The Lycan Bride

It was almost like a fairy tale that suddenly made her the main character in the story. No, when she saw her form, the story was more of a legend than a fairy tale. It was hard to believe it, even though Lynne saw it with her own eyes. She kept thinking that this was some hallucination. Yes, this was just a trick, maybe hypnosis or something. No... no, this was just a dream. Well, just a dream.

A dream that always came to her every night, a nightmare where she kept running. Dreams that made her body feverish every time they appeared, nightmares that she never expected to end like this.

"Run... You have to run from here. We'll pick you up. Quickly run and get out of here arrrgghhh ...." Lynne Utsa, a girl with shiny orange hair, woke up from her sleep thanks to a dream that was no longer familiar.

An apparition of a screaming woman covered in blood in the middle of the forest, her being told to keep running and something she couldn't remember clearly running after her. What was going on? Why did the dream feel so real? The face she couldn't remember when she woke up and the strange feeling left behind.

Sitting on her bed looking tired, Lynne looked down deeply with her hands covering her eyes. Her heavy breathing caught the attention of Anna, who entered the room.

"Morning Lynne, did you sleep well?" the woman passed Lynne's bed to the window in the centre of the room to open it.

Lynne recognised the woman as a substitute for her mother, not because she married her father. But because that woman cared for her since childhood, even though they were not relatives, she was only a close friend of her parents. Even so, Anna did not know what Lynne's parents had gone through before their death.

Smoothing out her wavy hair that was conspicuously exposed to the sunlight that broke through into her room, Lynne looked at Anna with a face that she tried to look fine with a smile. "I slept quite well today," she replied, ignoring that Anna could see through her deception.

Anna sat on the edge of Lyyne's bed. She looked at that face intently. Stroking the strands of hair that fell on her forehead and pinning them behind Lynne's ears. "Are you going to continue hiding your troubles from me?" the woman spoke softly. "Last night, you had a high fever. This happens often, doesn't it?"

It wasn't the first time Lynne had a high fever one night, and the next day Lynne's condition improved like she hadn't experienced anything. No matter how Anna tried to think about it, Lynne's condition made her anxious.

Lynne's pair of light brown eyes looked at her calmly, reassuring the woman that there was nothing for her to worry about. "Maybe it's because I'm feeling too tired. You know I've been quite active in school activities lately." Lynne took the woman's hand to clasp it, staring at the back of it as she spoke to her. Then afterwards, she lifted her face with a smile and looked back at him. "I'm fine."

Anna nodded. "Okay then, tell me if anything happens." She returned Lynne's handshake. "Don't make me the last person you tell about your condition; I'll be very disappointed."

"I won't," Lynne replied quickly, hugging the woman.

Anna caressed Lynne's face, observing it warmly. There was happiness radiating and a look of longing in her eyes.

The warmth radiated from the palms that rested on her cheeks. There was magic that came from the woman's soft hands every time they touched her. Something Lynne was sure of was the feeling of love from parents she couldn't remember the existence of because they left too early before Lynne could even recognise them. But thanks to Anna, she could understand a parent's love for their child. "Did I make you think of my mother?"

Anna nodded. "You look so much like her, your shiny hair colour-"

"My friends say my hair colour looks ridiculous," Lynne cut in, laughing at herself.

"Don't be friends with them anymore." Anna's face looked serious, and so did her tone of voice.

Lynne stifled her laughter as she nodded. "I know they don't mean to offend me-"

"Don't try to protect them from me," she cut in firmly.

"Fine." Lynne lowered Anna's hand from her cheek and then turned to hold it attentively. "Then what else looks similar? Say it. I want to hear."

Anna's face perked up again, the smile on her face expanding rapidly. "You also have a small nose that looks like hers and the same lips and chin. Except these eyes," Anna pointed with a flick of her finger. "Your eyes look like Connor's."

Lynne looked at herself through the reflection of the mirror. She noticed her red hair, her face and then looked deep into her eyes. She tried to imagine what her parents looked like from what she saw. "Then what do my mom's eyes look like, Ann?"

Anna followed Lynne's gaze to the reflection in the mirror opposite them. "Blue, as blue as the ocean and clear as the sky."

Lynne only asked a few questions afterwards. After waking up from the dream and talking to Anna, her day went as usual. She sat in her seat before class started. The class was quiet as she always arrived early. Only a few students were sitting at a distance from her. They were also busy in their silence.

