Tainted Love

2 - The Next Generation

I underestimated how cold the water would be. I also underestimated the shock of my body crashing against the cold water.

Altogether, my body rejects movement and I know I am going to drown if I am unable to force myself to swim back to the surface. At least, I wasn’t caught on any rocks.

A second later, the steep cold and shock starts dissipating from me and I regain a little control over my body only to feel an intense pain on my right leg and side. I guess I was caught by some rocks after all.

Still trying to swim back to the surface but somehow only seeing the dimming light fade further away from me, I start thinking I am going to die.

My breath gets caught in my throat and I accidentally swallow some of the cold water, which doesn’t help my situation at all.

Time is a funny thing. In the split second it takes for me to fall on the water, feel the shock the freezing temperature causes my body and try to desperately swim back to the surface, all kinds of thoughts assault me.

It’s a cliché, but I do see my life pass before my eyes. I see my moms as they hold me tightly in their loving arms. I see all my friends and all the troubles we caused together. I see the Academy where I grew up, the growing family that took me in when the rest of the world rejected me.

My vision blurs even further as my lungs fill with even more water. The sight of my blood mixing with the water is the last thing I manage to see before I lose my conscience.

I am floating in the water, one with the element now.

It feels so peaceful…

My breath is no longer stuck in my throat, and I feel the wonderful scent of the flowers that surround me. I know I am no longer at the Mountain, but it doesn’t really matter to me anymore. I feel at ease in this place. As if this is where I am meant to be.

I sigh in bliss and am about to lay down in the field of flowers when strong arms envelop me from behind.

I smile as I already know who it is. He is the man of my dreams. The one I love more than anything or anyone in the entire world.

However, he doesn’t allow me to turn around to return his embrace. Instead, he keeps me there, his breath tickling the back of my neck.

“It’s not yet time” His husky voice tells me.

“Time?” I ask, confused.

“You still have to go back” He says. “I will see you again soon, angel. I love you”

I am about to ask him what he means by that, but suddenly the breath is pulled from my chest again, the cold is excruciating, and the pain is too much to bear.

I can suddenly feel the sudden pull of a mermaid dragging me back up from the water. I am dragged ashore and placed on the ground, but I can’t move. I am starting to drift back when a sudden punch in my chest jolts me.

That hurts!

And they do it again.

Ouch!

When they do it a third time, I gasp, and the sudden pain of reality comes crashing into me. My lungs are burning, my side is burning, my leg is burning. But why is it so cold?

I am only half aware I am spitting out water as one of the wolves wraps his warm body around me. I don’t even know who it is.

“Are you out of your mind?” A voice, still sounding distant says to me. “Why did you fall into the waterfall?!”

I cough the rest of the water out of my lungs and the wolf cuddling me wraps itself even further. Her white fur color tells me this is my friend, Celine.

So, I suppose the one who is shouting at me is none other than my overprotective boyfriend, Claus.

I try to look up at him, but the strong light of the sunset blinds me momentarily.

“We should give her some space” I hear Yara’s voice next to me, her glossy black hair, looking almost dark blue, being the only thing I can make out of her right now.

“Are you alright?” I hear Felix’s voice and a gentle hand touches my shoulder.

I manage to smile gently, knowing she was the one who saved me from the freezing water. No one else here is a mermaid. Well, actually, she is a mixed breed. A rare offspring between a mermaid and a Shapeshifter. She does hold some powers of the two species, but because of her mixed blood, she can’t do everything her parents can. She came off as something in between, so she can shape shift into any human and turn into a mermaid, but she can’t turn into animals like her dad can.

“That’s it!” Claus’s voice continues rampaging. “It’s the last time we are playing this game! It’s just too dangerous!”

“It was still fun” I counter, finally feeling a little bit better after my near-death experience.

His left blue eye contrasts greatly with his right red one but the emotion I see from them is the same. He is deeply worried for me.

His strange looks are due to the fact that he is a descendant from pure blood werewolves. Along with his twin brother, Caleb, and younger sister, Celine, they have a mix of red eyes and white hair, but because of their mother, Lady Naiya, they also inherited her dark brown hair and deep blue eyes.

Claus and Caleb look exactly alike, with each of their eyes a different color, the only difference between them being that Claus has a left blue eye and Caleb has a right blue eye. Their hair is white but as it grows out, it starts becoming darker, turning brown.

Claus looks upsettingly at me, as if I should be acting like a damsel in distress and not so nonchalant.

“But you fell into the water!” He exclaims, looking frantic.

“I slipped, I guess” I tell him, still not sure what came over me before. “But I’m fine now, see?”

