"How is it? Do you feel strange?" Salas asked her slowly.

"T-that... do you..." Celia was trying to say, but could not, in the current situation.

"Hmmm?" Salas murmured, oblivious of her turmoil.

"Do we have to...?" Celia tried again, but felt wordless under his close stare and touch.

"I am listening." Salas assured her, but did not react in anyway whatsoever, still doing as he pleased.

"Do you have to hold me like this?" Celia finally said aloud, unable to bare the situation any longer.

"Like how? I am only hugging you." Salas stated confused, with a soft mellow tone.

She felt like his voice was scratching at her heart, especially when he spoke so close to her ear, and his arms that wrapped around her abdomen sent tingles all around.

"The problem is how you are hugging me!" Celia said, with her usual expressionless face not so expressionless after all.

At least, that is how it looked like in his eyes. Her moist eyes with unshed tears of frustration, her slight tremble at every touch, even the rise in temperature of her body, all of it delighting him beyond words.

She felt like a small caged animal, but perhaps it was to be expected. In the mornings, when he cuddled with her she was still half asleep, but now at night as she sat up on the bed, with him hugging her from behind, and with his head rested on her shoulder, she was wide awake.

"So how does the ring feel on your hand? Is there something unusual? Do you feel strange?" Salas asked again his initial question, ignoring her words, and even redirecting her attention.

"I don't actually feel anything. It feels like a normal ring to me." Celia said, fooled by his redirection, as she rose her hand in the air to check how much the blue had covered the stone. Unfortunately, it was still only a fine line surrounding the stone, it indeed looked like it would take a month or more.

She was still admiring the beautiful ring, when she flinched, as the man, who had promised to not do something, was actually doing something.

"You, you liar!" Celia said and instantly separated from him, raising on her feet in front of the bed.

If he had tried, he could have stopped her from leaving his embrace, but he wanted to see her cute upset face also.

"How did I lie?" Salas asked serenely, not a speck of guilt on his face.

"Y-you said you will not do anything, but in the next second you ki-kissed my neck!" Celia said and even pointed at the spot.

"That's not your neck! At least, that spot is not!" Salas replied, still devoid of any regret. In fact, he looked like he was the one who had been wronged.

"W-what? How is it not mine?" She asked with a high pitched voice upset. She did not understand what he was getting at.

"That spot will have my mark on it, a month later. So technically... it's mine!" He said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"You-you shameless man! How can you say that with a straight face?"

"Do you want to see what else I can do with a straight face?" Salas asked smirking, before quickly raising from the bed, going after her.

"Alpha!" Jake interrupted her thoughts.

She jolted at his words as her vacant gaze stopped, and she looked at him, trying to contain her flustered face.

A week had already passed from that night, but she would still remember it each time she was alone. There must be something wrong with her, it was like that man enchanted her. All she could think about these days was him. Even now she was actually in the middle of studying in the common room with the others, and her thoughts flew to him. If she was like this even though she was not marked yet, how would she be when it happened?

"Alpha!" Jake called her again, seeing her drift once more into her thoughts.

"Y-yeah!" She finally replied.

"Are you alright? Could it be that little witch actually did something to you last time? You told me it was alright to tell her your location, but you are spacing out too much these days. Has she enchanted you or something?" He asked worried.

Every now and then, their alpha seemed lost, and the usual solemn face she used to show in the past softened somehow, as her cheeks turned bright red. Then moments later, she would frown and shake her head, but her face would turn back to the vacant flushed gaze in a little while. If it happened once or twice, he wouldn't be concerned about it, but it had repeated for quite a few times already. If she wasn't enchanted, then he could not really explain her current state.

"No, of course not. She has been my friend since I was little. She would never do anything to me. She is helping me with something. Don't worry about it." She immediately denied. She did not want him to accuse an innocent person of something she did not do. Clarissa was such a sweet witch, she would never use her spells on anyone, or hurt even a fly.

"What was it that you wanted to say?" Celia asked him, to take his mind off of asking her more.

"I was already telling you, but I guess you did not listen, so I am going to tell you again from the beginning. Gabriel has someone visiting him at the moment so he sent the secretary to let us know we will be training first, then have the history course with him. So we should probably go change. The training starts in half an hour."

"Oh, alright." Celia replied, already standing on her feet and collecting her books from the table.

