Kane

"What do you mean by 'we shouldn't attack those bases'?" Kane could feel the tension rise in the meeting hall as he uttered the controversial statement. His unwavering gaze was directed specifically towards the scowling werewolf soldier,  his demeanor unchanged before elaborating in the most neutral tone he could muster, "I mean exactly what I said. We shouldn't attack those bases. It is a waste of time and effort that could be directed elsewhere."

Kane was currently sitting near the head of a long table, in a vast meeting room with about a dozen other adults. It's been so long since Kane had been in the room that he almost forgot the dark glittering sky-high ceilings that resembled the stars, a reminder of just how far he had come.

Director Ansari nodded, taking over as she knew that her authority would help the rest of their colleagues understand their point. "Kane and I discussed this earlier-"

"Without our input?" The head investigator tilted her head, her fangs showing as she bit back a sneer, interrupting the Director without a care in the world. "Do you think it was wise to discuss such things with someone who has little to no knowledge of the situation at hand?"

"It would be wise, Adora, to not question my decisions. Was it not a unanimous decision to request for Kane's presence in the capital? Why would it be unwise to debrief him so he can better understand?"

Adora grit her teeth, responding back with venom in her voice as the Director turned to face her. "Zera, it was a unanimous decision to request for Bon-Hwa's help but that does not mean that you can come to decisions without our input. Understand that the Hunters kidnapped the daughters of the only Vampire representative on the council. That is the only reason I took up this case in the first place." Kane fought the urge to roll his eyes when Adora addressed him by his actual name, trying to separate him from everyone else in the room because it was the name his parents gave him. He didn't care though, he was still proud of his name even if the people who gave it to him were criminals.

"We did not come to any decisions, we were simply suggesting the best course of action. The Hunters did this to expend all of your resources and leave the capital vulnerable. You are doing exactly what they want. We need to focus on very specific areas." The power struggle going on between Adora and the Director was obvious and he doesn't have time for it. All it would do is cause arguments and prevent a tangible solution, which is why he had to interrupt before it got worse.

"What specific areas would you suggest that we search Bon-Hwa?" Adora glowered at him, seeing his outspokenness as disrespect while the rest of the adults in the room looked like they were about to step in and stop the confrontation.

Kane stood up and met her gaze, tapping on the center of the table, summoning a glowing holographic 3D map of the capital and surrounding areas. "I'm glad you asked. I was thinking about this earlier."

"The Hussein Daughters were last seen here. Correct?" He pointed to the spot on the map where the shopping district was marked red. It sat in the center of everything on the map. It was nowhere near the borders of the capital.
"This means that they wouldn't have been able to make it to the outskirts of the area without being caught. The protective barrier went up exactly 10 minutes and 17 seconds after the girls were kidnapped."

Adora narrowed her eyes onto a specific part of the map, almost immediately understanding what Kane was trying to convey. "The Hunters wouldn't have had enough time to escape so they most likely weighed their options and chose an unrecognizable base in the heart of the city."

Kane nodded and sat back down relieved that the pressure in the room lessened as the rest of the adults came to the same conclusion as Adora.

"Bright as ever, Kane." The advisor to Councilman Hussein nodded approvingly in his direction and Kane fought the urge to be surprised. It had been a long time since any of his allies had commended him for anything. 

"There are only three bases in the heart of the city, that is where we need to look."

"But aren't those bases simply where the Hunters discard bodies? Only people who are going to be killed are transferred to those bases?" The advisor to the councilman leaned forward, panic permeating his expression.

"They're not going to be killed. The Hunters won't have any leverage if they're murdered. Trust me."

"Are you sure?" Adora asked, her concerned gaze turned towards Kane as he answered the advisor.

"Yes, if they were killed already you would've known. Their plans for them are different than what they usually would be because of who their father is."

"We need to get them out of there as soon as possible. Alert the military and the special operatives, we're going to start looking at those three bases. We'll start searching once we gather enough information." Director Ansari gestures towards the map, shutting it off as she starts giving directions to everyone in the room on what they're supposed to do.

