The Howl of Her Spell

Chapter4

It was almost dawn, and she took the time to go home and sleep.

She lives not far from Bly, in an old apartment building two streets away.

In the early morning, everything was quiet; the wind had dropped, but the temperature was significantly lower.

Selena wrapped her thin windbreaker tightly around herself, yawned, and headed home.

Back at her home, the clear light of dawn filled the room. Selena pulled the thick curtains shut, fell down on the bed, and rolled her long legs over the quilt.

The phone rang; it was Ajay.

"Sister! How about my brother's brother?"

The voice was so loud it hurt her head.

"Ajay..."

"Hmm?"

Selena's head was buried in the pillow, muffling her voice.

"Do you still remember that time when you touched a drunk girl in a*****e? What did Gideon say to you at that time?"

Ajay recalled it for a while and sighed, "Okay, I understand."

Turning off the phone, Selena fell into a deep sleep.

Vaguely, she seemed to hear the man's deep laughter and scolding again. He pinched Ajay's neck and said that even as a gangster, one should behave with style.

The screaming fat man, the boy in the school uniform, the silent back...

This daydream was somewhat confusing.

Three days later, late at night.

The same time period, the same place, the same cigarette.

Ajay was wearing work clothes: a standard three-piece suit, a white shirt, suit pants, and a small vest. His oily hair was combed meticulously. Ignoring his often disconnected brain, the appearance is quite deceiving.

"In this case..." He stood aside with his hands behind his back, looking at the man lying flat on the stretcher with Selena, his face bearing a solemn expression. "All five fingers are broken."

Selena put her hands on her face and leaned weakly on the sofa, listening to the groans of the man on the stretcher.

"sister."

"Um."

"Actually, I'm not sure."

"What’re you referring to?."

"Why do we have to win?"

Selena turned her head and Ajay looked at her seriously.

"This is no longer the era of street fighting. In a society governed by law, if you ignore someone who comes to find trouble, he can't do anything to you."

Selena remained silent.

Ajay said: "Does what I said make sense?"

The phone vibrated, Selena glanced at it, paused slightly, and stood up.

Ajay is still saying: "Do you think my analysis is right? It's not necessary to win. Why don't you go talk to Brother Gideon about this and forget it? I really can't find anyone good at fighting."

Selena put on a trench coat. "Forget it?" She passed by Ajay and pinched his cheek, "When did you become so timid? Don't you know Gideon wants to save face? We fought against the city's top tyrant for more than half a year and finally won, so we will win again, okay? Besides,men are fragile, If Gideon loses in this little fight, he might be too embarrassed to keep the bar open!"

The messages from Dane were very concise, totaling two:

1."Come out."

2."I'm in front of your store."

The bright moon shone high.

There was a lot of traffic on the road.

The neon light's shadow shines on his shirt, reflecting colorful night lights. Dane was still dressed as before, with his hands in his pockets and a backpack on his shoulder, his head slightly lowered and expressionless.

Selena came out of the store and stopped for a moment. The way he ran into her eyes had an indescribable feeling of blending with the night, or being blessed by the darkness.

He noticed something and turned around. The questioning look in his eyes interrupted Selena's thoughts. She was taken aback: "What's wrong?"

He came over and said, "Do you have any ill intentions?"

The doorman looked over cautiously.

"It's okay, it's someone I know." Selena tilted her head, "This way."

In the narrow alley, some green plants grew, and their colors appeared richer in autumn. There was a Bly’s light sign at the entrance of the alley. The light was dim and couldn't penetrate too deeply. People didn't come here often, but the store staff still cleaned it every day, and the stone pavement was almost spotless.

Dane's back was to the wall, and Selena stood in front of him.

He was wearing a pair of white and gray sneakers, and his school uniform pants were rolled up in two pleats, exposing part of his ankle. His disheveled hair blocked his eyes. Although he remained silent, Selena could clearly feel that something was off with him.

Selena thought for a few seconds and asked, "Did you fail the class?"

A knowing, critical strike.

His annoyance doubled instantly, and he stared at her with a sudden intensity that made Selena stand up a little straighter.

Being stared at by his eyes was a bit irritating.

"Where's your road-bike-bro?" Selena asked.

"He went to the hospital for a fever," Dane replied.

"Did you suffer from the sequelae of being frightened? What a pity. Let me first state that I was not the one who cast the curse," Selena said, her tone clearly gloating.

This gloating tone made Dane's gaze become darker. At that moment, the light box next to him changed color, shifting from bright yellow to rose purple, casting flickering lights across his chiseled face.

Selena put her hands in the pockets of her windbreaker and stared at him motionless.

The two of them just looked at me and I looked at you, and no one said anything for a long time. Dane was obviously not one to talk about topics. He waited for Selena to speak, but she didn't.

The vehicles outside the alley passed by in a flash, setting off waves of roar. Selena didn't mean not to speak, but the opportunity to observe magical species up close was so rare that her attention was occupied by her eyes and she couldn't talk.

After a while, Dane finally couldn't bear it anymore. He grabbed the shoulder strap and swung the bag up again. He said "Forget it" and left.

"Hey..." Selena quickly stopped him, "Don't forget it." She tilted her head and finally started talking about business. "A person was carried in just now, did you see it?"

He hummed.

Selena said, "Our people." She shook her head and said sadly, "We can't find anyone good at fighting."

After a moment of silence, Dane asked, "What's going on?" After asking, he added in a deep voice, "Let me tell you first, I won't do bad things for you."

The light from the light box changed color again, from rose purple to ice blue. Selena's tongue traced half a circle in her mouth. In fact, Dane's eyes are not big, but his irises are slightly larger than those of ordinary people. He may not have noticed it himself, but he always looked at her with a guarded gaze, his eyes condensed, vaguely creating the effect of wearing contact lenses. His eyes were like two water-permeable pearls, crystal clear and pure, but also a little cold. She knew he was disguised, and his real eye color should be pure gold.

Selena suddenly said, "Take off these contacts and let me take a look."

He frowned in confusion.

Selena came to her senses and clarified, "Don't worry, I won't make you do anything bad. Someone took the initiative to mess with us."

He waited for a more detailed explanation.

"Maybe they are our rivals," Selena said. "They are competing maliciously! They sent a thug to our door for no apparent reason and blocked one of our viewing areas. Later, when we went to argue with him, one of them was beaten back. Do you think this is unreasonable?"

He considered it for a while, then finally nodded.

Seeing his agreement, Selena asked, "So, what do you need me to do?"

He asked in a low voice, "Is there any way you can imitate a human appearance and voice?"

"Sure, who should I imitate?"

"My dad."

"What?"

"I've violated the school rules and may face a warning or even suspension; the school requires a parent to come..."

Selena laughed and agreed readily.

To be honest, a wolf who not only goes to school but also cares so much about his studies cannot be simply described as "rare."

Selena thought for a while, "You couldn't have been raised by humans, right?"

He replied, "None of your business."

Of course, it's none of her business; she's just being nosy.

"Your parent-teacher meeting, when was it?" Selena asked.

"Saturday, maybe," Dane said.

"Then I'll have to be earlier. We'll meet in front of the bar at ten o'clock tomorrow night," Selena said.

He hummed and walked out with her.

Selena looked at his back and suddenly said, "Just in case, let's get the ugly talk out of the way. If you lose, this matter will be blown over."

Dane stopped at the entrance of the alley and turned around.

The shadows of the branches fell on his shirt, like a pattern printed on it, natural and docile. It's a pity that this dimly colored light did not soften his figure. He was angular, like a night shadow torn open with bare hands.

Selena pursed her lips, "Pretend I didn't say anything, see you tomorrow."