I took a long breath to inhale the food’s smells. Since the wolf inside me didn’t comment on anything other than urging me to eat the pasta first, I finally took a bite of the macaroni and then smiled. “Great meal.”
Soon, I ate them all, and when drinking the mineral water, the woman came again.
“Do you want to take a bath now? Your water is waiting.”
“Okay, thank you.” I nodded toward the empty plates and glass. “The food is delicious. Thank you very much.”
The woman stared at me for a few seconds, then nodded. “Follow me!”
I walked behind the woman. Later, she pointed to a small bathroom and opened the door. A few hot and cold water buckets were there since I could see the steam from the water buckets.
“Enjoy your time. No need to hurry.”
I walked into the bathroom, closed the door, and locked it. Next, I checked the hot water to find out it was too hot. Then I undressed and poured cold water first to remove the dirt on my body. Later, I washed my body with bar soap and cold water. It was so refreshing! I felt better already.
I dipped my foot in the hot water’s surface, testing its temperature again. Surprisingly, it was warmer than before. So, I poured it into my body. It was a luxury to have warm water after so many traveling days. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the water more.
My muscles were relaxed as if massaged by experienced hands. After a long journey, I needed the rest badly. Then, when I bent to take another dipper of water, suddenly cold air blew in my direction. Strange, didn’t I lock the door before? When I turned my body, the young woman was standing in front of me, naked.
“So, I’ll give you a bonus, handsome. It’s for free.” It was unmistakably clear what the woman was offering. “What do you say?”
“Thank you for your offer.” I shook my head immediately. “I already have a spouse.”
The young woman smiled. She walked and touched my chest with her fingers. “She won’t know.”
I grabbed her hand. “Yet, I’ll know.”
The woman reached out her hand to my manhood. She touched it lightly and then rubbed it. “Are you sure?”
I pushed her. “Stay away from me! I don’t want to betray my mate.”
“Ah, really? How about a free service? She doesn’t need to know. It’s between you and me.” Then, the woman sensually licked her lips, seducing me to accept her offer.
“Though it’s tempting, I don’t want to take your offer. I only want my mate, not other women.”
The young woman stared at me for a few seconds. “Even if I tell you Ruby’s location afterward?”
“What do you say?”
“Ruby’s location. I’ll tell you if you give me satisfaction. What do you say?” The woman smiled. She winked one of her eyes. “It’ll benefit both of us.
Then I grabbed her hands, opened the door after unlocking first, and carried her to another room. The woman licked my chest and grinned. Later, I brought her to a bedroom; it was cold there. A vast bed was there as if inviting me to sleep on it. I laid the woman there and then walked away.
“Hey, what are you doing?”
“As I said, I won’t betray my mate. Even if you know Ruby’s location, I won’t get laid with you for that.”
I returned to the bathroom. I dried my body with a towel and put on my clothes again. Then I grabbed my backpack. Afterward, I got out of the bathroom.
When I was about to leave the house, the woman called me, “Wait!” She had worn her clothes again.
“I said no. I mean it!”
“No, I mean you passed the test.”
I turned my body and wrinkled my forehead. “Excuse me?”
The young woman smiled. “It’s just a test.”
“What if I did what you asked?”
“Then you won’t get Ruby’s location.”
“But I can kill you if you don’t tell me her location after promising me that.”
The woman smiled. She turned her body, and immediately, the fog surrounded her. After a few seconds, the mist was gone. There was no young woman anymore, but an older woman instead. “You need a hundred years if you want to kill me.” The older woman laughed out loud.
“I see. You are the witch too. So, Ruby’s location?”
The woman moved her hands as if she spun yarns in her fingers. Then a piece of cloth flew in the air toward me. I grabbed it and stared at the fabric. Suddenly, as if an invisible hand drew on it, the material showed the map of Crescent Island. On a mountain called The Peak Mountain, an ‘X’ crossed there.
“You see the X?”
“Yes.”
“It’s Ruby’s location.”
I nodded. “Thank you.” I held the door handle to exit the house.
“Wait!”
I stopped and turned my body. “Yes?”
“Do you know why I tested you?”
I shook my head.
“Ruby had known you would come to see her. So, she sent me to check if you are still the same man as you were ten years ago.”
I took a deep breath. “Believe me, Lynnette’s death has changed me forever. I had no defense for what I did to Cathy, Ruby’s sister. I regret what I did to her.” I shook my head again. “If I could turn back time, I wouldn’t do what I did to Cathy. Yet, I can’t go back to the past. So, here I’m, trying to face the consequence of my mistake.” After saying that, I left the house.