The Sacrifice of the Cursed {2}

~ 9 ~

For some odd reason, I believed it would be a quiet day; we would visit the orphanage and spend the day with the children. And when the sun would set we would realize that we had been distracted by the innocence and the simplicity that can be found in that building.
Sadly, I was mistaken. While I was playing with Ashley in one of the toy kitchens, I heard one of the adults who take care of the children talk with Matt and Emily after Alec left the room with Jensen.
"Georgette, that a new book!" Matt said with excitement.
"What do you mean?" Georgette's voice was gentle, but I could detect the confusion in her voice.
I turned around so I could watch them. The woman seemed to be in her early thirties. She had long curly hair and her skin was sun kissed; that was all I could see from where I sat with Ashley.
"We have never seen it before. That is why we wanted Xander to read it to us." Emily handed the book to Georgette. Even though I could not see her face, I could smell the fear on her.
Perhaps something bad happened here; it would explain why there are adults in the room, and why Jensen asked to talk to Alec in private. Accalia shared her opinion.
I think you are right; there is no other explanation.
So, what do we do?
I am not sure Accalia, I think we have to wait and see what Jensen tells Alec.
Before my wolf had the chance to reply, Matt said something that peaked my interest even more.
"Yeah, Xander was about to read it for us, but Mr. Jensen asked to talk to him."
"Alright then, let us read it." Georgette gave him a warm smile which caused the little boy to jump from excitement.
"Alright, the book is called The Encantado Brothers..."
I do not think we should let her read the book to them. I told my wolf.
Well, let us wait for her to read the first page, and then we will decide whether she should read it or not. Accalia suggested and I agreed.
"Alright, once upon a time, there were two brothers named Elijah and Finn. They were part of magical people who turned into sea snakes and dolphins when the sun disappeared and was replaced by the moon. While Elijah turned into a sea snake, Finn turned into a dolphin..." Before Georgette could read any further, I got up and walked up to her and the children sitting before her.
"You are the Luna; it is a pleasure to meet you." Georgette smiled at me and I could not help but smile back at her. Her aura was the warmest I have ever come across.
"And you must be Georgette; it is a pleasure to meet you as well. Can I have the book?" She was about to question my odd request, but the look I gave her made her understand that she should not ask my reasoning behind wanting the book.
She nodded and gave me the book.
"But I wanted to know what happens." Emily pouted at me. I kneeled down beside her and gave her an apagogical look.
"I know, and I am sorry, but I just need this book really bad. So, will you let me have it? I gave her a pouty look of my own.
She turned to Matt and both of them looked at each for a few seconds, but eventually she gave me a smile before nodding.
"You can have it, but only if you kiss me on the cheek." Matt pointed at his right cheek with his small finger, and I did not miss the smirk on his face.
I leaned in and kissed his cheek with a smile at his innocence.
Georgette chuckled at the little boy as he gave me the book with a flirty look on his face.
"Thank you Matt." I ruffled his hair, gave Georgette a nod, and gave them my back.
As I walked towards the door, my façade dropped and I allowed my worry to consume me. I noticed Ashley giving me a perplexed look but I just walked out of the room and out of the orphanage.
I stood by the largest tree I could find around the building and I leaned my back on it. I hugged the book to my chest as I started to have difficulty in breathing.
As I panted I slid down to the ground ignoring how the tree felt against my back.
Shadow, you have to calm down. Accalia told me as my pants became really loud. The panic and the fear were slowly controlling every thought I had.
I cannot calm down Accalia; I do not know why I am freaking out.
The reason does not matter; what matters is you focusing on your breathing and calming down. Unlike me she was calm. Although I suspect it was because she did not want me to feel her worry for me because it would have made me freak out even more.
I cannot do that, you have to take control. I tried to hide in the back of my mind and push her to take control, but my wolf did not let me.
Accalia, what are you doing?
I am trying to make you face your emotions rather than running away from them. Like you said, if you have a panic attack in a crucial time, things can get really bad. If I could, I would have hugged her if I could. Even though I had always refuted her opinions and at times bullied her, she was still there for me when it counted.
Tears started falling down my cheeks until suddenly I was sobbing so loudly.
Take the advice you gave Joshua; let it all out. I promise you will feel better after, and I will be there for you if you need me.
It took me about thirty minutes, all the while I felt my wolf's comfort, until I stopped sobbing, and only had a tear fall down my cheek every few seconds.
Accalia? I called out to my wolf once my tears completely dried out.
Yes?
I love you. I wanted her to know how grateful I was for what she had just done for me.
I know. I smiled at the smug tone she used.
You just had to ruin the moment. I tried to growl at her, but I could not. I found it inappropriate to do so given she just helped me get over a panic attack.
"Are you okay?" Alec emerged from between the trees. I did not bother to stand up since he sat down next to me. I noticed how his eyes were pitch black; Amoux was in control.
"How long have you been here?" I gave him a small smile even though I felt like burying myself under a blanket and not come out any time soon.
"I did not want to interrupt the moment you were having." He gave me a knowing smile, and I just laid my head on his shoulder.
"Why did you run out of the orphanage?" Amoux asked after a few moments of silence.
"This book was not in the orphanage before." I showed Amoux the book in my hands.
He took it from me and examined it for a few seconds.
"What is wrong?" The look in his eyes gave me chills.
Amoux told me about what he and Jensen discussed before he came looking for me. Therefore, he confirmed Accalia's' suspicion.
I cannot believe I am going to say this, but I hate the fact that I was right. Accalia growled.
"What does the book talk about?" Amoux asked me after he realized that I had nothing to say regarding what Jensen told him.
"I did not read the whole thing, but from what I gathered, it basically talks about creatures who turn into dolphins and seas snakes at night."
"This is a children's book." Amoux's eyes turned to crystal blue and Alec gave me a doubtful look.
"True, but right now it is the only source of information we have. Besides, maybe some of the information that is in it might help direct us into the same direction regarding research."
"You are right..." Mid-sentence, a piece of paper appeared in the air before Alec.
He picked it up and read it before turning his attention to me.
"Nick needs us in the hidden floor."
"Alright, we should get going then. After that, we can study this." I waved the book in the air.
Both of turned into our wolves; he did not wait for us before he gave us a smirk and took off.
Accalia picked up the book between her teeth while making sure to not damage it before running after him.
Shadow?
Yeah?
I love you too. I somehow knew that the reason Accalia said it back was because she felt, just like I did, that the storm will strike at any moment.