Fighting her instincts to protect her freedom - Chapter 18
Ariel and Sebastian stayed laying on the ground the rest of the day. Whatever their enemy was preparing for them it couldn't possibly be good, but the wait was also cruel.
Unexpectedly, Claire came for a visit. Sebastian stood up so quickly, Ariel didn't get a chance to hold him down.
Claire didn't seem intimidated. She walked close to the bars and stared at Ariel for the longest time, unaware of Sebastian's movements. She only reacted when he grabbed her by the waist and pressed her onto the bars.
- Why are you here?
- Sebastian! You're hurting me! Stop it!
Sebastian seemed to snap out, let her go and shook his head. Claire turned her back to him, about to leave.
- Claire, wait. I'm sorry. Please stay.
Ariel didn't understand this. She couldn't bear the sight of that woman and Sebastian was asking her to stay!
- And why should I stay?
- Because I want to apologize.
That got her attention. She stood in front of him and raised an eyebrow, clearing waiting for the apology.
- I shouldn't have hurt you know, and I certainly shouldn't have lied to you yesterday.
- Why did you say all those things?
- Because I was jealous... You were right about something, I don't know what is to be loved by your mate. You see... My mate rejected me.
Claire's eyes were wide open. She hadn't expected this.
- I didn't know you had found your mate.
- I did, a couple of weeks ago, but she didn't like a nerd like me as a mate, so she rejected me.
- That's so cruel! How could she?!
- I was heart-broken. You're the first person I've told about this.
- I'm sorry Seb, you deserved better.
Ariel was surprised. She was sorry because Seb had supposedly being rejected, yet she didn't seem sorry about the people that had died and the war that would cost even more lives to be lost! And what was Sebastian doing anyway? Trying to be on her good side?
- I don't know... I guess it's only logical for her to be ashamed of me.
- Don't be ridiculous! You're a genius! That girl must have been really shallow and blind.
Sebastian remained silent for a while.
- Would you forgive me? For what I said?
- Yes. I understand you're not being yourself. I can't be imagine being rejected. Even the idea of being away from Bernardo was so difficult! I missed him so much! But I wanted to make him happy, so I did what he asked of me.
- That's what mates are for, right? Helping each other? You did what a good mate does. He must be very proud of you.
- I guess, I hope so.
- You don't seem sure... but Claire, of course he can't show you his true feelings now! He has to appear as a dominant figure. A fearless leader, with no weakness. He wants to instill fear, he can't be all loving to you just yet. But I bet he craves for you as much as you do for him.
- Is that why he doesn't talk much to me?
- Of course! We are at war. He's behaving like a general, a leader. Not like Alpha Alfred. I bet he doesn't know anything about your mate's plan, does he?
- Alfred? Of course not! He's a moron! Now, he is really a piece of work. Did you know he cheated on his wife with her sister? She felt his cheating of course, so he told her he slept with a nobody because he was drunk. As if. He actually video taped their encounter! Bernard got hold of the tape. We'll use it to make the Luna turn on her mate. With the Alpha couple in problems, and Bernard as a hero, it won't be difficult to take their place.
- Doesn't Alfred have a son?
- Yes, but he's studying in the USA. By the time he gets back, Bernardo will be Alpha.
- And you will be Luna, Wow!.... I still don't understand how he could hide all of this from Alfred, sure Al is stupid, but I didn't know he was that stupid.
- Alfred is a snob. He only cares about the rich districts. Bernard used that to his advantage.
- Let me guess, he built this in... Manchay?
- Wow you really are a genius! Yes, he got one of his companies to donate money for the renovation of a public school. And another to do the construction.
- And of course, he wanted the school to be able to resist an earthquake, so they made deep excavations...
- The school principal was touched by how concerned he was! They even renamed it: the "wisdom and prudence" school. They wanted to put his name, but he had to refuse.
- He's really clever.
Claire smiled. She liked that he she had such a smart mate. But then she looked sad again.
- I wish Bernard would let me give him a nickname. I wanted to call him Bernie but he didn't like it.
- Oh Claire, you have to consider his ego. Bernie is a boy's name. Your mate is not a boy. Mmmm what about calling him by his last name. Mr...
- Mr Fernandez?
- Yes! That would work. You can even play to be the student talking to your high school teacher or something like that.
- That sounds fun. I'm sorry you have to stay here with that whining hag.
- I don't really have a choice, do I? Besides, when I hold her, she cries less and I can get some rest.
- Yeah, I noticed that on the video tapes. It's kinda fortunate they don't record any sounds. I don't think I could have listened to her.
Sebastian stood up, looking scared all of the sudden.
- OMG! Your mate will be watching this and he will be furious! I can't believe I was so stupid! He's going to get jealous and kill me!
- You think he's going to get jealous?
- Of course! Males are very possessive about their mates.
- But we just talked!
- Claire, you're his soul mate, he's going to bite my head off and ask questions later.
Claire seemed pleased by the idea of getting his mate all jealous but when she looked at Sebastian, she changed her mind.
- You're the only one that gets me. I won't let him hurt you. Put your hands on me like you did before.
- Claire, I...
- Just do it. The camera is up there, just in front of the containment cell, put on a good show. Later I'll erase the footage from our conversation, but the records will show I visited you, so I'll just show that you were nasty to me, and he'll think you hate me. It's a good plan. I'm not as useless as others.
She was clearing referring to Ariel, who was too scared and tired to care anymore.
Sebastian did as he was told. And then raised his hands in surrender, as if Claire had threatened him. Claire smiled.
- Claire, do I still have to pretend to care about her?
- I think it would be best. I'm sorry, Seb. I know how annoying she is. Hey, here, at least have a chocolate.
