Chapter 10
Chapter 10: Mina
Moana
Smiling to myself with closed eyes, I nuzzled deeper into the warm embrace of my bedmate, inhaling
the smell of his chest.
Wait…
My eyes shot open, as did his at the same time. We stared at one another in disbelief for several long
seconds before I felt my face get hot. There was no denying the chemistry in the air between us as we
gazed at each other beneath the warmth of the sheets, but I knew deep down that this was wrong.
Edrick was my boss, and I had signed a contract to not get romantically involved!
Blushing, I quickly pulled away and climbed out of the bed. I noticed that the cardigan I had worn to bed
the night before nowy on the floor, so I picked it up and quickly put it on to cover myself while Edrick
sat up slowly in bed.
“I’m sorry,” I said, my back turned to him as I buttoned my cardigan. “Maybe this isn’t the best idea.”
“Perhaps,” he replied. His voice was low and gravelly from sleep, and it admittedly made me feel even
more attracted to him. “But I have to say that I haven’t slept that well in ages. Excluding our night in the
hotel, of course.”
As I finished buttoning up my cardigan, I felt my face flush an even deeper shade of red. No response
came to mind, so without a word, I quietly slipped out of Edrick’s room and hoped that no one would
see me.
Unfortunately, that wish did note true as I almost immediately bumped into E, who was standing
outside of her father’s room.
“Oh! Good morning, E,” I said, trying to act nonchnt as I smiled at the little girl.
She stared at me for a few moments, processing, before she spoke.
“What were you doing in my daddy’s room?”
I felt a lump rise in my throat. How could I possibly exin to a child that her father was paying me to
sleep with him? While the simple agreement was that I was only there to sleep beside him to help him
sleep and not be romantically involved, there was no way to exin that to the wary little girl
without making it sound like I was a prostitute.
“Um… Your daddy just called me in here to tell me that…” My voice faltered as I tried toe up with
an excuse. “…That he wants me to take you out for breakfast before your training today.”
E’s face lit up, and I felt a wave of relief wash over me.
“Really?” she said, her excited voice turning into a squeak.
I nodded. “Really. Go get ready. We can have crepes for breakfast at the bakery next door. I know
they’re your favorite.”
E squealed with delight and ran off. I pulled my cardigan tighter around myself, letting out a sigh of
relief once she was out of sight. At least I had a way with children.
I quickly went to my room and got dressed in something suitable for the summer heat: afortable
cotton dress and a pair of sandals. I pulled my hair up into a ponytail, and by that point, E was
already excitedly banging on my door and singing a made-up song about crepes. As we made our way
downstairs and headed to the bakery, my strange new arrangement with Edrick Morgan felt distant in
my mind.
As we were eating our breakfast together, however, something new came to my mind… A voice.
It was clear as day, and sounded nothing like my own inner thoughts. It was a woman’s voice, but it
was fading in and out.
“Hello…Moana?” it said, sounding distant and weak.
I jumped a bit in shock, nearly dropping the forkful of crepes as I lifted it to my mouth.
“Shhh…I’m Mina… Your wolf. You can just talk to me through… our mindlink…”
I tried to calm down. “I had a wolf? But… I was human! Well, if you are really my wolf..Where were you
then?”
“I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to appear… I’m still weak, but I’ve been awakened by someone close to
you. I’m not sure who, but I sense a strong connection…”
E c****d her head, speaking with her mouth full. “Are you okay?” she said, breaking my train of
thought.
I forced a weak smile and nodded, not wanting to reveal what was really going on inside my mind just
yet. “Yes, I’m fine,” I replied, reaching out to wipe a bit of whipped cream off of E’s mouth with my
napkin. “Don’t talk with your mouth full.”
I can no longer connect to Mina after that, but what happened was real. I just realized that I never really
knew who my real parents were. This ‘Mina’ said that someone near me had a close connection. I
thought of E, of the housekeeper, the maids… Could it be possible that I was rted to any one of
them?
…
It was Saturday morning, which meant that E had her weekly werewolf training today. As Selina
informed me, E had to go to these training sessions every week along with other werewolf children to
learn how to use their abilities, control their wolves, and to get the chance to shift freely in a safe space.
I had attended the first training with Selina and E, but this week, I took E alone and was allowed to
leave her there for a few hours, which gave me some time to do whatever I wanted.
I hadn’t been to the orphanage in some time, so once we dropped E off at her training, I agreed to
meet the driver when her training was finished as he had other work to do in the meantime, and
decided to take a taxi to the orphanage. Not only was I missing the children there, but I also wanted to
speak to someone about my records… Maybe they would have some answers about my lineage, and
could tell me whether I was human or not.
When I arrived, the children seemed preupied with arts and crafts, but a few of them perked up
when they saw me.
“It’s Moana!” One little girl said, waving her tiny hand enthusiastically as I stood in the doorway of the
recreation room. I waved back and smiled.
“What are you all up to?” I asked.
“Mr. Ethan is teaching us how to make papier mache,” a little boy, whose face was covered in glitter
and the white water-flour mixture used for the project, replied.
“Ethan?” I said, c*****g my head and furrowing my brow.
“Ethan Bradley,” a male voice said from behind me. I spun around to see a young man about my age;
he was tall and had long brown hair that was pulled into a bun at the nape of his neck, and wore a
white apron over his clothes that was covered in paint. I immediately recognized him as a well-known
artist from the city.
My eyes widened. “Wow,” I said, holding out my hand to shake his. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m a
huge fan of your work.”
Ethan smiled and shook my hand. “The kids here tell me that you’re quite the artist yourself…”
I blushed, thinking about my sketchbook at home. “I sketch now and again, but I wouldn’t consider
myself much of an artist,” I replied. “But I do find thebination of art and child psychology to be very
interesting.”
Ethan paused, patiently mulling over my words, before replying. “Why don’t youe to my exhibit
next week?” he replied, pulling a small card out of his apron and handing it to me. “And bring your
sketchbook. I’d love to hear more.”
Content bel0ngs to N?vel(D)r/a/ma.Org.
I took the card, a grin spreading across my face. “I’d be happy toe,” I said. Ethan smiled and
returned to his work with the children, leaving me in the doorway.
“Moana!” a familiar voice said from the stairway. I looked up and smiled to see the director of the
orphanage, Sophia,ing down the steps. “What brings you here? I heard you got a new job; live-in
au pair, right?”
I met her halfway, adjusting my purse on my shoulder with a nod. “Yes. I had a little free time, so I
thought I would stop by. And…” I bit my lip, looking at the floor for a moment. “I discovered something
recently. It’s about my identity. I was hoping you could tell me about how I came to be here when I was
a child.”
Sophia’s smile faded, reced by an expression that I couldn’t quite read. She nodded slowly, turning
to go back upstairs. “Follow me,” she said.