Stacey
I let out a sigh as I fidget my finger on the table before me. I've been overthinking whether to tell all that I know about Dmitri. We were told that the killer of the next king of vampires would be the next Alpha. But at the same time, she's the only person to ask for help. I'm pretty sure Dmitri trusts her more than anyone else as of now.
I've been sitting at the shop for over an hour now. I told George that my shift ends at 6 am. I told myself that if she's not here by 7 am I'll leave. But here I am telling the same thing.
"8 am. If she's not here by 8 am I'll leave."
Fast forward now. I watch her confused reaction.
"Father?" I watch her reaction.
I'm sorry, Dmitri. I will break the promise. It's for the best.
"It was Christmas Eve," I start as my mind returns to that memory.
We should be celebrating right now but no. Loud groans were heard in the front yard of our house. My body was shaking while watching my father beaten by a group of young men. I was hiding behind one of my dead mother's tall vases.
'Hide Ana! Don't let them catch you!'
"I don't have the money yet," my father groaned in pain.
The skinny man with a baseball bat clicked his tongue. "Deadline is deadline, Mr. Smith," he said, hitting my father's back with the baseball bat.
"Well, we can take your daughter with us as a payment," the tallest one said.
"N-no!"
They continued beating my father. His cries made me want to run towards him. I balled my fist. My tears began to fall.
"Stop! No-" A gloved hand cupped my mouth.
I hitched my breath. Scared. I was scared that someone had caught me. I fight from his grip on my mouth. I tried to push him away. The vase behind me fell and the loud crashing sound made the group of men turn their heads in my direction.
"Damn it," the man behind me cursed in his deep voice. "The reason why I cover your mouth is to avoid any unwanted noise," he grumbled. "Way to go tiny human!"
He let go of me and hid me behind him. I now have a proper view of his back. He was wearing a black long coat. He was extremely tall. I hugged his leg tight. His knees were the same height as my face. He fisted his glove hand. The knuckles of his leather gloves have spikes. A Deep growl escaped from lips as he flexed his broad shoulders. He tapped my hands and I let go of his leg.
"Cover your eyes if you don't like brutal scenes," he purred.
He walked towards the group of men.
"Who are you?" the short man asked.
He just walks towards them. He didn't bother to speak. He is outnumbered. But it is as if he is confident that they'll be the ones coughing blood when he walks toward them.
"A-ana," I heard my father breathe out.
The one holding a baseball bat attacked him. Soon, the others followed. The enormous man gripped the baseball bat and hit the skinny one. He kicked him hard with his combat boots. He gripped the neck of the other one and snapped it. Then, he hit the other one with the bat. He held the jaw of a short one and lifted him from the ground. He snarled at him. I saw him dig his fangs. My eyes widened after noticing how long his fangs were after removing them from his prey's neck.
He hissed.
"Fuck you and your dirty blood," he threw the limp men like a rotten vegetable. "Disgusting," he spat.
He called someone from his phone. His hand rested on my father's neck.
"Fuego, I need you to clean this," he said in a deep voice while looking around. "I know that I told you that were done with the mission. Dammit, you can do that tomorrow!"
He cleared his throat and looked at me.
"Your father's safe now," he said.
I ran towards him and hugged him tight. He carried me and my father.
I take another chug of water as if it'll push the lump in my throat. I've never shared this story with anyone. I never thought I'd ever share this story with someone. George's gaze softened. She never spoke. But there is curiosity behind her eyes, anticipation.
"My father's blue eyes looked at me and smiled," I continue. "He said thanks to the unknown man. But,"
"He's dead," the man said while holding my hand.
"N-no," I cried. I looked up at him as tears gushed from my eyes.
"Damn it," The man ran his hand through his jet-black hair in frustration. He carried me and stared at me with his mismatched eyes.
Slowly, his eyes changed into blue ones same as my father's. I watched him change his form.
"Dad?" I asked after seeing him looking exactly like my father.
He chuckled, "No."
He came back to his real form. I got confused about what was going on. I should be scared of this shapeshifter. But deep inside me, I wanted him to do it again. I wanted him to pretend like my father. I wanted to use his ability as an escape from this new wound in my heart.
"Your father is there," he said. "Are you alone? Where's your Mom?"
"Sh-she's dead," I sniffed. "She's my guardian angel now."
"Cute," he chuckled. "Guardian angel? Huh?"
"I never understand why he finds that funny," I say. "That my mother is now my guardian angel. But it all made sense now. He's a Vampire. He probably never believed in that concept."
"My Dad said that she died after I came here into the world," I said in sobs.
"I see," he said with a light nod.
"Now, both of them are your angels," he said while looking at my father.
"Mister?" I ask. I've been thinking about asking this to him. But I'm afraid he'll reject my request. I never know what he is after all.
"Yes, Ana?"Â he replied.
"Can you do that again? Can you pretend to be my father for me?" I asked while looking at the floor.
"And that's how I became Stacey now. He told me that he'll call me Stacey starting that day." I end my words with a deep sigh. I never expected that this would be so freeing.
"So, Jared's form is what your real father looks like," George asks.
"Yeah. Minus the pinkish-white skin. My father's skin was tanned after working under the sun," I nod. "Sounds crazy, right?"
"I don't know much about what's happening inside anymore. I tried to figure it out by contacting Joaquin. But, he's not answering my calls and even replying to my messages."
Joaquin, I hope he's doing well.
"But I know where he is," I've been considering asking for her help since last night. But I promised Dmitri that I would not tell her where he was.
"Who? Jared?" she asks.
I nod, "I thought of telling this to you because I don't have any right to share this with anyone even you. But I know where Dmitri is."
"You do!?" her eyes widen. "Thank goodness! Where? Where is he?" she stands up and leans forward. There was a hint of happiness in her eyes.
I won't directly tell her. I'm thinking of just giving her a hint. After all, she can't lie to the werewolves. They shouldn't know that she has an informant outside their village.
Her phone vibrates.
"George? There are werewolves here who are asking us about you. We tried to lie but we cannot lie. That's why we said that you were here an hour ago and now they are looking for you," A female voice says half whispering. "I'm glad you didn't tell me where you are. Because they might have figured out I'm lying when I told them I don't know."
I am pretty sure that is Shane.
"Okay, okay. Thank you so much. Did they harm you?" George asks.
"Uhm. No, they didn't. But, they're really scary and they're bigger. Some of them are still in the house. They introduce themselves as a new member of Saber's pack, by the way," Shane whispers. "Saber! Thank goodness you're here!" She suddenly yells.
She moves her phone away from her ear.
"Alright, Saber's there you'll be safe now," She says.
"Is that George?" Saber asks in the background. "Umâ" Shane ends the call.
This is my only chance to tell her. I won't know when will our paths cross again. I never even expected her to enter this shop last night.
"He's with you this whole time," I say.
"With me? What do you mean?" She frowns.
Panic is written all over her face.
"He's in the village with you," I say.
"How!?" I exclaim.
"He's in disguise," Stacey says.
"As a villager?" I ask again.
"NoâYeah... Not really."
Her phone vibrates once again.
"Tell me where you are," she reads in a whisper. "Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh."
She quickly grabs her stuff and stands up.
"Okay, thank you, Stacey. I guess I should go now before they figure out where I am. I'll look for him then if you cannot tell me or if you're scared to get scolded. I'm pretty sure the villagers know who's a new or unfamiliar villager."
I hold her wrist. " I am sorry. This is the only thing that I could do."
George can find her. I'm pretty sure they'll meet again. They have met so many times. Why wouldn't they this time?
She gives me a reassuring smile before she leaves.
***
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