I intentionally made the conversation between me and Nathalie through text messages so that both our packs, especially mine, could not be aware of what was going on. The less they know the better. "But we have no control over their minds. What if my wolf instinct was right about it? Nathalie, I don't have a backup plan." I messaged back. "Josh, relax," Nathalie added three smiling emojis next to it. "Better focus on the mission. In arresting Uncle Robin as soon as possible. Anyway, do you have other plans tonight?" "Aside from capturing your uncle Robin?" I paused my fingers while digging into my brain about what to do next if given the chance we could end the mission sooner or later. "Is everything all right, Josh?" Nathaniel shortly stealth a glimpse at me from the rearview mirror. Perhaps he noticed my bothering mind at that moment. "Yeah. Everything's fine, Nathaniel." I said back to him before I holds the phone tighter and continued pressing the keybo
Both our packs have agreed to follow no one but Nathalie's command since she was the one who was more familiar with the place. Aside from that, she was announced as the new alpha of her papa's pack. Not that my wolf was complaining, we left no choice. And I have to avoid conflicts between us since we have the same goal in the mission. However, my wolf could not deny the fact that I somehow felt worried about Nathalie's way of thinking. As far as I could remember, one of her letters once mentioned that she never had any experience with battle. That her wolf never sees and experiences bloodshed. What we are about to face was between life and death cases. We need someone who could lead us firmly. Nathaniel perhaps. But he was under Nathalie's command. And if it will be me, I'm not sure if Nathalie's packs would heed my words. They barely know me. Aside from that, my wolf was simply a beta. The lowest positions in the rank. Meanwhile, Nathalie ordered her and my wolves
When I wagged my head to my left, Nathalie and Nathaniel's wolves started crawling forward. Could not help but draw long curve lines on my forehead, thinking if the go signal has been announced already. However, when I dragged my gaze to the right side, the wolves who were stationed did not move a bit from their spots. Instead, they were studying the atmosphere ahead of us. "And hundred of our men was already on their way to attack the mansion. Their aim was to kill Nathalie once and for all." After someone let out those words, all of us heard a boisterous growl from Robin. As I pointed my eyes back to Nathalie's spot, she and Nathaniel were already gone. Their wolves were rushing to the source of the boisterous growl. Most of the wolves with us were already bubbled out of their spots. Leaving no choice, my wolf lifted its feet ten times faster than its usual speed. I heard Robin's announcement loud and clear. And Nathalie was falling for his trap. "Nathalie, g
Nathalie stepped her foot onto something beneath her feet that made the speed of the vehicle accelerate. "I'm thinking, all right? My body is not similar to a robot, Josh. I paused every time my wolf didn't know the answer. Check every corner of the car if someone left their phones here." So, I followed her instruction. "Who would you call?" I asked while checking the corners of the car. "I will call my mum. So, better stop talking now and search for a phone." My wolf could sense Nathalie's irritated expression at the moment. But I can't blame her for that. We were already there executing the mission yet an uncertain event happened which resulted in us being in the car together. Then, I remembered Nathaniel. The last thing my eyes saw earlier was that he was chasing Robin. "Did you find one?" She added after a few seconds of searching the entire corners of the car. Sadly, I found no phones. "Josh?" "No!" I exclaimed. "And I'm getting worried now, Nathalie. I sh
"But we're done checking all the parts of the boat, Josh. A few times to be exact." He debated what he believed is the facts. And that was their job while waiting for us to get back. There's no way they haven't checked them before we docked and after we outboard the boat. "Then, check them again. I'm still waiting for Nathalie and the rest of our packs to come over. In the meantime, Justine will get some rest. The kid just witnessed an undesirable incident earlier." I dropped my gaze to Justine and gently rubbed his head. "Okay." he nodded. "Check the engine guys!" and he yelled louder before he disappeared from his spot. As soon as he disappeared from his spot, I brought Justine to the cabin for him to get some rest. I believed we were already safe in the boat. Justine was already safe. But why am I still feeling utter restlessness and emptiness? Was it because I left the rest of the packs in the battle like a coward? Would they think of me that way because I left
Yeah. About that, part of me wanted to back out with this scheduled date with Nathalie tonight. Today is not the perfect time to celebrate after ruining the mission. And I can't risk my brother's life anymore coming with Nathalie to the shopping when someone wants her dead. If her wolf was in danger, so is ours if we accompany her to the shopping. We don't know how many people or wolves are after her. However, Marcos instructed me to buy cell phones so we could have something to use to communicate on the island. Nathalie was already aware of that. That was one of the reasons she invited me to a shopping tonight. "If you're planning to ditch her, please don't. You know how much you meant to Nathalie. She needs this after everything that's happened to her life recently. She deserves a treat, especially with the ones she loves the most." Nathaniel added before he ordered their wolves to board their captured rogues on the boat. Then they dragged those wolves to the bo
