A shiver ran down Yuki's spine like a cold finger was tracing her vertebrae, leaving a trail of goosebumps all over her body. She hesitated before her door; her foot rooted to the spot as if refusing to enter her eerie room.
Instinctively, Yuki felt the foreboding air that characterized her room, for it was suffocating despite the intemperate breeze that was gushing in from the window. Moreover, the air that surged towards her was dense and sinister.
Yuki cautiously treaded into her room, her eyes darting from one corner to another. After scrutinizing her room for a while, Yuki came to a conclusion that nothing was amiss. Everything was as she had left them, moreover, she did not sense anyone's presence.
Yuki's eyes fell on the open window once more. She walked towards it with the thought of going to close it. When she neared, Yuki impulsively glanced at the large tree that stood outside and jolted.
Amidst the tree's leaves were a pair of glowing red eyes staring maliciously at her. Yuki took a steady step backwards; her eyes still holding the eerie red ones.
"Who is there?" Yuki questioned firmly while squinting in an attempt to make out the figure that was concealed behind leaves and shadows.
"Show yourself!"
Rustling sounds followed the emergence of the person on the tree. Yuki looked with intent as the person slowly emerged from behind the shadows and leaves. Finally appearing before her was a pale slender man with a spooky appearance. His crimson red eyes stared pitifully at her as he sat on a large branch while clutching his arm.
"I need help," his raspy voice came saying.
Yuki's eyes left his face to look at his arm that he so desperately clutched; it was bleeding profusely.
The compassionate side of herself surfaced as soon as she saw the blood. She forgot how unfriendly his face was or maybe she thought it was unwise to judge a person based on their looks. Whichever be the reason, Yuki rushed to the window framed and muttered, "quickly, come in!"
As soon as those three words left her lips, a wide, evil grin formed on the man's lips. Before Yuki could as much as blink, she found herself forcefully slammed onto the bedroom floor with the man on top of her.
Now pinned on the ground, Yuki could only gawk into the malicious red of the man's eyes as his cold hand covered her mouth tightly. Yuki was dumbfounded. She had no clue what had happened, given the inhuman speed the man had reached her with earlier.
When Yuki finally gained all her awareness, her delayed reactions followed suit. Her heart began beating loudly in her chest, then, her entire body started trembling faintly. Her eyes suddenly felt moist as her breath shortened by the second from the man's callous grip on her mouth. Muffled sounds emerged from the struggling girl as she tried to get the person to loosen his grip on her.
Despite how teary her eyes were, Yuki took notice of the fangs in the man's mouth when he snarled at her for struggling to free herself. As if it was only right that she remained as calm as she could and allow him do what he came to do! A hint of vexation flared in Yuki's eyes at that thought. Still, her anxiety remained, for the man's appearance was more terrifying now that he was so close. And what was with the fangs?
The man brought his head down towards Yuki's neck and sniffed loudly. He snickered and pulled away to look Yuki in the face again. He drooled animalistically while staring down at Yuki in utter delight.
"You smell delicious!" the man stated, a glint of malice in his eerie red eyes.
Yuki's eyes narrowed with repulsion after seeing the drool under the man's mouth while he looked at her. Yuki stared into the man's face attentively. His appearance may have been off putting, but Yuki found herself curiously capturing his peculiarity into her memory.
Although her body trembled under the spooky man, inwardly, Yuki was very much calm. Her mind and her body, in moments like these, were mostly never in sync. Most at times, her body would remain as calm as her mind in the face of danger, and others, her body would react like a normal person while her mind remained composed.
She was not afraid of what could happen to her. Her only concern was the identity of the man and his purpose in her room at the moment.
"I can't wait to have a tas-"
Wham! Yuki heard the sound of a forcible impact on skin before her eyes could perceive anything. All she saw was the soaring body of the scary man, who soon crashed to the floor after his flight.
Yuki's eyes left the man and fleetingly caught glimpse of another covered in hair.
Or fur?
Before she could get a full view of the newcomer, a thundering voice almost gave her a heart attack.
"Close your eyes, Ms. Adlerian!" the voice resounded in Yuki's ear, she obliged immediately.
"Treyton?" she called softly to the voice she recognized.