But, something called her name so familiarly, "Lynne..."

Lynne immediately looked back to find the source of the voice calling her. "Yes?" she said, not finding anyone looking at her. It wasn't like someone among them had called out to her. None of them had seen her until she broke their bustle.

"What's wrong?" The boy behind her turned his gaze to the book he was reading.

"You called me?" asked Lyyne, making sure.

"No, I didn't call you, and I didn't hear anyone calling your name earlier," she said confidently.

"Ah, maybe I heard wrong," he said without arguing, but Lynne still felt strange. "Just continue reading."

Lynne clearly heard someone calling her. She felt certain that she heard someone calling her name very clearly. So she replied, but the girl behind her heard no voice calling her. How could that be?

"You seem to be tired. You're hallucinating something like that." The friend across from her who heard their conversation spoke to Lynne.

"Ah, is that so? Yeah, maybe I'm just too tired." It's better to admit it, Lynne thought. It might be true that it was just a hallucination.

"Are you having insomnia or something? If there's anything I need help with, tell me." She smiled to offer.

Lynne, who turned to him, was stunned as she looked into the man's eyes. Suddenly, Anna's words were recalled in her mind. Blue, as blue as the ocean and clear sky. "His eyes are really beautiful. Anna was right."

With light brown hair, that pair of eyes looked so contrasting. How could Lynne take her eyes off that pair of eyes that so enticed her to stay there and continue to stare at him?

It seemed so unfortunate to take her eyes off that face. Even if someone was in a complicated situation, Lynne didn't think they would be willing to take their eyes off her figure.

But... who was that man? Lynne never knew there was such a beautiful figure sharing a class with them. If her memory was correct, this was her first time seeing him in their class.

"You're the only one I don't recognise in this class. What's your name?" Although ignoring the man's previous words was rude, Lynne couldn't resist asking him.

The man who never even seemed interested in his surroundings, who spoke to others very rarely. The man, who seemed reluctant to interact and seemed forced to be there, was talking to her. Lynne felt something strange about his existence; now she felt even stranger that the most silent figure in her class suddenly talked to her. Even though he was being friendly by offering to help her, Lynne turned her head hesitantly at the man, looking at him, who was staring straight ahead in secrecy.

This was the first time for Lynne to hear his voice as he spoke. Aside from his manner, Lynne could guarantee nothing that seemed strange about the man, his appearance alone was not something to be underestimated. He looked handsome and charming from every angle of his face, front, side, back, and even his perfect silhouette.

Now that she thought about it, Lynne wondered why the girls in Lynne's class never discussed or talked about him. With what was visible in front of her eyes right now, there was no way for them to be able to ignore him. The current they talked about him endlessly and disturbed him like a moth to a stick. Just like they did to their school basketball captain, whom Lynne didn't even think was that handsome for them to fuss and talk about.

Denis-the captain of their school basketball was only slightly attractive. Beyond that, Denis wasn't anything to fuss over. He wasn't that handsome, tall enough, but not that tall, especially with that hair. Lynne wished someone would talk about his hair to him directly.

But there didn't seem to be, with the shape of the hair that Lynne felt was worse than the crown on the pineapple. Denis managed to attract many pairs of eyes in his school, especially the girls in his class. Lynne knew them when it came to judging someone's appearance. She even wondered if her standards were too high or if her eyes were the problem because almost all of them were affected by Denis' appearance while she was not.

Lynne even felt that the man talking to her was much more handsome and many times more charming than Denis, who made her feel sick because of the appalling way he talked and what he said sounded disgusting. Lynne giggled at the thought, now convinced that it wasn't her that was the problem but the girls. They ignored the perfect figure and chased after an earthworm with many flaws compared to the man beside her.

If they look at the man, he is close to perfect if he leaves the dark impression attached to him before. Lynne herself is quite confused why she only realised it now. Was it because the man was so quiet and unattractive that he went undetected by the radar and was ignored, but it seemed unlikely that it was like that? Even with his current appearance, when he was as still as a statue looking straight ahead, he was already very conspicuous and stole the show. Lynne even felt drugged by him. There was no way the others wouldn't feel the same way.

