Jonea felt an intense pain in her head from the blows she’d received several times. The girl fell onto the wet ground with barely fading consciousness.
The werewolves that attacked her now scatter to find Miller around the lake.
Jonea was distraught. With a head that was so heavy and throbbing intensely, the girl crawled while dragging her feet. Jonea wanted to prevent them from taking Miller.
“You think you can escape?” said the leader, grabbing Jonea’s long hair.
‘Maybe it’s time for me to die,’ Jonea thought desperately. ‘Too much luck has come my way during this time. I can always escape danger by magic. Maybe this time, my luck has run out.’
Jonea smiled tiredly. She had indeed given up on her life. The girl’s vision blurred as she stared at the lake. Jonea hopes Miller can save himself. That was more than enough for Jonea. She will not regret her death.
“Why are they taking so long?” grumbled the leader.
One of the warriors, who turned into a wolf, suddenly appeared with a body full of lacerations.
The second wolf appeared. His body was thrown, and he died in front of Jonea. The wolf was also seriously injured. There was a scar on his neck.
“What is this?” shouted the werewolf chief, who stood in shock beside Jonea.
The man went to check on the two dead wolves.
Jonea shook her head to restore her blurry vision. She thought she was hallucinating when she saw two wolves thrown like a piece of raw meat in front of her.
“What happened at the lake? Who did this? What about Miller?”
The same question also gnawed at the mind of the herd leader. The man left Jonea and started walking towards the lake. He followed the blood trail of the two wolves that had just died.
“Show me who you are!” shouted the leader.
The man turned into a large brown wolf with coarse fur. He howled and growled toward the lake.
Jonea could barely support her own body weight. With a head that hurts excruciatingly, but she still struggles to crawl. She wanted to see what was really going on there.
The wolves that had come and attacked Jonea were now lying lifeless around the lake. Only the leader remains, who is starting to be vigilant and looking for where the source of the attack is coming from.
“This is weird,” Jonea muttered. “Who attacked them? If it’s fellow werewolves, they should come in groups to defeat other groups. However, I didn’t even see a single wolf fighting these warriors. Who exactly did all this?”
“Get out!” roared the brown wolf, who was alone without his pack.
From behind the bushes around the lake jumped a giant wolf. It had thick white fur with blood red eyes full of anger.
The muzzle of the white wolf was covered in blood. The claws on both of its front legs were stained with red blood.
Jonea couldn’t help herself anymore. She wanted to sleep right then and there. Her body felt crushed. Jonea could only watch as the brown wolf that hit her was now being attacked and pounced on by the big white wolf from the lake.
“Aland? Is that you?” muttered Jonea as her eyes began to dim and almost close.
The brown wolf fell with a gash on its neck.
Jonea could no longer hold her back straight. She fell to the ground on the wet ground. Her ears pressed against the ground, hearing the white wolf’s hooves approaching.
“Aland? Is that you?”
Jonea hoped that the white wolf was Aland who came to save her. Even if that’s impossible. Because Aland’s fur color is darker and tends to be gray. The wolf that was coming towards her was completely white. Its size looks more extensive, and the look in its eyes looks deadlier.
“Is he also going to pounce on me?” muttered Jonea.
Jonea could only stare with eyes so tired. The white wolf was standing in front of her. His body looks so beautiful and towering big.
The wolf looked down. He sniffed his snout into Jonea’s jaw.
“Jonea? I’m sorry for being late to save you.”
Jonea was really surprised because the sound she heard from the wolf was not Aland’s.
“Miller?”
The white wolf knelt in front of Jonea, who was already unconscious.
***
Jonea heard the gurgling sound of water getting louder and louder. The girl was curled up in the cold. The skin of her hands was in direct contact with the complex, slippery, and damp surface.
Someone came and put a warm fleece blanket over Jonea’s body.
Jonea refuses to wake up. She felt so comfortable in that place. She could smell the moist water and plants.
‘Is it raining?’ thought Jonea in her sleep. ‘But, it’s summer now. There can be no rain in the summer on Blue Sapphire.’
