Chapter 119

Chapter 119
Amelia's P.O.V

I was still putting all my thoughts together and trying to come to a conclusion when suddenly I sensed movement to my side. I glanced in the direction softly, not wanting whatever it was to be aware yet, before waiting a while for a repeat of confirmation. The movement—just a little shuffle or something like that—came again, just as I had anticipated. This time, I was ready.

I asked, my voice carrying the authority of the owner of the park, "I was supposed to be here in secret and busy. But it seems someone was watching me, stalking me. Well, if that was the case, I was going to call the person out right and figure out what the person's business was with me."

If someone wanted to actually watch me like that, then the person had to do it a little more softly. I sensed the movement again, so I stared right at the direction where the person was without any hesitation. My eyes fixated to add pressure, to tell the person I already knew they were there. "You better come out right now," I said slowly. "If I already know you are there and you don't want me to bring you out myself," I thundered afterwards.

This time, the shifting was a little more obvious. Now it was completely confirmed for me. So I relaxed, letting my breathing even out, determined not to make a rash decision, especially because I didn't know what I was dealing with. Then someone stepped out from where she had been hidden perfectly. I couldn't help but wonder if this was on purpose.

She shimmied towards me slowly, hesitatingly. But when she spoke, I couldn't help but feel there was something malicious attuned to her voice. "I'm sorry, I was just—" she started.

"Like I'm supposed to believe that," I retorted immediately. "Who are you exactly? And why are you here watching me?" I asked her, standing up with a light and towering over her, trying to look as threatening as possible.

She cowered a little, but her voice remained confident and not trembling as I expected. Her actions were contrasting; clearly, she had an idea of how things were supposed to go from here and already knew exactly what she wanted. If anything, it seemed like everything was going exactly according to her plan, with the way she tried to hide that little smile.

I couldn't help but reevaluate our entire position. Was I actually the predator and she the prey, or was it the other way around? Could I say that I was in control if in the end I would do exactly what she wanted me to do?

"What did you find?" she asked all of a sudden, her words so sharp and unexpected that I frowned.

"And how is that any of your business?" I started, but she interrupted me.

"If you want to understand what's actually going on, then you might want to tell me a little more," she stated.

Her words weren't exactly the most pleasant, but at least she was dropping her weakling act and starting to show her true self. I wasn't sure exactly how to prepare for her true intentions, but I had the good sense to take what might come at me in stride, while not taking too much notice of her.

"I'll be careful talking to you," I said, taking one slow step towards her that felt like scaling a world and finally entering enemy territory. Only this time, my presence completely filled it, and if it came to an issue, I would more than win. I would completely destroy her.

Her voice was softer now as she spoke, maybe finally realizing she didn't have everything under control as she thought. "I'll tell you what I think I found," she started. "The relics—don't they indicate that Alpha Jerome is not just the one that attacks you with his own?" she asked.

My eyes widened in disbelief, but I quickly retained my composure. "So what?" I asked.

"Secrets," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "Secrets that you'll never get in on right here. And you think you're safe," she said before laughing—a sound that was like the cackle of a witch.

She gestured, continuing, "If you want to be aware, if you want enlightenment, don't know exactly why the people you trust aren't exactly to be trusted. Then I'm here to help you. I'm simply here to give you some revelation and nothing more. But of course, you have to wear the stress. If not, I'll be on my way."

She didn't make a move to start leaving after saying that, and just as well, because I would not have let her go. She could have just come and talked to me like that or not at all, when she had no cards left in her possession and I completely controlled the tides right here and now.

"Alright, alright," I said, looking down and frowning. "Tell me what you think I should know. Give me the so-called enlightenment."

I might have tried to simply teach her a lesson for the way she acted and spoke to me, but I decided that I would relent this time around. Simply for the reason of her having the knowledge that I required—or so she claimed—if she decided not to tell me what she knew that could probably help me, then I was going to have to needlessly complicate things by trying to force her into talking. And that wasn't my intention at all.

If anything, I'd love to get out of here as soon as possible. So best to have it on her terms, at least for now.

She looked like she was about to blurt out something—like an idea had popped in her head. The real deal: what I needed to know. But the next moment, she closed her mouth. I frowned, getting the message that she probably didn't want to tell me anything outright yet. She was still trying to keep things on the low key.

"Come on, you're bubbling to tell me," I said, rolling my eyes at her. She bit her lip but didn't listen—not because of my words. I wasn't quite sure how important whatever she had to tell me was, so I wasn't really bothered as she spoke.

"You just have to know that everybody here knows who they sing, and your dear little alpha," she started before laughing a little. "They sound very malicious. He's going to turn out to be much more trouble than you imagine, and you think you know him, but you don't. You should ask about him and figure out what I'm talking about," she said.

I frowned at her words. There was something about what she was saying, and there was a certain confidence she used while speaking that left me unsettled. The way she mentioned the alpha, like it was sort of the source of one of my problems, she went at me and turned around as if she was about to start leaving.

Well, hell—she was. I hadn't given her permission yet. If she thought that she could just come over and pass me some cryptic information without me doing anything at all to her or asking her more, then she was mistaken. If she really thought that I wouldn't let her do as she pleased—come and confuse me and then leave immediately—then she could forget about it. It was definitely not happening.

"Cold," I called, and she froze right in her tracks. It was definitely funny how that happened, how she seemed to understand the situation here and willingly subjected herself to my power—wisely, also, because if she didn't, well, simply put, she was going to be in a lot of trouble.

"What is it?" she asked, the words sounding annoyed like she wanted to be gone now that her mission was done. Well, that was only if I would let it, and right now, I wouldn't—not at all.

"I need to see you again," I told her. "Come."

She froze right in her tracks. I didn't know why, but somehow I felt like she wasn't just familiar. I should actually recognize her, and the fact that I didn't recognize her yet was something that I needed to look into. Because I should honestly be doing better than that.

"Do what I said," I told her, my voice having a quiet, toned-down quality to it. She took one never step towards me, turning to face me, and then I looked at her face intently with a mega frown. What I saw left me surprised.

"You are—you are Miriam," I started.

She frowned at me. "Yes," she responded after a while, but she looked away after she said so in a way that made me aware that she wasn't quite happy with how I turned out to recognize her.

"You were hiding," I told her, my words slow and my voice rather stiff. It was clear that she had been hiding from me, simply because of how she hadn't come in her usual clothes and how she had disguised herself. The way she put what she put on was in such a way that I would know that it was in such a way that I would not know that it was her, even though it wouldn't seem like she was explicitly trying to hide herself.

"Go," I said. And she started moving once again, however I remained there, a thoughtful expression on my face.