The Many Problems of Luka Erebi | Sapphic Romance | Chapter 9
Wren meets the spider queen
The forecast said a storm was coming tonight with a forty percent chance of light rain before. It seemed Wren hit the unfortunate lottery with the rain, and she had to walk downstairs to cover her motorcycle earlier than she should. The parking lot was in front of the apartment, allowing only eight vehicles to park. Though only three of the spots were filled. Most people living here were more prone to taking the metro.
The only luck she found was that she wasn’t going back to work until Monday. The Cusp wasn’t planning on opening with the storm looking like it was turning into a typhoon. Though that didn’t mean Wren hadn’t driven during a typhoon before… much to the detriment of her mother.
Still, she’d rather not get soaked. In her rush to get away from Pachi City, she forgot to pack her poncho.
The rain, in combination with the wind, rushed a chill that penetrated her thick jacket. Now that she had her motorcycle covered, she hurried back to the apartment.
Inside, she saw Asher staring out into the balcony. The food she left him in the kitchen was licked clean.
Bellamy left an hour ago—around seven—with an umbrella and a classic yellow rain coat. She mentioned she had a friend who wanted to meet Wren before stepping out. Consider that the last time Bellamy introduced Wren to her friend and it turned out to be Luka… Wren felt like she should stay on her toes for this encounter.
After she finished washing Asher’s bowl, she noticed him tapping on the glass door. He wanted to go out. The rain was still light, but the wind was pushing it into the balcony. Wren figured she could open it to let him out, he’d feel the rain and immediately run back in.
So she slid the door open and watched him saunter out. He flinched when the rain hit his fur, but he didn’t flee. Instead, he looked toward the left, where Luka’s apartment was. Then he shoved his face in between a gap.
Wren’s body moved before she thought, but she was too late. He was already through the gap and now found himself on Luka’s balcony. His tail was standing up, the tip twitching, like he was proud of what he had just done.
“Asher, get back here.”
Of course, he wasn’t going to listen to her. She just had to wait for him to get bored. It wasn’t like Luka had anything interesting on her balcony… in fact, there wasn’t anything at all. Bellamy, at least, had a few potted plants.
“Oh my, a cat.”
Wren had been so focused on Asher, that she hadn’t realized the woman two balcony over. She’d seen this woman a couple days ago at the market, though she didn’t know she lived in the same apartment. The woman had on a white apron with a coffee stain on the chest area. She was in the middle of grabbing her hanged clothes.
Asher, now bored of Luka’s balcony, turned to the woman’s balcony. He was going to go through the gap again, but something stopped him. Wren couldn’t see what, exactly. He crouched, preparing for his launch. If he couldn’t go through, then he was going to jump over.
This wasn’t something Wren would let him do. The balconies were segmented by half-walls, with only a small enough gap between the wall and the balcony rails. If Asher jumped and slipped, he could fall.
“Asher, if you don’t come back here, I’m going to leave you outside,” Wren said and stepped backward. She didn’t enter, but she slammed the door closed.
It didn’t even take a minute for Asher to poke his head through the gap, enough for Wren to grab him by his nape and pull him out. He struggled in her grasp, meowing his complaints.
Wren heard laughing coming from the woman. She shrugged it off and brought Asher back indoor. There was no need for her to interact with her neighbors, not when she wasn’t planning on staying here long.
Bzz…
Her phone was vibrating, moving around on the glass coffee table. She let Asher down and went to pick up her phone. It was a message from Bellamy.
Bell.A: I forgot my ID. Can you bring it for me? It should be on my desk. Thank you!
“Ugh…”
It seemed like she was going to get soaked after all. And just when she had covered her motorbike.
She entered Bellamy’s room, and so did Asher. Wren grabbed him, making sure he wasn’t going to jump and knock down all of Bellamy’s makeup. After she found the ID, she put on her best rain-resistant jacket and black pants so it wouldn’t be too obvious when wet. She shoved the ID into her jacket chest pocket and zipped it shut.