She gave him a chocolate bar blocking the view of the camera with her back. Sebastian took it and put it in his pocket quickly.
- Claire, you're too nice. Thank you.
She left waving her right hand to them.
As soon as they were alone, Sebastian turned around with a smile on his face.
Ariel looked at him disappointed.
- Made a new friend, I see.
Sebastian tried not to laugh, but he was clearly amused. He sat down and forced her head to his chest, careful not to hurt her. With his right hand he hid her face and then whispered.
- I took her cell phone at the beginning and made a call to Tom. With all the information she gave me, they should be able to find us soon.
Ariel was beyond surprised. Who knew the guy could be so sneaky?
- How did you know we were in Manchay?
- She said Bernardo had picked a poor district... Manchay is in their territory and if you had seen it before, you'd know, very few rich people care about that district or those that live here. It's really sad, very poor... Politicians only seem to remember it exists during their election campaigns... What she said about Alfred being a snob, it reminded me of that... so yeah, it was the obvious choice.
Ariel nodded. She had never been to Manchay before, but she knew how poor some areas of the city were. The economical differences between social classes were huge.
Sebastian changed positions, his back to the video camera. He sniffed the chocolate bar with precaution, poison wasn't effective on werewolves, but still better be safe than sorry. He tasted one piece, it seemed OK, so he started feeding Ariel the rest one piece at a time, hiding it from the camera with her hair.
- Try to sleep, it'll be easier to not get caught when Claire tampers with the video, and besides, you'll need your strength soon.
Ariel rested her head on his shoulder and fell asleep after a while.
...
Nightmares awoke Ariel. Soon she noticed that her nightmares were now a reality. Sebastian was shouting and then he moved the bars.
- The electronic security system has been disable. Let's go.
- What about the other prisoners?
- They're humans. They'll be safer here, away from the fight. We'll come back for them later.
Ariel nodded but as she ran she told the others that they should escape when the noises upstairs stopped. Sebastian took her hand and together they ran upstairs.
What they saw was a battlefield, as simple and as terrifying as that. They each launched towards an enemy, shifting to their wolves in midair. They fought with claws and teeth for freedom and for peace. Ariel could see the number of allies increasing and she was almost happy when a wolf launched at her.
It was him. Bernardo, or as she'd call him in her head, Bernie. He was heavy and big and overpowered her easily, he was about to dig his teeth in her neck when a black wolf jumped towards him and pushed him off her. She was nervous, they were fighting with fury, and she knew Bernie was too powerful for Sebastian. She looked around and found what she was looking for: a gun. She shifted back to her human form and shot. The bullet pierced through Bernie's skull and lodged itself in his brain. He fell. She shot again, just to be sure. That bullet went through his left eye and through his skull, ending on the floor below him. A painful scream told her that Claire had felt the death of her mate, and the sound of a shot made her suspect that she had killed herself.
When she looked around, she saw the fight had ceased. The wolves and the snipers had stopped resisting the second their leader had died. Two Alphas had also arrived, both yelling "stop" and freezing everybody in place. It was over. She breathed deeply and fell to the floor exhausted. She felt arms catching her before she fainted and then darkness covered her eyes.
...
When Ariel opened her eyes, she found herself on a comfy bed, with her right hand being hold by another. She opened her eyes and saw Sebastian. He had bandages, and was lying on the bed next to hers.
- Is it over?
- Yes.
- What happened?
- Alpha Alfred was demoted by the Peruvian Alpha. He failed as a leader and he didn't even suspect what was going on. Alpha Rafael is now the only Alpha for the entire city. The humans were freed and are living in a shelter owned by us. They were told about werewolves and sworned to secrecy. The children are being tutored and will be enrolled in a private school next year. They are all receiving psychological help.
- What about the snipers and wolves?
- Executed. There was no bringing their brains back.
- Those who were on Phase 1?
- They will be examined and a psychiatrist will give his professional advice.
Ariel thought about all of this for a while.
- How long have I been unconscious?
- Three days.
- Wow.
- I know. I was worried.
She smiled, but then took her hand out of his. He looked hurt, sad.
- I don't know anything about you. First you're just a maths student, then you're a genius, then you're part of an elite team. Then, you are a master of lies and manipulation.
Ariel started crying her eyes out.
- Who are you? How can I know if you tell me the truth when you lie so easily? When you have so many secrets?!
- I lied to survived. And you never asked about me, so why are you blaming me for what you didn't know?
He was right, of course, but it didn't change the fact that Claire's betrayal had hit Ariel hard. She didn't know if she could trust anybody anymore, specially when that person seemed to be so good at manipulating people and situations.
Sebastian closed his eyes and sighed.
- I give up. If you want to get to know me, do something about it. Otherwise, we might as well start the rejection process. I'm tired of being ignored or yelled at. I'm tired. I give up.
- What about those two years?
- I don't know if I want to stick around here for long. I've known Alpha Rafael for years and he still hides things from me. He still doesn't trust me. Now you don't trust me. Seriously, I don't know what's so wrong about me. I think I deserve to be trusted, I deserve to be loved. If you guys don't like me, fine. Why should I stay if I can't stand being around my Alpha and my mate?
- Where would you go?
- I don't know, and you won't know. That's the point. So make your decision, because I won't wait for long.
He stood up, took the IV lines from his arms and left.
Ariel looked at the ceiling. Was this what she wanted? To end their bond?
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Author's Note: I've put the link for the video of the trailer of "La teta asustada" ("The Milk of Sorrow"). I think the images of that video speak for themselves. The movie is about more than just poverty, but I just thought it'd give you an idea of how people live in areas such a Manchay.