Chapter 14 - Forgotten Things

> Yohan

It was a busy day at the company so the work didn’t finish until quite late. The sky had turned dark yet I wasn’t tired. Rather I felt full of energy and was getting things done quite fast.

By nightfall me and my team had finished a lot of work and I was quite satisfied when I was driving back home.

As I was pulling in the driveway I noticed that none of the lights of the house was on.

Maya isn’t back yet? I wondered and parked the car outside but as soon as I stepped out something snapped in my mind.

I sensed a magic from inside the house but it was a presence I didn’t recognize.

Then suddenly another thing snapped in my mind.

What if something’s happened to Maya?! She’s a human so I can’t detect her presence but I could smell her from this distance, a faint smell of rain.

I immediately ran inside and noticed the glass of lights broken. They crunched under my feet as I ran past them, straight to the living room.

“Maya!” I yelled her name as she came into view, her expressions showed she was clearly terrified of the being sitting in front of her on the couch back.

My first instinct was to protect her so I jumped as soon my eyes landed on the lizard man and transformed mid-air.

My body shifted from a human’s to that of a wolf and I tackled the lizard man to the ground.

Just then something flashed and I bolted my head towards the source. There was a white flashing light surrounding Maya. In an instant it wrapped around her, flashed and disappeared while Maya fell to the ground unconscious.

What?

What just happened?

“Man what was that?” The lizard man below me asked and I shot my head at him, “Hey Yohan.” He said my name so casually it got me off guard.

I stared at him for a few moments and suddenly his appearance started becoming more familiar, “Roro!?!!”

“Yay! I thought you forgot me.” He smiled at my words and I released him from my claws.

I got up as I shifted back to my human form, “Wh-why are you here? HOW are you here?”

He stood up after me, looked at me and decided to take a human form as well, “You said I could visit you anytime or did you forget? Maybe you forgot since it was three years ago…”

“No, I didn’t forget… But Roro. You came here looking like a beast. In the human world that would have you killed.” I sighed. I clearly remember making him that promise three years ago when I lived with the pack. The packs have magic and so sometimes magical creatures visit but that’s rare. Roro was a feisty one and loved adventuring from the magic realm to the human world. I looked at him in amazement, three years ago he was a teenager, now he’s a full grown man, “You’ve gotten older.” I walked towards Maya. Lizard men have life spans different to ours. Their lives are as long as 20-25 years, so of course it’s a given that he looks so different now.

“Yup! I’m eleven now.” An eleven year old. it might seem like we’re talking about a kid but for a person from his tribe it’s different because they age differently and faster. At eleven Roro is a full grown man.

I picked Maya in my arms wondering just what happened to her?

“Roro. How did you come to the human world?”

“Hmm?” He wrapped his arms behind his head, “It’s a full moon tonight. Didn’t you know? Tonight even the human realm has some magic.”

Oh! No wonders I had extra energy today. I mentally cursed myself, how stupid of me to not even notice something that should be natural for me, “Why are you here?” I looked at him.

He was about to answer me but stopped after looking at my expression, “Are you angry with me Yohan? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean anything bad by coming to visit, I just wanted to surprise you…”

Angry?

I noticed how unconsciously I had a hard expression on. I sighed, I guess I am a bit angry. It was because of him now my mate has seen a beast and me in my wolf form. How will I explain things to her? “It was insensitive of you to come here like that. Especially in your original form.”

“I’m sorry. I just wanted to invite you to my wedding… And you know we can’t maintain our human form for long, It’s only because of the full moon I can do this.” He lowered his face.

“...” Maya was breathing soundly in my arms and that relieved me. She was only asleep and it didn’t seem like she had any injuries either. I looked at Roro again, “Go back Roro and tell the ‘others’ not to do something like this either.”

“Okay…”

He turned and started to leave with his shoulders slumped when I called him, “Send me an invitation.” I said and he looked at me, “I’ll come to your wedding.” I then started walking towards the stairs, “And close the damn door behind you!”

From the corner of my eye I saw him smile excitedly, “Yes!!”

I looked down at Maya as I walked towards her bedroom.

