"....."
Ian was speechless, to say the least. He never expected such an outcome from his moment of laziness. He expected her to go away out of shyness.
Her reaction beat any of his expectations without much effort. His eyes had been trying to avoid looking at anywhere else other than her face.
The girl was shameless. She ignored him as she cleaned up. At one point, his gaze collided with hers. He expected to see some form of shyness in them but he was awarded a nonchalant look.
" Don't you feel any ounce of shyness bathing with a stranger?" He asked almost losing his mind. She was tempting him. How long would he last before he gave up and peeped at her?
She didn't spare him any look as she spoke. " This is my home. I asked you to leave but you decided to stay. What gave you the idea that I would leave?"
He was appalled at her words. Technically, she was correct but.. " Shouldn't the ideal girl preserve her dignity for her special one?" His voice came out irritated.
" What makes you think that I am an ideal girl? Which ideal girl stays in a cave? If you don't want to feel uncomfortable, get out. Don't disturb my peace."
She meant it. Every word. There was something she had been thinking of for a while now. The conversation between her mother and sister was still fresh in her memory.
She couldn't help but worry about the other person. She might be strong physically but even the strong fall. At some point in life, we have weaknesses that lead to our downfall or help us rise above the sky.
She was unsure how to get to the person. The ambush that had happened was a setup. It was planned and the people died for nothing.
Someone wanted to make use of it to get rid of the competition. As she pondered over the issue, Ian was busy watching her. She was beautiful. Since his gaze was confined to looking at her face, he did just that.
Each of her features stood out. From her eyes to the little pout on her lips. The more he stared, the more he wanted to kiss her. He moved towards the girl who was now lying in the water with her eyes closed.
Anaya was too absorbed in thought to notice him get close. When his lips almost touched hers, Ian froze. A knife was held to his throat. The coolness from it made him shiver.
His eyes bulged out in shock. She had caught him by surprise. " You might have the pleasure to see me naked, but it doesn't give you the right to touch. Feel free to look. That's all you get. Now, get out of my sight before I slit your throat open!"
The initial playfulness in her tone was gone. She was cold and meant each word, almost scaring him. Ian didn't move for a while.
He couldn't help but look at her from such proximity. A smile formed on his lips. ' Well then, we have a feisty mate now, don't we? I think I shall stay for a few more days to be entertained.'
His thoughts were running wild but the respect he had for her increased. She must be a trained warrior to be able to feel his presence.
As he moved away from her, he made no effort to walk away. He sat back in his initial position before speaking.
" Before I passed out, I made a vow to kill all the humans I came across."
He paused as he thought for a few minutes. " A year ago, my thoughts were different. I always had this belief that I shouldn't judge everyone for the actions of a few. I used to sympathize with humans at some point."
" Despite how the rest of my species hate humans, I tried to understand them. Growing up in a society that teaches nothing but murder isn't easy. I have been trying to understand how a nation that was once one grew apart."
" I still don't understand it. Maybe one day, I will get an answer. In my opinion, all lives matter. Doesn't make a difference whether it's a human or a werewolf. We all live, love and care. We all bleed, feel pain and die."
At first, Anaya didn't pay much attention to his words. Yet at some point, she started listening. His beliefs matched well with hers. She stopped her movements and stayed silent.
" Then it began to change slowly when I met her. Covered in blood and cuts all over. She looked all fragile, like a broken doll. When I found the camp where the ambush took place, hatred rose in my heart for the first time.
There was so much one can endure. Maybe, my belief was influenced by not losing any person close to me before. Seeing that little girl, barely breathing made me thirst for human blood.
That wasn't all. The slayers never discriminated. They massacred even children and women! That for me was a limit that should never be crossed in a war. You can kill soldiers to defend your nation and homes.
When it reaches a point where you have to kill innocent children and women to prove your superiority, that's sick. Fortunately, she was alive. As I watched her recover, I felt relieved that she lived through that ordeal.
Albeit the relief, I couldn't help but think about all those deaths. Then it happened here. Killing and calling us pests. What gave the humans the audacity to think that they deserved to live more than others?"
Bitterness dripped from all his words. Anaya felt his sorrow and the gentleness when he spoke of her. " Is she someone you love? Your mate?"
She asked the one question that came to her mind first. Ian snapped out of it and looked at her. He found himself answering her question despite himself.
" She is an angel I love like a little sister."
Anaya kept mum after that. She was thinking about his thoughts for a while.