"Meeting adjourned."

~~~~<>~~~~

Nia
A few hours earlier...

"Thank god practice is over. I don't think I could take another second of being bossed around by that fucking human bitch." As the rest of the girl's soccer team walked into the locker room Nia slammed her locker, glaring at the girls who were talking shit about her.

"You're the ones who voted me to be captain last year. It's not my fault you didn't have the foresight to not vote for a human." Nia rolled her eyes, grabbing her sports bag from off the floor, not even bothering to change out of her workout clothes. Same old shit every time. The envy is so visible that Nia almost wished she could go back to last year when she thought everyone on the team liked her. Turns out that they didn't like her, they just knew that she was untouchable because she was friends with Thomas and the rest of the popular kids in school.

Hell, she was one of the popular kids. Everyone flocked towards her, and now everywhere Nia went
she was met with vitriol.

"We voted for you before it turned out that you were a crazy liar. I always knew deep down that I should've been captain instead." Melanie sneered, looking down on Nia, pretending to have sympathy in her eyes as she mentioned the situation with Thomas. Nia shrugged, stepping forward into the blonde's personal space.

"You may think that you deserved to be captain but I earned this position. I've been a starter on varsity since freshman year. I'm the best player on this fucking team regardless of the position I play. Hell, I even play goalie better than you and that's the only damn thing you're good at. In all of the four years you've spent on this team you haven't scored on me once." When Melanie's friend scoffed Nia held up her hand, silencing the brown-haired girl from speaking.

"I outclass both of you with ease. You may think of me as a crazy liar but guess what? This crazy fucking liar is your captain. Have fun running hills next practice." As Melanie was rendered speechless Nia adjusted her bag and walked out of the locker room without saying another word. Practically speed-walking to her car as she ignored the few people in the hallways glaring at her.

"Oh, those girls get on my last damn nerve! Just a few more months and then I'm free from this school. Thank the fucking moon goddess."Once she reached the parking lot she grabbed her keys, she quickly unlocked the door, not anticipating the girl whose head popped up behind the opposite side of the car.

"Oh my God, Hyejin what the fuck? You scared the shit out of me." Nia dropped her keys and yelled, holding a hand to her chest as if she thought her heart would jump out of her chest.

Hyejin, who had the decency to look sheepish, tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, feeling guilty as she listened to Nia's sped-up heart rate. "S-sorry Nia, I didn't mean to scare you. I just wanted to make sure you were okay after the-" she leaned in over the car to whisper, "incident." Nia snorted and held up her bandaged hand, "I've been great, can't you tell by my second-degree burn?"

Hyejin's gaze snapped to her hand, eyes widening, "I have potions and herbs that could help with that. Whatever you need." Nia smiled at her, eyes softening at her sincerity, "I'm fine, don't worry about me. It takes a bit more than nearly turning to dust to knock me down a peg. If anything it gave me the adrenaline I needed." Hyejin let out a strained laugh, wringing her hands together as she looked around the parking lot. 

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Nia tilted her head, thinking about the last time she talked to Hyejin before the party. It had been months. They were in Hyejin's room, talking about their lives and what they wanted to do after college. Whenever they spent time together Nia was always relieved, Hyejin had a way of comforting her that could only compare to Kane... and Thomas. Although Nia would never admit that last part out loud.

Biting back a grin, Nia opened her car door, gesturing for Hyejin to hop in, "Yeah Jin, let's talk."

~~~~<>~~~~

"Are you sure that we should go to your house? So much has happened since the last time I was here, I don't want to intrude." The hesitation didn't surprise Nia but she was already unlocking the door so it was sort of too late.

"Don't worry, my parents don't bite," Nia gently grabbed her wrist and pulled her into the house. It was comforting to Hyejin to know that not much has changed, it still felt welcoming. Which sort of made her sad, thinking about how all of their friends used to hang out here all the time before the falling out.

"Mom! Dad! I'm home." Her parents walked out of the kitchen, about to welcome her home with a hug as they both stopped in their tracks when seeing Hyejin. At first, her dad just stared before managing to fix his disconcerting expression into a tight-lipped smile.

"Welcome to our home Hyejin. It's been a while." Nia nearly winced at how insincere her father sounded. All while her mother seemed to do a better job of hiding her concern after she recovered from her shock of course.

"What a nice surprise! We haven't seen you in months Hyejin. What brings you here?"

"Uh- she helped me out at the party! And we started talking again so I invited her over." Her parents scanned her face, knowing that she was up to something but didn't know what. Nia leaned into Hyejin and whispered something which only furthered their suspicions. Then Hyejin nodded and walked up the stairs, heading towards Nia's room. Once she heard the door shut Nia sighed in relief, nudging her parents into the kitchen.

"Oh my god, your reaction was terrible! How is she supposed to feel welcome now?"Her mom crossed her arms as her dad turned on the tap, just to make sure Hyejin couldn't hear them talking.

"We're just concerned sweetheart, just a week ago you were talking to us about how your only friend was Kane and now you're hanging out with someone you haven't talked to in months." Her mom wrapped an arm around Nia's shoulders, stroking her hair as she did so.

"What happened at the party? You didn't come home yesterday and we know you were with Kane but did someone do anything to you? Did they make you feel unsafe?" Nia shoved her bandaged hands further into her pocket as her father examined her body and started to question her, looking for wounds. Unfortunately, this behavior did not go unnoticed by either one of her parents.

