Chapter 5. Giovanna's Curse

She got out of the shower and Gaia was waiting for her in the bedroom, sitting on the bed with her arms crossed.

"I forgot to bring underwear, I'm sorry." She said and pointed to some clothes on the bed.

Giovanna walked past her and sat down next to her, while combing her hair with her fingers.

"I don't wear underwear, Gaia. And you don't seem to really regret forgetting."

"You don't... Ever?"

"Never."

"How do you do it when your period comes?"

"I use a menstrual cup."

"I've heard about that... It's quite medieval."

"It's very useful. You should try it."

"No. I don't mind wearing underwear. I kind of like it."

"Do you have children?"

Gaia looked at Giovanna quickly and she noticed the change of color in her eyes.

"Your eyes..."

"What's wrong with my eyes?"

"I don't know what it means, but I've seen it before, maybe it's the result of my sick mind... Your eyes glowed, for a split second, they glowed yellow!"

"It's not the result of your 'sick mind'. We're not human, Giovanna. We look like them, but we're not one of them. The sooner you understand that, the better for all of us. Our eyes turn yellow when we're in front of our leaders or... We're receiving instructions from them and... Your mind is not sick, Giovanna. It couldn't be, given who you are. Why would you think such nonsense?"

"I have... Fainting spells. The doctors said I... I've always been told that these fainting spells can't be cured, so..."

Gaia laughed.

"You don't have a problem. That's Giovanna's curse! When you stop running away, it won't happen again."

"Giovanna's curse?"

"Yes. You'll know soon enough. It's a long story." Gaia said and stood up. "So, Theo is waiting for you downstairs."

"When I stop running away?" Giovanna was still stuck on that information.

"Haven't you ever realized that you only faint when you're trying to escape your fate?"

"I ran away from the orphanage today..."

"No. You only followed your destiny when you agreed to come with Theo. You fainted today because you were trying to escape your destiny again."

"I guess there really is a lot for me to learn..." Giovanna said, standing up and putting her hands on her head, her mouth open as if she was going to scream.

"What's wrong? You're scaring me!" Gaia asked, not knowing whether to laugh or worry.

"The superior! She must be looking for me by now!"

Gaia put her hand to her chest.

"Madam! If werewolves had a heart attack, you'd have just killed them! Don't worry about your superior, she's been told you're fine."

"Has she?"

"Yes. That's how your protector was here and prevented you from falling." She said, leaving the room and Giovanna ran after her and started walking beside her.

"Gaia... Was my protector here? He..."

"Don't think about him anymore. He doesn't... You don't belong to him anymore." She said and they started down the stairs.

"What about the superior? Did she know about me the whole time?"

"Yes."

Giovanna remembered the looks on the superior's face. Always expecting her to do something supernatural. Some miracle, perhaps.

"Do humans know about us?"

"Apart from what they read? No."

"The superior..."

"She was bitten by her protector, before he gave up being the Alpha... But even if it had been afterwards, I don't think that affects what he can do... I can still hear him, even though I can resist his commands..."

"What's the difference between a transformed werewolf and a born one?"

"Humans shouldn't be turned. I think it should become law. They're undisciplined. Don't ask me any more about this, please... Theo might want to clarify all this for you."

"All right, but... Why didn't you answer me about having children?"

Gaia stopped and Giovanna realized that the young woman was much taller than herself.

"No, Giovanna. I don't have children. That question is an insult! How old do you think I am?"

"I don't know."

"I'm nineteen, Giovanna, and I was waiting for you to marry me. I wanted my leader at my wedding. By my side. And it may sound old-fashioned to you, but I'm not going to throw children into an incubator. I'll have my children the traditional way, because otherwise they wouldn't be werewolves."

"Wouldn't they?"

Gaia smiled and began her descent again.

"They manipulate all the chromosomes that make us... Different, while we're still embryos. We can't stop this process, because we don't have access to this technology, because in our history, all the Alphas have forbidden this teaching to be developed among us, and Theo... He still hasn't changed his mind." She said and they arrived in a small, cozy room. There was a table with four chairs, a counter with a refrigerator in front of it and a stove full of wines on the shelf behind it. There was a painting on the wall, showing a woman with black hair and a white lock carefully arranged in a pretty hairstyle and two identical men behind her and, on the same wall, a display case with a box containing three books. Theo was making cocktails and smiled when she came in and Gaia left them alone.

"What an atmosphere... WOW! I love this place!"

"It's my favorite place in this house." He said and approached her, handed her a glass and sat down at the table, and she did the same.

"Isn't it illegal to offer me alcohol? I'm only sixteen!"

"I don't think you're going to report me."

"I won't. But you should." She said flirtatiously without knowing that's what she was doing.

"You need to stop thinking like a limited human. Ordinary alcoholic drinks have no effect on you. Not the ones they distill."

Giovanna tried the drink.

"It's tasty. Does this one work?"

"Yes, it does. But don't worry. I put in a harmless dose. I don't want you shopping drunk."

"Shopping?"

"Or maybe you prefer the clothes you're wearing and the ones you already have... Although I prefer you to walk naturally."

Giovanna laughed, but she was nervous.

"I'm not going to walk around naked, and yes. I want to go shopping. I never have."

He looked at her, admiring her beauty, and Giovanna caught herself in those green eyes and, for a few seconds, believed she had seen them before. She knew he was enchanted by her long, straight hair and her gray, oriental eyes. Everyone was always charmed by her looks. What she didn't know was that for him, her beauty would always enchant him, but it wasn't the first time he had gazed at her.

"You're beautiful." He said, but not as a compliment, as an observation.

Giovanna turned red.

"Thank you... You're beautiful too."

He smiled.

"Shall we go shopping now or would you prefer to have lunch first?"

"If you don't mind, let's have lunch first. I'd like some answers before we leave."

He stood up and picked up a bottle of wine and, letting his sharp claw grow in front of Giovanna's surprised gaze, removed the cork and poured two glasses.

"What do you want to know?"

"Where are my parents?"

He looked at her seriously.

"Did it have to be that question?"

"What's the matter with her? It's the curse of orphans. We always want to know where our parents are and why they abandoned us."

He sipped his wine without taking his eyes off her. Giovanna understood that he was trying to buy time.

"What can I tell you about your parents? They're dead."

"How did they die?"

"They... They made a pact and... Ah! Giovanna! It's not time for you to know about this yet. Your parents died in a plane crash. That's all you need to know about them now."

Giovanna looked at him hurt.

"E... What about me? You said that werewolves need to come from a bloodline or an Alpha bite, did you bite my father or..."

"Stop it, Giovanna. I'm not going to say anything more about your parents. Not just yet."