Identity

Frank put me down caressingly.

"Alene!"

Saya screamed my name as she rushed at me.

"Alene, are you fine? What happened? Where were you until now? We searched around everywhere, worried. But we couldn't go far recklessly into the forest." She exploded on me.

"I am great, just a little headache," I answered.

"What? Let me see!"

She checked my entire body repeatedly.

I grabbed her shoulders.

"Look! Don't panic. I am not injured." I assured her.

'She is such a worry-wart,' I thought.

Unless you rest the full day for a small tremble, she won't let go of you.

"It's very assuring that you're fine, but who is he?" William pointed towards Frank.

I forgot he was with me. I turned to him to introduce them. But he was strangely looking at professor Douard.

"What's the matter?" I asked.

My voice is calm now because the thought Frank would harm me vanished. I was shy remembering his proposal and how he carried me in arms.

"You're red, Alene. Are you fine?" Saya asked.

She saw me blushing but misunderstood for sickness. Well, she didn't know right away. I am planning to give her a big surprise. But something unexpected happened.

Frank, who was looking at professor Douard, jumped in front of him suddenly. His grip tightened around professor Douard's neck.

Douard's face looked confused instead of shocked.

"Half-ling," Frank said with an interesting look.

It surprised Saya and William.

"Werewolf? What are you doing here?" Douard said, surprised.

I didn't expect this. A doubt arose in me about the professor's identity. He recognized Frank as a werewolf at a first glance. It is shocking to me now.

"Half-ling! What is that?" I exclaimed.

Douard looked at me and smiled.

"Fate brought two persons, worlds apart together in such an unexpected way." He looked at Frank with a beatific expression.

Frank couldn't guess if he was even normal or gone crazy.

"What are you even saying?" Frank said.

Frank let go of the professor.

"Professor, are you alright?" William approached, worried.

Everything looked very odd and confusing to Saya and William.

I too was, but for different reasons.

"H-how do you know Frank's identity?" I asked.

"Because I'm half-ling myself," Douard said.

Professor glowed in his eyes. He seemed very delighted as he found what he was eagerly searching for.

"You are a half-ling?" I exclaimed.

"They are born of a human girl and a werewolf boy." Professor Douard cut in between.

"With no power, they are castaways from the pack. But I can sense vampires and werewolves around me, though I am not fully a werewolf." He added.

Frank thought something and said, "Well, why are you in the Fire Blood pack area?" Frank asked.

"To search for..." He couldn't finish as William cut off in between.

"Whoa! What is happening here? Will anybody also tell us?"

"Yes. Why is this man talking to the professor rudely?" Saya added.

"Shut up," Frank yelled.

Saya bumped into the ground, scared. William frowned.

"Let me clear the confusion," Professor Douard intervened.

After we settled inside the tent, Professor Douard started explaining.

* Flashback *

"37 years ago I was born to parents who were a werewolf and a human. My father's pack didn't accept me and my mother. We lived as castaways. But one day, my mother died of depression and my father went crazy. He killed many of the pack members recklessly and eventually got killed by his members. While I couldn't fit in the pack, I wandered away in the city for work. After 19 years, I met Alene's mother, Emerald. She was an exquisite and strong luna. We even became friends, but something unexpected happened. Just a year later, she called me near the forest. I didn't know what happened.

When I met her, she was holding a baby in her arms, looked tired, and panting heavily. She asked me to take care of the baby. She couldn't explain what was happening and left with few words. The baby was her child with a vampire named Victor. They fell in love and married each other, but their families didn't accept it. Emerald was already pregnant when they proposed their marriage to their family. In a few months, the baby grew faster, and Emerald gave birth to a baby girl.

She was an abnormal child. Emerald got hunted by vampires. Thinly, I escaped with the baby. She fenced us from pursuers and sacrificed herself for the last sign of love between her and Victor.

News of Victor's death spread out. I hid from vampires and werewolves with the baby as our aura was indistinguishable from humans."

***

As Douard finished explaining, I dropped to the ground. He cared for me, but never mentioned my parents.

They sacrificed their life for me. My eyes got blurry from tears and my voice became heavy. Words choked on my throat. Nothing felt right to me now. I wailed up screaming and crying my heart out in despair.