“Are you delirious, Jonea?” scolded someone. “Are you really in pain? Is the medicine I gave you not working?”
The man’s voice sounded panicked and worried.
Jonea also heard and recognized the man’s voice in her sleep. Jonea’s memory is dragged back when she is attacked by a pack of werewolves in a lake.
“Hah!”
Jonea woke up with such a shortness of breath. She just sat there as if something had woken her up.
Jonea looked at the darkness around her. The longer it looks, there is a beam of light from a bonfire in the corner of the room.
“Where am I?” Jonea stuttered.
The fur blanket that covered her body fell into her lap. Jonea looked down and felt the fur blanket that was so warm and soft.
“Sleep again!” he exclaimed. “You have a fever. If you move around too much, you won’t be able to recover quickly.”
“Miller? Where are you?” Jonea looked around.
She realized it was like being in a cave. Jonea sat down on the rock, face covered with a light blanket. The wall beside her was made entirely of stone. It feels hard, slippery, and moist.
Jonea quickly stood up. However, her head was spinning like someone who was experiencing vertigo. Jonea could not walk and fell again.
From the alcove next door, Miller emerged and supported Jonea. Miller again sat the girl on the surface of the blanket he had laid out.
“I said don’t stand up!” he exclaimed.
“Where are you from?” she asked. “I was worried if they caught you. I’m afraid something bad will happen to you.”
“We’re safe now. This place is hidden. I’m in the next alcove preparing dinner for you. Look, I’m also boiling water to compress you. You have quite a fever.” Miller pointed at the bonfire in the corner of the cave.
“What place is this?”
“Who knows. I found this cave when I took you away from the lake. You passed out there. I think it’s like a nest. Let’s just hope no one comes here and returns to his place. So that we can rest for a while last night here.”
Miller laid Jonea back down and covered her body with a warm fleece blanket.
As Miller was about to go to check on the water he was boiling over the campfire, Jonea tugged at the hem of Miller’s shirt, which was torn by claw marks.
“What’s wrong, Jonea? Are you in pain?”
“Where did you get this stuff, Miller? Blankets and food?”
“I told you, I found this place when I was going to fetch water. Do you know? We are now in a cave formed behind a waterfall stream. I guess, for now, this place is safe. Because the entrance is covered by a waterfall. I found blankets, some clothes, and dried groceries when I entered here. Everything is stored in a chest in the corner of the cave.”
“Are there humans living here? What if they are dangerous?”
Miller shook his head. “I don’t smell human. This place was long abandoned. I think this was a werewolf den.”
Jonea barely noticed the strange words Miller had said.
“Don’t think about anything, Jonea. Think for yourself at this time. Think about how you can recover. Understand? Let’s just say we’re going on an adventure like we used to do when we were kids.”
A sudden realization seized Jonea. She looked at Miller in shock.
“Like our childhood? Do you remember everything? Have your memories returned?”
Jonea looks so happy and enthusiastic.
Miller can’t remember anything about their past before his accident.
Miller nodded and smiled. “Apparently, drowning in the lake made my memory come back. The lack of oxygen and the situation that threatened my life made my memory return completely.”
Jonea eyes glistened. She couldn’t express how happy she was when Miller’s memory had returned entirely. Jonea knew the look in Miller’s eyes was different.
As Miller’s memory faded, his eyes looked so empty. It was as if half of his life was gone. Now, Miller’s eyes were so lively and sharp. As if he knew what he wanted.
The feeling of happiness only alighted in Jonea’s heart for a moment. Her face suddenly became gloomy, and she took Miller’s hands in her.
“I see it! Don’t fool me. Tell me who the white wolf is?” Jonea looked at Miller suspiciously.
Miller looked away and was about to leave Jonea. But, Jonea grabbed Miller’s hand and kept him there.
“Look me in the eye, Miller! Tell the truth. I knew the white wolf wasn’t Aland Hamilton. Even though I really hoped and dreamed that Aland would come here to help me. But I know it’s not him. Who is the white wolf? And where were you when the hunters came to attack us at the lake?”