The Love of a Lycan

Mrs. Martha came after Torak, and Raine returned from lunch. And then, she apologized for being late. She said the car had gotten into some unfortunate flat tire event. She didn't stop there, she continued her story.

She explained how the driver took a different route than usual, and because the street was a secluded place, she couldn't find a taxi, or any other transportation alternatives. So, she had to wait until someone came and to get the tire changed.

Where exactly did Torak ask the driver to go?—Raine wondered inside her head. She glanced at Torak, who seemingly didn't pay any attention to Martha's words. He was busy with his documents, and phone calls again. 

"I am sorry for it, Raine." Mrs. Martha said while pulling out some books from her bag. 

"It's not your fault Mrs. Martha." Raine grimaced. This is Torak's fault. She wanted to say that, but instead… "Let's start, shall we?"

"Right." Mrs. Martha agreed.

A while later, Raine seemed to be engrossed in her study, more than any other time. She wasn't even aware of Torak who had stopped from all the distraction from his works, and watched her instead. 

[Raph,] Torak mind-linked his Beta.

[Yes, do you need something?] Raphael was only a room away from him.

[Call Stephan Magnus. Do tell him to come to the house, and meet me.] Torak said.

Stephan Magnus was the dragon shifter who came along with him to this city. Meanwhile his brother, Reynold Magnus, stayed behind in the Red River city to take care of their business there, since his own company had been acquisitioned by Torak.

[Anything else?] Raphael picked up his phone to give a call.

[That's it.]

==============   

Once Raine finished her study session, they went home right away. This time, they would have dinner at home. Because of what had happened to Mrs. Martha earlier in the morning, they went a little off-schedule. In order to catch up on the lesson that was unintentionally behind schedule, Mrs. Martha gave Raine more material to read at home. 

"Don't you think that it's too much?" Torak glanced at Raine's note about the new materials that she must learn. 

"I can do this." Raine said optimistically. 

She had been in high spirits recently. She was highly motivated, that she had spent her time reading many books, and practiced so many exam question exercises. The girl tried beyond her best to complete the tasks that were given to her by her study tutor. It was all natural for her to do that, she was all driven to do such efforts by the idea of getting into University. She was very eager to pursue higher education.

Since Raine started to talk, people could see that she was actually a cheerful, and a lighthearted girl. She was extremely different from the girl that Torak met months ago. As if that girl from months ago, was nowhere to be found in her.

Except for the fact she was still sometimes a bit nervous to be near strangers. But, one thing for sure was that she was always on the brightest side of herself whenever she was with Torak. And for that reason, he loved her even more.

Raine now, was like the warmth of the sun that shone in the winter season. She was bright, and charming. All that in her, made Torak having a great hard time to take his eyes off of her. He wanted to be with her, holding her close and being able to witness every smile that grazed her kissable lips. He felt like he was completely going crazy.

"I'm fine…" Raine smiled when Torak rested his head on her shoulder.

"Don't overdo yourself, you can get sick because of this." said Torak, complaining over her study hours, but above all, he was worried.

"Okay." said Raine as she patted his shoulder. "We're at home." 

Before this, Torak had never considered any places as his home.They were all just a simple building for him to rest. But now, whenever he was with Raine, and wherever it would be, he felt the essence of being at home. "I am at home."

Torak helped Raine to get off from the car. Although she seemed to not need his help for simply getting out of a car. But Torak was insisting on doing it. 

When they entered the house, Raine was trying to arrange her time inside her head, so that she could catch up with her study, and go to bed early. However, her plan seemingly should wait, because the first person that she met when they arrived in the living room was Serefina.

The witch was wearing a black leather jacket, with a matching pair of boots in the same color. Her dark jeans, and white shirt under her jacket hugged her body perfectly.

"Finally, here you are…" Serefina clapped her hands.And just like per usual, she was ignoring Torak's unwelcoming attitude. Anyone could see in Torak's whole demeanor, that he hated this unexpected visit from this particular guest. Meanwhile, Serafina strode across the room in confidence, approaching Raine and Torak.

"What do you want?" Torak asked her coldly. After being missing for weeks, the witch finally showed up. And above all, she acted strangely like this.

"I know what she is." Serefina ignored Torak's question, the same way she overlooked Torak's hostile stare. 

"What do you mean?" Torak squinted his eyes. 

"I know how to evoke her power, to make it emerge to surface." Serefina said it gleefully as if the news that she brought was the most important of all breaking news. "I have thought about it for weeks, but I need more additional information in order to assure my speculation." She explained herself for being missing. 

"And what do you get?" Torak asked, the witch got his full attention as his focus was on her now.

"The guardian angel. She. Who. Guard. The Time." Serefina stressed every syllable to emphasize the importance of this information.

Raine frowned as she looked at Serefina. What is it again now that she's talking about? She looked up to see Torak's expression. There she found that he also had the same inquiry look towards the witch. But his expression had a different question from hers.

"Let's talk about it inside." Torak mumbled as he took Raine's hand. There were many guards there, and this kind of conversation wasn't for them to hear. So, they walked towards the study room. Raphael and Calleb were also called in to listen to Serefina's explanation.

When all the people were already inside the room, Serefina continued whatever she was trying to tell them before about Raine. 

"Here's the thing." She started, her face was so calm. Her lime green eyes stared at Raine, as if she was bewitching her, the kind of unsettling look that Raine disliked from the witch. 