Blue eyeballs are as bright as clouds that are more beautiful than the clear water on the coast. Looking soft and bright, the colour of his eyes seemed to reveal what was behind them because they were so clear. Then the beautiful iris is framed by eyelids that are no less beautiful. The curl of his eyelashes is what makes women scream with envy. Besides that, his neatly arranged and thick eyebrows emphasise his beauty.

Going up, you will see how one's forehead can be so beautiful with just the right amount of breadth, going down right to the bridge of his nose, which is like a slide in the opposite direction. It's not very tall and large. It's just the right size to fit there. Slim with nostrils that are also the perfect size. Going down a bit more from there, you will find a pair of luscious lips that look the most alluring overall from that facial feature. With the not-so-thick upper lip paired with the full-looking lower lip, Lynne imagined how the taste of his lips.

The pink colour was alluring. If you rubbed them after using lip balm the night before bed, would they look fresh and flushed again? Would rubbing them to remove dead skin cells make them even redder? Imagining it made Lynne gulp the water in her mouth back down her throat. She had imagined so far that she had even fantasised about it.

With his mesmerising eyes and hypnotising lips, Lynne increasingly wondered why the other girls did not notice him and ignored his existence. He was perfect. Even his thick brown hair alone looked perfect without a gap. His broad shoulders brought amazement, and then his long legs. Well-Lynne cursed herself inwardly. All this time, how could she have only realised it? That perfect figure was overlooked for a long time, which was a pity.

If Lynne had known earlier, she wouldn't have missed even one day on the beach. The holiday wouldn't have appealed to her if he was still sitting next to her like now. The beach is no more meaningful than the guy sitting next to her.

The fresh breeze will not be as fresh as his face and smile. The cool water in summer will not be cooler than his voice sounds burning in the ears. The charm of the beach would not compare to her charm. Lynne unconsciously drew a smile on her face as she was staring at the man without knowing that the man she was staring at was holding her warmly and smiling.

A smile that invited her to smile even wider but kept her consciousness from surfacing and realising what was happening.

The man's hand-stretched slowly, moving his long, slender fingers. He placed his forefinger right in the centre of Lynne's upper forehead, drew a line towards the side and tucked it gently into Lynne's ear. She brushed away the strands of Lynne's hair that blocked the girl's view and might poke into her eyes if she wasn't careful.

"You have a beautiful hair colour," she complimented Lynne with eyelids that blinked so beautifully slowly.

Lynne, who was watching him like the earth focused on the moon in its orbit, smiled and nodded in agreement. Then... Her eyes rounded wide. Her eyelids opened perfectly. She jumped back from where she had been sitting and drugged, realising what she had just done and that she had been caught watching a man intently from a close distance. Blatantly and without shame.

Lynne scrunched up her face, her realisation coming to a head. The memory in her brain reminded her of what she had just done to the man next to her. Suddenly her embarrassment came and made her feel scared of herself. She was afraid of her control suddenly slipping away and leaving her in an embarrassing position. In addition to her wild thoughts of tasting the man next to her, Lynne wished there was a hole to hide in until she felt relieved.

Her reaction was strong enough to make the whole class, including the man, notice them. "What's wrong?" he asked as Lynne looked down and hid herself.

He thought something had happened for Lynne to act like that, so the man looked around. Checked the surroundings, but it wasn't what he thought. There was nothing strange, and nothing happened that could make them act like Lynne.

Then he thought for a moment, and with a hesitant movement, he approached Lynne. Peeking under the table where Lynne buried her face in her hands folded on the table. "Did I say something wrong?" he said, hoping he hadn't done anything wrong to Lynne.

Lynne got up, lifting her head back in an upright position. She smoothed her hair behind her ears. Slowly she caught her breath and looked at the man with the calmness she had worked so hard for. She closed her eyes while scrunching up her face, and then, after she had composed herself, she turned to him. With a forced smile, she replied, "There's nothing wrong with what you said." but I'm the one who made a mistake. Lynne continued in her mind, voiceless.

She couldn't say such an embarrassing thing openly. Even more so to her, whom Lynne had only spoken to this time, despite being there for so long. Unfortunately, Lynne didn't even know his name, so how could she shamelessly admit what she had just done to that man?

Oh, yes, his name. The man had yet to say his name!

"You haven't said your name."

The man was silent for a moment. He stared at Lynne for a long time before finally speaking. "You can call me Luke."

"Luke," Lynne repeated his words with a small nod.