I move my hands to my side and use my healing magic to vanquish the large gash I have on my torso. A warm light comes out of my hands and envelops my side, leaving me with a sense of numbness and restoring my skin to what it was. I do the same with my leg.

God may not have made me a good magic bearer witch but if there’s something I’m good at is at healing.

Afterwards, I do manage to get back up with the help of my friend, Yara. Her greenish blue eyes eye me carefully as I try to balance my body. I am still a bit dizzy after all that and extremely cold. My magic doesn’t work as well internally.

Behind me, I can feel Celine turning back to human and place her arm around me carefully to help me up.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” She asks me in her gentle voice.

Much like her older brothers, she has a unique look to her with fully white hair. However, she didn’t inherit the pure blood’s red eyes, having her mother’s blue color instead.

“Yeah” I answer, trying to control my shaking body.

Claus seems a bit calmer now that I am not bleeding anymore but the sight of me shaking makes him frown. He suddenly picks me up and holds me closely in his arms, ignoring my protests. As a teenager werewolf, his muscular built is much more advanced than the rest of the guys his age. He is just 18 years old, after all.

Suddenly remembering the dream I just had, a wave of guilt washes over me and I refrain myself from holding onto him, glad that he doesn’t notice my sudden distancing.

“Let’s just get back” He says, holding me slightly closer to his warm body.

That’s when I notice the rest of the pack around us, already in human form. They must have rushed here after hearing about my incident through the mind link. Thank God for their magical clothing or they would all be n***d right now.

“It’s getting late” Caleb says, interrupting our moment. “We can decide who won later. I don’t want to get lectured again”

“Last time, it was your fault” Felix intervenes.

“How was it my fault?” Caleb protests. “You’re the one who wanted to chase the squirrel”

“You’re the one who said you could catch it” Felix says.

“Can we just go now?” Yara says and looks at me, wrapped in Claus’s arms. She looks annoyed. “If we continue bickering, then we will definitely be late. Not to mention that we still need to get an excuse as to why you’re soaking wet”

“Right” I agree. “We can just say I tripped and fell in the lake”

“You think they will fall for that?” Felix asks.

“Your dad will” Ray, one of the pack members with brown eyes and brown hair says. “And that’s all that matters”

“Hey!” Felix protests, knowing he is implying her dad is dumb.

Felix’s father is the current Groundkeeper of our home, the Montagne Academy.

“I’m afraid Ray is right, Felix” I tell her as the group starts walking back, with Claus carrying me. “Your dad won’t suspect anything because he always believes we are telling the truth”

“That doesn’t make him dumb!” Felix says.

“Of course not” Caleb agrees. “He did figure out what we were up to when we tried to put chewing gum paste in the soda mixer”

“Yeah, he did” Felix says, smiling at the memory.

“And he didn’t even tell on us” Yuri adds. He is another of the pack members, being a descendant of the pure bloods. He has fully white hair and dark red eyes.

“Your dad is a good person” Yara says. “Your mom on the other hand…”

“My mom is nice” Felix disagrees.

“She once threatened to have me eat my own soles when I accidentally bumped into her” Thomas says. He is also a werewolf but completely different from the others, being the only ginger werewolf in the pack. It is said he was turned when he was still very young. He is the oldest of the group, being 22.

“She was just being sarcastic” Felix says.

“She once said she would feed me to the sharks if I ever hurt you” Caleb says.

“What?” Felix says, not believing her mother would say such a thing.

“I don’t know where she would find any sharks around here, but knowing her, I know she would find a way” Yuri says.

“Just admit it, Felix” Ray says. “Your mom is scary”

“That’s because you don’t know her” Felix still defends her mother.

I chuckle at their bickering, knowing very well that they are right. Lady Vi is scary on her own terms but is also quite harmless.

We soon reach the entrance to the large mountain we call our home. This is the last haven for the supernatural community, the Montagne Academy.

It is dangerous for creatures like us outside. We are being constantly hunted by an evil corporation entitling themselves as The Organization. They are ruthless and the reason why almost all supernatural population resides here.

When we were young, dozens of supernaturals from all species would arrive here in search of a new home and a place to start over. Now, barely anyone new arrives. It is speculated that there are no more supernaturals out there. If there are, they are deeply rooted in the human community.

Before we enter through the hidden metal door, I urge Claus to let me stand on my own, which he does reluctantly.

“I’m fine” I tell him, even though I still feel a bit dizzy.

“Were you guys outside just now?!” A familiar voice startles us, making me jump. It’s Owen, the Groundkeeper. I didn’t notice the door had already opened.

“Ah… Yes!” Felix jumps in to cover for me, knowing that it is extremely f*******n for students like us to go outside without the supervision of an adult. “But we weren’t gone very long. Just wanted to get some fresh air. Is dinner ready?”

