Chapter 33: Chapter 33

The next day, Tyrelle and I headed to school early in the morning to come and see Doctor Kusher. It was me who requested this despite Ael’s warning to no longer converse with the witch doctor. There was just something in Al’s words that made me think that there was more to this witch stuff that he didn’t want me to find out.

It was an impulse decision on my part to keep my mind off of worrying about my parents as they haven’t returned since yesterday. They also haven’t responded to my calls or messages.

“Miss Gabriella, I am happy to see that you returned.” Despite doctor Kusher’s words, the look in his eyes contradicted them. It seemed that he was focused more on something other than our current presence - not that I think it.

“What’s going on, Kusher? You seem pale.” Tyrelle voiced out his observation as he studied the witch doctor.

Doctor Kusher removed his glasses and began rubbing his eyes. He brushed his brown locks back, which made me see the wrinkles forming on his forehead. His gaze darted to the clinic's door like he was making sure that it was locked before he focused on us once more. “Lord Tyrelle, I think that you and I need to speak privately about this.” He said.

Tyrelle briefly turned his gaze to me before looking back at the Doctor. “What is it about?” There was something about the way that he said it like he was inking to tell me something. And that something was related to how quiet he was this morning.

“It’s about the attack last night.” Doctor Kusher seemed to carefully watch Tyrelle’s reaction to seeing if he was still keen on his decision.

This time, it was my turn to turn to Tyrelle like I was assuring him of the matter as it seemed to involve me. “I rather know things rather than stay ignorant.”

Instead of looking relieved, Tyrelle displayed an expression of worry when he turned to me. Which didn’t make the situation lighter as all it did was make me nervous and regret my decision.

“Gabriella,” Tyrelle hesitated but continued anyway. “Did your parents come home last night?”

“No, why?” I asked. “What do they have to do with this?” Even though I asked, something at the back of my mind already told me they were somehow involved. “Tyrelle, if something happened to my parents, you better tell me now.” Suddenly, I found that breathing was beginning to become difficult to do in this situation.

“Your parents are safe. Don’t worry. My family made sure of it. There was an attack in the hospital last night. No one saw the culprit, but it caused quite a stir that ended up in the hospital having a lockdown until they found the culprit. There was only one casualty. It’s-”

“My parents, Tyrelle. Where are they?” I demanded and surprised the two of us when I suddenly went and grabbed him by the shoulders.

“Don’t worry. That’s where I’m headed right now.” He smiled.

“Right now? But classes are about to start.”

“I am the Alpha’s son. I can do what I want. Besides, I don’t think that my father would mind, especially when it involves my duty to the pack. As for you, you should stay in class because I doubt that being the girlfriend of the Alpha’s son is going to give you many immunity points at school.” He chuckled and started pulling at my cheeks, which were starting to heat up. “I’ll text you when I’m with your parents right away. Meanwhile, I will leave you in Doctor Kusher’s hands, alright?”

I could only nod before Tyrelle turned to Doctor Kusher. “I’ll leave her in your care. Do not upset her. If you do, you’ll be upsetting me in the process. Am I clear?”

When Doctor Kusher bowed before Tyrelle, I was once again reminded of how high his family status was in this little town that we live in. “Yes, Lord Tyrelle. I will treat her with as much respect as I do to your family.” He promised.

His words seemed to satisfy Tyrelle that he managed to earn a nob of acceptance from the young Alpha wolf before he left the door. When we heard the lock clicking shut, I turned to Doctor Kusher.

The witch doctor smiled warmly at me when he gestured for me to sit on the vacant chair before him, where he usually conducts checkups on students. “Please, have a seat.”

I followed his instructions and sat before him. “You don’t have to be so formal with me like you were with Tyrelle. You can forget about the while treating me like you were treating Tyrelle’s family.”

Doctor Kusher sat on his office chair with a laugh as he adjusted his glasses. “Pay no mind to it as you will get used to this treatment when you and the young master will get married.”

