Chapter 3

There was something unique about the stranger from afar. Just something I cannot place my hands on. With the intensifying feeling and all that radiating from where he is to my side, I could at least tell it was something like a pull that wanted to call me toward him. I think it was already.

My vision suddenly gets blocked due to the ongoing brawl happening right in front of me. Crazy enough, my mind has completely nullified such an event out of my mind as what I wanted to focus on now more than anything was that stranger ahead. If possible, get a much closer look at him. Mark would have to deal with this nonsense here without me as his spectator again.

Instantly, I mix with the crowd by the side so I could escape from the booth. My speed was an advantage in disabling others from seeing me move away. Especially those bastards that thought they could ruin my night.

Through the crowd, I let my eyes stay on the prize ahead. What the heck am I even saying? I sounded like I was on drugs or something and that was pretty annoying to the core. In a good way, though.

It didn’t take me much to get closer to the stranger despite the ruffles and shuffles of the crowd. And there he was, seated alone in a corner with bodies around him. However, he looked disinterested in the happenings as he has his focus on a wineglass of liquor on the table in front of him.

I’m trying to make a perfect understanding of his facial feature, and no lies, it was pretty hard due to the number of bodies on the way. His face was not even the problem. No, it wasn’t. The problem now was why I was actually having this strong admiration for a total stranger. It’s something that has never happened before even with my number if body counts.

He was my kind. The scent exuding from him told he was one. If I could sense his scent, then couldn’t he as well? He should. He definitely should. Then why isn’t he looking up at me? His expression wasn’t letting me know if he was in any way.

Just when I decided to take a step further to the unique stranger, I realize someone is standing in my way. Or let me say someone suddenly has blocked my path.

“Soma, where the hell are you going?”

To be honest, I thought at first that it was one of the bastards that I fought with not too long ago. It wasn’t until I snapped out of my senses, and by deciphering the tone of the voice, did I realize that it was Mark standing in my way. And yes, it felt like he was shouting into my ears because he literally was.

“Get out of my way!” I yell at him as I try to shove him aside. Why did he have to come at this time?

He doesn’t even budge from my push and this was infuriating me. I was even beginning to clench my fist so I could give him the punch he deserves at this moment for wanting to ruin my plan.

“What are you trying to do, Soma? Are you drunk?” he asks me, calmly this time around.

“I’m trying to get to him.”

“Get to who?”

“Him!” I then gesture toward the back of him with my head, and this prompts him to turn around so he could have a look at what I was referring to. However, I use that to my advantage as I push his body aside which sends him colliding with people but I cared less about that.

Unfortunately, it was a waste of time as the stranger that I have my eyes on before was now nowhere to be found. Even his wineglass wasn’t there anymore. It made it seem like he was never there before.

“Where’s the ‘him’ then?” I hear Mark’s voice behind me and I have to shake my head because I was sort of disappointed.

“He’s gone...” I whisper, still trying to see if I would at least trace him to someplace with my eyes. But there was nothing at all. Nothing. Made me feel like I was making a fool of myself.

“What are you even talking about?” Mark asks in a much too confused voice.

“Nevermind,” was the only thing I could say as I turn around to get back to where I came from.

“You’re drunk already, Soma. We need to get you out of here,”

When he grabs my arm and starts to pull me away from there, I do not fight it. Not that I do want to, but I was too downcast to even try. Why does this feel so much like a heartbreak?

I need to get my head around this whole thing. It was just some kinky feeling, so I do not have to take it up as something that important. But why does it feel so intense like this?

‘It wasn’t just any feeling,’ I hear a voice right inside my head but I do not startle or anything because I have a good idea who it is.

‘You felt it too?’ I respond to the voice in my head without even saying anything. Let’s just call it something akin to telepathic communication.

‘Maybe even more than you,’

“Where did you find her?” Cassie’s snappy voice suddenly grabs my attention and I have to focus on the reality happening around me now.

Yeah, I was now outside the clubhouse, which I apparently did not realize in time, but the music was still booming into my ears. Geez, it was kind of cold out here. For me to feel it, then it was that bad.

“She was wandering off while looking for some man or whatever it was. I clearly have no idea what she was talking about,”

“So, she’s drunk already?”

“Perhaps she is,”

And that was how I found myself in the backseat of Mark’s automobile. The very one we had used to arrive here. Felt kind of stuffy in here even if it was cold outside.

I thought I felt someone staring at me. And this caused me to turn around immediately to see if I would get a glimpse of something of a person. But I could sight nothing through the side window. Even when I looked behind through the back window, there was nothing still.

I have to shrug off the feeling because I know it could just be me acting up. I mostly feel insecure about a lot of things so this was not an exception.

The music from the clubhouse starts to fade away slowly when Mark’s car starts to get on the run. Before we knew it, we were out of the driveway and onto the road in the dark of the night.

Nothing of importance happens for a while as there was shared silence between all of us. Until Mark, perhaps unknowingly, rides onto a bump roughly.

“Ow!” I almost yelp when my hand hits the door after the impact of the car on the bump. And it obviously caught the attention of the other two.

“What is it?” Mark actually asks me.

“Didn’t you see where you were going through, you dummy? Now you made me hit my hand on the door,” I snap at him.

“Oh, sorry about that,”

I might have overreacted again. When I decide to touch the part of the hand that pain was excruciating from, I felt liquid dripping out of it. Obviously, it was blood as it felt thicker than necessary.

“Damn, I’m bleeding!” I hiss.

“Did that happen from hitting your hand on the door or you got that from the clubhouse?”

“I think it’s from the clubhouse. This doesn’t look like something a door would do,”

“That’s what you get for picking up fights with strangers,” Cassie suddenly says, much to my annoyance.

“Don’t start with me, Cassie. You know what happened in there so don’t blame me for defending myself,”

“The dude didn’t even do anything to you before you hit him with a wineglass,”

“He grabbed my shoulder... roughly! Didn’t you see all of that?”

“Maybe I would if you learn to keep your hands to yourself,”

“What about I keep it in your face!” I rebuff, already infuriated to the core.

“Stop, the two of you! This is insane!” Mark yells to put us to order and I think that worked because we were both hushed instantly.

I relax my back on the seat while holding tight the part that was bleeding. It was just a scratch so I know it was not something I should be bothered with. I just need some time and it would be like nothing of such happened.

“I knew we should have brought the guards with us...” was Cassie’s words before everything became quiet in the car throughout the rest of the journey back to the packhouse.