Claimed By Zodiacs

Chapter 31

# Braeden Wildfire

I am in night duty this week. I'm not supposed to work as soon as my resurrection but it's better this way.

"Wildfire! How's it going buddy?" Charles asked, hauling his lance on his shoulder with ease.

"It's great," I told him, quite truthfully. It's great to be given a new chance at life. Or chances in this case. It makes me see things in a different light.

"It would be greater if you have Aria with you. Man, that girl can make guys swoon."

I stiffened at that. How dare he talk about Aria at a time like this?

"Have you seen her dance fighting? Crap. Makes you want you to drool and shiver at the same time," Charles continued, oblivious to my inner turmoil. "Don't you agree Mike?" he asked Michael as he passed by. He clearly overheard the conversation.

"Oh please. Shut it." Michael stepped on his toes, making him curse. "I'm gonna tell your girlfriends."

"Oh no, you won't," Charles panicked. "You know what? All this talk of a crazy chick had me all hungry. Want to grab something before we go?"

Michael shook his head. "Just get lost bud."

Charles laughed, pounding his back with his beefy arms.
"I love you too."

As soon as he was gone, he gave me a sympathetic smile. "I apologize for that. The man has no tact."

I shrugged it off as if it's no big deal. It really wasn't. Or was it?

"I'm sorry," I told him after a long stretch of awkward silence. His brow raised quizzically. "For lying. For hiding the truth. For making you run around in circles. For---"

"Okay, enough. I get it," he interrupted. "Stop rambling. It makes me feel foolish for not seeing the signs myself."

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine. I just have one question. If you answer it, consider us even."

"What is it?" I asked, realizing it was a trap a little too late.

"Four years ago, Aria ran away from home a few months after Ambrose' death." I already knew where he's going with this. "I took an intensive recollection and realized it was right after you two were rescued from a forest fire. What happened back there?"

We held each other's gaze till I wavered. The man was stubborn as a lion. He simply won't budge. I decided to lead him somewhere far the lines, avoiding the crowd.

When the crowd thinned, I stopped, leaning closer so he could hear.
"It was the day she knew she could single-handedly resurrect a zodiac to life."

Michael looked confused. "But I've seen her toy with dead animals before!"

I shook my head. "For her, it was different. Animals were specimens. I, on the other hand, was real."

His green eyes bored into mine. "So she brought you back to life then?"

I nodded. "She did. She got overwhelmed. Terrified. Always on the lookout, thinking someone's going to abduct her anytime. Eventually, she ran away."

"That was so like her--" Michael commented. "-trying to solve things on her own. Why didn't she ask for help? If she was terrified, we could've simply hired mercenaries for her."

*True, but Aria wouldn't like that. She was known to be capable of taking care of herself, even at 12 years old.*

"How can a 14-year-old Michael help?" The words slipped my mouth, shutting him up. "Remember, you didn't speak to her after Ambrose died. I remembered you shouting at her after the funeral, blaming her for what happened."