1 Dream, Meeting, Fate

A 10 years old girl opened her eyes and blinked a few times at the ceiling of her room.

It's the exact similar ceiling she saw each time she woke up but seeing it confused her. She frowned at the sight of it.

She was expecting to see it in pink color because her father has paid someone to change her room color and paint it in full pink even though she doesn't like it that much.

But.

Instead of pink, it was orange.

It doesn't make sense to her. Even if she woke up at night, she would still see pink color in the pitch darkness.

She tried to sit straight on her bed by leaning against one arm and pushing aside her thick blanket from covering her body.

She felt hot all of a sudden.

It was not summer season yet but it was so hot in her room.

Then, she saw something bright moving, out of the corner of her eyes. She turned her head to look and gasped. Her expression changed.

Large and round eyes, mouth wide open. At that moment, she was forgetting to breathe. What was in her eyes was unbelievable.

Her beloved toys, books on the shelf, her favorite clothes, and all her other belongings were done for. There was no saving it. Everything was engulfed in the flame.

Everything was happening so fast. She couldn't comprehend what exactly happened to her. She was still petrified on her bed trying to process everything all at once.

Too late. It was too late for her to do anything.

But.

Her hands started moving. The next thing she did was slap her cheeks, hard.

She finally return to reality and moved her body. After she got out of bed, her instincts overtook her to run to the door immediately to save herself.

Until...

Something crashed behind her.

It was the chandelier that crashed. It fell from her room ceiling and a few pieces of it scattered around on the porcelain floor of her room.

She looked at it and shuddered. If she was 2 seconds late, the chandelier would have crashed on her little body instead.

Forgetting she was holding her breath, she took a sharp breath and coughed.

It was painful for her to breathe as tears streamed down her red eyes because she has inhaled a lot of smoke.

While coughing, she looked around the hallway. She could see nothing besides the floor under her feet.

The smoke was thicker in the hallway than in her room. The fire has spread out everywhere eating whatever decoration was placed along the hallway and on the wall. Nothing can escape from the fire.

She braced herself to go through the fire by using her sleeve to cover her nose and lowered her body to the floor. While walking, she kept her hand on the wall for support because her legs were trembling.

She wanted to get to her parents' room as soon as possible. Their room was only a few meters away but it felt longer for her to reach there.

When she almost reached her parents' room, the door was wide open. If her parents went out, she could have bumped into them on her way there.

She kept walking to make sure whether the room is empty or not because her parents would never leave without her.

When she peeked inside...

"Noooo!!!"

The girl woke up.

Sweats were dripping from her forehead. She wiped it with her sleeve and breathed heavily. Her back felt uncomfortable because her shirt was drenched with sweat.

She looked around.

It was a different room. The room she saw earlier was a lot different from the room she was in.

The bed was not too big nor extravagant. Instead of a chandelier hanging on the ceiling, there was only a fluorescent lamp.

A wooden rack was full of storybooks, a study desk near the window, and a clothes cabinet with a mirror attached to it at the corner of the room.

A relief sigh came out of her mouth as she held her head.

"Why did I dream of it again? I thought that nightmare stopped 2 years ago when I lost..."

She sobbed.

"Mommy... Daddy... I miss both of you..."

Tears welled up and threatened to fall from her eyes as she tried to hold back the tears.

Soon, tears streamed down her cheeks as she wiped them away roughly. She acted strong even though she was alone in her room.

She got up from her bed to clean herself.

When she opened the door, someone was already waiting outside her room.

"Are you alright, Akari? I heard you screaming." A boy her age asked, slightly looking down at her.

He had black hair and a pair of red eyes.

Akari got a similar eye color but their hair was a different color. She got silver hair.

"I'm fine, Akio. I only had a nightmare. Are you using the bathroom?" She asked him while pointing at the bathroom door at the end of the hallway.

"No. I just came out. You can use it. No one's inside."

"Okay, thanks Akio."

-----

After finished with her bath, Akari wore casual clothes and looked at her reflection. She looked pretty. Once satisfied with her appearance, she walked out.

It was still early in the morning and today is Saturday so there were no classes. She didn't have to go to school and yet she stay awake and walked downstairs.

There was a nice smell coming from the kitchen. She hurried her pace and skipped some steps down.

"Morning, Akari. You are up early today. Come help me prepare the breakfast." A woman in her thirties asked once she noticed Akari.