I could not understand what I felt when he mentioned the words married. But aside from embarrassment, I felt a little relieved as our relationship play seemed to convince everyone. It was a good sign.

“R-Right.” I swallowed and began to fix myself. “So, about this witch thing. Can you tell me more about it?” I attempted to both change the subject and get straight to the point. I believe that we only have about half an hour before first period.

The Doctor leaned back in his chair and folded his arms. “A long time ago, a line of witches did not need any secondary medium to cast their magic. This line of witches has raw power to cast spells with just their will.”

I blinked. I swear I was focusing on the topic, but there were just bits and pieces that were hard to understand. “Can you elaborate something? When you said raw power, how exactly does it work? How were you able to assume that I am within the line of those special witches? Shouldn’t my parents have told me about it if I had such magic? Shouldn’t one of them possess the same magic?”

“This line of witches can sometimes skip a generation. As for why I assume that you were one of these witches, I need to ask you a few questions. Did you do something to the cat before we arrived?”

“Nothing. I merely stroked it.”

“Did you think about something while you were touching it? Tell me exactly what was in your mind.” He folded his hands before him and leaned closer. His gesture made it seem like she didn’t want to miss a single detail of my story.

“I-” I thought back to the moment when I was with Tiger, the cat's name that I came up with this morning. “I wanted her to live.”

“And you thought about it when you stroked her.” It wasn’t a question. It was more like a blatant statement coming from him, like my story was proof that I am a witch.

I shook my head. “That’s not enough to convince me, Doctor Kusher.”

“Killer Smile.” Doctor Kusher said. With just those two words, he made me freeze on the spot.

“What?” I asked as I wanted to make sure that I heard him right. “What did you just say?”

The witch doctor shifted in his seat, leaning back and fixing me with his eyes. “I worked for Lord Tyrelle and his pack. And there was something that struck me as odd. People in the pack are calling you lady Killer Smile.”

“What about it?” Even though my voice sounded fixed and confident, my heart was pounding rapidly inside my chest. A small part of me was hoping that there I might find something as to why my smile ended up this way.

Could it be? Does Doctor Kusher have any idea why my smile strikes fear in those who see it?

“Can you show me your smile?” I was taken aback by his request, but my answer was immediate when I shook my head.

“No. That I cannot do.” I told him, remembering the first time that Tyrelle saw my smile. I could never forget how frightened he was when he saw me. If I see another person that I know having that sort of reaction again, I don’t know I could cope with that once more.

“Miss Gabriella, you do not have to worry about a thing. I am a witch. If what causes the…abnormality in your smile is caused by your magic, it might not affect me.”

“Might,” I repeated his words dubiously. “It doesn’t sound assuring,” I muttered.

Doctor Kusher laughed. “Just trust me on this. The sooner that we get this over, the quicker for us to figure out if you are a witch or not. As you know, we don’t have much time on our hands.” He said, referring to the remaining time that we have before the first period starts.

I looked into his eyes and saw that he was dead serious with his suggestion.

I sighed. “Fine. But I hope that you will remember that this was your idea, alright?” I leaned back after Doctor Kusher nodded as I prepared myself mentally. I am against the idea, but I also want some answers, especially regarding my killer smile.

Before I could change my mind, I pulled the corner of my lips back and gave him the full view of my killer smile. My eyes were on him the entire time, so I wouldn’t miss his reaction.

So far, I have two reactions to my killer smile. One would have an uncontrollable sense of fear, while the other was pure adoration, which only Al expressed towards me.

But the Doctor’s expression was strange. He was neither of the two expressions that I had received so far. He looked relieved. He was relieved enough that he would cry before me. I admit that seeing a grown man cry before me left a weird impression that I stopped smiling.

“D-Doctor Kusher?” I stuttered. My mind was in a blank state of this phenomenon.

“By the great circle of Grimm’s Coven.” He whispered. “Opera’s bloodline lives.”