Before the spirit codes formed, there were seven tribes who lived happily in their territories.

Crescent moon.

This tribe was the most reputable because of the large number of people in the tribe. They wore white garments everywhere they went and they were feared by all and nobody could come close to them in terms of number, and with numbers came strength and for this reason, they were held in high regard.

The Crescent moon tribe were always at the forefront whenever it came to music, Music was inculcated into their living and they loved it because they believed it helped them live healthy and elevated moods, they all loved it because they knew it lessened stress and symptoms of depression. Every family knew how to sing and they had a ceremony called will yank where they could showcase their talent.

During the moon goddess worship, they would sing beautifully and channel the goddess in the most ethereal way possible.

Red blood.

The Red blood Tribe were made mostly of warriors, they were brutal with an average number of fighters that could die for their leaders. This tribe lived mostly on the hills and did not believe in wearing garments, they said they did not want to betray their ancestors and for that reason, they walked around close to being naked. Married women had a unique way of distinguishing themselves from young ladies and that was covering their boobs. They planted their crops and hunted in the mountains for that was their territory.

Far north were the Red Candles, they had numerous scholars from this tribe, and they had the highest number of scholars; Their strength came in knowledge and for this reason, every family in this clan made it incumbent upon themselves to learn and teach their werewolves everything that was needed to be known about the laws of this world. Fathers boasted about how much they had learned about this world amidst their pairs, girls always held a special affinity for the most brilliant boys. But the Red candles had a major problem And that was how to transform their Knowledge into wealth. They could talk but rarely took action.

Nethertheless, in the whole town, they were also respected and whenever there was a problem that needed to be handled critically, the red candles were usually called upon.

Fislow Ward was known commonly for their blue garments, they walked with elegance and Pride even though the women in this tribe were the most powerful, they were seen mostly on the farm trying to meet ends means and they further went ahead to harvest and sell their crops. The women struggled to make money while the men sat down and did nothing during the day waiting patiently for the night. When the long-awaited night finally approaches they will collect some of the gold coins made by their women, to take their favorite drink which is the Kotas. The men of the fellow tribe had a very beautiful belief about the Kotas drink, they said the one father away from their house was always the sweetest and for this reason, they traveled a few kilometers to enjoy themselves, in every bar, a man in a blue garment could be found.

The Dark Knight consisted of mostly Assassins, they lived and survived on the water.

The Dark Knights built their houses on water and made a fascinating living on the water. Whenever a baby reached the age of ten, he/she would be thrown into the water. This tribe believed they were acquitting the baby with the water who would be his best friend, they could also fight on land but nobody dared to come close to them on water. The Dark Knight was very un-materialistic and lived mostly on basic things and made a beautiful living.

The Night bliss was the wealthiest of all the Seven tribes, they had magnificent buildings with mind-blowing architecture. They were very good Merchants, The Night Bliss did business both day and night, did not care about the weather nor Season, they were always traveling with their Caravan; trying so hard to be the wealthiest in their community, with money came pride and respect and every individual in this tribe needed to have immerse money to be respected. Their Women tried to keep up with the men and for this reason, they were also seen as very expensive to keep but they were beautiful so nobody cared about the money and only their tribe could take in a woman from the Night Bliss. The Alpha of the Night Bliss was a huge handsome Alpha named Killian, his urge for power was something that could not be ignored, he tried so hard to be better than the other Alphas.

He had asked for help on how to lead the seven tribes altogether and he was told he had to find 'the special one'

And who was this special one?

He had no idea but his witch gave him a name. Alexander Firdaus.

He had asked where he could find him and he was told, The solar tribe.

The weakest amongst the seven.

The Solar tribe lived in a remote area, where trees shielded them from the sun, irrespective of their setbacks they were happy, Children could be seen jumping from one place to another, they knew they were the smallest but in their hearts, they were the happiest, they always had fun in the night, they would light a fire and sit round it. The older men will tell tales about their ancestors, folklore or maybe about things they had encountered In the past and how they bravely navigated through it. Some of them were lies, others had elements of truth in them either way, they were joyous of all the tribes.

The Solar tribe would talk about the benefits of Folktales, they would say it played an important role in their clan. Because stories reflect their group's cultural identity, preserving the stories of Werewolves would help preserve an entire culture. Storytelling affirmed pride and identity in a culture. In this amazing town of theirs, stories were created by and for the tribes telling them. Different groups in their town had different rituals or ceremonies for storytelling, which created a sense of belonging to a cultural group. To outsiders hearing a clan stories, it provided an insight into the community's beliefs, views, and customs. For people within the community, it allows them to encompass their group's uniqueness. They showed the werewolves' desires and fears of a group, such as love, marriage, and death.

