~ Kaelos POV~
"Then what are we going to do with him?" Gabriel asked.
"It's simple," Eric said. "Gabriel will control his mind and make him side with us until we complete our plans with Jessica."
"Wait, what? I thought vampires were the only ones who could control people's minds. Why would Gabriel do that since he's a werewolf?" I asked, confused.
I noticed how Gabriel and Eric exchanged a look, but I didn't know what it meant. I asked them what was going on. Eric explained, "Gabriel inherited this ability from his family because they're not just werewolves; they can also control people's minds."
It was surprising, but I had to believe it. Gabriel and Eric had no reason to lie to me. Then I asked Eric what would happen next once Gabriel controls the model's mind.
Eric told us that he would meet with the Lovethpower's magazine manager and ask him to repay the favor he owes. Eric didn't go into details, but he promised to take care of it.
Now it was time for us to meet with Ligaya and talk to her. I had to swallow my pride, or else Ligaya and I might end up fighting. Eric went downstairs and came back after five minutes with her.
"Hey everyone, meet Ligaya, your neighbor," Eric said with a smile, expecting us to welcome her warmly.
"I'm Gabriel," Gabriel stood up, walked closer to her, and extended his hand, which Ligaya shook in return.
The three of them stared at me, and I was like, "Hey, why the look? Fine, I get it. You already know me, right? I'm Kaelos."
Eric wasn't happy with my attitude and whispered in my ear that my behavior wouldn't help us at all. But there was nothing I could do—I couldn't greet her more warmly than that.
"It's fine, guys," Ligaya said. "I don't care how he greets me, as long as you're all good to me. So, what's up? Why did you want to see me?"
"We want you to help our friend here, Kaelos. He wants to get into modeling, so we need your help to train him," Eric explained to Ligaya.
I felt embarrassed but couldn't back out. Ligaya looked me up and down and said I wouldn't win any competition because no company would hire someone like me.
I told you this girl is arrogant. She's already judging me based on our past issues, but trust me, I gave her a response that suited her.
"Seriously? They won't hire me? Well, if I don't get hired, it might be because of your poor coaching. Just admit you're not capable of training me because you don't know anything about modeling! Eric, why do you trust this girl so much?"
"Please stop, Kaelos," Eric advised us. "You two need to set aside your issues, or nothing will come out of this training."
Ligaya tried to pin the blame on me, saying I was the hot-headed one, which wasn't true. But fine, I would tolerate her attitude for the sake of my late parents and other werewolves who deserve justice.
"When should we start?" I stood up and faced Ligaya.
"Uhmm, turn around," she instructed.
"Wait, is turning around part of the training?" I asked.
"Kaelos, right? You're not allowed to ask me any questions. Just do as I say, okay?"
"Please, Kaelos, listen to her," Gabriel pleaded with me.
"Fine!" I turned around. Eric struggled to hold back laughter, and I didn't understand why he found what Ligaya was doing so funny.
"You already have the body and you are cute, but…" Ligaya rested her left hand under her cheek, looking at me with a slightly disgusted expression.
"But what?" I glanced at her.
"I told you not to ask me any questions, right? So be quiet. I'm observing something. I noticed the way you pronounce things sounds uneducated."
What an insult! Was I supposed to pretend that was okay too? Ligaya was pushing it—her job was to train me, not insult me. I brought Eric and Gabriel's attention to Ligaya's comment because I wasn't happy about it.
"Ligaya, can you please not talk about how he speaks?" Gabriel asked her respectfully.
She insisted that I needed to work on my pronunciation, which Eric agreed with, and asked her to go ahead and teach me everything I needed to know. Ligaya then told me to walk from where I was standing to another position.
I did, but she wasn't satisfied with the way I walked. She said we would work on that tomorrow morning, but for now, I must avoid eating any food that might give me a big belly.
Ligaya brought out her phone and showed me some workouts online, saying that's what I would be doing every morning and night to keep in shape.
After she left, I asked Eric if he had explained our plan to Ligaya, but he told me no. The only thing Ligaya knew was that she was to train me in becoming a model, and he would pay her, which she agreed to.
"Good! I still don't trust that girl, so we must be careful."
"Why, Kaelos? Did you notice something about her?" Gabriel asked me.