The corner of Luke's lips drew a faint smile watching Lynne intently. "Yes. Then is there something strange about my face?" asked Luke as Lynne was immediately startled and buried her face after Lynne looked at it for a while.

Lynne gasped. Even so, she didn't take her eyes off Luke. She didn't let Luke read her attitude further after her previous faux pas. But still, she couldn't tell him I was observing your beautiful face just now. Fascinated by the colour of your irises and then envious of your eyebrows and the hair on your eyelids. More than that, I even imagined how your lips would taste. If she said all that honestly, Lynne was sure that the man would immediately look at her with a strange look. Then think that Lynne might have lost her mind, or even worse, it might be possible for him to think Lynne was a woman with a wild and scary dirty mind.

Just imagining herself being labelled like that was enough to make her shudder and cringe. Disgusted and reluctant, Lynne wanted to throw that thought away from her. Even to the end, Lynne refused to be considered like that by anyone.

"There's nothing strange about your face! You look perfect" Lynne softly realised what she had just said.

Because she spoke so quickly, she didn't realise her mouth was speaking so shamelessly, honestly.

So what happened then? The man blushed. He pulled both ends of his lips gently and was embarrassed. Lynne thought she would never meet such a person in her life.

Lynne imagined her childhood. When she was five years old, Lynne was accompanied by stories of fairy tale princesses until she entered adolescence. Even as a teenager, Lynne faithfully watched the fairy tale princess series until she got carried away and imagined herself like them.

Her dreams, after watching them and digesting them, made Lynne wish to have a love story similar to those princesses. She wanted to meet the prince as they did. Falling in love with the prince at first sight, the love drama flowing beautifully without complicated conflicts, then getting married wearing a beautiful wedding dress, Lynne walked over to him to say the wedding vows and then live happily.

But where does reality take her in real life, Prince? Never dream of finding him in a world where people wake up. Seventeen years old, she never met a beautiful fairy tale prince, making Lynne give up on the dreams and hopes of her childhood love. Not a prince, maybe it was the snow princess dwarves that she met, then Gaston in the story of Belle's story that was busy around her. Her dreams were too high to expect to meet the perfect prince and have the opportunity to live the love story that almost all women hope for.

Until... As Lynne stared at the man, the fairy tale returned to her. She, who had previously tried to forget it, was now reliving the memories in her mind. The man's face brought her to her dreams that were long buried due to disappointment in Reality that did not support her dreams to come true.

"I see..." she softly smiled, looking down to hide the blush on her cheeks and reddened ears. "It's good that you like it." This time she lifted her face to look at Lynne with a smile as sweet as a crisp and fresh red apple, clearly different from the one the snow princess had eaten to make her fall asleep. Lynne felt like something was fluttering inside her, dancing around so lightly that it felt tingly and pleasant. It was hard for Lynne to explain more than that what the smile of the man beside her looked like.

Didn't she hear it wrong? Luke had said, 'It's good that you like it' Why did it sound like Luke had just implied his feelings? Lynne shook her head, dismissing the ridiculous thought immediately and returned her attention to Luke again.

"Ah-" Lynne exclaimed softly as her gaze caught the look on Luke's face.

Lynne realised that her face was blushing right now. She could feel the heat on her face as she tried to control herself and her feelings. Her mouth was uncontrollable, like her whole body was being too honest with the man. Lynne tried to control it by covering her eyes with the palms of her hands. She made it seem natural to rub her eyes, even though she was trying to keep her gaze.

Lynne controlled herself by imagining other things, but the man pulled Lynne's hand with a light touch that was so gentle. Her pulling away prevented him from seeing her face. They stared at each other, their eyes locked together. They were immersed in each other, with two eyes the same colour as hers, but Lynne didn't realise that her eyes were as beautiful as the man's. The class situation around them seemed meaningless. Life only became the background of the two of them.

While both were busy with each other, the whole class seemed to be going on without them. Lynne and Luke were like invisible figures among the others. Silence-Lynne did not listen to the teacher's voice, who reviewed the lessons in her class. Neither did the voices of questions from her friends.

Only the roar of her and Luk's breathing entered Lynne's ears. Only the pounding of Lynne's and the man's hearts could be heard. Lynne thought the clinking of needles that might have fallen in their midst could be heard clearly. Strangely, in that silence, the whole class sounded like an empty classroom with no one there but them.