Her Ex

AYSU

Aysu and Ximun took a few steps closer and with each step, they were wowed. The city was unlike any each of them had seen. The city possessed a colour that seemed to be a combination of blue and silver. And when Aysu looked up at the sky, she noticed that the moon was up and since it was certain that the Forest that led them into that place was sunny, Aysu was left with one question to ask.

“Are we in another world?”

“We might be,” answered Ximun who was as awed as her.

“Damn.”

“We need to find someone to talk to,” Ximun said, his hand reaching for hers while her eyes started to roam the beauty of the grasses around them. The grasses had insects with blue lights latched onto their leaves.

“Is it just me?” Aysu looked ahead again. “This place is beautiful and all, but it feels lonely.”

“How so?”

“I can hardly feel any living soul apart from the insects and the trees.”

“Let’s walk further. We might find someone.”

It didn’t take many steps for them to reach the first building which was a bungalow that was oval-shaped. They knocked but nothing happened.

And after minutes of waiting, nothing still happened.

So, they walked further down and aimed to find a simply designed house that would hopefully be occupied. Aysu hoped that they would indeed find someone.

She earlier gauged the Pack’s tall buildings from a distance and they looked like they would take eternity to tour.

But finding help wasn’t as easy as it sounded.

They ended up knocking and checking close to thirty houses before one finally opened their door.

And to Aysu’s surprise, the person who opened the door was someone she knew.

“Nirel?”

“Aysu?” The man who had earlier looked annoyed about having to open his door but the moment he sighted Aysu, his anger disappeared, he adjusted his glasses and his eyes widened in bewilderment. “Is it really you?”

Aysu sighed. “It is me. Oh my goodness, Nirel.”

The man quickly hugged her and soon, the memories of her time with her very first mate came rushing in with a speed she never anticipated.

But Ximun’s throat-clearing soon interrupted that moment and Aysu quickly returned to his side before anything drastic could happen.

“Nirel, this is my mate, Ximun O’Hara. Ximun,” she looked up at her man, “Nirel was my first mate.” A heavy silence that Aysu didn’t anticipate filled the space as the men did nothing but share subtle glares. “So, Nirel…”

“Yes, Aysu.”

“What is this place?”

His brown eyes found hers once again. “This city is the origin of wolves.”

“Huh?”

“This city was founded by the Goddess herself when she came down to Earth many years ago. Only that back then, it wasn’t hidden from the outside world. This place was once teeming with demi-gods, wolves and humans hoping to find true powers, but an incident that involved the Goddess’s daughter made the deity close this place off. So, all we have here are generations upon generations that have been sealed away from the world out there.”

“How did you find this place?” Ximun asked, his tone very sharp.

“After the curse made me reject Aysu,” Nirel’s eyes lowered, “I was in a very terrible state. So, in a bid to survive the heartache, I dug my nose into the books in the ancient library of The Tarmish Pack. It was there I found maps and short notes about this place.” The sorrowful expression on Nirel’s face turned to a slight smile while he pushed his short hair back. “I decided to follow the maps and they led me here.”

“That’s certainly one way to deal with heartbreak,” Aysu commented.

“I truly loved you, Aysu. If I hadn’t done that, I might have gone insane.”

Ximun cleared his throat again. “So, Aysu’s ex, are there a lot of people here?”

“Of course. We might not be much according to the statistics of the world outside, but we are enough to create a society that continuously works.”

“Hmm.”

“Oh, where are my manners?” Nirel kicked the door behind him wide open while he removed his hands from the pockets of his silky nightwear. “Please come in. Would you like some tea?”

“Actually, we would like a place to stay,” replied Aysu who was ready to step into his grand house if Ximun had not pulled her back.

“Aysu, I have a bad feeling about this Nirel guy.”

Her brows jerked. “Because he is my ex?”

“Not only that.” Ximun moved closer and further lowered his voice. “I think your previous observation was right. I keep looking around, but I cannot find any other sign of life. It is very suspicious.”

Aysu looked around for some seconds. Ximun was right. Something about that place was off.

“What do you think we should do?” she asked him.

“We should leave. I am sure we can find an empty place to stay.”

“What if the houses that seem empty are not empty? Most of them have their lights on. What if we barge in on a couple doing the do?”

Ximun pondered for a few seconds. “I don’t trust this Nirel guy.”

“But he is the only hope we have right now when it comes to getting a place to sleep and eat.”

Ximun sighed. “I guess we can stay here for a night.” He then looked up at the sky. “I don’t even know if it’s day or night right now.”

“Aysu?” Nirel called from the entrance, a grand smile on his lips. “Is something wrong?

Aysu held Ximun’s hand assuredly. “No. We were just discussing something very important.”

“Oh.” Nirel smacked his plump lips, after which he gave the lower one a lick. “It’s strange seeing you with another man. It’s truly strange.”

“Well,” Aysu chuckled, “he is my husband, so get used to it, I guess.”

Nirel tilted his head to the side, a certain mischievous look in his eyes. “Has the curse been broken?”

“We are hoping it has been broken,” replied Aysu who walked into the cosiness of Nirel’s house without wasting a second.

All she wanted at that moment was a good bath and good sleep. And since she was closer to getting those things, she itched to have them sooner.

Within minutes, she was finally in a filled bathtub though Ximun could not join her as she hoped. But she took solace in how peaceful and soothing the bath was. And as she tried not to sleep off in the bath, she recalled Ximun’s concerns about Nirel.

Her ex did seem different from the man she knew him to be when they were eighteen and excited for love. Aysu then wondered if Nirel would still be her mate if the curse wasn’t in the equation.

Well, it seemed probable because they were really into each other back then.

When Aysu deduced that she was likely to fall asleep in the bath, she did a quick wash and soon stepped out, her body exposed to the extraordinary chillness of that room.

The cold was so much that she almost started to shiver, so she quickly reached for one of the towels Nirel provided. But before she could turn, a very scaly hand cupped her nose from behind and without giving her a chance to struggle, the odd substance in the person’s hand knocked her out immediately.