"Nia, what happened to your hand?" Her mother took Nia's hands out of her pocket, gasping when she saw the bandage. "Sweetheart, what happened? Who hurt you?" Her father examined Nia's wound, noticing how she winced when he touched it.

"I got burned at the party but don't worry! No one hurt me, I was being stupid and hurt myself. But Hyejin helped me out, without her I would've been a goner." Her father pursed his lips, not believing her story. Both of her parents knew she was omitting things.

"Can you tell us what happened? I think we should take you to the hospital. Maybe you can talk to Hyejin another time." Nia shook her head, refusing to go to a hospital, she hated hospitals. "I'm fine dad, really. It's not even that bad. You guys worry too much." Her mother sighed, tucking Nia's braids behind her ears. "You just worry too little. This conversation is not finished. But go talk to your friend for now. We'll talk once she's gone." Nia clapped her hands, hugging both of her parents before running up the stairs to meet Hyejin, relieved that she wouldn't be probed by her parents any longer. She hates lying to them.

When she opened the door to her room, the last thing she expected to see was Hyejin holding up a picture. The photo contained Nia and all of her old friends smiling at the homecoming dance. She distinctly remembered that night because she had been voted for homecoming Queen and Thomas was the King. Nia genuinely thought at the time that it was the best night of her life. Who would've thought that everything would go to hell a few months later, with everyone leaving her behind as if she never mattered in the first place.

Hyejin gently set the picture down on her desk, her eyes softening as she smiled at Nia. "I-I'm sorry for touching your stuff. It's just been so long since I've seen that photo. I missed it." Nia shrugged, trying not to show much emotion even though she could feel the lump in her throat getting bigger with each word that came out of Hyejin's mouth.

"It's okay, I didn't really notice that it was on my desk. I try to just forget about it all." Nia felt bad when she saw Hyejin's downcast expression. She didn't mean to make her feel worse but she was just telling the truth. Nia sighed and sat down on her bed, patting the spot next to her for Hyejin to sit down.

"I know we haven't talked in a while but I wanted to sincerely thank you for what you did at the party. I don't know how the hell you knew that I was in the archives but you saved my life. Thank you." Hyejin nodded, trying not to show how worried she was. But Nia could tell anyways, Hyejin was never good at hiding her emotions and she's known her for so long that it's easy to decipher her expressions.

"I get visions sometimes. Flashes, of the future- or possible futures at least. Before it was just feelings, I'd have a hunch or two that turned out to be correct. At the party, I saw a vision of you in danger. I had to do something."

"And I thank you for it." Nia smiled, taking Hyejin's hand in hers. "You saved my life."

"What even was that anyways? How the hell did that happen?" Nia laughed, taking her hand away to rub the back of her neck. "It's kind of hard to explain. It's very... complicated to say the least." The hesitation in Nia's face was clear, the only other person she had told was Kane. She knew that she could trust Kane but she wasn't sure about Hyejin.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. You don't owe me anything because I saved your life." That was all Nia needed to hear, the apprehension she had felt melted away when she realized that Hyejin was still the same trustworthy person she used friends with.

"It's okay. I'll tell you. I trust you." She got up and reached inside a drawer, pulling out the spellbook that hummed with power as soon as she touched it.

"Woah..." Hyejin got up to look over Nia's shoulder, as the spellbook started to slightly glow in her hands.

"Amazing, isn't it?"

"I've never seen a book glow like that before. Is that what was in the archives? That's what you came to the party for?" Nia grinned as she flipped open the book, looking at the different spells she couldn't wait to try. She knew Kane would kill her when he got back but she couldn't help it.

"It's a spellbook, that's why. And a really old one at that. That's why it glows whenever I touch it. It was calling to me, so I grabbed it." Nia smirked, stroking the spine of the book, enjoying the chills that went down her own spine.

"Is that why you almost disintegrated? Because You stole it? Why?" When Hyejin tilted her head in confusion, a bit worried by the expression on Nia's face.

"I didn't steal it," Nia sighed when Hyejin raised a questioning eyebrow at her statement, "Okay fine, according to the law I did steal it but it called to me. The magic barrier surrounding it came down and it allowed me to take it."

"Yeah, is that why you ended up almost being blasted to the afterlife?" Nia snorted, becoming increasingly entertained by this conversation.

"No, that's because I tried to take the third one and-"

"Third one? There's more?" Nia didn't think it would be possible for Hyejin's eyes to widen more than they already did but apparently she was wrong. Oh great, Nia thought to herself, now she's gonna think I'm crazy.

