Chapter 3 Who are you

When I heard about the king, I felt something strange inside me. I assumed that I was afraid of him.

Atlas appeared calm when he learned his son was on his way. His son won another war. He never expressed his concerns to others, but he cared about his son. His son was extremely powerful, and that was what he valued. His son's invisible foes were everywhere.

"Crystal, go to your room to freshen up. Come for dinner after that." Atlas told Crystal before leaving the living room. I was looking at the empty space where Atlas had stood a few minutes ago. I had no idea why this man disliked me so much. When I came here with my father ten years ago, he behaved exactly the same way. He ignored me as if I were unworthy of a conversation. Daisy gave me a smile. "He is not used to new people. You are here because of your parents, right?" I nodded at her. "Yes, do you know where they are?" "They went to another pack." I was shocked. "But why?" I assumed my parents had left our pack without saying anything to me. "Perhaps they have some important work. I am not sure if you can meet them before going back, but you can call them and ask them to return."

I was confused. Why would her parents go to some other pack? She didn't want to call them. What if they scold her for coming here without informing them? Daisy called a maid and said, "Take her to a guest room. She is our guest." The maid nodded and bowed to Daisy. She motioned for me to follow the maid. I looked at Crystal. Crystal acknowledged me with a nod. "Let's go." I went to one of the guest rooms. It was so big from my room in the dorm. I looked around and saw that there was a window. I approached the window. I could see the forest through the window. I was pleased with my new room. However, I was upset with my parents. My parents never called me once in these five years. I never asked them for money; instead, I worked part-time in restaurants during the day and night to pay for my tuition. But still, my parents never tried to contact me. I took a shower and dressed in a simple white full-sleeve knee-length dress. I combed my hair after wiping it clean. I then took all of my clothes out of my luggage and placed them in the room's large closet. "Wow, the closet is really large. I myself can even fit in here," I said to myself and laughed. I heard a knock on the door. "Come in."  A maid came and said, "Please come downstairs for dinner. Everyone is waiting for you."  I nodded and immediately walked out of my room. I went into the dining room and saw everyone eating.

"Alina, come and sit." Crystal exclaimed happily. I went to sit next to her.

There were so many different dishes on the table that I was amazed. I started eating. Atlas looked at me and asked, "Did you call your parents?" I looked at him and replied, "No, I didn't, but I will call them soon. When they come back, I will leave the pack house." Daisy shook her head. "No, it's okay. You can stay here for as long as you want. You are our guest, so you don't have to worry." "Thank you, Aunt Daisy," I said, smiling at her. "Alina, eat; your food is getting cold," Crystal said. I could not continue the conversation. After dinner, everyone went back to their rooms. I was sitting on the bed and playing games on my phone. I was surprised to discover that our pack now has networks. It was not like it was an old town or something. But I just thought I could not get networks here because every time Crystal came here, she never called me even once. When I asked Crystal, she always said she could not call me because the pack house had no networks. "Did you lie to me, Crystal? But why would you? No, maybe the networks came recently. Maybe that was why Mom and Dad could not call me," I told herself. When I thought about my parents, I felt a spark of hope in my heart. They never paid attention to me when I lived with them. They even sent me outside the pack without my consent. I cried that time a lot. I didn't want to go anywhere. I wanted to stay with my parents. My parents scolded me and said that I was not a child anymore and I needed to go outside; it was mandatory. So I agreed and went outside the pack to study. I was thirsty, so I looked around for water but could not find any. So I opened the door slowly and stepped out of my room. The floor was completely dark. I realized everyone was sleeping.

I moved slowly from my room's corner and headed toward the kitchen. But there was no maid, and I was not sure where the kitchen was in this palace-like mansion.

I made it to the living room. The moonlight fell on me. The moonlight shone through the window blinds. I did not know how, but I got to the other side of the mansion. I looked around and noticed moonlight on the floor coming through the window. Tonight the moon was shining so brightly. Suddenly, a strange smell hit my nostrils. I took a pause and halted my steps. I could feel the smell coming so fast toward me. I frowned at myself. Why did I stop? I sniffed the scent in the air and closed my eyes; it was so alluring that I nearly lost my mind. Before I could open my eyes, I sensed the smell from behind me. Then I heard the deepest voice I had ever heard, causing my legs to tremble and shivers to run down my body.

"WHO ARE YOU?"