“Calissa, my darling, I thought that we had lost you forever!” her mother said while still sobbing.

Mother and daughter hadn’t stopped holding hands and hugging since they were reunited.

Her father said in rush, “Tell us how you were captured.”

All of a sudden, Calissa stopped. She had forgotten about Minhyuk and most importantly she had forgotten about what had happened to her before her capture. Calissa swallowed as she remembered the someone in black, who had attacked her.

*flashback start*

Calissa had always been a curious soul. She often walked the boundary to see if she could catch a glimpse of a hunter or even a sight of the different terrain.

She began peeking through the trees hoping to see something unusual that she could go look up. All of a sudden, she had a strange feeling of being watched, it made her uncomfortable and afraid. She began to make her way away from the boundary and closer to home.  As she began to move faster, someone in black appeared.

“Where might you be going?” the person said in an eerie voice.

She swallowed, the entire situation screamed danger but she found that she couldn’t scream and her wings refused to obey her.

The person came closer, “I’m sorry to do this little angel but this Pact has gone on long enough.”

Suddenly, the person flew at her, he was an angel!

*flashback end*

Calissa hurriedly told her clan about how she had gotten hurt and of her time with Minhyuk. When she spoke of Minhyuk, her clan could see a change in her demeanour, she was happier and somehow lighter. 

Her brother, Archer, asked, “Do you love him?”

She stared at her brother and paused. Her silence was an answer on its own.

His face grew dark, “How could you do this to us?”

She bit her lip.

“Do you know how worried we’ve been? What did they do to you? What did he do to you?”

Her eyes started to water. Her breathing became rapid. Her wings fluttered in an uncertain and unhappy manner.

Her mother cut Archer off, “Let her rest! She probably just needs time to clear her head. A lot has happened and remember she was betrayed by an angel.”

Calissa and her mother then went to her room where her mother tucked her in and allowed her to sleep. Calissa stayed awake for a while. Questions trickled through her mind and refused to let her rest until the lack of answers led her to an uneasy slumber.

When she woke, she heard loud voices speaking so she decided to sneak towards the voices to hear what was being said.

She heard her brother’s voice, “It must be some brainwashing that has made her this way. Plus, he was the only one who showed her any kindness. She is likely mistaking gratitude for love. She must understand that he kept her from her clan, he made her become someone she is not.”

Her mother’s voice then cut in, “We must consider what we will do if she truly is in love with the hunter. They will likely want to banish her.”

“We will do nothing. Let us all rest,” her father’s stern voice ended the heated discussion.

 Calissa slowly crept back to her room.

Was her brother right? Had she mistaken thankfulness for something deeper? Minhyuk had kept her in his home. He had trained her to hunt Angels.

Then she was assaulted with happier memories of times where they walked together, where they spoke of things that either enjoyed and little moments where she had fallen a little more in love with him. Maybe in the beginning her feelings for him had been tainted by gratefulness but when he started to go on hunts and then came back, things were different and he became more real to her. His kindness and gentleness could not have been faked; they were genuine, the look in his eyes betrayed the feelings he felt in his heart. She was sure of this, for both were lonely in a world so divided by hate; how could they not have fallen in love?

“Calissa,” Castor said softly as he gently walked into her room. He sat on her bed and her hair. “I know you’re awake, do you want to talk?”

Castor was likely the brother that she was closest to, they were closer in age and had spent many days exploring various places together before he started training.

Calissa moved so that she was sitting up and against the headboard.

“It’s really comforting to have you back. We were so worried especially when we didn’t know what happened to you. One of the patrolling Angels heard that you had been taken and slowly we managed to get intel about who had you. After much debate, they decided to launch an attack to find you,” Castor explained.

She rolled his words inside her head. They had probably decided to launch an attack because they had definite information and she was a part of a strong and powerful clan, her father was a part of the council.

After a short silence, “You know that you’ll have to decide between him and us?” he asked in a sad manner.

He left her with two main questions: Did she truly love Minhyuk? Would she give up her clan for him?