"Yes. Don't open your eyes till I tell you to, okay?" Treyton's voice was much gentle this time.
"Mmh," Yuki hummed and tightened her eyelids.
"Yuki!!" Yuki heard her mother cry from a distance, besides her name, Yuki heard loud taps approaching her room.
"Oh my God! Yuki! What happened?" Mrs. Adlerian cried; a frightened look engraved on her face as she rushed to Yuki's side.
Jacek looked no better than his mother, if not worse, because in that moment, he was not sure if his heart was working at all; it sunk the very moment he heard dreadful sounds coming from Yuki's room. And now, as soon as his eyes landed on the hand-shaped bruise on his sister's face, his heart finally shattered.
Yuki only opened her eyes when she was pulled into the warmth of her mother's embrace. The first thing her eyes were met with when she opened them, was Jacek's tense jaw and narrowed gaze that revealed his unease. Yuki sighed loudly and wrapped her arms around her mother to succumbed to the relief her maternity had to offer.
When Yuki was finally pacified, she relayed to her mother and brother all that had happened. She deliberately left out the man's appearance because she felt it was not needed or truthfully, because she did not want to be reminded of what he looked like if she ended up describing him.
Thinking of appearance, Yuki remembered the fleeting image of the furry upper body of the person who turned out to be Treyton. Was she seeing things?
"This has never happened before. What could he have come for?" Mrs. Adlerian stated her doubts with a deep frown. She wanted to believe the intruder had attempted to force himself on Yuki, considering how he came onto the innocent girl. Moreover, considering how Yuki looked tonight…
"But he did not do you any harm before Treyton arrived, right?" Jacek questioned nervously. Though he could not comprehend the situation, he was sure the person came with more than just a carnal desire. And what was it about her smelling good? Was he a pervert? Jacek frowned at the thought.
…
"Does it hurt?" Mrs. Adlerian asked an nth time as she gently pressed Yuki's bruise with a steaming fabric. After a few taps, she dipped the fabric in a bowl of hot water, squeezed it and brought it to Yuki's mouth once more.
Mrs. Adlerian's eyes narrowed slightly as she looked at the bruise that seemed less and less visible as time passed. It was as if it was slowly disappearing.
"We should cut down that tree. Who knows how many people have been hiding in there all these years!" Jacek grumbled while stroking Yuki's head.
"I agree!" Mrs. Adlerian seconded without a second thought.
As the family sat in the living room with looks of dejection, a steady knock alarmed them out of their various minds.
Jacek stood from beside Yuki and attended to the door. his expression swiftly switched from gloom to excitement. "Treyton!" he called enthusiastically.
When Yuki heard Jacek mention the name she had been waiting all night for, he rushed to the door to see him. She halted in her tracks, far from her destination, when she remembered the image of the furry person.
"Treyton?" Yuki called him softly while she still kept her distance with a pensive look. He was still the same Treyton. He was not different.
Treyton's eyes left Jacek and fell on the troubled-looking girl who stood behind. The fierceness in his alluring greys, softened immediately he saw Yuki.
"Excuse me…" he announced and proceeded inside the house and to Yuki's side, the tip of his fingers brushed over the pinkish bruise on her delicate face, an inkling of rage flared in his eyes.
"Does it hurt?" Treyton asked softly.
Yuki shook her head and unhurriedly poked a large red spot on his shirt. "Did he do this?" Yuki stared worriedly into Treyton's eyes. "Does it hurt a lot?"
Treyton's eyes fell on Yuki's finger before he lifted them once more to look at Yuki. "It is not my blood," Treyton asserted.
Mrs. Adlerian gaped at Yuki, then eyed the towering figure of Treyton before averting her eyes to look at Jacek who was still standing by the door. He was wearing a scowl like a badge of honor, a symbol of his displeasure. Jacek's face was a mask of discontent, a sulky expression that seemed to say 'I'm not happy, and I am not going to hide it."
Mrs. Adlerian chuckled, drawing the youngsters' attention. 'So that was how it was. No wonder he is so agitated to keep Yuki away from men. Turns out I won, Jacek'. Mrs. Adlerian smirked while giving her son a smug look.
Jacek, needing no interpreter to decipher the look on his mother's face, glared at her. As if he was going to lose that easily!