Chapter two
Up!” Vitalis demanded, yanking the blanket off Arya, who groaned in protest. Arya hated Vitalis for being a morning person and hated her even more for moments like this.
“I hate you,” Arya mumbled, trying to pull the blanket back.
“Stop it,” Vitalis warned, pulling off Arya’s sleep mask this time.
The sudden flood of sunlight made Arya scowl. She opened her eyes, ready to curse Vitalis, but Vitalis yelped and stepped back.
“What?” Arya asked.
“Your eyes—they’re purple.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean your eyes are purple.” Vitalis grabbed a small mirror from their dresser and handed it to Arya.
Arya looked and, sure enough, her once ordinary brown eyes were now a vivid purple.
“Huh. Weird,” Arya muttered. She got out of bed and walked to the living room, with Vitalis following behind.
When they reached the living room, Beatrix pulled Arya down onto the couch.
“This is an intervention,” Beatrix began.
“Wait!” Vitalis interrupted.
“What now?” Izzy groaned.
“Arya’s eyes are purple,” Vitalis announced.
“Really? Cool!” Izzy exclaimed.
“Let me see,” Beatrix said, pulling Arya closer. “It is cool. Congrats.”
“Thank you,” Arya replied.
Their family had a tradition of ignoring weird occurrences—like the strange men and women sneaking out of Beatrix’s room every morning, the black cat Izzy brought home that kept stealing food, or the glowing birthmark that sometimes appeared on Vitalis’s spine.
“Now, onto more important matters. Arya, how could you even consider not going to prom?” Beatrix asked.
“Yeah, how could you?” Izzy chimed in.
“You told them?” Arya turned to Vitalis, aghast.
“I had to! I couldn’t let you make such a horrible decision.”
“You know, my first husband proposed to me at our high school prom,” Beatrix added.
“I’m starting high school next term. Do you want me to be the girl whose sister didn’t go to prom?” Izzy asked, genuinely distressed.
“Fine, fine—I’ll go,” Arya relented.
“Yay!” they cheered, hugging her.
That afternoon, they headed to a thrift store in the mall to pick out outfits for prom. The theme was pirates, so the goal was to assemble costumes fitting the occasion.
They let Izzy have her fun picking out pieces.
---
The thrift store buzzed with the kind of barely contained chaos only the three of them could create. Arya held a pirate hat in one hand and a toy sword in the other, striking a ridiculous pose on an empty stool.
“Behold, Captain Arya, the terror of the high seas!” she declared dramatically, earning laughs from Vitalis and Izzy.
Izzy, balancing an oversized coat that practically swallowed her whole, mimicked a British announcer’s voice. “Ladies and gentlemen, presenting the fearsome Captain Arya, scourge of every bargain bin!”
Vitalis snorted, holding up a jacket with frayed sleeves. “This one says ‘pirate’ so loudly it might get me arrested.”
Arya gave an exaggerated twirl. “Arrested for being fabulous, maybe.” She wobbled a little, nearly falling off the stool, which sent them all into another fit of laughter.
As the laughter faded, Arya felt it again—the jolt, like a spark of electricity shooting through her body. Her smile faltered, just for a second.
She scanned the store, her gaze darting between racks of clothes and other shoppers. And then she saw him—Silver Eyes. He was standing near the entrance, his piercing gaze fixed on her.
Her breath caught, but before she could fully process what she was seeing, he was gone. Like he’d never been there.
“You okay?” Vitalis asked, nudging Arya with a concerned look.
“Did you see that guy?” Arya gestured toward the entrance.
Vitalis frowned, squinting in the direction Arya pointed. “What guy?”
“He was right there—” Arya started but stopped herself. She shook her head, forcing a laugh. “Never mind. Must’ve been a trick of the light or something.”
Vitalis shrugged, unconvinced but willing to drop it. “Maybe your pirate hat is too tight.”
“Funny.” Arya rolled her eyes and tossed the hat onto a nearby rack. “Come on, Captain Arya isn’t done yet.”
They carried on, trying on absurd outfits and taking turns striking poses. By the time they left the mall, Arya had almost convinced herself she’d imagined the whole thing.
