Chapter 3

Claudia's POV

When I woke up, it was noon.

Since yesterday's injury was still very visible, I decided not to go to school today because teachers never cared about me.

And I couldn't have the energy to deal with stuff like book bags thrown down the stairs, tables and chairs collapsed in the hallway and how to get out of a locked locker.

Yesterday's clothes still had dust and grease stains on them, which might cause me to get beaten up again when someone saw that.

Of course, I didn't have any clothes that I could change into, so I had to go to the river in my pajamas to get my clothes cleaned.

The weather was getting colder. There were few people on the river at this time of year, so I hoped no one would see me.

Then I saw a familiar face.

God, couldn't I have this one little wish? What's Isaac doing here!

He should be getting ready for his Coming-of-age Ceremony，not taking a walk by the cold river!

Please, didn't let him see me!

I prayed silently in my mind, hoping I'd run away before he saw me.

But the next moment he turned toward me, staring at me with that familiar scrutinizing look, and I was as fixed in place as a deer caught in the light, afraid to move a step.

Isaac walked over slowly and scanned me up and down. It occurred to me that I was wearing pajamas, which were probably a rag in his eyes. Although the clothes I usually wore were rags for him too, maybe much worse than that.

"What's in your hand?" He was asking about the basin and dirty clothes in my hands.

For a moment, I felt so ashamed to say this simple answer when it was clear that he had seen me in a wretched state so many times.

Isaac suddenly raised his hand and I thought he was going to hit me, so I hurriedly lowered my head. I didn't expect his hand to go in the direction of the basin, and he yanked it towards him. I subconsciously clutched the basin tightly and fought with Isaac. But the disparity in strength allowed Isaac to snatch the basin away and I lost my balance and fell to the ground.

This heavy fall made me feel like I was going to break my tailbone, and there were sharp little rocks on the ground cutting into the hands that were supporting me. I looked up at Isaac and the basin he was holding. A sudden gust of wind blew and Isaac looked down at me with a slightly dull look. It occurred to me then that he had seen my eyes. My secret had been seen by him and a great sense of fear crept up my spine and I couldn't stop trembling in front of him again.

I wanted to escape the scene in a hurry and was about to get up from the floor when Isaac suddenly crouched down. I was still sitting on the floor, and he had his arm on my left side and his leg half-kneeling on my right side, holding me in his arms. The gesture was like a "Don't run" warning. I could only helplessly shield my eyes with my hands, which he removed with a gentle but irresistible force. Then he ruffled my hair in what could be called a "gentle" manner.

It was the first time I'd seen Isaac's face so close and suddenly I understood why so many girls broke their hearts for him. His brown eyes looked like melted caramel in the sunlight, his nose was high and straight, and his thin lips were pursed together as he looked at me intently. As Isaac got closer and closer, the smell mixed with ebony and cedar on him lingered on my nose.

I could only lean back as far as I could, but I could still feel the warmth emanating from his thick chest. He began to trace my face with his fingers and I subconsciously held my breath. I could clearly hear my heart pounding violently until he brushed my lips. "That's too close!" The alarm bell went off inside me and I could feel his warm and moist breath. So I started to struggle and Isaac came back to his consciousness like he was waking up.

It was like he took my warmth with him when he got up and he tossed the basin next to me. "You treat the trash like a treasure." And then he looked at my pajamas. "Don't ever go out with that crap again. No one wants to see your dried-up body."

I was relieved to hear him say that, but the shame came flooding back. I'd barely had a few normal meals, and skinny as I was, I was a little girl in front of the sexy Fiona. And not to mention Isaac, who was definitely the tallest and strongest one in the pack. He wore his shirt with the sleeves rolled up, showing off his thick and strong forearms, which was obviously proof that he had trained very hard.

In a panic, I picked up the basin and fled from the scene. Now I just hoped that Isaac hadn't even noticed my eyes, or that he didn't talk to anyone about what happened today. If word got out about my eyes among the wolf pack, the consequences would be more than I could imagine.

Isaac's POV

Riverside was a secret base for me. Because every time I was at the training ground I could always hear people talking about me, and some of them would spread the word about my training to everyone, especially the girls, led by Fiona. I was very glad that none of them were my mate. Training by the river could prevent me from being bothered until I saw a skinny figure.

I had always seen this traitor's daughter lately, and she didn't seem to see me yet, keeping her head down as she walked. I shifted my eyes to the river until she could see me. It was all too apparent to me that she took a violent step backwards the moment she saw me. She must be thinking of hurrying up and slipping away now while I was not looking, and I stifled the laughter inside me as I stared at her with a deadly stare.

"Childish." Caesar, my wolf, taunted me in my head.

"But it's funny, look at the look on her face, like a deer caught in a high beam."

"I thought you'd be an adult soon, but it looks like it's still early." Caesar sighed.

I approached the frozen fawn and that's when I could see what she was wearing. It was a rag, a rag she had put on her body. Her old clothes looked dirty as well, but this rag showed off her thin arms and legs completely.

Rarely, she smelled very nervous, more nervous than any time she'd seen me before. My eyes went to the basin she was clutching in her arms. Was there something that made her nervous? The fawn was hiding some kind of treasure, which made the basin arise my great curiosity and I decided to snatch it up and take a look.

Surprisingly, she completely grabbed the basin and didn't let go, which made me even more curious. I grabbed the basin out of her hand, I was probably using too much force, and she fell to the ground at once. I looked at her funny face and was about to laugh at her when a gust of wind blew away the long hair that was covering her face.

For that short moment, I was caught in those green eyes that were like an emerald glowing in the moonlight, which I had never seen before. Those eyes were so beautiful to give a strange sense of demon, like Siren, which made me sink deep into that crystalline turquoise.

But a powerful emotion in those green eyes affected me, and it told me that the fawn was very fearful. I snapped back to my senses then, and the fawn put her head back down. She struggled to get up and I could smell a faint scent of blood, and it must be because she had just fallen.

As if compelled by those green eyes, I crouched down to be level with her, bracing my arm on the left side of her body, enveloping her in the shadow of my body, and lifted her chin. She saw me crouch down and immediately shielded her eyes with her hands. I removed her hand gently and then ruffled her long hair that had been covering those eyes.

It was so beautiful, and I examined the face carefully. I had never looked at her seriously because she had grown up with her hair covering half of her face and everyone thought she was ugly. Unconsciously, my hand traced the outline of her face, the eyebrows, the eyes, the bridge of her nose, finally, my fingers slowly brushed over her lips, which looked kissable. It wasn't until she struggled up in my hands that I realized that I was lost in thought because of her.

"Did you just try to kiss her?" Caesar said with a flirtatious tone in my head.

"No, not at all...I am just...trying to get a little closer to see how ugly her face is."

"Sure." Hell knows why Caesar was so smug.

To make up for my earlier faux pas, I looked at the basin I had just grabbed from her. Well, I wanted to roll my eyes at her, for inside the basin was another rag. I tossed the basin at her, taunting her mercilessly about her rags and her figure. She looked less scared than she did a moment ago. What a freak.

Then the fawn rushed off and I didn't react to stop her. I was still caught in a trance because of those green eyes. My instincts told me that there must be a secret in those green eyes that she was trying to hide so hard.