Wolf's Bane

Chapter Six

Is she being serious right now?

That was the thought going through Zayne's head right now after he heard the young lady's words. In fact, he would have probably gone nuclear if it was just the two of them alone inside that room but with Jack watching from the sidelines, he had to be mindful about his actions.

So, staying calm and taking a deep breath, Zayne politely asked her why she needed to do that.

"It's really okay," Zayne told her with a sigh, wanting to get this over with but her next words sent a chill right down his spine.

"Uhm, you might not believe this but you somehow feel familiar to me. I know this might sound weird but, your scent and your attitude is somewhat nostalgic," Rias said, making Zayne pause as he wondered whether he should strangle her or not right now.

Thankfully, Jack was there to resolve the situation peacefully, telling Zayne to go and take up the offer that Rias proposed.

"I'll be the one to submit the shots you took to the social media team so go and have fun. Don't waste your youth hanging around a boring guy like me," Jack said.

When Zayne was about to argue, Jack told him that this would be a nice team to meet new friends. "And, if you two really did meet before, it would help establish old ties once again," he added, subtly telling Zayne to go and find out more about her.

So, Zayne had no choice but to follow Rias, who in his eyes was nothing more but a nuisance. While he did admit in his mind that she was somehow familiar due to her scent, it just wasn't registering to him who she could possibly be.

"Are you okay with going to a small cafe? I know a great one near here although, no one goes there because they don't offer free Wi-Fi and the signal there is pretty bad," Rias said.

"Anywhere is fine," Zayne answered rather simply.

Even though he was quite annoyed and irritated earlier, he decided to play along and behave for now as this might prove to be a worthwhile conversation for him.

So, once they sat down in the corner of the cafe after ordering their drinks, Zayne got straight to the point and asked Rias to tell him about how he seemed familiar to her.

"Wait, I think I have it somewhere inside my bag," Rias said as she began digging into her handbag that she was carrying around all this time.

Then, she pulled out what seemed to be an old photo from her handbag and showed it to him. In the photo were two children who were around the age of six or seven, standing together side by side.

Immediately, Zayne felt the noose around his neck start to get tighter and decided right then and there to deal with the young lady before him. But then, she moved first and gave him a hug over the table, making him stop whatever he was planning.

After a few seconds had passed, Rias pulled away and apologised to him for doing such a friendly act all of a sudden, telling him that she was overcome with such emotion after meeting him.

"I'm sorry about all of this. I know that I'm getting ahead of myself and that, maybe I got the wrong person but this little boy in the photo was you right? I'm the little girl in the photo and at that time, my father was the one who took you in and helped you during that…incident," she said, the last part being mentioned quietly as she didn't want to strike a nerve.

For Zayne though, he was going through a range of emotions right now but the one that stood out the most for him was hope. Because, ever since moving in with Alice, he was unable to find any traces of those people who he had led towards the site where the tragedy of his life occurred.

Within a year, he never heard from them again and even with Alice's help, they were unable to find them at all or track them down. He thought that the one lead that might help him track down those who ruined his life were up in smoke. So, to find out that the person sitting in front of him was the daughter of one of those policemen, he couldn't help but crack a small smile to himself.

This…isn't this incredibly lucky?

With that thought, Zayne tried to be on his best behaviour now as he needed to get close to Rias so that he could find out if her father investigated that tragedy and if he did, there might be some clues that he had left behind.

"Well, you are right that I am the boy from the photo but, why were you carrying that photo around inside your bag? I honestly don't remember you so, I doubt that we were close back then. Is there a reason?" Zayne asked her, the most he said to someone other than Alice or Jack.

Even Rias looked surprised as she didn't think that Zayne would suddenly show such an interest about the past, so she began telling him that her father had left behind a note for her before he passed away three years ago due to cancer.

"He told me that if I ever find the person in the photo, I should tell that person everything that my father managed to figure out up until his death," Rias said.

When Zayne heard that, he found it hard to keep a straight poker face and contain his excitement. However, he also knew that things were progressing rather favourably for him. As if, everything that's happening right now was too intentional and that it might be an elaborate trap.

"How could I trust you? This might sound weird coming from a stranger but that tragedy left a huge impact on my life. So, for something like this to happen so suddenly and out of the blue, I can't help but feel that there's an ulterior motive behind your actions," Zayne said.

Upon hearing that, Rias lowered her head, as if she knew that it would be hard to convince Zayne that what she was telling him was the truth.

So, she took out her phone and gave it to him, telling him to add his number into her contacts list.

"Let's meet up once more and, I would bring you proof that you can trust me and that I am not lying. To be honest, that tragedy consumed a large part of my life as well. My father investigated it quite thoroughly, along with his fellow policemen that were there on that night you suddenly appeared and asked for help. And even after the case was dismissed due to not having enough evidence and clues as to why something like that was done, my father didn't give up and devoted the rest of his life to solving it," Rias said.

"In fact, we had to move repeatedly because my father kept on receiving death threats and warnings to not pursue the case any further. I was so scared at the time that I decided to finish my education in another country to get away from all of that. I only returned when I heard the news that my father was bedridden," Rias continued, looking quite emotional.

Witnessing all of this, Zayne decided to trust her. Not because she told him all of that but because he treated his instincts. Because the entire time she was talking, he did not sense her making a single lie at all and that she was indeed telling him everything that was on her mind.

That and seeing a woman cry is making me feel uncomfortable.

"You can stop there now. If you continue, I believe that there will be waterworks happening soon and I don't want strangers getting the wrong impression. In any case, let's meet up then again soon," Zayne said as he typed in his number into her phone and told her that she would trust her this one time.

"But don't be mistaken though. I'm only doing this out of a whim. If I feel that there's nothing for me to gain, I will leave immediately. After all, it's better if you stay away from someone like me," he added.

"Don't worry. I have already decided that, no matter what, I will help my father rest in peace by fulfilling this last wish of his."