A Promise

Everyone was frantically packing things up in the ungodly hour of three in the morning in the reservation camp of La Ber. Lucas, who was still sleepy from his painful nighttime visits, yawned as he grabbed another bag filled with his clothes and whatnots.

His father, Benjamin, looked at his son with fondness while strapping the last rope to knot in his truck's carrier. Today was the day that everyone was waiting for. Each of Lucas' friends had already transitioned.

There's only him and Mikhail, but the younger kid would be transitioning in the next seven years or more, as he has not been exhibiting signs of any transitions unlike Lucas.

"Ready, buddy?" Lucas looked at his father with his sleepy eyes and nodded. His father chuckled lowly before tapping Lucas's shoulder and opening the backseat door for the younger male.

"I hope you bid a proper farewell to your high school friends. We will be there for a long time and be back a day before school starts again."

Lucas answered him with a groan. He grumbled a small reply of "yes" towards his father as he dropped half of his body on a large pillow beside him.

His mother, who was still bedridden, was put in a wheelchair and rode the whole time with her sister, who was also married to one of the elder's sons in the reservation.

Out far from the trail of the tribe sat a grumpy vampire, watching from afar, making sure Lucas was far from any trouble.

He promised himself that no one would catch him on his suicide watch, but it didn't seem possible.

He could still remember what had happened last night when he was about to go back home. He was stumbled upon by Timothy, exiting the treaty line.

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'What a troublesome kid you are, Sebastian Reed. I already warned you not to enter in the reservation.'

As Sebastian faced Timothy, a shiver ran down his spine. He felt himself drawing back from where he stood, yet Timothy's calming voice stopped him.

'These…I don't know what you call of them…needs to stop. You will ultimately face your fate. My pack—no—the tribe's pack is not as merciful as me. They will attack the moment your scent is detected.'

Sebastian gulped at the warning. He knew that his suicide watch missions were deemed selfish and dangerous, but he couldn't help it. He craved for Lucas. He wanted to be near him.

Hence, these.

'Tomorrow, we will leave at dawn. All of us will be gone for the whole school break. I will let you be free to roam the place if you want but make sure to not leave any traces of your scent in these trees.'

Sebastian looked up into his eyes and searched for any deceitfulness or malice but found none. 'Why are you doing this? Shouldn't you be attacking or mauling me now? What's stopping you?'

Timothy sighed as he walked past his enemy and tapped the man's shoulder before walking past the treaty line. Sebastian turned to face Timothy again, questions floating in the air, unanswered.

'The same reason why you would do these things.'

Sebastian could only utter a profound sigh. Timothy smiled at him softly, 'You take care of yourself, boy. I don't think he would like it if he ever learned you were doing this. Especially after Sunday.'

Sebastian nodded in understanding as he watched Timothy shift and run back towards the direction of the reservation. He looked at the red-roofed house a kilometer away from the treaty line before turning away and going home.

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He didn't sleep well the whole night. He kept on dreaming about Lucas and his voice near his ears. As the clock ticked by, dawn soon arrived quicker than he intended. He stood up from his lush bed and went back to the familiar forest that he had been watching for days now.

He had watched the tribe pack and put everything in the long trails of trucks that almost filled the whole place when he spotted Lucas walking down in the direction of his father.

He was still in his pajamas as he gave him a huge duffel bag filled with his clothes. Sebastian chuckled at the sight of his imprint. Hair disheveled, eyes still shut, and yawning every five seconds.

He looked even more ethereal this way. His slim yet strong body fit his face so much that Sebastian couldn't help but wonder what he would look like after his transition.

I bet he would look more magnificent after that.

His mind swirled into a whirlpool of different versions of what Lucas might look like after transitioning when he heard the first truck engine roar in the ungodly hour of dawn.

He looked over and watched as Lucas got into the truck and drove away. Sebastian could only sigh as he looked up to the sky, sunlight slowly peeking through the clouds.

He heaved a deep whiff of the morning breeze as he glanced back at the tribe and smiled.

"See you upon your return, Lucas. I'll be waiting."

Timothy, who was in the last truck behind everyone else, looked outside from the front passenger seat and chuckled lowly.

The driver, his older cousin, looked at him—eyes filled with worry yet anticipating. "Why did you allow him to roam around, knowing that any wolf from the pack could attack him upon return? A bit sadistic, aren't you, Timothy?"

Timothy looked at him with a small smile on his face. "Sadistic? Me? No, I am not trying to be one."

His older cousin sighed as he slowly accelerated the truck upon reaching the highway and headed north, the same direction that the tribe was heading for.

"Then why?"

Timothy only shrugged his shoulder, leaving the question unanswered. "I'm not sure either."

The driver could only sigh. "The elders are upset when they learn about the imprinting, especially since Lucas had half-transitioned days after it."

"No one was happy about it. Even I was shocked when I found out about it. It was an odd phenomenon. Do tell them that it will get weirder after the transition. I am sure of it."

His older cousin could only sigh and drove past a slow car in front of them. "Well…they are already anticipating whatever impact it will create. The Reeds should, too."

Timothy nodded as he looked out of the window once again. His cousin took a quick glance at him before accelerating the truck to catch up with the others.

"Yeah, I hope the Reeds are ready for it."