The Solar tribe would always say, Folklores are also seen as a tool for education and entertainment. They provided a way for children to understand the material and social environment. Every story had a moral to teach people, such as goodwill prevails over evil.

For entertainment, stories were set in fantastic worlds. Even though folktales were for entertainment, they brought a sense of belonging and pride to their communities. The Solar Tribe had an amazing culture that treated women equally to men, they showed everyone was equal and everyone deserved to be respected, Their women were also blessed with long and curly hairs that always touched their backs.

Killian thought about the tribe and laughed. To him, all those things they prided themselves in was hopeless. He wondered why the so-called special person would be in a tribe as lowly as Solar.

But when he thought about the advantage he would have if he found the special person.

His heart raced with excitement.

With that, he vowed to find the special person.

***

Alexander Firadus, a wolf born into the weakest tribe out of the seven, was not content with his life because he could not do the things he wanted to and honestly, he did not know what he wanted to do.

He just existed, not lived.

But how could he live? He did not recognize who he was or how he wanted to live.

It didn’t help that he was born under the Solar tribe. According to the tribal markings, Solar Tribe was considered lesser and they were often used as slaves or servants due to their incapability to match with the other wolf tribes.

Alexander knew he was different from the very first day he was born. Even the skies declared his presence on the day he was born.

The skies had shone with a dust of blue called Exarela, an occurrence which one could only see once in his lifetime, or never and wasn't sure he liked being different.

He had extraordinary strength and poise. He could do what average werewolves couldn't, and his capabilities surpassed that of vampires and witches.

He became both feared and respected in his tribe, but Alexander had a little problem. His memory was becoming more fuzzy as days passed.

He didn’t exactly know when it began, or how it came to be, but he knew it was a problem that had to be fixed.

He couldn't keep sitting around, hoping the moon goddess would take pity on him and cure his memory problem.

Deciding on a long hike through the icy mountains, with his traveling gear on his back, Alex set out for the solution to this increasingly annoying memory failure. He spent several nights in the thick woods, eating the food he’d carried with him, until it ran out. On the sixth day, Alvin stayed under a large tree with so many branches which stretched out as far as the eye could see. The roots of the tree branches in several directions, and served as a resting place.

Even his surroundings were thick with fog, and Alex couldn’t see a damn thing. But, he heard the snap of a tree branch a short distance away, and it sent the chirping birds parking from their nest on the top of another tree. Alex’s ears perked up immediately, and he reached for the gun nestled beside his lean legs. He couldn’t risk changing to a werewolf when he had no idea what was out there. Gun on steady, he navigated through as much of the ice as he could, some of it covering the front of his high boots, and soaking his skin, but he didn’t mind. His wolf instinct snapped at him, urging him forward, further into the thick fog. Alex mistakenly stepped on a fallen tree branch, and it crunched under his weight, the only sound in the stark quiet of the morning.

“Who’s there?” Alexander dared to call, darting behind a sturdy bark. His breathing was soft and uneven, and Alex could feel his heart beating faster with each passing minute. Cocking the rifle he was holding, he listened for any out-of-place sound—an indication that he wasn’t the only one here in these woods. Everywhere was still as it had been when Alex woke up under the tree. But when Alexander turned back to where his things had been, they were no longer there. Whoever took them must have known the area pretty damn well, and Alex didn’t discover any foul play. Foot tracks had been properly covered. Letting out a low growl, he tried to fight his wolf form from kicking in. The hairs on his arm were standing at attention, and his eyeballs grew wide.

He couldn’t hold it any longer. Alexander allowed himself to transform, gritting when the pain tore through his skin like a knife wound. It wasn’t usually this painful, and Alex had to battle with his wolf. In the end though, he won, but he was so weak his body collapsed on the floor, and his vision faded into darkness.

When Alexander woke up, a few hours later, he saw that he was in a strange place. An old cabin from the looks of it. There were several holes in the walls which had been boarded up, probably from the outside. A small table, a wooden chair, and shelf overflowing with dusty books, were the only thing Alexander could see. That was apart from the bamboo bed he was lying on, still in the same outfit from the previous day.

