Chapter 84: Friends

Lilith POV

Elena’s voice woke me from my daydream. She entered my room filled with excitement. Theo sat on the couch in my room, continuing to read. “I’ve missed you so much, my friend. How’s California? Did you get to battle those demons of yours? Did you finally get a kiss from Daniel?” She bombarded me with questions I couldn’t answer all at once.

I cleared my throat and gestured toward Theo. “Oops.” Elena covered her mouth with both hands. “Hello there,” she said softly, her tone shifting suddenly. I glanced at her and saw she was flirting with him. Elena never flirts—what has she been learning at school these days?

Theo smiled at her when she offered to shake his hand. She kept smiling. “Theo?” she called. Shit! I had told her about the bad things I knew regarding Theo. She looked at me. “He seemed calmer than you described,” Elena said.

I chuckled. I wished she hadn’t said that. I looked at Theo and shook my head, wishing he wouldn’t find out I’d spoken poorly of him to my friend—especially not this way.

“I heard about Alaric’s parents. Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked, my voice calmer than before. I felt sad when I remembered what my mother had said. I didn’t know his family was moving away from NYC. Maybe they didn’t want to stay in a place that reminded them of their son.

“Your mother told me not to tell you. She said she wanted you to focus on school,” Elena said, walking over and sitting beside me.

I sighed. “I feel so sad for Alaric. He’s been through so much, and I blame myself. I shouldn’t have dragged him into my world.”

“It’s not your fault. He wanted to get to know you, Lilith. You didn’t do anything wrong,” Elena consoled me.

“Did you find anything?” I asked Theo. He shook his head.

“Not yet. This book is extensive, and I’ve learned about many creatures’ histories. You’d be amazed if you read it.”

“Nah,” I waved my hand dismissively. “Ava would love it. Did you know? She didn’t believe in this stuff at first—until now.”

“What are you guys looking for? What am I missing?” Elena asked.

I looked at her. “Something happened in California, and we need to eliminate it before it destroys the city.”

Elena chuckled.

“What?” I asked.

“I thought you said you wanted peace of mind—that’s why you chose California,” she replied.

I sighed. “I thought it’d be a free city. I didn’t expect to encounter things like this there, either. All this for peace,” I muttered, rolling my eyes. “We have to find a way to win this time. Beauty’s father won’t rest until he gets what he wants. I don’t know what that is, but when I felt his aura, it was powerful.”

“Like your father?” Elena asked.

“Don’t call him my father! My real father is downstairs—and yes, he’s more than King Cain.”

“Hm. You can’t deny he isn’t your biological father,” she said.

I stood up and walked to the window, gazing through the woods outside. I missed those days so much—when Alaric would sneak through my window to see me. I turned to Elena. “He tried to kill me. He killed my sister and used my mother for a meal. Do you expect me to call that kind of person my father? No! He’s a monster, and if I see him again, I’ll make sure to stab him hard.”

Elena burst into laughter. “I can’t believe you’re saying all this. Honestly, it doesn’t seem like you hate him.”

“But I do. He’s not my father,” I insisted.

“Lilith!” Theo called. “Come and see this.” I approached him. “Look at this,” he said, pointing to the book he was reading.

“Did you find something?” Elena asked. I nodded, and she joined us.

“It’s a Kanima,” I read aloud, taking the book from Theo. “How is that possible?” I asked.

“What do you mean?” Theo asked. “Have you encountered one before?”

“I only saw it in a series I watched—Teen Wolf. How do they exist? I thought they were fictional.”

Theo scoffed. “Bloodsuckers exist, too. So what makes you think a Kanima doesn’t? I told you—he used ancient magic.”

“That still doesn’t explain this. In Teen Wolf, Jackson was bitten by Derek Hale and instead of becoming a werewolf, he became a Kanima. How does ancient magic create a Kanima?” I asked.

Theo ran his hand through his hair. “I don’t know, Lilith. We all saw what the dean was up to—stop relying on movies for this. This is real life. According to that book, these creatures existed in ancient times, often used for revenge by their masters.”

“Just like in the movies,” I said.

“Alright, everyone, calm down,” Elena said. “This is nothing. And you,” she turned to me, “how did you find time to watch Teen Wolf without me?”

“I just watched it on Netflix. Ava introduced me to it, and I enjoyed it. You should watch it too so you won’t get lost when I mention something from it.”

“Girls!” Theo muttered under his breath.

“Did you say something?” I asked. He shook his head and asked for the book. I handed it to him.

“What do we do now? If what the book says is true—if the dean is using the Kanima for revenge—we need to find ways to stop it. But…” I lowered my voice, “my question is, why does he want revenge? Who does he hate so much?”

