At first, I am in doubt if my instinct is right about the woman from the other line. But when I heard her second sentence, I confirmed I was talking to her mama. "Mr Josh? Is this you?" she added. When she guessed my name right away, I immediately pressed the end call button and dropped the phone on the mattress. Then, I slid to the corner where my clothes are. After putting on some clothes, Justine also appeared in the cabin. I did not look him in the eye and simply acted normal as if nothing happened earlier in the car. I grabbed the phone, set it back in the shopping bag, and I slid into the doorway. Before I could reach the doorknob of the cabin, Justine's tight hug stopped me from coming out. "You know that it's okay to be sad, brother Josh. It's okay to get hurt. You're part human with a human heart too. And it's always okay to cry if your heart is in pain. I already saw your tears back in the car." I don't know where Justine got those words from but they
"What is it, Brother Josh? Why are you crying?" Justine asked in a sad tone. Still, I ignored his inquiry as well. And he started crying and caught up everyone's attention. The ten werewolves with us hurriedly rushed to the stern to check out what was going on. All of them surrounded us with their faces full of curiosity and confusion. Though none of them said a word, their worries and fears were apparent on their faces. "Nothing, baby. Those were tears of joy." I switched off the phone and set it in my pocket before I slightly crouched and wiped off Justine's tears. Then I smiled at him to ease off everyone's saddened moods. "Brother Josh is completely happy. So, stop crying now, okay?" I turned my face to everyone and added, "come on, guys! It's a wonderful morning. Get the boat started. The island is now waiting for us." Everyone's mood immediately changed when most of them curved the corners of their lips and turned them into a smile. A smile of a wonderful suc
{Nathalie's POV} "Good thing Robin was not an alpha. Because if he is, Nathalie might be dead by now." Mum muttered to Nathaniel while both of them were staring at me lying on the hospital bed. But it was not the kind of hospital you think it is. It's the one that caters for those werewolves, specifically our packs. Dad built the hospital in case of an emergency like this. "What do you mean?" Nathaniel muttered back. "The wounds on her neck were too deep. But because we have the ability to heal, it helped Nathalie to cover up those shredded tissues from her body faster. But if the wounds come from an alpha, I'm afraid there's no chance it could heal faster like that." Mum explained. Even if my eyes were closed and my entire body was full of anesthetics, my werewolf sense of hearing was still functioning clearly. Mum and Nathaniel were talking about me and uncle Robin. "Well. Yeah. Good thing Robin is just a ruthless manipulative coward wolf. Because if he's
Not that I am completely against their love story but it has been days still since Jasper and I got separated. I barely know anything about Malia. And Jasper never mentioned anyone's name as her that he had his eyes on. I have my list of women Jasper most likely wanted to become their boyfriend. Out of the twenty-three on the list, I remembered no Malia on it. And during those days, Jasper was still in love with me. There's no way his love for me will just be gone in a matter of days. "It's nice to see you, Malia. You're in good hands with Jas." I don't want to be rude in front of everyone just because I felt something weird within her, so I respectfully stretched out my hand to her. "It's nice to see you too, Nathalie. Jasper told me a lot of things about you." Malia accepted my shake hands. Well. I just hoped that Jasper did not include from the lot of things she mentioned about my werewolf side. So, I deliberately crawled my eyes to Jasper, trying to read what w
"You want me to keep an eye on Jasper's girlfriend?" I nodded. "And don't you dare fall in love with her. Promise me that." "Well, first of all, I have no control over my eyes if I can see someone, a crucial heart whom to fall in love with, and a brain to instruct who I should be with." Nathaniel suddenly marked a weird smile on his face. "If I'd be given the chance to be his boyfriend. He'll yeah. I'm gonna grab the opportunity..." Nathaniel cut off his words when I sharpened my gaze at him from the rearview mirror. "Fine," he eased off. "My poor heart might have liked someone but I don't know if she felt the same way I do. And I'm not gonna wait for her to notice me when I know she likes someone already. It looks like I'd be waiting for her forever." He added that completely surprised me. "So, are you going to do the job or not?" I was supposed to ask who that lucky woman is but I think it will be a bit awkward since I know nothing about Nathaniel's love stor
"It's fine, Nathaniel. Thanks for the effort though." The truth is, I'm hurting inside. Everything I said was all lies. I don't know if he noticed it but my wolf was hurting to the deepest part of my heart. Josh and I did not even have gotten the chance to bid our farewells before they could have left New York because of uncertain events. He had to rush back to the island since the cops were looking for him. And I was lying on the bed, completely unconscious. "Anyway, have you heard about Jasper and his girlfriend?" I added to alter Nathaniel's mind-reading thing at me. He read not what was running through my mind but what my heart was feeling. He may not say a word after reading my mind but he felt it too. "They were staying in La Place. But I did not get the chance to talk to them when they were in a hurry heading to the lobby of the hotel. Jasper hadn't recognized me yet." "You'll know him sooner when we get back to Chicago. But don't forget about the other
Six hours ago. "Nathalie, can I ask you a very serious and too personal question?" Nathaniel asked. He grabbed a new bottle of beer and opened his sixth. I'm still on my third bottle. And it has been the most number of beers that I got since I learned and was allowed to drink. Good thing werewolf blood runs through our veins for us not to get drunk easily. "Sure. As long as I will not get arrested for that question, then I'll answer that as far as my knowledge is concerned." I took a sip on my third bottle. And it was about to get empty. But I'm already good with three. If Nathaniel wanted more, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt since it was his night. "You're eighteen this year, right?" he asked. I nodded. "Yeah. Months ago. But I'm not gonna tell you in detail about it because my eighteenth birthday was a nightmare for my wolf." My wolf was supposed to be good for three bottles, but because Nathaniel reminded me of my worst nightmare, I wanted to
However, I haven't told him about the changes of positions since my wolf finds it a bit awkward talking to him after seeing our bodies on one bed, both naked, which was still fresh in my memory. Nevertheless, I could barely accept my betrayal of Josh. Good thing all of them will become busy later at the mansion unpacking their luggage bags, reorganizing their respective rooms, and cleaning the entire mansion. I, on the other hand, immediately disappeared from the mansion and rushed to my condo to be alone without any approval from mum or Nathaniel. Fifteen minutes later, I found myself lying on the soft queen-size bed in my condo unit. I have missed the aromatic smell of my room so much. The smell of my unwashed pillows and blankets has been the same since I flew back to New York. It was supposed to be good to be home yet my wolf could barely feel the ambiance of excitement about being back to school. A day before the classes start, Jasper and I always spent wander
"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