The more my wolf stayed with them, the heavier the guilt I felt. That is why I left my spot on purpose even if my wolf still wanted to ask them a few questions about their battle against Robin's wolves. "Captain Josh, can you check our captives first? We don't want to cause you trouble on your date with Lady Nathalie tonight. Or should we kill them instead?" One of the boat-in-charge asked and led me the way to the mini-jail we built at the tailgate of the boat. "Let me think about that first. We still need some information about them. About where is their other den? Who else was their leader aside from Robin? And about what was their real purpose. Nevertheless, we still need to know who among them killed my papa." I strictly suggested that. "Aside from that, we need to know what they did to our wolves who joined the first mission." Mama wanted to take revenge on the wolf who killed papa. And I want to make that happen as soon as possible. If given the chance I'm gonna
"Umm... Just out of curiosity though. Are we really going to bring Nathaniel with us? Or should I bring my wolves with us too?" I was supposed to decline this wonderful event of my life. However, that was not what my voice is telling Nathalie. Before Nathalie could open her mouth, I ordered Justine to take a bath first. The kid, whose excitement was inevitably overflowing, jumped out of the mattress and leapt to the toilet. Mama already taught Justine how to take a bath so, he doesn't need my presence anymore. Aside from that, I also remember he once telling me he was a grown-up man already. He can feel embarrassed when someone is watching his naked body. So, I stayed with her in the cabin while waiting for Justine to finish. "If you're asking my advice, not everyone on the island can experience shopping, Josh. You guys don't have malls on the island. We can hail a cab if you will bring some of your wolves." Nathalie highly recommends it. "We have a few rogues onbo
"Do you believe in what the news is saying? That's completely ridiculous, right?" The cab driver broke the bridge of silence between us in the car. "I mean... There were a lot of problems Chicago was facing these days - heavy traffic, death rates, and poverty. It's not that I am against their plan of eliminating those monsters, but, I've heard no such thing as werewolves." I dont know if I should be pleased or not with what the cab driver told me. He sounded like monsters such as werewolves are not the main problem to society but the government itself. However, the government was right. We are monsters. "... Now, we have on the other line of the phone, the man behind the list. And he wants the public to address him as the Benefactor of this werewolf hunting trip. However, his safety is our main concern. So, we secure his basic information such as name, address, and contact number." added the reporter on the news. "People of the United States. Recently, we, the people o
"Josh, wait up!" Nathaniel whispered as he removed his clothes and shifted into a big bad wolf before he jumped over the fence and followed me. As soon as we heard the sounds of the gunshots, I bumped my body into the door by force, especially when it was locked. When we got the chance to see the image of the house, a flood of fresh drops of blood greeted us. The worst part is that I could barely sense anyone's presence in the house anymore aside from the body lying on the floor with an axe dug in straight to the woman's heart. "We're late," I muttered to myself with much regret that pinched the deepest part of my conscience. I could barely sense the woman's breathing anymore. Neither was her heartbeat. "She's dead." Nathaniel roamed around shortly, checking every corner of the house. We sensed the murderer's scent ten seconds ago but it disappeared like thin air all of a sudden before we could get in. But the house was already deserted. So, he went back to the
{Joshua's POV} "Baby, always remember what I told you, okay?" I muttered to Justine as soon as we stepped foot in front of his classroom. Undeniably, an entire part of me was feeling skeptical of the idea that he will go to class despite the situation he was in. Justine doesn't know yet that someone has put a price on his head amounting to four million dollars. I mean, my little brother was just a grade-schooler. He hurts no one and barely knows about Chicago werewolves. He doesn't deserve to be part of this nonsense and unreasonable dilemma. I don't want him to worry about his life either. All I want for him is to continue his study to have a better future similar to most humans. "That I should reach out to you or Lady Nathalie in case of emergency? Are we in danger, brother Josh? I heard you guys back in Lady Nathalie's place talking about werewolves who are in danger. Are we included in the list?" Justine asked back. And he's started to worry. "No, we're not