With the table cleared, she followed the guys out, walking behind them to the locker rooms. Although, the combat teacher was informed that her health was not completely recovered from them attack, she still wanted to keep on training to maintain her shape. Of course, this was not the real reason she could not train with her werewolf strength, the real reason was Crescent's transfer, but this was a secret.

So this whole week, as the guys had their ruff and harsh outdoor training, she would hit the gym exercising on her own, having an easier workout.

***

"How is it brother, do you remember me now?" Asked Cain, finally able to talk comfortable with his brother, after all these years, with the latter having his memories intact. His brother was a hero, he was the one who had volunteered to have his memories stored in the crystal, and stay as a dormant mole in the Academy.

The information he had gathered all this time would be priceless. The defenses, the securities, every bits of information he would have, would help them out a lot. But it did not mean, he did not miss him, he was the only member of his family that he had. As rogues they only had each other, before his majesty had brought them to his side.

"Yes now I remember. It is a bit difficult, as all the memories keep overlapping, but I should not have a problem in a couple of minutes or so." The man said, breathing heavily. He felt his head was splitting in two, as all the memories he had missing, came back with full force.

Cain, his brother, had come visiting, about once every two three years, but he had never known just who he really was until now. He had previously thought he was only someone who had helped him all those years ago, when he lost his memories. But strangely, perhaps because of the blood ties between them, he had never doubted the existence of the man before him, as someone he could trust. Only now he knew just why.

"If you have come, does it mean I can finally go back?" The man, hoarsely said. It hurt him a lot... the process of restoring his mind, but he was happy to be his true self again.

"Yes. It has been long enough since you have been away. His majesty has graciously called for you again." Cain replied.

"Good, good. Having my memories again, this place disgust me. Being rogues and enjoying some good killings and tortures together, these are things I have truly missed."

"Don't worry. The cages are filled with some good preys, we won't have any trouble having a bit of fun." His brother assured him.

"Then let's leave. With my memory intact, I think I may just kill someone before leaving this place." Cain's brother chuckling said. Having reverted to his old personality, he was now only a killing machine, one could not see even a small sign on his face of his former memoryless self.

The teacher who had gladly taught his students, the one who had prepared them for their future, could now rip their throats out without even a small regret or remorse. He would do so, even with a bright smile adorning his face.

"Wait. Before leaving, his majesty has a person he wishes from this place. It would be a wonderful present to bring back home for him!" Cain said.

"Oh, who?" The man asked confused. Who could his majesty want from the Academy?

"The alpha of this year's watcher pack. These past few days, Lucian has begun hunting some preys so the king's and his officials' attention should be somewhat redirected towards that. Even now he is on their tracks, and we would be long gone before they could track us.

But, it still might be a bit hard to do. The Academy still has its defenses that was why I came to get you first. Not to mention, the alpha would surely put up a good fight, she should be a tuff opponent. Although, I am sure you are already aware of that." Cain affirmed, he was a troubled by this. To get inside was easy, as he knew someone who could vouch for him when he entered, but bringing someone out, now that should be nearly impossible.

In the huge Academy grounds, even one student to be missing from their place... it would alarm the teachers and the guards, more so if they were talking about the alpha of the watchers. Not to mention, even if she was only a girl, her rank should still be high.

As the hunter told them, they had put seven bullets in her body and she had still survived. Such a person would certainly fight back, even if they caught her off guard. A little delay because of her struggle, and they would be captured in a heartbeat. He and his brother had always been powerful rogues, but they could not risk being found out, before exiting the premises.

"Not necessarily. Salas has ordered us teachers to not have her participate in the normal training for the time being. For her to abstain from the usual training the watchers normally do, it should not be something without a good reason.

There could still be an opportunity for us to bring back the gift for his majesty." His brother said, thinking a bit, smirking.

"Why stop her from training? I don't understand?" Cain asked frowning, why would the king order them to stop her normal training, not to mention why would the king personally care enough to call himself? It seemed this person was quite special, so this was why his majesty wanted her.

"The reason he gave is that she is still weak from the attack, but that was a month ago. No matter how injured she was, she would be perfectly fine by now. Without my memories, of course, I obeyed his order without second guessing. It makes me sick to even think about it. Anyway, it is not the real reason. I think that she right now could be quite easily captured."