Alexander couldn’t remember what had happened, or how he ended up in this enclosed space, the last he could recall was holding a gun. And bam! Here he was. Alexander rolled over to the side of the tiny bed, and a sharp pain pierced his skull. It felt like he’d been asleep for days, and Alexander didn’t want to even think about it. He was on a mission to find the cause, and solution to his memory loss, that was what he needed to focus on right now. Alex pushed through his lethargy, and with each step he took to the room door, he kept on thinking if he’d been doing the right thing, heading out in the woods. It wasn’t because he was afraid of being ganged up and beaten by other big bad wolves who envied the amount of power he had, on the contrary, he was only scared of dying, with his body left for the vultures to feed on.

Alex pushed through his lethargy, and with each step he took to the room door, he kept on thinking if he’d been doing the right thing, heading out in the woods. It wasn’t because he was afraid of being ganged up and beaten by the other big bad wolves who envied the amount of power he had, on the contrary, he was only scared of dying, with his body left for the vultures to feed on.

The thought was beyond horrifying, and Alex had to remind himself that he was powerful, an alpha male. Although he’d been born under the Solar tribe, who were written off as nothing more than slaves, Alexander knew his story was just beginning. Once, Alex tried the lock on the door, and he was a bit surprised when it didn’t budge, as if he had expected it to. Well, he was going to have to break the lock then. He stepped back a little, feeling starved off air, and slammed the door with his closed fist. The door gave way, nothing but a small mass of wood now that he looked at it. Why was he here? And who’d locked him up in the first place?

Alexander found out all the answers when he stepped through the front screen door. There on the wraparound porch was a small picnic basket, which contained some food, and a brown envelope underneath. Alex ate the food, devouring it like he hadn’t eaten in months, and as he stuffed his face full, he stared at the large expanse of trees, which disappeared into the far river. The place looked like a rat maze. But the icy wind shook the tree leaves, and peltered the low grass. It finally dawned on Alex that whoever had brought him here had meant for him to find something–something that was contained in the brown envelope. He wiped food crumbs from the corner of his mouth, and tore open the envelope. But, only a small note fell out. Don’t bother. You won’t find anything. Go home to your tribe.

Go home to your tribe? Alex nearly laughed at that. Where was home when his memory disappeared after twenty four hours? Where was home when he could literally wake up one day, in the middle of nowhere? Where was home when he couldn’t even remember? Alex had come all the way to find out everything, and someone was telling him to go to his tribe? No, he wasn’t going to. And Alexander balled the note up in his fingers, and threw it away.

Alex spread out the map he’d gotten from the cabin on the blanketed snow, and tried to make out where he was exactly. He was surrounded by more and more trees in the forest, and to his left was a big stream, with different sizes of rocks and stones, which kept the tide afloat. Circling his location on the map, Alex began tracing the path that led to, and away. As he traced, he kept circling, and soon the map was full of markings. Still, he couldn’t make out anything concrete. Alex decided to go for a quick swim to clear his head, and he played around in the water, thinking back to the time he’d been with his gun. When he’d gotten up from that bed, the gun wasn’t by his side, and Alex had tried not to freak out.

Someone had taken it, and whoever the person was had to be the same person that was telling him not to bother, that he wouldn’t find anything. What was the need in continuing? But Alex really wanted to get rid of his forgetful memory. Was that too much to ask? Getting out of the cold stream, Alex was supposed to feel cold, but he didn’t because his werewolf abilities had warmed the water up some. He hurriedly wore his clothes, bumping the map in his coat pocket. And so, Alexander Firadus continued to sojourn in a land he knew not.

Throughout the time he crossed through high mountains, and sloppy valleys, he survived on barely much food, apart from the few berries he plucked from trees, and water from clear streams. But, he needed answers, and to him, that was a small price he needed to pay. Weeks slowly rolled by, with Firadus having no idea of time, and he soon began to survive on the meat he could hustle from changing into his wolf at night. He was always on guard in case of attacks too. But there was this day, Firadus had let his guard down. And he awoke to two silver gray wolves, trying to rip his body apart. His senses went on instant alert, and he immediately changed to his wolf form, and hunkered down in front of them.