She had gray hair and a pair of golden eyes. Akari looked nothing like her. It was because the woman wasn't her biological mother.

"Okay, Ichika-san. I mean, mother." Akari corrected herself before the woman she called 'mother' did.

She looked at the table as Ichika placed the food down gently. The breakfast was ready so she just had to prepare the drinks for the household.

"Are we having rabbit meat for breakfast?"

"Yes, why?"

"It smells good and looks delicious." Drool almost fell from Akari's mouth as she smelled it.

"Hold your horses, young lady. Wait until everyone is here before you touch them." Ichika stopped her.

"BREAKFAST IS READY!!!" Akari shouted very loudly, startling Ichika who was standing right next to her.

"SHUT UP!" A younger voice of a boy shouted back from upstairs.

"Akari. They can hear you just fine even if you are not screaming. We are werewolves, remember? Our ears are sharp. My ears might bleed." Ichika scolded her while rubbing both her ears.

"I'm sorry..." Akari looked at her sadly.

"Don't look so sad. I am kidding. Go wash your hands. They will be down soon." Ichika patted her head, smiling.

Akari nodded and smiled at her.

-----

"Morning." A girl with cloud gray hair and a pair of golden eyes greeted from upstairs.

"Morning, Yua." Both Akari and Ichika greeted her back with a smile.

Yua smiled back. Akari was already in her seat watching Yua coming downstairs carefully. Her careful steps made her look fragile.

There was only 2 years difference between Akari and her but she looked a lot more mature and gentle. Her gentleness probably came from Ichika because she is her daughter.

Behind her, Akio held a hand of a 6 years young boy, and came downstairs together.

"Careful, Yuma. Don't trip." Akio made sure the boy did not trip by holding his small hand tightly.

Yuma ran to his mother the moment his small feet landed on the last steps of the stairs and tried to sit on the chair next to Ichika.

"Morning."

Akio said to them and then sat in his chair which is in between Akari and Yua even though he is the oldest sibling among them. The age difference between Akari and him is only a few months apart.

"Morning, Akio." Akari greeted back.

"Morning, brother." Yua bowed at him a little before getting comfortable in her seat while Ichika only smiled at him before turning her attention to her youngest son.

Ichika helped him up by carrying him upon seeing him struggling to sit on the chair on his own.

The peaceful morning was once again disturbed by the loud steps of someone coming from upstairs.

A young boy stomped his feet when he came down. He glared at Akari when their eyes met.

"Why did you shout?! I almost got a heart attack!"

The boy sat in front of Yua with crossed arms. He turned his face away from Akari, eyes closed with his chin up.

"Hmph!"

"Sorry, Riku. Will you forgive me?" Akari showed him puppy eyes.

"No." Riku still not looking at her.

"Please? Riku..." Akari plead.

"Pwease... Iku..." Yuma repeated after Akari and grabbed hold of his older brother's arm with puppy eyes too.

Riku turned to Yuma and pinched his cheeks.

"You brat. Why did you apologize for her."

"Do you forgive her now?" Yuma asked him with a small and cute voice after Riku let go of his cheeks.

"Yeah..." Riku turned to Akari and scolded her, "Don't do that again!"

"Okay." Akari smiled brightly and turned to Yuma, "This is all thanks to you, Yuma. Now he forgives me. Thank you."

"Yay!" Yuma excitedly cheered making everyone smile.

"Morning."

A voice greeted them from upstairs. An aura surrounded his whole body the moment he came down.

"Morning, father."

Everyone downstairs greeted him back. He is the father of five children, the husband of Ichika, the head of the family, and an Alpha.

Takahashi Touma.

He is the Alpha of Freesia Sadiq Pack. He has led the pack for 12 years since he took over from his father when he was 18 years old.

At the age of 18 is also when Touma found his mate, Ichika, and wed her. They were blessed with 4 children. 3 boys and a girl.

Luckily for them, their eldest son, Akio was born to be Alpha to replace him leading the pack once he reached the age of 18.

Touma sat at the end of the dinner table and raised both his hands. Everyone did the same and listened to him say the prayer.

He thanked God for the food given to them and to bless their family forever.

-----

In the evening, Akari loved to spend her time outdoor by reading a book. She especially liked to sit under the shady tree.

Other children came over to their house to play and they were so loud. Especially Riku and his friends.

Akari was so engrossed in reading her book that she did not realize some people were approaching her from behind.

