Inside the guesthouse.

"Man, tonight was interesting, to say the least," I say while looking outside the window.

Many things are rushing through my head at the moment. I take a seat on the edge of the bed.

"I need to keep this to myself, but I still need to hunt. I'll go out and hunt at night as usual, but first, let's find a new hiding place for my money."

I leave the guesthouse, looking for a new place to stash my money.

Two years pass in a hurry.

Riyadh Capitol City

In a 9th-grade classroom in the middle of town. It’s the first day of school after the summer break, and three female students are talking and laughing while two other students look at them from afar.

Khyrum, now 14 years old, sits in the corner. He sits motionless as if trying to blend into his inconspicuous surroundings.

“Yara, it was excellent how you answered the teacher's questions. Especially the hard one about the beasts and their rankings,” says Cora.

“Yes, I know a few things about such things, thanks to Dad,” comments Yara.

Cora and Yara are twins from the Gravitaz Group. Their father, Felix James, is a zone commander in Battle Zone 3 in Rayong. For years, he’s wanted his girls to get to know Ethian's son Brandon better, so he sent them to high school in the Gravitaz capital city, Riyadh, where he is now enrolled.

Cora is a charming girl. Her face is round, with thin lips and a thin nose. Her angled eyes and thin eyebrows complement her face. Her long black hair falls about to about the middle of her back. Her snow-white skin contrasts perfectly with her hair. She looks very feminine.

Yara also has long black hair, but it's only shoulder-length. This is one way to distinguish the twins. Her face is also round, but her eyes are a little more slanted than Cora's. Her eyebrows are thicker as well. She shares the same mouth and nose as her sister, and her skin color also matches her sister's. Both girls look very charming.

Khyrum pretends not to pay attention, but his ears are tuned now, and he captures the whole conversation the girls are having. The constant hunting at night has sharpened his five senses. Throw in the skills he has mastered over the last few years, and not much escapes him.

“Remember Cora when we were young? And Dad used to take us hunting. He would show us how to hunt wild animals while, at the same time, he would teach us about the beasts. He wanted us to be smart about them.”

The girls in their little group of three talked without caring about the world.

Little did they know that in the other corner of the room, they were being stared at with lewd eyes. Brandon, also now 14, could not take his eyes off them,

“How are they not with me?” says Brandon with lust in his eyes. He is already at an age where his hormones are starting to run wild. On top of that, throw in his parents’ constant reminder that he can get anything or anyone he wants.

" I’m stronger and better looking than any boy here, yet I don’t have any girls come up to me,” says Brandon, sulking in the corner.

With a serious tone, he walks over to Khyrum and says, “I need you to go to the twins and annoy them. Be my wingman Khyrum. Once they argue with you, I’ll swing by and save the situation; they will be grateful to me.”

"Girls are attracted to the strong and wealthy. So they should see me as their savior. That's a fact," he says in an arrogant tone.

I look at him and am about to say something when Cora turns and says,

“How rude of you, Brandon.”

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Brandon did not expect Cora to be listening to our conversation. He quickly tries to save the situation but is interrupted again by the other twin.

“Yeah, Brandon. What gives you the right to order Khyrum, and about you being our savior? Not even in your dreams would that happen.”

Brandon looks at them and says in a haughty voice, “If you don’t know, we were just playing around. We wanted to see if you girls were paying attention to us.”

Cora and Yara look at him with a cold stare.

But before they could speak, Brandon said, “Khyrum, tell these two little girls how we like to play around?”

“Let them know you have been staying in my house since you were small, and we kid around all the time.”

The girls look at him with a face that has “LIAR” written all over it.

Brandon starts to feel a bit angry that he has not been taken seriously.

“I am the son of the Ethian Richie. I will be as strong if not stronger than my dad.” “So, it makes no sense for me to try and compete with anyone inferior to me,” he says to the girls, looking at Khyrum with a smug face.

I start to feel bitter inside, but I keep quiet. I want to return to my dull, peaceful life, but these three don't let me.