"No, but it's not bad to be cautious about someone we've just gotten close to."
Eric and Gabriel understood what I was trying to say. "While you wait for Ligaya tomorrow, I need to go somewhere," Eric told Gabriel and me.
At first, I was confused because Eric had no reason to leave the house since he was hiding from Vark Slade. I asked why he had to go out.
"To withdraw all my money. If they find out I was behind the video, I'm certain that Vark Slade will do anything to hunt me down. And remember, we must pay Ligaya," Eric said, tapping me on the shoulder.
Gabriel asked him if we were putting too much burden on him, but Eric said he didn't mind since what we were doing was for the future of werewolves, so spending all his savings on that, is nothing.
*The next morning*
"Hey! Kaelos, Kaelos, come downstairs now!"
I heard the voice calling me from my sleep, but I was still groggy and couldn't tell who it was. The person kept shouting my name until Gabriel came and shook me awake.
"Get up, Kaelos. Your coach is downstairs and she's calling for you," Gabriel said, taking a swig from his water bottle.
"It's too early for this. What's her problem anyway?" I asked, sitting up on the bed.
"Her problem? Remember, your training starts today. You're unbelievable," Gabriel said, looking at me with disbelief.
"Fine, fine. I'll go downstairs. But wait, did Eric come back last night? I went to bed early and didn't see him," I said as I got up.
"No, he didn't. He called and said he wouldn't be coming over last night, though he did talk to me this morning," Gabriel explained.
"Alright, I'll head downstairs to start my training."
I went downstairs and saw Ligaya bouncing up and down, twisting her waist. At first, I wondered if this was part of my training. It seemed odd to me, and I questioned the trust Eric had in her, considering how pointless her antics appeared.
"Stop standing there and come over here, Kaelos!" Ligaya called, continuing her jumps.
I approached her and asked if jumping like that was part of the training. Ligaya told me not to start any trouble this morning and that I should watch how I speak to her.
"And what are you wearing?" I asked looking at her.
"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" She asked. "Oops, you don't know this is sportswear?" Ligaya rolled her eyes at me.
"Whatever. So what should I do now?" I inquired.
"Do some push-ups," Ligaya instructed.
"What's that?" I asked, confused.
"Come on, Kaelos, I'm not here to joke around. Just do it," she said firmly.
"But I don't know what you're talking about," I said, scratching my head.
"Wait, you don't know what push-ups are, and you have such a great body? How did you get it?" Ligaya asked, sounding incredulous.
Caught off guard by her question, I tried to come up with an answer to avoid suspicion.
"Uh, I run around," I said.
"You got that body from running only?" Ligaya asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Do you have a problem with that? I told you I run, so why can't you accept that?" I retorted.
"Alright, but here you can't just run. You need to do push-ups. All the guys I know do them to stay in shape. You're the only one who's different!" Ligaya said, talking to herself.
I asked Ligaya what she was talking about, but she ignored me and demonstrated how to do a push-up. I quickly picked it up but refused to admit that I understood because I saw Ligaya getting tired.
"So, can you do it now?" Ligaya asked breathing fast.
"I still don't quite get it. Can you show me again?" I asked, hoping she would tire out.
Ligaya was sweating heavily, but I wasn't going to admit that I understood. She pushed herself to show how committed she was.
"Come on, admit you're tired. Stop forcing yourself," I said.
"I'm not tired, okay? Look, I'm strong," Ligaya insisted.
"Fine, continue then," I said, unable to watch her struggle any longer. I eventually started doing the push-ups myself, enjoying the process. I noticed Ligaya watching me closely and asked if I was doing it right.
"Wow, you're a fast learner," she said.
"What's next?" I asked her.
She went into her apartment and came back with a thin stick about 20 cm long. She asked me to walk on it without letting my feet touch the ground. At first, I was confused but tried it anyway.
Walking on the thin stick was frustrating, as I had never done it before. My waist hurt badly, and I asked Ligaya if I could take a break. She said no because this is how I would have to walk from now on.
The worst part of the training was that it was happening outside our house, and whenever someone asked Ligaya about me, she told them she was preparing me to become a world-famous model.
This was supposed to be confidential, but Ligaya was telling everyone. I had to stop the training and ask her for a moment alone.