Amara – Reunion

Author's note: this is from Seraphina's point of view

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After the warmup, I was planning to do something on my own. Jumps, pullups, squats, the usual stuff.

Aldus asked me to join Zoe, Ash, and Luca, and I hesitated.

I was never athletic. I lagged behind everyone during school events and my classmates ridiculed me. I didn't want to go through that again.

On the other side, I was used to it and if my participation can help Zoe, Ash, and Luca get motivated, I will do it. My rejection could make them feel that I'm avoiding them or that I am above a little run.

I don't care what these people think of me anyway. Maybe Zoe, Ash, and Luca realize I'm super-slow and they drop the idea of following me.

Before we started, Bert offered a few words of advice, "Don't be discouraged when you see Tessa gaining the lead. Even Fynn can't catch up to her. She is there to show you how far you can reach if you exercise seriously. Tessa is the fastest among us, and you will improve only if your goal is to be better than the best. Don't think about the time or about the others. Look at Tessa and try to catch her. OK?"

I was confident that he was talking to Zoe, Ash, and Luca, but I ended up nodding as well.

We took our positions, and Bert started the countdown, "Ready… set… go!"

My legs moved and I saw Tessa in front of me. She was fast.

Bert's words echoed in my mind, "Look at Tessa and try to catch her… catch her…" And I ran as fast as I could with the goal to catch her.

I don't know if everyone fell into silence or I was so focused, but my legs burned from the adrenalin and I pushed myself harder. Just a bit more and I will catch up to her. Just a bit more.

Tessa crossed the finish line, and I was half a step behind her.

My legs were brimming with energy and I was happy that I didn't fall on my nose.

The next thing I know, the spectators were chatting lively; Zoe, Ash, and Luca crossed the finish line while panting heavily, and Aldus was holding my wrist and checking my pulse.

"I wish we are in my lab now…", Aldus grumbled.

Wait, what? I was second? I saw how fast werewolves move, and Zoe, Ash, and Luca are seriously malnourished to be so far behind me. 

"I thought Bert said not to go easy on us.", I spoke to Tessa.

Tessa looked at me like I said something silly. "I didn't."

My eyes skimmed over the people surrounding me. Bert was writing down something in his notepad while glancing at the stopwatch. Zoe, Ash, and Luca were gazing at me with reverence. Otto, Fynn, and a few others looked at me with surprised expressions. Ari was glaring at me and if she had the power to shoot lasers out of her eyes, I would be sliced into several pieces.

"Wow!", Bert exclaimed when he was done with his notes. "Tessa, Serina was catching up to you. If this was not limited to one lap, and she could maintain that pace, you would not win."

Tessa smiled. She was visibly excited and willing to compete. "We can always do another race."

"No.", Aldus said sternly. "Seraphina had enough."

"Is something wrong?", I asked Aldus.

His gaze was complex, and I understood that we should not talk about this in front of strangers.

Was I really this fast?

I was always the clumsy one. The slowest one. And now I almost overtook a she-wolf? Unbelievable!

I remembered how Duke used to dominate all sports events in school. He would slow down because of me, and I wondered if we would still be together if I was not such a clutz.

"I want you to take it easy for now.", Aldus said with a stiff smile and a thought hit me, was this an ability? For sure it's not common to be fast as a werewolf, especially not me.

"I am sorry, father. I was not thinking. I will stop here and hit the shower." Before he could say anything, I spoke to Zoe, Ash, and Luca. "Please, continue without me and do your best. I will join you after I change."

I walked inside with my head lowered while ignoring others. The good thing was that there were no humans in the audience. And another good thing was that everyone here already thinks I'm not human, so the only one surprised by my performance was Aldus. And I.

I showered quickly while questions popped in my head.

What will Aldus say in private? Is this another ability that will delay my trip to London? If I need to go through training to control whatever curse befell on me this time, I will start believing that there is a higher power adamant on preventing me to see Duke.

I was frustrated that I had no answers to this. Just when I think that I have things under control, another problem arises.

My mind was a mess as I made my way out of the room and my steps halted abruptly as I nearly slammed myself in Ari.

I was about to apologize, but then I saw that she was lazily leaning on the wall and smirking while flipping a pocketknife in her hand.

Was she waiting for me? It looked like it.

I moved to the left to go around her, but Ari swiftly blocked my path.

"Can I help you?", I asked while eyeing her suspiciously.

"Oh, you are the helpful one, aren't you?", Ari said sarcastically.

Since we arrived, I noticed Ari giving me nasty looks and I guessed that it might be connected with the attention that Fynn and the other guys gave me, but I was not encouraging them. What is her problem? Maybe I'm overreacting, I thought.

Tessa told me that Ari is a drama queen and that I should ignore her, like everyone else, but her words irked me, and I had to ask, "What do you mean?"

Ari sneered. "You came here and helped yourself with everything and everyone, didn't you? Miss perfect. Pretending to be innocent while enjoying Fynn fawning over you."

Oh, so it is about Fynn. Should I tell her that I'm not interested? She will not believe me. Why was she still talking?

"Did you come here to seduce him, or others as well? Did you drug their drinks last night to make yourself look good? Would you sleep with them if Vitto and Tessa didn't show up to carry them to their rooms? Is that how you get a man? And how did you run so fast? What trick did you use?..."

I was dumbstruck. This was worse than I imagined. Did she say that I need to drug a man in order to get him into bed? It seems that her brain is wrongly wired. Why was she asking questions in rapid succession without giving me a chance to respond?

The fact that she was still holding onto the pocketknife didn't make the situation any better.

Suddenly, images flashed in my mind. Girls cornering me in the bathroom because my grades were better… Girls surrounding me in the girl's dressing room and throwing insults at me because Duke sat next to me on the bus… Girls cursing me because I refused to share my homework. Girls who feel entitled and believe that I'm unworthy. Girls who feel better about themselves by putting others down. Crazy girls whose behavior can only be described as a psychological disorder.

I should ignore Ari because nothing I say will reach her, and I will leave this place soon anyway. But I can't back down because Zoe, Ash, and Luca will stay behind. Even if I escape this crazy woman, she might vent her frustration on the teens.

So far, more than a handful of werewolves expressed their willingness to help out and guide the kids, should they miss this amazing opportunity because of Ari?

My brain scrambled with options. What can I do?

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