Chapter 1

Letter from Josh

The boisterous knocks on the door got me startled to the point that I accidentally fell my papa's nine-year-old feather dip pen to the floor.

"Shit," I muttered to myself, not because of my drastic irritation towards my brother for knocking on the door, but because of the pen.

Every time a feather dip pen fell to the ground, it was either I have to throw it away or take it as a souvenir because its feathers will probably detach from its base. But one thing is for certain, Papa will get extremely mad at me for that reason.

"Brother Josh, are you alright?" My eight-year-old brother Justine said in a worried tone. Perhaps he gets the chance to see me rushing to my room at the speed of light, sobbing.

Even at my adult age, I used to cry every time the world was so mean to me. I'm not into crowded places. One to mention is the school. I hate being surrounded by a lot of wolves. So, I stopped schooling at the age of ten.

But despite the fact that I already stayed away as much as possible from the rest of the wolves, everyone still haunts me. Even in my dreams. They desperately dubbed me as a "no-read, no-write" wolf because I already quit school. And last week, I just turned twenty.

Good thing Papa always spares his time after work to teach me how to read and write so that I will not get left behind by the time.

"Justine, will you please leave me alone?" I yelled before I reached the pen from the floor. "I'm fine. And don't you dare do that again, all right?"

Then I rolled the piece of paper and put it inside the empty bottle. I was about to use the doorway to head out of the house but Justine stayed in front of the door waiting for me to open it.

So, I jumped out of the window instead. What's best about our house was that my parents built it nearby the sea. It has the best view compared to the rest of the neighbouring houses.

As soon as I stepped foot on the tiny granules of the white sands, all the negative thoughts that run through my helpless and feeble brain started to feel better.

Getting soaked under the smouldering rays of the sun was one of my favourite past times, especially when I have all the time in the world to do what I want. That is why my skin looks tan. But I'm not complaining about it.

"Please, be good to me this time," I muttered to myself before I marked my kiss to the bottle where I put the letter. Afterwards, I throw the bottle into the seawater.

"Until when would you stop doing that, son?" My Papa suddenly appeared behind my back.

He then slapped my shoulder to extend his greetings and followed his gaze with mine to the bottle, floating and being pulled away by the sea current.

I did not notice the time as I was busy composing my letter to the stranger. Papa was supposed to be with the pack, helping Alpha Marcos do their training along with our werewolf brothers and sisters.

And as far as my knowledge is concerned, they were tracing those rogues who murdered one of our own. My Papa was the second in line of our packs. Even in his seventies, he was as busy and as stronger as the alpha.

But despite his hectic schedule, he always spends time with his family. With us. That's the best thing I admired my Papa the most. He was loving, caring, and has the longest patience I've ever known. I may be biased but mum was next.

"You've been doing that for the past four years. Don't you realize your mum would get mad at you when she knows it was you who always stole her empty bottles, huh?" Papa added with a smile on his face.

"You know that it's the only way I could express my thoughts, right?" I let go of my gaze from the bottle as soon as it was already out of sight and dragged them to Papa. "And besides, what do you think Mama would keep those bottles if they're not for me?"

Papa slightly contorted the shape of his lips. Perhaps he agreed to my response as he left no choice. Afterwards, we marched back to the house together and talked a few things about his work as one of the pack's best werewolf guardians.

The next morning, I went out of the house earlier to check out the seashore, especially when the seawater was on high tide. It will not be hard for me to check if there's something odd, specifically my bottle, that would pass through.

However, I ended up with heavy a heart after getting none from the seawater. I've waited until the sun goes down and yet found none.

As soon as I got home, Justine immediately wrapped his arms around me to ease off my terrible mood.

"Don't be sad, Brother Josh. Maybe, the stranger is still busy composing the best letter for you." Justine muttered before he marked his kiss on my cheeks.

"Or maybe all my bottles got drowned beneath the seawater, baby," I faked a smile as I gently rubbed Justine's head, still trying to be positive even if I am not already.

For the next consecutive days, my feet have marched in the same direction, back and forth between our house and the seashore.

However, none of those days has made my day brighter. And there has only one bottle, out of the hundreds, left in the storage room. I could not afford Mama would spend another dime for my uncertainties.

Until Papa knocked on the door.

"I'm fine, Paps. Just leave me alone." I dropped my body on the bed and covered my ears with the blanket.

"No, you're not, Josh. Please, open the door." he requested in a calm tone as he always does. "And besides, I have something very important for you."

Before I shortly removed the blanket from my face, could not help but dig into my brain about what Papa was referring to that something very important to me.

As far as I can remember, today was not supposed to be my birthday. None from Papa, Mama, and Justine either. Speaking of something important, my family was the most important to me.

Aside from that, nothing more. Unless... I was holding onto that thought as I rushed to the door and quickly pulled it open.

"Where's my dog?" I eagerly asked and dropped my gaze to the floor, thinking the dog might be somewhere in one of the corners, hiding.

Nevertheless, after a few seconds of scanning, I haven't sensed any signs of a living pet inside the house aside from the stinky scents of our wolves.

I have been requesting my parents to present me with a puppy so that I could have someone to talk to instead of writing my useless letters to unknown people. The chances of getting any response from someone were as dim as my future is.

On the bright side, a puppy could bark if I talked to them. A useless letter can't no matter how hard I try.

"You know that we can't pet a puppy inside the house, right? We're wolves, son. Dogs will only get terrified of us. And besides, there's no living dog on this island. Not in a million years." Dad said back.

Could not help but drop my expression back to its original shape. The shape where there's no hope for me.

So, I turned around and was about to step back inside the room when Papa added, "however, I got you this."

To my surprise, he was holding a bottle with coloured paper inside it. I haven't seen such kind of a paper on the island when it looks specially made. Then he tossed the bottle to me before he disappeared from his spot.

It was me who was holding the bottle now. But the one thing that kept running through my curious and confused brain was how Papa got the bottle.

Part of me wanted to believe that it was Papa's idea to respond to my failed letters so I won't get discouraged by the fact that the strangers that were drawn to my brain were only an imagination.

I know his intention was good, but if he will simply fake it that the response comes from someone I barely know, I can't accept it. It's totally unreasonable and unfair on my part.

So, in order for me not to expect anything and for me not to get hurt further, I set the bottle on top of my wooden closet and jumped on the bed.

The next morning, I decided not to visit the seashore since I haven't made a letter yesterday. Also, my decision was already firm not to do this childish game anymore.

Instead, I have to focus on my present when I haven't done anything for my family and even for myself. I was just a burden to my family. Always giving them headaches and discouragements.

When I turned around back to the closet, the image of the bottle first landed in my eyes. It was still there, unmoved.

But that made me think for a few seconds. What if Papa did not lie to me? What if he found the bottle floating on the seawater the second I left the seashore.

Out of curiosity, I jumped out of the bed and grabbed the bottle. Before I removed the cap from the bottle, I prayed for a few seconds first, giving me enough time to think things through.