And I know he somehow noticed our surprised expressions, especially his brother, Justine. He cared for his brother very much. His little decision, whatever it is, also matters to Joshua. "My entire week is available. But once the clinic gets back its operation, I'm gonna focus my undivided attention so Justine and I could save enough to get back to the island." Joshua said back, trying to ease off Justine's awful expression. "But I thought we are going to stay with Lady Nathalie, brother Josh. Does that mean you're lying to me?" Justine said back in an unhappy tone. My brain was frozen for a few seconds. They only have each other's back if Joshua will insist on ignoring my help. Breaking them apart would be the last thing I would do. So, I tried digging into my brain about how to convince Joshua to stay in Chicago instead of going back to the island knowing they are no longer welcome to live there as her mama told us. That's why she willingly entrusted her two sons
Every one of us, including Justine, exchanged glances, trying to read each other's minds to know which side of the choice we are on. But no matter which side Joshua chooses, I will forever be supporting him. "Then, we'll help them. But, for the record, this is not an assurance that we could protect all of them," had to point that out. I don't Joshua would blame not just me when things go south. My family may be that wealthy enough to have billions of dollars in my bank accounts but I'm not desperate enough to kill the wolves, including our pack members. What good could I get about that? Let alone paying millions of dollars to eliminate thousands of them. "Besides, we still don't know who's madman is behind all these. Putting millions of dollars in our heads requires a massive amount of money in their bank accounts." "So, does this mean my head was priced at a hundred million dollars? 'Cause that was the figure written parallel to my name." Joshua's confrontation ma
Despite Joshua's weakened wolf, he still has the strength to punch Nathaniel in the face. His rage exploded like a volcanic eruption. Aside from that his explosion was extremely hot, no one would dare block his way unless you were ready to get a punch from him too. "Wait... You told him?" Could not help but lush out my frustration to Nathaniel instead of taking his side. I pushed him by force when I could not believe he preceded me even if he knows there was no slight chance between us. And I thought of our sex as a huge mistake driven by the call of alcohol in our systems. "No. I didn't. But I thought you already told him since you heard it yourself, he was referring to our..." Nathaniel cut off his words before making things worse. "No. I haven't told him yet, you idiot. That was already part of my plan, but not now when all our lives are in great danger including the kid. I'm afraid my name was already included on the list." "What list are you talking about?" Jo
"Rescue was on their way, Nathalie. Please hold until we reached the road you're in, okay?" Those were the last words coming from Nathaniel from the other line of the phone before the call got ended. "Okay. Thank you so much, Mr Nathaniel. But, please, come quick. Brother Josh started not to look good." Justine's words made me stealth a glimpse at the rearview mirror and found out indeed, his brother doesn't look good. The colour of his skin started losing its normal glow and was soaked in profuse sweat. I could barely hear his heartbeat either. Neither was his breathing. "Joshua, can you talk? How are you feeling?" I asked and stayed focused on driving the car to avoid getting hit by those arrows and axes as much as possible. "Lady Nathalie, please, help Brother Josh. He's not breathing anymore." Justine's voice even increased my worries and fears, especially when Joshua is not responding to my inquiries. Justine suddenly screamed when Joshua's half of his bod
"Young man, is she your girlfriend?" the cab driver asked. "Are you dumping that kind of woman? Are you kidding me?" "First of all, she's someone's girlfriend. Next to that, I'm not talking to her. So, please, tell her that she needs to move away if she doesn't want to get hit by the car." Joshua said back. "You heard the man, Miss gorgeous. So, please, I'm not gonna say it again. There are a few cab drivers and passengers at the back who are more furious than you are. If I'm not gonna move away, they will put the blame me." Indeed there were a few cab drivers who just hopped out of their respective cars and some continued beeping their horns, making the entire waiting area into chaos. "I'm so sorry, Josh. What you see back there is not what you think it is. I tried to explain to you the reason but you were gone already. But, please, give me a chance to hear my reason. If you don't want to believe me afterwards, then I'm letting you go." "Hey, you? Will you mov
Nevertheless, the only face I see was Nathaniel who was heading in my direction, somewhat bothered. "Nathalie, you need to get back to the unit. Now. The guests are staring at you." "It's all your fucking fault he left." I made sure most guests on the ground floor heard it to make sure their sharp eyes were pointed at him. Then, I rushed back to the elevator and ascended to my unit alone. In a few minutes, Nathaniel followed with a blushing face and sharp eyes. He slid to the fridge and gulped a bottle of water in one go but I could sense the anger that was bothering him. "You know what, Nathalie? If you fucking want to blame it on me. Better say it in front of my face, not in front of the other people. And don't forget, it's also your fault since you've done nothing to make things right. Grow up." Nathaniel let go of the empty bottle of water and threw it into the trash bin. Then, he slid to the couch and switched on the television. And I just stood in front of