Explaining all the stuff will be very hard but I guess in a way it might be good? She didn’t scream or hate it when I turned into my wolf form but then again, she didn’t even have the time…

I lay her down on the bed and covered her with a blanket. Then I sat down next to her looking at her face in the moon lit room. The full moon tonight was quite strong. I could sense the strong magic it brought.

“Uhhmm!” Maya’s expressions changed and her eyebrows furrowed. It seemed like she was having a nightmare.

I held her hand in mine and intertwined our fingers together. She calmed down a bit but her brows were still tense so I kissed her forehead gently right in the middle.

Her muscles relaxed and a calm look cast upon her face.

I smiled and gently removed the locks of hair on her face, tucking them behind her ear.

“Say,” I whispered so lightly it was as if I was just lip syncing the words, “Will you accept me for me?” I asked my mate who was fast asleep.

Of course I got no answer from her at that time but I sincerely wished that she would say yes.

Her face was illuminated by the moon and she looked beautiful. I noticed she had a small nose and a small forehead but her lips were quite full.

I entranced her lower lip with my thumb lightly. I remember how soft they were from the last time we kissed and the memory made me want it again, so I moved in closer but before I could close the distance between us I noticed something.

The ring on her ring finger.

It gave me a very odd feeling, like something stinging in my chest.

I got up and left, trying not to think much about it.

***

The next morning I waited for Maya to wake up even though I was getting late for office. Around 9 am she came down looking a bit dazed.

“Hey!” I waved at her, “Morning.” I smiled trying my best to hide any form of nervousness I was feeling.

“Good morning.” She replied normally, “I’m sorry I don’t know why I slept in. I usually wake up on time.” She scratched the back of her head, “Did you already eat?”

“Yes I ate. Oh! There’s still some left if you want.”

“Ohhh.” There was something off. “Thank you.” Maybe it was because she just woke up but it felt like she was still tired.

She walked to the kitchen counter and grabbed the cooked sausages and bread.

There was not a single exchange of words between us and it was making me sort of uneasy. Why is she not bringing up what happened yesterday? Is she avoiding it on purpose?

I stood up and walked to her while she ate the last sausage, “Listen.” I gently tapped on the table, “About what happened yesterday.”

Her eyes suddenly grew wide and she shot her head towards me, “Right! What happened yesterday?? Someone broke in the house right?!” I narrowed my eyes, “I remember the shattered glass…” She strained her brain, “There was this guy in the living room, I can’t recall his face though, it was too dark and then you came in and tackled him down.” She closed her eyes and I felt like there was something wrong so I kept quiet. “Wait? Did I fall or something I can’t seem to remember what happened after that.” She opened her eyes, “Did you hand the guy over to the police?”

This conversation…

“Maya? You don’t remember seeing anything else?”

“What? Was there something else?”

“Like a non human?” She looked at me puzzled.

“Like um, a fish? Cat?” She looked around, “Do you have a pet? I didn’t see any though.”

What’s this?

It’s like she doesn’t remember the part where she saw us as beasts…

It can’t be something like forgetting things due to shock. It’s not possible.

“No…” I looked at her face. There was no sign of lying. I looked at her hands, calmly resting on the counter, “I don’t have a pet.” I backed away, “I have to go, I'm getting late.”

“Oh yea. It’s past your office time.” I began to walk away when she asked a question.

“Did you take me to my room yesterday?”

I looked back at her, and caught something. It was there only for a split second but the ring on her finger shone red. The sign vanished before I could properly see it but it gave me a hint of what was happening.

Magic

“Yes,” I answered her and smiled, “You slipped on the wet floor and passed out. The person who broke in was actually a friend. He just wanted to surprise me. I apologize for his behavior.”

“Oh…It’s okay?”

I glanced at her ring again, “Say Maya. Who gave you that ring?”

All of the sudden she got up and started speed walking towards the stairs, “I completely forgot I have class today! Bye Yohan! Have a nice day.” And she was out of sight.

“...”

I took a deep breath as I analyzed the situation.

It seems she has someone dangerous around her.

But who?