Asher was already at the front door. He looked like he wasn’t going let her leave without a struggle. Too bad for him, Wren was used to picking him up and tossing him far enough for her to leave before he could.
“Meeeow!”
“Stop complaining,” Wren said.
As she made her way to her ride, she sent Bellamy a message.
Wren: I got it. Where do you want to meet?
Bell.A: I’m at the Volunteer Club.
Bellamy wrote it like Wren went to Lotus Academy. She sighed, pulling up the campus online map. The first thing she noted was how the Academy layout looked like a flower, with each buildings called Petals. Wren rolled her eyes. She wondered if the architecture who designed was chortling over how on-the-nose this was.
After figuring out where the Volunteer Club was, she began her short drive over. When she parked her bike, she made sure to keep her helmet on until she was told otherwise. The less people saw her eyes, the better.
Fortunately, nobody called her out and she found the room for the Volunteer Club without a problem. Now, all she needed was to drop off Bellamy’s ID and get back.
The door to the club was opened, so she stepped in front to check if Bellamy was there. She wasn’t. Instead, Wren saw a stranger resting against the table in the center looking at her phone. Besides the table and chairs surrounding it, there were a couple of bookshelves filled with books on the left side. A large window sat opposite of the door.
The woman’s hair was wrapped in a crown braid. She wore a black shirt with a bright red puffer jacket, and ripped jean shorts with tights underneath.
She noticed Wren standing in the hallway, and turned her head. Her red eyes made Wren wary.
“Are you Wren?”
Wren pursed her lips, not liking that this woman knew her name. “Where’s Bellamy?”
“She said she needed to do something and rushed out. You can wait here or give me the ID if you want.”
Neither situation Wren liked. She took out her phone.
Wren: I’m at the club. Where are you?
Bell.A: Sorry! I forgot something in class. I’ll be back in a few
It seemed the woman wasn’t lying.
Suddenly, she saw the woman’s finger prying under her sun visor and pulling it up. Wren flinched and jumped back.
“Oh ho… so you are a Vespula.”
Wren’s jaw clenched as did her hands. But now that she’d seen the woman without her visor on, she realized just how blood red those eyes were.
The woman extended her hand, and a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “I’m Ari. A friend of Bellamy’s.”
So this was Bellamy’s other friend… Wren sighed. She didn’t take Ari’s offer to shake hands.
“You know, it’s courtesy to greet one another, but whatever.” She shrugged, then walked back into the room. “Are you coming in or not?”
“It won’t take too long. I’d rather wait out here,” Wren said.
“Are you sure? I mean, there’s nobody in the hallway right now, but you never know. Sound travels far. You probably wouldn’t want anyone to hear this, would you?”
What was this woman going on about? A bad feeling had been stirring since Wren saw her, but now it was starting to simmer. Against her better judgment, she stepped inside and sat on the right side of the table.
“Is it true that Bellamy’s your cousin? Like, actually by blood?”
This was an obvious question, something that most would ask if they found out. Wren crossed her arms and leaned against the wall near the door.
“Yes.”
Ari looked out the window, Wren followed and saw the rain picking up. It was strong enough that they could hear it hitting the glass.
“Hm… How did that happen, I wonder.”
Wren kept her lips sealed. There was no need in explaining the details to a stranger. If Ari really wanted to know, then she could’ve asked Bellamy about it.
“Actually, there’s no need to ponder,” Ari said in a rather jovial tone. “Your granduncle had an affair with Bellamy’s grandma. Or should I say he had his way with her?”
Wren’s breath hitched. That information wasn’t public. How did she know?
“Personally, I would’ve gotten an abortion.” Then she sighed rather dramatically. “But I hear the Apis family aren’t very fond of that idea, so they decided to keep it.”
“Get to the point,” Wren said.