They were sitting on a big U-shaped sofa inside Torak's study. Serefina was sitting in the middle, while Raine, and Torak were sitting on her left side. And on the opposite of the two, were Raphael, and Calleb's seat.

The atmosphere inside the room wasn't really good. This was going to be an intense meeting, and it was palpable to everyone with the tense atmosphere that was surrounding them. The four of them were waiting for her explanation, they couldn't wait for the witch to reveal where she had been all these time.

This didn't mean that they expected her presence though. It was simply for the sake of Raine. Because Serefina was supposed to take care of Raine, and figure out her strange condition. 

Now that she was here and had something to say to Torak about Raine, this made it natural for him to have all the reasons to be this tense. On top of that, he had never heard about something like 'She, who guards the time'.

Probably, because Torak had never put any interest in particularly guardian angels. Besides, why would he care about guardian angels anyway? They had been extinct since the last Great War between the Lycanthropes and the devil. At least, that was what he thought then, long before he met Raine.

"The reason why you were able to travel back to one thousands of years ago, is because you have this rare ability. There was only one guardian angel who possessed this kind of power." Serefina said.

The four of them were waiting for Serefina's next explanation, but she didn't say anything more after that. The silence that had been among them, now filled with unanswered questions.

"So?" Calleb couldn't help, but asked. "Who is this person?" For the Gamma, it almost felt like he had this obligation to keep the conversation going, because Torak had never been in the mood to talk to Serefina. Especially, since the last time Raine disappeared. Meanwhile, Raphael, he was simply waiting. 

"She lived a long time ago." Serefina shrugged.

Raine frowned, the senses of time for those immortal creatures was a little bit different with her. "How long ago was that actually?" 

"Long before the great war happened." Serefina's face beamed with a smile, the witch was delighted as if this piece of little information was something worth celebrating.

"What should I do then?" Raine was at loss, and Serefina didn't help at all. The witch should've just spilled all the things that she knew, instead of talking mysteriously in her long-winded words. 

"Well of course you have to meet her!" Serefina said it in this particular tone as if she was saying 'isn't that obvious?'. "Only by meeting her, you will learn how to control your power. And only that way, you will finally become truly strong."

"Wait a second, I really don't get it." Calleb threw his hands up in the air, as he shook his head. "Are you telling us that this person is still alive?"

Serefina frowned. "Of course not! Are you an idiot? Guardian angels had been extinct for many centuries!" She glared at the Gamma.

Suddenly Calleb felt that there was a great urge emerged in him, a desire to crush the witch head for calling him an idiot. "So, how can Raine possibly meet her?! What is she supposed to do, in order to do that!?" He roared. Now he understood why Torak, and Raphael were so reluctant in terms of dealing with the witch, and how they would avoid talking with her in person no matter what. 

Now Calleb understood that it would really need a great patience to come to terms with Serefina's way of talking. 

"Use her power." Serefina shrugged carelessly. "If she could go to the day when the Village of Angels was demolished and under attack, or the days when it was close to finally come to its annihilation. Logically, if she could jump all the way back to that time, then she must be able to go to the time long before that too."

Raine grimaced with the word 'demolish' from Serefina. The way she said it was cruel, as if the villagers who once lived in that place weren't really people who worth mentioning. 

But, before Calleb could talk, nor anyone that was there had the chance to be able to react, except for Torak who had stood up there. He glared menacingly at Serefina. "You can keep the idea for yourself." His voice was rough and stern. "Raine will not going anywhere."

Torak's canines elongated as he tried to keep his beast slightly below the surface. He had just lost Raine not so long ago. The panic, the torture, and the greatest fear that he felt at that moment still remained. And now Serefina came back just to tell him that she would like to take Raine back to do that all over again?

The witch was actually talking about going back to thousands of years ago, where those beasts, and supernatural creatures were at their peak of their ferocity and brutality. Knowing all that as someone who had once been one of those creatures, how could he possibly let his mate go to that kind of place? He must be crazy to let her go.

Serefina's temper flared up. When Torak opened the door, she shut the door right before Torak could walk past it with Raine. This action almost crushed Torak's fingers if he didn't have a remarkable reflex. 

"I am not working my ass off, just for you to walk away like this!" Serefina was livid, no one had any idea how she got this information for Raine, and what kind of things that she had been through just to get this information. "This is important for her to learn her own ability!"

"She is fine the way she is now!!!" Torak barked at the witch. "She doesn't need to learn that! I will protect her!"

Serefina scoffed upon hearing this. "You will protect her, huh?" She stood up, and put her hands on her hips. "Do you forget about the purpose of the guardian angel being resurrected? Do tell me, how you really plan to protect her?!"

Torak started to shift into his beast, as white fur spurt from the follicle of his skin. He released Raine's hand from his grasp, afraid that he might hurt her somehow, especially when his nails turned into sharp claws came out from the tip of his fingers. 

This happened once again. Whenever Torak, and Serefina had different opinions about something, they would tear apart the place that they were in. 

"Alright, let me tell you the true purpose of your life." Serefina shifted her lime green eyes that squinted alarmingly at Raine, who was behind Torak's back. "Let it be me to be the one to break this to you, since your mate plans to keep it a secret from you, right Alpha?" She asked Torak, taunting him to show his ugly side in front of Raine.