“That’s what we need to find out. We’ll wait for Riley and Ethan’s results on Jackson. If he turns out to be the werewolf who bit you, then we’ll have to question him about his motives,” Theo said.

“A werewolf bit you?” Elena asked. “Why didn’t you tell me all this? I thought we tell each other everything.”

“Like you told me about Alaric’s parents leaving NYC? Were you ever going to tell me? What if I hadn’t heard from my mother?” I asked.

“Everyone, calm down,” Theo said. “We still have work to do.” She looked away, and so did I. I didn’t like fighting with my friends, but I was too angry.

Elena cleared her throat. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. Your mother made me promise not to. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I’m not mad at you,” I replied.

Elena sat on the bed. “So, how did they kill the Kanima in Teen Wolf?” she asked. Theo looked at her with disgust.

“Does that matter?” he asked.

“It does. You need to know how to fight them,” Elena insisted. “Maybe the series mentioned how to kill a Kanima.” She paused, swallowed, then continued. “Just like with bloodsuckers—they’re afraid to enter churches, fear holy water, and a wooden dagger through the heart kills them.”

“Is that so?” I asked. How had I never known that?

“Yes,” Elena nodded. “Look, Lilith, you have to tell us how they killed it in the series.”

“They didn’t,” I said, walking to the bed and sitting beside her.

“What do you mean, they didn’t? If it was revenge, they had to kill it to win,” Elena argued.

“Well, they killed the master who controlled the Kanima. Since the Kanima was once their classmate, it learned to control itself and became their friend,” I explained.

“Wow. Do you think this one could become your friend too?” Elena asked. I shook my head. She was talking nonsense.

“Alright, that’s enough,” Theo said. “I’ve heard enough from you girls. Lilith,” Theo added, closing the book. “We need to leave now.”

“Now?” I asked, looking out the window. It was already getting dark.

He nodded.

“No, we can’t leave now. It’ll be dark soon. Let’s have a sleepover and leave in the morning,” I suggested, grabbing two blankets from my closet. I handed them to both of them.

“I can’t sleep here,” Theo said.

“Oh, you can stay with my brother. He might suck your blood in the middle of the night—your choice,” I joked, and Elena laughed along with me. I knew she wouldn’t go back to the hostel. I couldn’t let her leave, even though I knew NYC was safe. I missed my friend, and just one night with her meant a lot.

“You can take the couch. Elena and I will use the bed. If you want to wash up and change, there’s a unisex T-shirt in my wardrobe,” I said, smiling at him. He nodded, probably feeling awkward, but I was fine with it. He was now my friend, so what was mine was his.

I watched Theo put the blanket down and head to the bathroom. I turned to Elena, and we both laughed. She asked me about Alaric, and I told her what we’d been up to. I couldn’t wait for things to go back to normal—so he’d remember me again, and we could make things work.

Theo did as I instructed, and I pretended to sleep while he dressed. The light was already off, and Elena was long gone. I couldn’t sleep—I kept thinking about what Theo said about the Kanima. How do we fight it? The only things I’ve fought before were hybrids, bloodsuckers, demons, and witches. But a Kanima? They were deadly and relentless.

I sighed silently. I didn’t want Theo to know I was awake. My mind drifted to Daniel—how was he? Was Beauty casting spells on him again? I wondered.

The next morning, I woke early, smelling my mother’s cooking. I didn’t tell her I was back to feeding on blood—she’d freak out. I woke Elena so she could clean up. She needed to be in class before 11. Theo entered with the book in hand. “Morning,” he said, approaching the couch. The blanket was neatly folded and placed.

“Are we leaving now?” I asked.

“Not yet. Your mother asked me to fetch you. You didn’t tell her you’re back to feeding on blood. And when was the last time you fed?” he asked.

I glanced toward the bathroom where Elena was showering. “Be quiet,” I whispered. “Three days ago.”

“So you didn’t feed at the party when everyone else did?”

“I shook my head,” I replied. “I’ll go downstairs now.” I turned to Theo. “Tell me when you’re leaving.”

I left and closed the door behind me, heading to the dining room where my mother had already set the table.

“Your friend already ate, so… this is yours,” she said, placing a cup of milk beside me. “Eat up, darling. I heard you’re going back to school.” She sat next to me. I couldn’t eat much but pretended to. I didn’t want her to know I was back to feeding. I didn’t want her to be disappointed in me.

I looked around the room. “Where’s Arden? I haven’t seen him since yesterday. Is he okay?”

“He’s fine. He left this morning. He started a 7- 12 job. Don’t worry,” she reassured me.

“I’m glad he’s doing well. Please take care of yourself while I’m gone, okay?”

“I will. Love you,” my mother said, watching me eat.

I forced a smile and pretended to eat. Elena came down to join me. I shared most of my food with her and hugged her before she left for school. We promised to stay in touch.