The wolves charged at him with their angry teeth, and fierce green eyes. Alex Firadus tried to dodge their bites as best as he could, keeping one pissed woof at bay, while he dealt with the other. He had no idea where they were from, but he figured someone had sent them. Or news of his disappearance had reached their ears. Alex hadn’t told anyone he was going to travel, and worse still, for that lengthy period of time. If these wolves should kill him now, nobody would care. His people saw him as a slave, and maybe that was all he was ever going to be—a slave, who was both feared, and respected for the power he had.

Alex pinned one wolf with his sharp claws, and threw the other wolf off his back. The wolf hit the sack, but was back again, scratching and scraping with his paws. Enraged, Alexander bit hard on the neck, and wounded, it cried out for his own tribe to hear. The other wolf lay in the pool of its own blood. Seeing that more wolves would be swarming the area any minute now, Alex decided to take off. It would be bad if they find out who he was. But, wherever he ran to, it was as if there was a wolf hiding in one dark corner, and waiting for when he was at his weakest—which was waking up the next day with no recollections of the past—this wasn’t about finding answers any longer. This was about survival.

One day, sitting on boulders of rock, overlooking a large body of water, Alex thought about all the things he’d had to do to get to this point. The dangers he’s had to face. The constant fear, and terror of having his memory slip away. He couldn’t keep living like this. He couldn’t keep looking over his shoulders for any big bad, thinking ‘what was the next thing?’ He had to go home, to his tribe, to his homeland. He wasn’t done searching for answers, not by a long shot, but at least, it wouldn’t be like he was a fugitive.

***

"Esther?" Alpha Killian fingers caressed the witch's pale skin, "Help me out, won't you?"

Esther was a tall slender woman with high cheekbones and a perfect side profile, her eyes were gray that if she stared at someone who didn't know her, they would think she was blind. But she wasn't. She could see through physical structures, the spiritual realm, the past, the future.

"I don't know, the future Is uncertain. I hate uncertainty so I don't want to help you."

Alpha Killian smiled and looked at her with a grin. "Come on, don't you trust me?"

"I only trust what I can see. I don't see how manipulating that boy can do you any good."

Alpha Killian placed a hand on the witch's shoulder and she looked over her shoulder, her gray eyes turning pitch white.

Alpha Killian was surprised by this and he let out a scream and backed up against the wall.

Esther let out a chuckle and smirked at him, "What a scaredy-cat!" She laughed. "YOU CAN'T FACE ME YET, you want a killing machine." She grumbled under her breath before taking a step toward him and kicking him.

Alpha Killian let out a cry and looked at Esther who did not show any form of emotion.

"Well, I'm not going to turn him into a killing machine." He grumbled, "It's just.. He has powers unlike any I've ever seen. Even more than that of the gods, I presume."

"Don't cross the line, Alpha. The man you so desperately want to control won't precede the gods. As long as you pretend he doesn't exist. Manipulating a man who doesn't have memory is the same as bringing disaster upon yourself and your kinsmen.

"That's why I want you to give him a memory."

"What kind of memory?"

Alpha Killian smiled, "I heard your family betrayed you so you killed them all. In the history books, you're the worst type of creature. You're not fully a witch either. You defy spiritual laws and have both sides—"

"—Shut up," Esther interrupted and Alpha Killian smiled once he realized that he'd pushed her buttons, now she would have no choice but to do exactly what he wanted."

"Your vampirical traits are not dormant, Esther. No matter how much you conceal it, you can't hide under the guise of being a witch forever. In the history books, you're the most horrific vampire who has no emotions and killed her family. Because of this, your people hate you for ruining the vampire's reputation so you did something to yourself and made yourself like this.. A vampire with witchy traits. However, if you give the boy the memory of your family betraying you and you massacring them.. He would be the most feared monster in the history of the supernatural."

Esther smirked, "I don't think you're doing this because you want to clean up my reputation."

"No," Alpha Killian replied straightforwardly. "I'm doing this because I want to be the most feared among the seven tribes. Then I'll lead all of them! With my very own personal killing machine."

"You're silencing them," Esther stated the obvious. "Because you want to rule them."

"Do I?" He chuckled darkly.

"I'll do it." Esther said.

However, it wasn't because Alpha Killian wanted her to.

"Then, I'll bring you to him."

***

Two bulky men walked into the room, pulling along with them an unconscious man. Esther who was sitting on a table, with a tea cup in hand glanced at the man who was dumped at the corner of the room.

She recognised him.

The special one whose name would be pronounced in history for decades to come.

She placed the tea cup on the table and stood on her feet. It was time to work.