"Are you sure?" Cain asked. He knew his brother was smart, this was why he was the one perfect for the mole job. Even without his memories, he had perfectly mimicked a normal pack werewolf, even though his personality was nothing close to it, but he wanted to be certain of a full proof plan.

"For this whole week, Celia Blair has only trained just like a normal human would. She has never used her werewolf strength even once during her workouts. Think of it this way, if all of your life you were used to doing something, could you suddenly stop doing it just like that. Using a werewolf's power is just like breathing air, sometimes even without meaning too, she would still use it, right? Even if she was still recuperating.

But not even once this week she did, she feels just like a normal human. My best guess is that there is something preventing her from using her power, something that would be perfect for us to use." His brother stated, analyzing the situation.

Cain listened intently. As expected of his brother, he indeed was the brightest. This was why his highness had said he felt like he lost one of his limbs. His brother was always the one who followed his majesty's orders perfectly, even though he never held all the details.

"Now as for how to do it... the pack has training, as their next class. And fortunately, the training grounds are at the border of the Academy, they are the furthest from the center. Trust me, we will be able to take her away without a hitch."

***

Running on the treadmill, she breathed in and out, finding it a little hard to continue working out. Not using Waning's strength to regenerate her worn-out muscles, indeed was not pleasant. Since she was small until now she had always been an active person, but thinking about it, she perhaps relied a little too much on her regeneration and inhuman speed and strength, not to mention, she had been a bit too lax in her training with all that had happened this last month.

Well even if she hadn't been lax, the exercises that she had been accustomed of doing, considering her werewolf strength, had been harsh. But now only using her human side, she thought that halving the training would be enough, apparently it was not.

Full of sweat and with red cheeks, she hit the showers, before putting on her black uniform again and tying up her hair in a ponytail. Checking her appearance in the mirror, she left the gymnasium and walked towards the building were the courses were normally held. Unfortunately, the gymnasium was a little further from the center of the Academy, so the training sounds and voice did not bother the students who were studying, as such she had a bit of a distance to walk.

She stepped quickly on the frozen path, but founded it odd that she did not see the members of her pack running around, doing their laps. Could they had gone even further with the teacher, she wondered, but paid no more attention. It was quite cold, as it was still winter, and for the same reason as her training, she found the cold a little hard to get used to without her powers.

Fortunately, it was only a little under a month she would have to bare it, as she could happily see the blue steadily surrounding more than a quarter of the ring already.

"Ring!"

"Ring!"

Hearing the ringing sound, she took out her phone, and seeing's Salas's phone number on the caller id, happily pressed the answer button.

"Hello!" She shyly said.

"Hello, my love. How are you?" Salas gingerly called, making her skip a beat. She could not get used to this honey like person.

"I am alright! I just finished my training and I am heading towards the study building." She replied, with heavy breaths as she was walking.

"Why do you keep on training? It should be quite difficult without using Waning's power. Look even your breathing seems off!" He scolded her, with a tender tone. Even if he was admonishing her, he could not be harsh.

"I still want to train, I am only now beginning to realize just how much I rely on my werewolf power. I should still try to do my best training, it's not always good to depend only on them." She explained, walking slower to not breathe heavily, and worry him more. He had wanted to keep her locked up in the palace, for this time when she could not use her powers. It took a lot of time and effort to convince him to let her come to the Academy. What if he insisted again for her to not go out?

"As always you are so smart. That's why I love you!" Salas affirmed with a hoarse elegant voice.

She listened to his words, feeling like her heart would come out of her chest. Listening to his confession, she realized she had never told him those words herself. She had never expressed openly how she felt about him. He had told her several times already, and he had also shown it through his actions more than once. But what about her?

"Salas!" She called him, with a determined voice. For some reason, she felt like she wanted to let him know how much he meant to her as well.

"Hmmm?" He murmured, to let her know he was still listening.

"I also lo..."

"Celia? CELIA?" Salas called her... shouted through his phone.

Just as he was listening to her words, her voice was suddenly interrupted without her even managing to finish the word she was about to say.... like she was blocked, followed by a loud smashing sound then total silence. Increasing his uneasiness to maximum.

"Celia!" He shouted again panicked, feeling helpless that he was too far away. If he had been at the palace, in several minutes he would already be by her side, but he was farther away this time.

His heart felt like it was smashed into pieces hearing the deafening silence on the other side of the phone call.