Chapter 104

104 The past sin

“Wait! So that festivities were for them eating the people?!” Anne felt horrified, she can imagine the faces of the people that she had met along the way to the Wolgala, “How come everyone still going here if they have this kind of grotesque festivities?”

“Because, they don’t have any memory about the missing people, there’s a powerful circle of magica right in the center of Wolgala, when you step inside and perish, your family, friends, basically everyone that knows about your existence will be forgetting about you.” Said the old man, he explained everything to Anne who seems to be the most confused one, “That’s how powerful the blood of the wolf is, even lycans have their own magica.”

“That’s horrible! Just imagine the family that have been left off, not to mention the innocent victims...” Anne then glanced at Xavier, “You... you don’t like... you know...”

“You mean eating people? No, don’t worry, pure blood or a werewolf don’t have the desire to eat people like the lycans.” Xavier answered Anne with much confidence in his tone.

“So, lycans and werewolves, they’re different species?” Asked Anne once again.

This time, it was the old man who was answering Anne’s questions, “Werewolf is called the pure blood because they’re being born as a shapeshifter, while the lycans were being made as a shapeshifter monsters by blood ritual.” The old man then brushes his chin, “In other words, they gain power in the expenses that they need to consume people’s flesh once a year.”

“We have a different shape as well, as for the pure blood, when we transform, we become a wolf, a direwolf, as for the lycans, they become the monster that you just saw, a people’s body with a wolf’s head.” Seems like the old man become the designated teacher for Anne, while the others also heard the explanation with so much focus.

With deep thought Anne gave her comment about the new knowledge that she gained, “So when you transform into a wolf, you’re a werewolf. But if it’s the people’s body with a wolf’s head, you’re a lycan, right?”

“Exactly, Xavier and Xander’s here is coming from one of the powerful were tribes that have been in this kingdom for many generations.” The old man stands proudly at his nephews.

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“Then why did you let them stay with that horrible people at the orphanage?” Asked Anne to the old man.

Everyone went quiet, as much as how the old man shared his compassion towards his nephews, Anne couldn’t even comprehend about the fact that he left two small and probably fragile children in the hands of an abuser.

“Anne, my uncle has their own reason, it must look so daunting for you, but not in my species.” Said Xavier to Anne.

Anne’s mouth was gaping wider, “What? I am sorry Xavier, tradition or not, it doesn’t really catch into my mind... I am sorry Xavier, I will help you with your personal vendetta or whatever, but I don’t want to see how you slaughtered an innocent child!” She then excuses themselves from the hideout, stating that she will get some rest on the second floor.

The old man chuckles at Xavier, “Well, despite her soft and unusual color of hair, she was actually fiery inside, good job, Xavier.”

“Oh, come on uncle, just... let us go back to strategize for now, alright?” Xavier looks at him and lets out a sighed, this is what he feared all along, Anne knowing about his nature and tradition.

Although brutal, every werewolf has their tradition to leave the young pups in the element of danger, it will build up their strength and mental, although to be fair, the old man leaves Xavier and Xander at much younger age. Normally, the parents will leave their young child at the age of twelve, but Xavier and Xander are left behind at the horrible orphanage at the age of seven and four.

Xavier basically needs to defended his little brother all the time, although his uncle never told him the reason for the early abandonment. He always asked Xander in every letter that he sent to him, why must their uncle abandon them so early? What happened to him that makes him so repulsive towards his two grand-nephew?

The old man put the large town map on the big table, the other werewolves begin to enter the hideout, one of the biggest and bulkiest was reported immediately to the old man.

“We found her nest, but it was empty, but they will surely go back to eat the fresh flesh on the festival indefinitely.” Said the bulky men to the old man.

The old man thinks hard, “No, this is wrong, we have failed, I think we need to think this through.” He taps his fingers on the table, “Where is she? We need to kill her before the henchman, or the baby since the soldiers can heal themselves if they are closer to the host.”

“That would be hard, she was swift and could hide in every nook and cranny, despite her age and her body mass,” Xander told his uncle with much doubt in his tone.

The old man glared at Xander, “Xander, I know that you have spent so much with her as our spy, but there was nothing about her that you need to be afraid of!”

Xander is flustered by his uncle scolding him directly, “I... I am sorry uncle, I wasn’t.”

“He was just trying to be careful, you don’t have to blame Xander over anything.” Xavier tried to defend his brother.

Most of the time, he could tolerate his grand uncle, but truth to be told, he kept a resentment towards him, as the only family that they have but his early abandonment towards the two of them gave him a festering wound for ages.

“I am not blaming him, Xavier, I was reminding him, who is the pure blood race and also the superior one, they need to know their place.” Said the old man to Xavier.

“Oh, I was familiar with the fact, uncle, that’s why we are becoming like this in the first place, the once strongest species in your assumption, look at us now!” He challenged his uncle openly, while the old man just shook his head.

“Brother, that’s enough, there are too many people here,” Xander whispered at Xavier, while his brother tried so hard to get closer to their uncle.

“Now, now son, calm down, we are all in the same team here, right?” The old man tried to calm his nephew.

“I am not a child anymore, uncle, so quit your soothing demeanor toward me, it’s not going to work anymore!”

After the confrontation, Xavier went out from the hideout. Henry, Justice, and Vale look at him going outside the hideout. The old man folded his hand and challenge the three of them.

“So, aren’t you going to chase him? I thought all of you are a tight group, you know brotherhood.” The old man mocking their tight-knit bond.

Justice, who was being quiet for almost the whole conversation now giving smirked to the old man, “Why? He was right though, he was not a child anymore, maybe something that you should think thoroughly whenever your adult grandnephew was trying to give you his opinion.”

“You’re one a smug b*stard, you know that?” Said the old man with gritted teeth.

“Yes, I know it perfectly well, thank you so much,” Justice replied with a smile towards the old man, the words giving Vale and Henry some giggles on the side.

While the hideout has some another heated arguments, Xavier goes upstairs to go and meet with Anne, he felt that he needs to explained about himself to the girl one more time. He saw her on the sofa beside the fireplace. The bedroom was cozy enough for her to snuggle up with one blanket and a book in her hand.

She took a peaked from behind the book, “Hey, did the meeting was over?”

“No, I just want to see you.” Xavier shook his head, and smile at her.

Anne could see there was something that troubles him, she put her book on the table beside her, and asked him to sat on the other sofa in front of her, “What’s the matter? I can see that something is troubling you.”

Let out a sigh, he took a seat and gave her a desperate smile, “Look, I know that you were supposed to accept everything in one day, I mean the whole werewolf and lycans, and me holding it into my secret, but you need to know that I’ve done this just to make sure...”

Anne raised her right hand, stopping Xavier to talk further, “Just stop, I know you meant well, I was just upset by your so-called uncle, I am sorry, but his arrogancy is too much for me.”

Chuckling over the mention of the old man, he accepted Anne’s opinion immediately, “I know, why do you think he asked us to call him uncle instead of a grand uncle? He likes to appear young and just wanted to remember his glory time as the once powerful species.” He said the words with a much exaggerated expression making Anne laugh and even punched him in his chest.

They looked at each other without saying a word between them, Anne gave Xavier a smiled and said, “Xavier, I know that you maybe felt afraid that I will be changed if I know about your true nature, but I don’t, I know you have your gentle heart in behind those big body of yours.”

“No... I do have my personal demon inside of me Anne, a secret that I don’t even share with the others.” With a forlorn face, Xavier’s stared at the fireplace, trying to avoid Anne.

Looking at how desperation came into his face, Anne was wondering, what kind of sin he was doing.