Chapter Five

Adonis

My eyelids fluttered open. My vision was hazy and blurry because I awoke from a deep sleep. I rubbed my eyes to get rid of the grogginess, and it took a few seconds to clear up.

Forcing my way through the maze of confusion, I looked up, feeling lost and surprised.

As soon as the drizzle touched my skin, I knew that I was in my human form and looked around. I was outside in the purple garden on the grass.

Never in my Twenty-Six years of living had I felt such serenity and calmness around me, but I couldn't remember why. It felt strange like someone had calmed my inner storm.

My recollections were disorganized, so it was impossible to piece together the event. My crazy wolf was unusually quiet, as though its impulses had been restrained with a tight leash.

Raindrops hit my skin as the drizzle got heavier. "What happened last night?" I kept asking myself.

My wolf suffered from fast memory loss and impulse control disorders, so it was a relief not to feel the usual emptiness and depressive moodiness that accompanied my transformations.

My violent wolf tendencies drove me to roam in a rage every night, but this time there was no sign of that darkness, no restless roaming.

Strange.

I stayed in the garden even though the rain was getting heavier and heavier. I was feeling so rejuvenated that I did not care that it was pounding me.

My robe was soaked with rain as I embraced the coolness of the grass. Everything was quiet, and it was almost four in the morning.

I wasn't a fan of this wife hunt contest, and I had no intention of replacing Isabella, the love of my life, who was murdered by that bastard Syndicate Alpha, Alexander.

But I had to get married, I had to have a child. Even if I mourned Isabella forever, life must go on, and I had a lot expected of me. My packmates didn't give a shit about my suffering.

The sound of footsteps reached my ears, making me perk up. I remained still, curious about the approaching presence.

My friends, Freddie and Sophia, came up to me. They discovered me lying in the garden drenched in rain, with Sophia clutching an umbrella.

She reached out to touch me, but I stopped myself in time, not failing to notice her lips tightening into a frown and her face dropping.

"We’ve been searching for you, Adonis," Freddie said. "Are you okay?"

I said nothing. My friends had reason to be cautious, and they were worried that I suffered an episode alone.

The only people who knew about my cursed wolf were my father, my closest friends, and my physicians since being in the public eye with such instability could ruin my leadership.

"We've been looking for you," Sophia said as I stood up. "You had us worried. Are you alright?"

"Why are you out here in the rain?" Freddie said.

"Can you guys stop with the questions? You can see that I am doing okay."

Sophia spoke after hesitating a moment. "Adonis, being out here by yourself without supervision is not good for you. You should have woken one of us to keep an eye on you. You know the girls are at the other wing of the house."

I gave her a strange little smile that took her by surprise.

"Why are you smiling? You rarely smile these days."

I played with a blade of grass. She was right. My life descended into resentment and hatred, and my only goal was to plot my revenge for my wife's death.

"Something happened last night, something very different, but I can't remember."

They moved closer to me, studying me. "Different how?" Freddie asked.

"Not much comes to mind, but I experienced a peace of mind I haven't felt in years. I think my wolf met someone. Unfortunately, it's not good at storing memories.

"Someone?" they chorused.

"Yes. It was tranquilized by the person's presence, but I’m not sure who it was. I have no memory of anything."

"Could it be one of the contestants from the beauty contest?" Sophia said in a rush. "Do you remember anything about her hair color, eye color, height?"

I shook my head. "I don't even know who the gender is. I wish I could, but it's all a blur."

"Whoever she is, she's in trouble because if I find out anyone broke the rules by coming outside..."

"Why do you sound so serious?" Freddie nudged Sophia. “If one of the girls is capable of taming his wolf, then that's a good thing.”

With a sudden doubt in my voice, I added, "Or maybe I am making it up."

Without warning, I walked away from them and headed to my bedroom to change out of my wet clothes. I was standing at the window, looking out at the spot where the rain had just stopped, and observed the droplets dancing across the glass.

"Good morning, Adonis," said my doctor friend Mark as he walked quietly into the room with a tray containing multiple syringes of the drug meant to suppress my wolf side.

My eyes moved from the view outside to the tray. I was not in the mood for any of these concoctions.

"What do you want?" I snapped.

"It's time for your medication," he said with a soft tone, approaching cautiously.

I turned to the window. "I'm tired of those, Mark. Get rid of them."

Mark was silent behind me, and he appeared very worried when I briefly glanced at him.

"I mean it. Get rid of them."

"Adonis, you can't skip your medication. You must never miss a day. You and I know this."

I tapped my fingers to release energy and pursed my lips. "Buddy, I know you care, but I'm sick of this. I don't care anymore if I lose control. The medication does not even seem to be working."

Mark looked as though I'd given him a hard slap on the face. He recovered quickly dropped the tray on the table and tried to persuade me.

"Adonis, think about what's at stake. Think about what everyone will say, about the danger this could cause. Please take your medicine now for the benefit of everyone you love."

"I won't," I maintained. Give me five days to abstain from it. I promise I'll return to it if my wolf relapses. Please, if you truly care, you'd grant my request for a break.”