Although the girls don’t know Brandon too well, he takes advantage of the fact that they are talking to him. He knows Khyrum won't say anything, so he keeps belittling him.

“To show that we were just playing around, why don’t you get us some drinks, Khyrum,” says Brandon.

Although I don't want to, I get up and head for the door. If this will get me away from this situation, then there is no harm in doing it.

Brandon raises his head as if he has just won some great debate.

As Khyrum walks past the girls, they get up and start following him out the door.

“Where are you girls going?” asks Brandon in disbelief.

Before Brandon can say anything else, Cora and Yara look at him and say, “We’d rather go with Khyrum. He seems so mysterious. He's always quiet. Do you know what they say about the quiet ones? They hold the biggest secrets?" As they say this, they wave bye to Brandon in a mocking way.

This infuriated Brandon even more. How was this possible? Everyone was supposed to love him, just like his dad.

His sister, who was already engaged, had received many gifts and recognition from different houses, but not him. What was going on? Being ignored was unbearable to him.

His envy and jealousy were growing inside of him every single day. He wanted to feel adored, just like his dad.

“It’s not Khyrum’s fault that these two girls seem to like him more than me,” says Brandon with a mocking smile. “I guess trash will always attract other trash. I must talk to him later and make him understand that these girls cannot interfere with our friendship.”

With that, a twinkle of hatred bloomed in Brandon’s eyes for the first time as he watched Khyrum leave with the girls to pick up his drink.

As the three walk down the hallway, Cora asks,

“Khyrum, why do you let Brandon say such things to you?”

“Do you have no self-worth or what?”

“Yeah, Khyrum, we think you are quite outstanding, but how you act does not make sense at all,” says Yara.

“Do you not have aspirations or goals?”

“How are you supposed to get a girlfriend if you can’t even defend yourself?” they say teasingly, looking to Khyrum to see if he has any reaction.

I heard them but continued looking forward casually as if I did not hear anything.

When we get to the cafeteria, I finally say, “Girls, I know what he says may sound like he is putting me down, but it’s not. Yes, he can be a little obnoxious, but that is due to all the attention he gets. Remember that he is Ethian’s son and is not short on attention.”

Over the last few years, Ehtian Richie's Tgene count had mysteriously skyrocketed, giving him improved powers. He helped on some perilous missions, which increased his reputation. In time, Brandon’s father became well-known worldwide. This is one of the reasons Lord James Quarris, leader of the Gravitaz group, decided to marry his son Briar to Ethian’s daughter Elizabeth. This is also why so many Transcendent families in leadership positions or who aspire to be want to get the attention of the Richie house.

“Didn’t you girls come to this school just for him, too?” I say inquisitively.

After hearing what I said, both girls turned red from the neck to the forehead. They were furious over the last comment.

As I watched them turn red, I thought I had hit the nail on the head regarding their true reason for being at that school. I did not know I was mistaken and would pay for it dearly later.

I felt that what Brandon said earlier was starting to make sense.

I walked away, leaving the girls standing there. Thinking they were embarrassed.

As they watch Khyrum walking away, both girls feel like running over and kicking him where it would hurt most.

“This boy has a very thick head, sister,” comments Yara.

“He does not even see our true feelings. He is so thick in the head that I don’t know that even if we write it down for him, he will understand,” she says, clenching her fist in frustration.

“You're right, Yara, but there is something very mysterious about him. He is also very cute. I want to learn more about him. Don’t you feel the same way?”

“I do, but I’m not sure he will get it even if we show up naked in his room one day; he seems to enjoy being alone. I’m not sure we can get past his façade, as he seems disinterested,” says Yara, a little discouraged.

“I’ll think of a way sister. We have to be patient and wait. Remember what dad used to say: always keep your eyes on the prey, right?” laughs Cora.

Walking down the hall with drinks, I see the sisters turn and laugh hysterically.

"Why do I have the feeling that I’m been stared down by some vicious predators", I think as I look at the twins.