She closed her eyes and created a barrier around the room. She used mind control to have him seated in a cross-legged position.

She also sat in front of him and placed both of their palms together.

It didn't take long for her to read his entire life story but she just couldn't seem to understand why he couldn't hold memories. His life was fairly decent compared to many she'd seen.

Maybe his soul couldn't comprehend body language cues. He was loved by many of the people who entered his lives but many of them didn't vocalize it. So he might have felt alone.

It still wasn't enough reason for him to lose memory that easily.

She tried to dig into the reason, but she couldn't and that scared her. What was he?!

That didn't matter for now.

She'd struck a deal with Killian.

With that, she went to the darkest memories of hers.

Her family had sent her to go out with a family friend so that she could collect some incense to give her father to help him sleep well. She naively followed the man and she didn't suspect her family friend until they were in front of a cliff with nowhere to run.

"Just how stupid are you, to trust me this much?"

The man laughed evilly and revealed the hand he hid behind his back which contained a knife.

Younger Esther was in shock and didn't react on time so the sharp knife was thrust into her chest. She let out a gasp and the man laughed, showing his teeth.

This was the family friend she trusted the most and wouldn't suspect for anything in the world because.. She had a crush on him.

"Why?" She questioned, staring into his eyes that now changed from being gentle to being monstrous.

"You really think the people you call parents are your real family?!"

Her eyes widened and the man laughed at the surprised look on her face.

"They nurtured you this long, just to use your blood to pray for their family ancestors."

With that, she was thrown out of the cliff.

The witch transferred the memories to him. But in his mind's eye, he would only see himself being hurt by the people he was close to in his tribe.

Then she guided an illusive feeling into his heart. Vengeance.

Alexander opened his eyes and this time they were pitch black.

Alpha Killian who had been watching behind the door smiled. Here was the chance he had been waiting for.

"Who are you?" Alexander looked at Esther who simply smiled at her recent well-done work.

In just a few minutes, he had fully absorbed the memories she wanted him to.

The door opened revealing Alpha Killian whose face held a look of sadness and grief. Esther released the barrier she had placed around the room and Alpha Killian moved towards them and bent over in front of Alexander whose eyes held nothing but rage.

Alpha Killian placed a hand on Alexander's shoulder and said, "I saved you."

Alexander looked at Alpha Killian.

After being knocked off the cliff by a face that looked similar to his brother's, he completely blacked out.

Alexander looked at the odd-looking woman and Alpha Killian chuckled, "She's a healer, I brought her here to take a look at you."

Alexander simply stared straight at the woman.

"Actually," Killian brought Alexander's attention back to himself, "I.. Was mistreated by people of that tribe."

He showed Alexander the scar on his back, the one he got when he competed for the title of Alpha. He hoped the horrible scar would stir feelings inside of Alexander and it worked.

Alexander gritted his teeth and said, "I'll kill them."

Alpha Killian looked at Esther and bit back a smile as stood up from the ground, she was really a capable witch.

"You don't have to kill them, they're not worth it. Also, you can't do it alone." Alpha Killian pretended to be worried.

"You don't have to worry about that. Just send me to the town."

Alpha Killian sighed and turned his back on Alexander before revealing a devilish smirk.

"Fine, I'll ask someone to send you there."

***

In a fit of rage, Alexander killed his whole family and exterminated his tribe.

He cut out their throats, punctured their ribs, and expunged their eyes from their sockets. Not one person survived.

Reporting back to Night bliss, he let them know they’d won, and could now be the most powerful tribe in the werewolves realm. They all jubilated, and rented the air with their screams, but Alexander was unhappy and didn't know why.

He laid on the bed in his well furnished room and listened to the loud cheer coming from outside his room window. Night Bliss was celebrating—no, scratch that—they were holding a feast in honor of his name. They’d invited him as a man of honor, but he refused to eat and dance with them because he was tired.

Alexander blew out the candle in his room with a single whoosh of air, and resumed his position, allowing the cool night breeze sway his thoughts. When he’d killed those people, he hadn’t felt any guilt or remorse. But it was after, looking at the dead bodies surrounding him like feets, the guilt smacked him in the face, knocking the air out of his lungs. His legs gave way first, and he fell on the floor, tears flowing out of his eyes. Right there, he’d sobbed, seeing the face of the dead floating in his vision even with his eyelids shut. Alexander could tell himself he hadn’t meant to do it, it was that primal urge inside of him, controlling him, and making him do bad things, but deep down, he knew the truth, but wasn’t ready to face it yet. He was selfish, he’d agreed to it, had taken up the sword on his belt, and brought it down with the full weight of his arm.