Owen still looks suspicious, and I know he notices my drenched clothes, but quickly brushes it off at the sight of his loving daughter and proceeds to smudge her with kisses as he always does whenever he sees her. It doesn’t matter that she is already 15.

“D-Dad!” Felix grumbles but it is clear she enjoys her father’s love. “Is dinner ready or not?”

“Almost” Owen responds, kissing Felix’s cheek one last time, holding her to his side with his only arm. He lost the other in a battle more than 20 years ago, but thanks to technology, he now has a replacement robot arm to help him in his tasks. His grayish brown hair looks frizzier than normal today. “There’s going to be an announcement after dinner today”

“Announcement?” Yara asks.

“Yeah, there’s a new student they are going to introduce” Owen explains.

“It’s been a while since they introduced a new student” Caleb comments.

“Do you know what species it is?” Ray asks.

“A warlock, I think” Owen tells us. “I saw him come in just a while ago and he didn’t look alright. Was all bones. He seemed about your age too, Felix. Poor little guy”

“That poor boy…” Celine mumbles, already sympathetic for the stranger. “He must have been through so much. Was there anyone else with him?”

“Not that I know of” Owen replies. “They didn’t tell me much”

“Where did they find him?” Yuri asks.

“That’s quite enough questions, isn’t it?” Another familiar voice says, revealing herself to be Lady Vi, Owen’s wife and Felix’s mother. “You’re going to meet him soon enough”

She takes a closer look at us, and her disdain is obvious. Her light green hair is pulled back in a bun, revealing the scar on the right side of her face.

“You’re all filthy” She states. “Go take a bath before dinner or your parents are going to think you’re all shapeshifting as swines”

“But only Felix here can shapeshift” Ray, the least bright of the pack, says.

Lady Vi simply smiles innocently at Ray, but it is clear to the rest of us that it is filled with sarcasm.

“I’ll be the one who will shapeshift all of you if you don’t move to the shower rooms right now” She says and immediately everyone stands up straight aside from Felix who is more than accustomed to her mother’s shenanigans.

“We’re going, mom” She says and gives her mother a kiss, to which she pretends to wipe in disgust.

We leave Lady Vi and Owen behind as we head to our rooms to collect our things to take a shower. The guys go their separate way to the guys’ dorm while we girls continue walking to the girls’ dorm.

It’s true this place holds almost the entirety of the supernatural population, so, in order to keep things under control, an order had to be placed. Headmaster Charlotte has implemented several rules in order to keep things organized.

As most kids are born here or adopted from an early age, they are allowed to remain in their parents’ quarters until the age of 7. After which, they are moved to the student section, which is separated into age and gender, appearing as dorm rooms.

Coincidently, I, Yara, Celine and Felix are around the same age, with me and Yara being only a few years older, so we managed to get a room for ourselves which is great because we grew up together.

We are still allowed to visit our parents, of course, but they reside in the adult section of the facilities, where small apartment-like houses were built to accommodate the families that sought refuge at this place.

After finishing my shower, I head to the sink to try to fix my hair, ending up losing myself in my own reflection.

My curly natural hair is completely soaked, and I notice it is high time I give it a cut, as it is already reaching past my shoulder. My dark skin is shiny after being cleaned in the shower, but it looks a bit dry; I should moisture it once I get to our bedroom. My dark brown eyes look tired, more so than usual. I guess the situation from before took a bigger toll on me than I thought.

I still have no idea what came over me back then, but it worries me how I just lost control of myself suddenly and almost died because of it. It’s scary.

As I put my thick hair up in a high up, not wanting to go to the trouble of drying it just yet, I manage to see the end of a white tail vanishing behind the door. I almost forgot I still have to deal with that. I wonder if I still have time before dinner.

I take a look at the others and notice they are taking way longer enjoying the warm water than I am. Usually, I’m the one running late because of my hair, but this gives me an opportunity.

“Shoot! I forgot my hair products!” I say, trying to sound authentic.

“You can use mine” Celine offers.

“Forget it, Cece” Yara says, throwing me a knowing look. “You know her hair can only take her deeply special, extremely expensive products”

I throw my tongue out at Yara’s mock. She knows exactly what I am about to do, and it is really no secret, but I found that people tend to feel uncomfortable when they know what I do, so I just don’t talk about it anymore.

I rush out of the shower room and look around for the wayward wolf, hoping his request will be a simple one.

I soon see him, his tail vanishing behind a curved corridor. Sighing, I follow him, knowing exactly where he is leading me to.

It’s the same place where all others have led me to.