"Wait so let me get this straight. You're a witch?! And you never said anything? And you've stolen ancient magical books from the archives. Did I leave out anything?" Hyejin threw her hands up in the air as she pointed from the book to Nia, unable to comprehend what was happening.

"No, I'm not a witch. I'm just a person who can practice magic." Hyejin paved around her room, still not comprehending how this was possible. "Isn't that the same thing?"

"No, it's not." She put the book back in her drawer and folded her hands together. "I am a human, I just happen to be a human that can use magic. There's a difference."

"Okay," Hyejin stopped in her tracks, suddenly becoming calm, "why are you telling me this?"

Nia thought about it for a quick second, not realizing why she chose to do something so reckless in the spur of the moment. "I was originally going to try and lie to you when we got here. But I don't know, I guess I felt the need to tell you because you told me about your visions and stuff. I knew about those premonitions you used to have back when we were friends but since you saved my life I feel like the least I could do is tell you the truth."

"This just doesn't seem safe. I know we're not friends anymore but I still care about you." Nia shrugged, trying to ignore the last part of what Hyejin said, or else she may burst into tears, "Oh, it's not safe at all. I'm surprised I haven't died yet."

Hyejin sighed, fighting the urge to scold her. "That's not smart, like at all. How have you even survived this long?"

"I'm just lucky."

"And if your luck runs out? What if something bad happens?"

Nia crossed her arms, sighing as she remembered that Hyejin had a crippling fear of magic, which would explain her apprehension. No matter what, Nia wouldn't die because of the Nate bond she has with Thomas. But the one thing Nia couldn't do was tell Hyejin about Thomas, she hated talking about him but what she hated more was the idea that her powers were connected to his?

"Trust me, I'm being as careful as humanly possible," Nia bent down and picked up a book that was too large to be kept in a drawer, "See? I've done my research." Hyejin looked over Nia's shoulder, as she flipped through the book as proof.

"I forgot how dedicated you are." Hyejin laughed before her phone started to ring. She looked towards Nia for permission as she saw who was calling.

It was Enesta.

"Don't let me stop you from answering." When Nia shrugged, Hyejin bit her lip, considering it for a second until she answered it against her best judgment.

"Hey! Nesta, what's up?"

"We're at our usual spot, remember? Nandos? We all planned to meet there after school. Where are you?"

"Uhh..." she trailed off, looking at Nia for help only for her to let out a laugh before she covered her mouth, hoping that Enesta wouldn't hear over the phone.

"Im.. around. Don't worry I'll be there soon. Save me a seat!" She cut off the call before Enesta could say anything else, not excited at all to go hang out with her friends. She loved spending time with them but she hasn't properly talked to Nia in months. She wanted to stay. When she looked at Nia again she had a very mischievous expression on her face.

"I'm not gonna hold you back. Have fun with your friends. We can finish this conversation tomorrow, I'll see you after school or maybe during lunch if you want?" Hyejin nodded furiously, so eager she had to fight the urge to facepalm.

"I'll see you later. Remember, it's a secret, so don't tell anyone." She put a finger to her mouth and looked around the room conspiratorially, as if someone had bugged the room.

Hyejin giggled, practically high off of life as she talked to Nia. Being around her was always so fun and interesting, even before she had found out about her powers today. Nia was the human embodiment of sunlight and attracted everyone around her with ease. Her not being in the friend group anymore left a gaping hole that couldn't be fixed. Even if Nia didn't realize it, everyone else did.

"I won't tell anyone, I promise." Nia held out her pinky finger, urging Hyejin to swear. As their fingers interlocked they could both feel a weird sort of magic course through them both, unlike anything they've ever felt before. It was weird.

"Ouch!" They both pulled their fingers away as they both felt like they got stung. Before they both laughed in unison, still reeling from their conversation.

"I'll see you later." Hyejin grabbed her bag and ran out as she waved over her shoulder.

"Remember to text me tomorrow!" Nia nodded and Hyejin ran down the stairs, hoping her friends wouldn't recognize the familiar smell of Nia's house that at this point was all over her clothes.

Today turned out to be better than she thought, Hyejin smiled and took off down the street, deciding that it would be best if she just ran instead of calling an Uber, besides she's a werewolf. She's faster than most cars anyways. She threw her hands up and smiled, a triumphant laugh filling the air. Maybe things would finally be normal again, Hyejin hoped to herself silently, for once comforted by the visions she had instead of being scared of them.

End.

Hey! It's been a month, and I've been working on trying to update at least once or twice a month. During the summer I hope to update more frequently. I hope you enjoy this chapter and if you don't I'll try to be a better writer for you guys!

See you later,

TJ