He was a monster. He wasn’t meant to live, still he relished the feeling of being alive once more. What was it the Night Bliss had done to him? Alexander turned to his side, and then he turned back again. He couldn’t sleep. They were having a feast, and the noisy chatter hit deep into his subconscious like he was there with them. He might as well be. Alexander used his werewolf power to try and make out what the people were saying. At first, the clank of fork and knives on a plate was all he could hear, until the voices became clearer, more distinctive.

“He did a good job. Alexander the Great," Or so they called him.

"I had to see for myself, they were all dead,” this statement was punctuated with intermittent laughter, and he noted the murmurs of agreement.

“Yes. I agree with the alpha. He’s good. But, he wouldn’t have killed his tribe without some little manipulation of our own.” Laughter. Then, more laughter. But Xander froze, and underneath the silky bed covers, his skin burned cold. Wait. What? What did they mean by manipulating?

“Yep. That witch knows how to do her job. Cheers to us, for winning.” Meat munching. Glasses clinking. Laughter. More laughter. Drinks sloshing around the rim of cups. Tiny gulps.

Witch? He’d had enough! Alexander got up from bed, and marched out of the room, debating whether he should confront them, or leave them alone to celebrate. He chose the latter. And headed for the balcony where the noise was more subdued, a certain calmness was in the air. He was there for a short while, before company came. Alexander felt his presence, before he spoke. “How’s…”

“Stop. Just stop.” He raised a finger, trying to quell the anger roiling in his gut. This man who called himself the alpha was a coward, a coward with only rings and expensive clothing to his name. Surely, his tribe could see that he wasn’t a good leader if all he did was manipulate people to do his bidding. Early tomorrow, he’d be out before anyone would notice.

“I know. I know everything. So, just spare me the congratulatory speech.”

The alpha frowned, and shut his mouth instantly. “How much of it do you know?”

“I know enough. I’m going to find that witch, whoever it is, and kill her. I’ll kill you too, while I’m at it,” Alexander spat in anger, and he could feel the rage building up.

“Well…” The alpha drowned the last of the wine from his glass. He didn’t seem a bit unfazed. Or maybe he was trying not to show it. “Let’s just keep this between us.”

“I can’t believe this. I just can’t.” Alex took his hands off the balcony rail, and headed back to his room through a side door. He slammed the door behind him, and resting his back on the door, he sobbed.

It was happening again. Alex hadn't told anyone yet, but these past few days have been filled with the most unimaginable headaches.

And with the headache came these flashes. Sometimes, it could be a memory he had never seen in his life. Something that he knew was his memory, only he had no idea of how or when it occurred.

Other times, it would be waves of amnesia, with Alex waking up in a place he didn't remember walking to.

Alexander rubbed his head, trying to ignore the headache that felt like it was splitting his skull into two. "Alex." He looked up to see his mate, Joyce. "I am okay, J. I was just a bit disoriented."

Her brows lifted so high that Alex thought they merged with her hairline. "That is not what I was going to ask." He tilted his head, furrowing his brows."What were you going to ask then?" "I was going to ask if you had seen the Alpha."

Alex rolled his eyes, scoffing. "And why would I be the right person to know that?" Joy's eyes narrowed. "Oh, I do not know...Maybe because the two of you are always together planning to conquer a new plot or…"

He shifted on the bed, signaling her to sit next to him. "I am just doing my job." Joyce bit her lip, looking away. "Babe." Alex opened his arms, and she came closer so he could wrap his hands around her.

"Why do you need Killian?" Joyce kept silent, playing with the threads of his shirt instead. "Joyce." "I wanted to ask him to stop sending you on jobs. I know you are strong and all, but I am getting worried. What if someone stronger than you is out there?"

Another flash made its way across his brain, and with it came a voice. "I love you too, Alexander." Alexander groaned. Who was that? He moved, pushing Joyce off him in a smooth move and placing her on the bed next to him instead.

Joyce was giving him a look of concern and Alex waved her off. "I am fine...It's just a headache." "Are you sure? you should go see the doctor. Maybe he can help out." "I don't need him. I just need sleep."

He let out a deep breath, giving her a smile he hoped was reassuring. "I am going to be okay, Joyce. Just let me sleep."