The Artful Beast | Completed✔

#32 Quarantine

His name is Elder Boman (Old Man is what Kayla used to call him and still does) hence why I'll be writing Old Man in capital letters.

Casper's POV

I wish there were a way I could snap my fingers, and everyone would divert their attention elsewhere...

Having to walk in a straight line with every pair of eyes looking at me felt like I was experiencing my own hell. . . Or that I was at a runway show, but I was never interested in runway modelling.

✨Irrelevant✨

I had my back straight with my shoulders back, my head tilted a bit high in an attempt to look tough and unfazed by their stares, but oh how I wanted to bury my head in the sand like an ostrich.

My only strength was the lies I had to tell myself that I was strong and Kayla's hand that gripped mine tightly. My heart dropped when I saw a teenage girl throwing a pebble towards us, my quick reflexes stopped it from hitting Kayla. Her eyes glared at me with accusation.

She didn't throw it at us. She was aiming at Kayla.

"She came back."

"Back? I thought she was dead."

"Better dead than this, why is she here?"

"Goddess, she became fat."

"Very gluttonous, she reached her new potential."

"Dare I say she became ugly too?"

"Dare? More like the truth, I hated looking at her back then, the wild did not help her, nothing can."

"Goddess, she smells awful—"

"Who is that?"

"Do not tell me she bewitched him? Magic works in mysterious ways, it is the only thing that works in her odds."

"It could be her slave."

"Hah, who, in their right state of mind, would end up with her?"

"I don't detect a scent, he's human."

"Why are there humans in our pack?! Who angered the Goddess?"

And it kept coming, their harsh words weren't even hushed and whispered, there was no shame to what they were saying, everyone agreed to the person who spoke, and no one stepped in to stop what was happening.

I didn't know how she survived years and years of this treatment, but she only grew more in my eyes.

"Kayla." A man called calmly. He stood a few meters away from us, and everyone gave him a good amount of space.

She froze and stared at him as he stood in front of us with a happy expression, her feet pulled her towards him, and I followed her until we were close, "Old Man."

"You've grown into a strong woman, just like I predicted." He nodded with a proud look, his short silver-grey hair was in rough curls, his dark skin didn't accept any wrinkles except the corner of his eyes, a modest faded orange shirt and pants covered his body.

"And you're still old." She commented with a wide grin, "Nothing has changed."

He held back a chuckle and playfully glared at her, "I see it was only a physical change. Still a child in the head."

She shrugged, then looked at him some more, "Shouldn't you invite me to your house? Or am I expecting too much?"

He raised his head and glanced at the sky in wonder, "Why would you need an invitation to your own house? That sounds like a sad life to me."