" Now that you have been saved by another human, what is your thought about it? Do you still want to kill all of us? Do you still feel that we all deserve to die?"
His heart skipped a beat at the intensity in her eyes. Her question evoked some feeling in him. " I don't know. I feel conflicted about it!" He answered truthfully.
" I saved you because I can heal. For me, it doesn't matter who my patients are. Human or werewolf. If I can save a life, I would."
" Just so you know, we ain't all bad. Some of us grow up being fed the wrong information. No matter how we resist, we eventually fall for the pressure around us.
There is no room for change. Anyone who wants to question the system has been branded a rebel. Why fight for a race that doesn't know it and won't protect you?
That's how it works. Just like how the rogues are shunned in your world, those with a different opinion are abandoned. You ain't the only ones having it hard."
She was an example of those shunned by society. Thinking about her mother and siblings, she felt bitterness start to make its presence known.
Not wanting to show him her vulnerability, she stood up and walked out of the spring. Ian was flashed and he remained frozen for a while before moving his eyes away.
Meanwhile, in an underground cell was a man who was being whipped. He couldn't even complain since he broke the rules first. The more lashes he got, the more he began to doubt the system.
What kind of system, asks a soldier to not fire his gun to save a life on the battlefield? Wasn't that the same as telling them to die silently?
Colt was still in disbelief. Even the person he risked being punished for said nothing in his defense. She had turned her gaze away from him leaving him to his fate.
He was confused at first. Until he was told why he was punished more than required. His best friend had betrayed them.
According to Ava's statement, the coordinate they had received was sent by agent 1. Colt had no way of verifying this information since he had been forced to hand over agent 1's matter to Ava.
She even went to an extent of providing the said evidence. He was shocked at first. For the evidence was uncanny. It incriminate agent 1 to the tee until he saw the loophole.
Everything might be according to agent 1's style except that something was missing. She had once shown him her signature mark.
There was this time that the two were bored in the field after a mission. It was just them. Agent 1 had taken a piece of paper and began to play with codes. One paper after another was filled.
At first, he didn't notice anything extraordinary about it. Until he flipped the paper over and saw the tiny little pattern at the left-most corner of the paper.
Watching him study it, she had explained what it was. " I feel that handwriting could be copied. But signatures couldn't. Not my kind anyway, since it's my innovation.
In the future, when am away, ensure that all the coordinates you receive have that mark to know its authenticity. You have a sharp eye for details. I trust this information might prove important someday."
He closed his eyes, hearing her soft voice in his mind. She had been right all along. It had proved to be important. Since no one but he knew about that little detail, he couldn't go to the boss and sell it.
The next time someone wants to fabricate something, they will incriminate her. There was only one culprit in his mind.
Ava! She had intentionally got them into that situation. He was sure about it. He had known the girl for being vengeful. The last thing that convinced him was how she never defended him for saving her life.
She had pretended to be unaware of anything and watched him being taken away. Ava had promised him that she would take over agent 1's position.
He was the only one trying to prevent her from achieving that. Now that he had been kept away for three months, she was free to do as she pleased.
With agent 1 being suspected, her plan was likely to fall into place without a hitch. She had even sold him out and almost got them killed to achieve her goals.
This was the first time he felt disgusted by someone for how shameless they were. Those innocent people had died because of her schemes.
He had gotten himself into trouble for her. How ruthless. His back was bloody from the whipping but he stopped feeling the pain.
The betrayal he felt was far greater than the physical pain from his wound. Luckily, his wounds shall be treated. Three months is a long time for the enemy to wreak havoc on his beloved.
It was also enough for him to come up with a plan to help her out when the time comes. But what will happen to her? Will she be safe? What if the agent sacrifices her and leaves her to fend for herself?
He almost had a heart attack just thinking about it. But then again, she was not someone they could just give up on! She was their main fighter. That's why they had sent her on such a mission.
Colt felt scared for her for the first time. It wasn't until now that he thought about the mission in depth. His best friend was in danger from both sides.
Her people think of her as a traitor while she is in a dangerous place. If the enemy finds out about her, they will give her pain worse than death. If for some reason the enemy won't kill her, the agency would ensure that she is eliminated for good.
' Ugggh. Please stay safe for a few more months. Please, please. I will try to get out of this place. Please stay safe for me. I can't lose you forever. I don't care if you never love me. I will be contented having you with me. As a friend.'