VALENCIA’S POV
I was still finding it hard to digest that one of my closest human friends was a shapeshifter, and not just any normal one, but the one who had been frequenting his visits near , protecting so many tis.
What was their purpose? Why were they risking so much just to protect ? And since when has this been going on?
Were things always this serious and mysterious around , and I had no idea until now that I was myself in a ss?
Many questions rose in my heart, and I knew confronting them was the only way to get the answers.
Without wasting a second, I stepped forward, walking towards them until Aiden and Alina could feel my presence.
They imdiately stopped talking, and to my surprise, Alina even disappeared from the place, as if that was going to save her.
Then again, this was probably a trick she was used to using whenever she felt I would catch her.
"Aiden," I said, and the man furrowing earlier improved his expression, forcing a smile.
"Valencia, what a pleasant surprise. How did you find ? I an, what are you doing here?" Aiden asked, though he quickly masked his surprise and stepped closer to hug .
I let him hug and noticed how he froze when he sniffed the air around .
"You sll different," He comnted before he could control his mouth.
I raised my brows in fake innocence.
"Is that so? But I don’t see any change. I am even wearing the sa scent," I said, moving my hands in a way that would pull down my sleeve slightly and expose my neck.
If Aiden were really supernatural, he would easily be able to see my mark, just like every supernatural person.
Only humans weren’t capable of seeing the marks on our skin.
And judging by the way Aiden’s gaze fell on my neck, I knew he had seen it.
"Isn’t my mark beautiful?" I asked.
I saw Aiden nodding.
"It is. Even though I hate that you are bearing the mark of an –" Aiden stopped in ti before he looked into my eyes as if trying to confirm sothing before his pupils dilated, realizing he had just sold himself out.
"An Alpha who has caught you shapeshifting quite a few tis?" I completed his sentence and he gulped.
"I...How did you know?" He asked .
I sighed before looking around.
"Why don’t you call your partner in cri who has been colliding with you before I reveal everything?" I said, shifting my attention back to him.
"Partner in cri? I don’t know –" he started but stopped.
"Who are you talking about?" He asked.
"Alina," I got straight to the point to give him a hint that I knew almost everything that they were trying to hide from .
"She is your friend; you should be able to call her," Aiden said, not eting my gaze.
"Really? Are you still going to continue your facade?" I sat on a close rock, supporting my face with my fist, as I looked at him, and he looked around, feigning innocence.
I looked at him sheepishly.
"Thank you for always protecting and appearing right before I was in trouble. I am most grateful for the ti when you saved from Tyler," I said, aning every word.
Aiden licked his bottom lip.
"I love you," he said.
I paused before smiling.
"I know. I love you too, Aiden. However, the love I feel for you isn’t romantic. You are a good friend that I wouldn’t want to leave–" I started but paused when I slt it.
Sniffing the air, I raised my brows. Aiden’s wide eyes clearly indicated he could sll it, too.
Blood. A lot of it.
"Valencia, leave this place. Whatever it is, I’ll handle it," Aiden said, and I looked at him briefly before rolling my eyes.
He has been observing for so long. Has he still not grasped the fact that making leave a place where I know there would be bloodshed is akin to hitting your head on a rock uselessly? There is no way I was leaving this place.
"I am not going anywhere," I said.
My intuition told that this wasn’t related to the devil, and as long as that wasn’t the case, I would stay.
"I got to protect my people," I added, and he was about to add more when I smirked at him.
"Aurora," I whispered, and my fake wolf was more than happy to lead the way and let turn into the white tigress. It had been a long ti since we last transford into any form, and she needed to relax from ti to ti.
Our transformations weren’t that frequent, and I could see that it was taking a toll on Aurora.
As soon as I turned into my tigress form, I saw Aiden’s eyes widening, and I couldn’t help but chuckle.
Did he really think I was weak only to be able to transform into a cat?
I saw Aiden turning into his leopard form imdiately, and we padded toward the direction from which that pungent sll was spreading throughout the forest.
With the security in the city, I was also sure that it wouldn’t be long before Maverick’s team was here. This was enough for to take the first step and confront the person who was trying to harm our people.
As soon as I walked forward, I saw a couple of people standing around a few dead bodies that were mutilated beyond recognition, and I wanted to gag at the sight. They probably caught on to the little intrusion and turned to look at us.
My gaze landed on one of the people, and seeing their red eyes, I paused.
I was sure that this wasn’t the devil, but I never thought whether it would be people sent by him. Only a limited number of species possessed these red eyes.
"Skinwalkers," Aiden said, and I looked at him, amazed.
How was I able to hear his voice? Was that a shapeshifter thing? I wondered. However, this wasn’t the ti to think about such things.
"Shouldn’t they have hollow or different-colored eyes if they are skinwalkers? Why are their eyes red like that of a demon or devil?" I asked.
Aiden stepped back subconsciously at my question.
"Because these people are under the influence of the devil," Aiden said.
Under the influence of the devil? I wondered, my eyes widening when the skinwalkers began walking in our direction.
"Should we leave?" A thought echoed in my head.
But as soon as that thought arrived, another thought made its way.
If I leave from here and inform Maverick, the soldiers will still need so ti to reach here. What if these skinwalkers, who can take anyone’s form, go to the town and cause havoc? Will I be able to forgive myself for that kind of death ss from such species that I knew were here because of ?
’No,’ Aurora suddenly said.
I narrowed my brows, unsure of what she was denying.
However, my question was soon answered when I suddenly started to feel helpless. It was as if I had no energy left in my limbs, making my body give away, and I fell to the ground.
What was going on? Dread spread into my heart as I saw the skinwalkers approaching .
’Aurora, what is going on? Why am I not able to do anything?’ I asked my fake-wolf, who went silent, but I could feel her anger seeping into my body, slithering around my limbs like a sneaky snake.
I watched Aiden looking at with confusion.
And why wouldn’t he? I was the one who asked him to co with , and now that he took the risk, I was sitting here like we were just eting our friends and not our enemies who might want to shred us.
"Well, isn’t this the woman our leader wants?" One of the skinwalkers comnted, and I loathed the idea of being called anything from their ugly mouths that were still stained from the innocent blood of the people they killed.
’Aurora-’ I started, but suddenly, my body rose back on its limbs, and I gasped because I was sure I wasn’t doing it.
I felt like an observer of my own actions as my body transford back into its human form and rose to the sky, jumping on the skinwalkers and tearing into their flesh one by one.
It was happening so quickly that it was hard for to grasp what was happening, let alone the skinwalkers.
I watched in horror as the branches from the trees around suddenly started moving towards us, captivating those skinwalkers, breaking their limbs and squeezing their necks until a black smoke kind of thing ca out of their mouths.
Now that I looked at the smoke, it almost looked like the sa smoke that I had inhaled that ti.
I needed clarification about what was going on. How could the tree branches move on their own like this? My thoughts paused when I saw Alina standing at so distance and looking at us with a worried expression.
As our gazes t, she evened her expression into a calming one, and I realized she was probably the one doing all this.
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