!”
Aniya slowly raised her head and made a big, happy smile. “Thank you, Anna. He is indeed gorgeous. And his eyes... I see his eyes staring at me every time I close my eyes... all that green...”
Aniya put her face over her arms again and muffled a girlish scream while she was bumping her feet on the ground. Anna held her right hand and said, “I am happy for you, Miss Aniya, I truly am. Oh, and if he has a brother or a friend who is almost as handsome as him, I wouldn’t mind meeting him! Not at all!”
Both women muffled their laughter, trying to contain the noise from reaching the people working in the open space near Aniya’s office.
...
After lunch, Aniya made a quick call to her friend Lisa McCarty and left the company in her limousine, with the always serious Davis riding with her to meet Lisa at her house.
On the voyage, she took the file her father gave her from the hidden compartment under the seat next to her, and she took pictures of every name on that list, putting the file back in its hidden place again.
When the limousine stopped in front of Lisa’s house, Aniya had already finished uploading all the photos to her hidden folder in the cloud, which was encrypted and password-protected, and only she could access it from her phone or laptop. She quickly deleted all the photos on her phone and put it inside her purse when Davis opened the car door for her.
As Aniya was looking at the front door, a maid came to her and said, “Miss Aniya, I am glad to see you again. Miss Lisa is at the back, taking care of some bushes.”
Aniya followed the smiling maid around the house and asked, “What do you mean about Lisa taking care of some bushes? Since when is she into gardening?”
“Oh, she always goes to the back garden once a month to calm herself. The gardener hates those days because she ruins all his work.”
Aniya frowned and kept on following the maid, wondering what she meant. Then, a noise made Aniya look around for its source. When she saw it, her jaw dropped. Lisa was ten metres away, wearing sneakers, tight leggings that ended at her knees, and a sports bra. She was wielding a sword, a real sword, and she was using it to slash a blush, turning a once perfect cube of three metres into a weirdly shaped pyramid, with all the edges absurdly wrong.
Aniya shouted when she was close enough, “Lisa, what are you doing, you crazy redhead? Put that thing down before you hurt someone!”
Lisa Kent looked back with a smile, and she pierced the floor with the sword and jumped at Aniya, dirtying her pristine new dress with pieces of leaves, sweat, and dirt.
“Aniya! Come here, beautiful! I didn’t know you were coming! Weren’t you supposed to be at that meeting?”
Aniya pushed Lisa’s shoulders to make her let go and made a grimace at the maid, who was almost bursting into laughter. “Yeah, hilarious! Go take a hike! I need to talk with Lisa!”
As the maid was leaving, Lisa kept on trying to hug Aniya, who nuzzled her in the bush's direction and away from the sword. She took a quick glance and checked if no one was around or if anyone could see them from the several windows of the house. She continued to push Lisa, and when they were behind the big bush and they could not see the big house, Aniya put her hands over Lisa’s shoulders and said, “Lisa, look at me! I am serious here! Stop fooling around and listen to me! You are in danger!”
“Oh, I am always in danger. Everyone is always in danger! We could be hit by a tiny meteorite right now and die! You are way too serious, Aniya. Well, you were always a bit too serious, but you look more like my mother now than my sweet Aniya!”