“It’s not new for Invaders to try to infiltrate a Native, but the Vespulas sure set a new high when they managed to sow their seed in the House of Apis. In hindsight, it sure took them long enough to finally exploit the Apis’s generosity.” Ari chuckled, like she had just told a joke.
“I thought you were supposed to be Bellamy’s friend.”
She raised a brow, but her smile still held strong. “Oh, no. I am. But you should know… as an Invader… that your quality of life depends on who owes you favors and who you owe favors to. I’m just trying to curry favors.”
Wren scoffed. “So you’re just using Bellamy’s status?”
“No.” Ari pointed at Wren. “You.”
Before Wren could say anything, she felt someone grab at her jacket and pulled her away from the wall. Her helmet cut her peripheral vision, and she only saw the perpetrator when it was too late. Shimmering emerald eyes.
They moved with lightning speed, hitting Wren’s gut with such impact that her knees wanted to buckle. She held steady, only to face another punch, this time aimed at her head. It knocked her helmet clean off, and she fell down to the ground. Her face felt wet.
In all her times fighting, she’d never met someone who moved this fast.
The person stopped, towering over her. Wren thought of herself as taller than average, but this person beat her by at least ten centimeters. Their glare told Wren a story she’d heard before. Her family had done something to this person or their family, and now they were taking it out on her.
They wore a black mask and a hat, so Wren couldn’t see their face, but she recognized those eyes. Just like a Vespula’s yellow eyes, there were many families with distinguishable colored eyes.
Whoever this person was, they were from the House of Mantina… the fallen House that—although was never known publicly, it was heavily speculated—was caused by Wren’s grandmother.
Ari stepped into Wren’s view, and for the first time, sprouted a genuine smile. If she wasn’t already throbbing from the sledgehammer-equivalent of a punch, she could’ve felt a chill in her bones. Finally, Wren understood why Ari’s eyes made her leery.
“You… you’re an Aranae.”
Wren should’ve known. Only Invaders would do such underhanded method. And with a fallen Native, no less.
Upon hearing that name, Ari’s smile strained. “No, I’m a Weaver. Anyway, I hope you know that it’s nothing personal. I just needed a favor from Rose.”
She then placed a hand on the tall figure. “I know it’s not who you wanted, but at least you got a couple licks in.”
The dark-skinned woman let out a long exhale, her eyes softening in the process. She shook her head, mumbling something Wren couldn’t hear, and walked out.
“Well, that’s that.” Ari walked back and leaned against the table. She held up a hand, ticking each finger down as the seconds passed.
Wren could hear loud taps coming from the hallway, it must’ve been Bellamy rushing back. She tried to pick herself back up, grunting and groaning from the pain. Her head was aching, but she probably would’ve been worse if she wasn’t wearing her helmet.
Right when all five of Ari’s fingers were down, Wren heard Bellamy.
“Hah… Wren! Hah… Sorry for the wait. Hah… I got stopped on the way here.”
She was barely catching her breath.
By the time she poked her head in, Wren was on her feet, pacing over to grab her helmet on the ground. The sun visor was broken.
Bellamy gasped, closing the distance between her and Wren. She pulled out a packet of tissues from her bag and dabbed it on Wren’s face. Only then did she feel a sharp sting. Her face was bleeding.
“What happened?” Bellamy asked.
Wren didn’t say anything. She stared at Ari.
“Ari? What did you do?”
Ari gave her a stare, her expression unreadable. Then she said, “Not that.”
Bellamy furrowed her brows, her lips pursed. “Don’t lie. You promised me.”
“And I’m telling you the truth: I’m not the one who hurt her.”
It was obvious. Ari wasn’t going to tell her cousin the truth. And at this point, Wren couldn’t care less. She just wanted to leave. She unzipped her chest pocket, took out the ID, and handed it over to her.
“You sure know how to pick your friends,” Wren said. “First Luka, and now this woman? Fuck, Bellamy.”
She could see the confusion on her cousin’s face, but she didn’t care. She put on her helmet and left.