Alexia moved to the bathroom immediately and she was given privacy. Her injury burned and was a great pain to her. She had started sweating and she felt her temperature rising.
She stripped herself of her clothes and began with a cold shower. She allowed the water to wash away all the dirt along with the blood from all the cuts and deep injuries she had received.
Her hair was the dirtiest as she scrubbed hard on her scalp. That werewolf had been a total beast the whole time. She thought of the dying moment when the werewolf was about to dig its nails into her chest. If Damon hadn't showed up then she would have died. In a way, she owed him her life yet she wasn't willing to accept it.
What was the Light Goddess even writing down in her destiny book? Wasn't a second chance mate for Damon enough? Now she was seeing people in her dreams who were actually real.
The pull she felt in her chest had been leading her to Malia. She had found Malia but the woman was close to useless to her. She didn't even know what was going on.
That werewolf had believed Malia knew the whereabouts of something. What was it? She closed her eyes. She could still remember the harshness of his tone as he pinned her to the wall. What was he looking for? What were those extinct werewolves up to? She asked herself.
Not to mention the fact that they were obviously watching her. She knew their offer still stood. But she couldn't betray her people. Even if they did not really care about her and totally ignored her. She couldn't just turn her back on them. Besides, those extinct werewolves looked too ambitious. They seemed to be aiming for something way beyond her imagination.
She finished in the shower and stepped out. She took out a liquid used in the Hunter clan to disinfect and heal injuries fast.
She applied it to the deep scratch on her stomach. She squeezed her eyes shut as the sting of it enveloped her. When she was done, she bandaged the wound and got dressed. There was a shirt and a pair of shorts in the wardrobe. She put it on and walked towards her door.
She wanted to speak with Malia. She wanted to have her time with her. Suddenly, her phone rang and she stopped. It had to be her father. She had totally forgotten about them.
"Hey Dad," she answered.
"Where are you sweetheart? We're worried," Aaron answered from the other end of the line.
"I had some scores to settle and it's late. I'll just stay here and finish up then I'll come home tomorrow," She explained.
"What scores and what place is that?" Aaron asked
"Greenville," Alexia told him, deliberately ignoring the first question.
"You have to be careful no matter what. With the whole rogue werewolves situation, anything can happen," Aaron warned.
"Yes Dad, I will. Kiss mom goodnight for me," Alexia told him.
"With pleasure darling," Aaron chuckled and the call ended.
A smile remained on her face as she stepped out of her room. She was just heading to the living room hoping to find Malia when she met Malia coming out of her room. Speaking of the devil.
"I wanted to—" They both chorused and stopped. Alexia smiled and gestured at her to go first.
"I wanted to talk to you," Malia said.
"I'd love to," Alexia accepted.
Malia welcomed her into her room and sat her on the bed. She smiled as she stared at Alexia. It was an expectant smile. Alexia smiled back.
"Sorry if I come off as rude but what creature are you exactly? Are you a werewolf too?" Malia asked.
"I'm a huntress. We hunt down all supernatural creatures that try to harm humans. I'm talking about witches and warlocks, Vampires, Werewolves and the likes," Alexia explained.
Malia nodded her head to indicate she was listening.
"Humans aren't supposed to know of our existence or it would jeopardise the balance of both realms. Humans can really be unpredictable when fear is induced into them. The supernatural creatures can go rogue and murder a lot of humans as well once they feel overly threatened. So for the safety of both realms, we are to remain a secret. That way, we can all keep living our lives without fear of the unknown," Alexia explained.
"You have a point. Humans fear what they can't explain. They fear what they don't know," Malia added.
Alexia exhaled. "The Phoenix on your back, is it a tattoo or a birthmark?" She asked.
Malia's hands subconsciously ran to her back and touched the spot where it was. She looked like she was contemplating whether to tell her or not.
"It is a birthmark," She finally answered.
"Do you know what it means to you?" Alexia asked.
"My mother never really said much. Although she once said something like 'reborn from the ashes and a second chance'," Malia explained.
Alexia remained silent. Aaron had told her the same thing. Was Malia reborn? Was she given a second chance?
"I don't actually think this phoenix has anything to do with me. I mean, I'm not reborn in any way. I'm just me, human," Malia said.
"I wouldn't say that. I saw you in my dream. I've never had a dream as real as that dream before. It was so vivid and your face and Phoenix birthmark were visible in the light. You're supposed to know something. You're supposed to do something. I don't know what it is yet but eventually, I'll find out," Alexia assured her.
Malia looked up to her and clung to that information. It was good to know that she wasn't in the battle alone. That she could look up to someone, other than Richard.
"I think your mother would have more information about your birthmark, where is she?" Alexia asked.
"She's late." Malia looked down at her hands.
Alexia widened her eyes in shock. "I'm so sorry."
"It's okay," Malia said.
Suddenly, a roar ripped through the air. It was so loud and alarming that any hunter within this vicinity would jump out of their beds and attack the beast.
Alexia immediately ran out of Malia's room. She got to the living room and met Damon already standing. Richard was on the couch. Ryan joined them.
"Where are you going? You can't fight that thing, you're hurt!" Damon exclaimed.
"Try me and I'll take you down within seconds," Alexia threatened.
Damon backed off in defeat. "Richard, you stay here and protect Malia. Ryan, Alexia and I will go after the beast that just roared," Damon gave instructions and opened the door to exit the house.
All three of them ran outside. The roar had come from somewhere close to the house. They didn't need to take the car to find it. They ran down the street and took a turn by the left. That was when they saw the beast. Some humans were watching it in horror. The werewolf on the other hand did nothing but glare at all of them menacingly. It was preparing an attack.
"What is that thing?" Their voices echoed as they asked themselves.
Damon approached them. "It's just a rogue beast from a lab. They were running some tests on it and it escaped. Go home, you don't want to be here with it," Damon instructed and they hurriedly began to run home.
The werewolf stood in all its might as it watched them. These extinct werewolves were trying to jeopardize the existing peace. This angered Alexia. She understood them clearly. They were trying to expose the supernatural creatures to the rest of the world.
Once it was just the three of them left standing along with the beast in the dead of the night, Damon roared at it. It was a menacing roar of an Alpha. The werewolf must have felt his power because it turned and fled.
"Not on my watch!" Alexia yelled and ran after it.
"Alexia don't! It could be a trap! This doesn't seem right!" Ryan called but she was already gone. Damon followed shortly after her. Ryan was the only one left standing so he ran after them.
Alexia could see the beast as it entered the woods. She wasn't going to let him escape. Damon was inches away from her as they both chased after the beast. She wasn't going to let it go this time. She was going to attack it and kill it. It was the same beast from earlier.
It made a turn through the trees and Alexia did the same. Damon never left her side as they ran. Suddenly, the ground gave way and the both of them fell through.
Alexia screamed as sand fell over her. She also heard Damon's alarmed growl. She hit the surface hard. Damon fell beside her and groaned. As they still rolled in pain, the place where they fell from was covered up. They were completely enveloped in thick darkness.
Indeed it was a trap. They had fallen for it. Ryan was right and she didn't listen. She could not see anything there. Everywhere was just pure darkness.