---
The walk home was quieter, the excitement from earlier giving way to a more somber conversation.
“So… what’s next?” Vitalis asked as they reached their foster home.
Arya kicked a loose pebble down the sidewalk. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, we’ve graduated. Beatrix’s responsibility to us is technically over. She’s only kept us this long because she wanted to.”
Arya sighed. “You don’t have to remind me. I know she loves us like we’re her actual kids, but the government isn’t paying her to care for us anymore.”
“Exactly. We need to figure things out—jobs, life, everything.” Vitalis sounded more frustrated than worried.
Arya gave her a sidelong glance. “You’re thinking too far ahead. One thing at a time, okay? We’ve got each other. We’ll figure it out.”
Vitalis nodded, her expression softening. “Yeah. Together, right?”
“Together,” Arya said with a small smile.
Inside, Beatrix greeted them with her usual warmth, a pot of stew simmering on the stove. Despite the lingering weight of their conversation, the comforting smell of home made them both relax a little.
---
Later that evening, Arya and Vitalis headed to work.
“Grumpy!” Arya called out the second they walked into the diner.
Joe groaned, barely glancing up from the stack of papers he was organizing. “Arya, I’m warning you—one more word, and I’m firing you.”
Arya grinned and leaned on the counter. “However, will you survive with me?”
Vitalis shook her head, tugging Arya toward their section. “You’re impossible.”
“You love me for it,” Arya shot back.
An hour into their shift, the bell above the door jingled, and Arya glanced up automatically. Her stomach flipped.
Silver Eyes.
This time, he didn’t sit in her section. He chose a booth on Vitalis’s side, and Arya couldn’t help but feel both relieved and disappointed.
Vitalis gave her a questioning look before heading over to take his order. She returned a minute later, looking bemused.
“He asked for you,” she said.
Arya blinked. “What?”
“He wants you to serve him.”
Arya smirked. “Aww, he missed me.”
She walked over to his table, flashing her brightest, most sarcastic smile. “Long time no see, stranger. What can I do for you?”
His silver eyes bore into hers. “What happened to your eyes?”
Arya raised an eyebrow. “Ever heard of colored contacts?.”
He didn’t smile, but something in his expression softened, like he found her response amusing. He didn’t press further, and Arya returned to her duties, feeling equal parts unsettled and intrigued.
---
When their shift ended, Arya went out back to take out the trash. As she hoisted the last bag into the dumpster, she felt the spark again.
“Buy me a drink first before you stalk me,” she quipped without turning around.
“Where did you get that bracelet?” His voice was calm, low, and way too close for comfort.
Arya spun around, her hand instinctively flying to the simple bracelet on her wrist. She has had it for as long as she could remember, she barely even noticed it and more. "I'm not sure that's any of your business".
"Do you know what you are?" He asked and Arya frowned.
"Dude, you are weird and I'm walking away now". She started to walk towards the diner when he said,
“You’re a werewolf,” he said plainly,
Her laugh came out sharper than intended, there were just too many crazy people in this small town, and he was sexy too. Shame. Arya was about to use a lot of colourful words to tell him to fuck off but then he started to unbutton his shirt.
“Oh my God, you’re taking your clothes off!”
Before she could finish her thought, he shifted. One second he was human, the next, a massive black as the night wolf stood in his place, the only clue they were the same was his silver eyes that now belonged to a wolf.
Arya froze, her mouth open. “Okay. Cool. But yeah, I can’t do that though, and I'm certain that this is a delayed result off those awful brownies I took from that sketchy guy in the mall today,”
“You’re not hallucinating,” his voice echoed in her mind, making her jump.
“Nope. This is muffin-level hallucination material.”
The wolf sighed—actually sighed—and shifted back, now standing fully human again. Arya immediately turned her back.
“Put some clothes on, for God’s sake!”
“I’m trying to help you,” he said, his tone steady but urgent.
“Yeah, well, help me from a distance,” Arya shot back, her cheeks burning.
When she finally turned around, he was gone.
---
Inside, she found Vitalis and plopped down beside her.
“Had the coolest hallucination ever just now.”
Vitalis didn’t look up. “Stop taking drugs.”
…