"Yo, Akari! What are you doing?"

A boy with brown hair took the book away from her by force. Akio was standing beside him.

Akari who was startled by the boy's sudden action frowned.

"What do you think? I was reading before you took it away from me."

She stood to get the book back from him but he raised it higher.

"Wow. Princess's soulmate? Why are you reading this?"

"Why do you care?"

The book got taken by Akio and he returned it back to Akari.

"Thanks." Akari thanked him.

"Don't bully her too much, Kenji," Akio told him.

"I'm not bullying her." Kenji pouted, making Akio shakes his head.

"Is it interesting?" Akio then turned to Akari.

"Yeah, father gave it to me as a present. It's about a princess looking for her soulmate. Even though her soulmate is different from her, they were still happy when they were together." Akari answered.

"Even though it ended in tragic?" Kenji said.

"Why did you spoil the story, Kenji! I haven't finished it! Wait, it ended in tragedy? Really?" Akari looked up at him.

"I'm kidding. What makes you think I read it?" He smirked.

Akari pouted. She glared at him with rage as she got played by him.

"Don't disturb me. I want to finish this book." She sat back down.

"You don't want to play? We're playing catch the ball. I saw you sitting here alone, that's why we're here. To call you over. " Akio looked back at Riku who waved at him to come over.

"No. I had enough of playing. Kenji already played me." She glared at Kenji.

Kenji raised both his hands in a sign of surrender and turned his heels to run back to Riku and the others.

Akio sat next to her and peeked over at the book in Akari's hands. He read a few lines where the princess was having fun with her mate on their date.

"Looks good." He commented.

"Yeah." Akari nodded.

Silence fell upon them as they kept reading. There are only noises from the other kids playing in the background.

"Hey, Akari." Akio broke the silence first.

"Yeah?" Akari turned to him.

"Do you think we can be soulmates too, like them?" Akio asked while looking into her eyes.

His intense stare made her uncomfortable so she looked away and frowned at his sudden question.

"I... I don't know. I mean, we are still young and we won't know our mate until we reach 18."

"I know. We have been together a lot all the time. If you marry me, I can give you happiness." Akio reached for her hand trying to get her attention on him again.

"We don't know if we are soulmates or not. We are just a kid, a kid cannot get married and I can't marry you." Akari pulled her hand away, still not looking at him.

"I love you! Why can't you marry me?" Akio suddenly raised his voice. He was usually calm and collected.

"I still want to find my soulmate! I don't want to marry you if we are not soulmates!" Akari stood up.

Akio also stood up, rage in his eyes after hearing Akari reject his proposal. "You belong to me!"

"I don't! I belong to no one! Stay away from me! I hate you!" Akari ran away.

While running, she looked back to check on Akio if he is chasing after her but Akio only stood still and looked down at his feet. The other kids looked at them and stopped playing when they heard the argument.

Akari kept on running until she was outside the house gate and entered the forest behind their house.

It was not the first time she fought with Akio. They often quarrel about trivial matters but this time she was truly mad at Akio.

-----

Akari kept running further and further. She knew where she was going. She has memorized all the paths in the forest and even has a secret base unknown to Akio and everyone else in the family.

She liked hanging out there. It was so quiet because no one can disturb her whenever she wanted to be all alone by herself. Suddenly, she tripped over something and landed face-first on the ground.

"Ow! What was that?"

She turned her head, hands touching her chin because she felt the pain. The fall was quite harsh and painful for her. Next to her, a boy was lying on the ground.

She shook him.

"Hey, are you alright?" The boy was not moving.

Akari felt uneasy. She looked around at her surrounding before carrying him on her back. She doesn't know if this person is still alive or not but she will not give up on him. She ran faster than before to somewhere she knew.

-----

In front of her, there was a big mansion with a tall gate. The gate was closed. There was a paper notice on it. 'On break' was written on it. Akari felt disappointed and put the boy down.

'Will he be alright?' She carefully leaned his head against the gate.

She checked him for any injuries. Fortunately, there was no blood on him but there were bruises around his wrists and ankles. It made Akari furrow her brows.

She looked at the mansion again and sensed no one inside. They must be outside somewhere and they should be nearby.

"Hello? EXCUSE ME!!!"

She tried shouting even though no one was inside. She hoped they could hear her but no one responded.

"HELP!!!"

She shouted even louder and this time the bushes behind her moved revealing two shadows who appeared behind the tree.