Chapter Two

Dean's eyes were focused on the computer screen, but I could tell that he was acting like he didn't notice Jacob and Sarina fighting behind the computer, as is customary for him. Elias was nowhere to be seen when I searched the area for him, which could only mean one thing.

“Nice of you to join us, Azalea," he remarked behind me.

I spun around to see him leaning against the wall with one knee crossed over the other, fiddling with a knife. I affirmed, 

"Boss, I'm not late."

“Well, I see now. But you took your time to get here, my friend, and I've been waiting for you”, he added, pointing the knife at me.

"Sorry, boss. I had to eat dinner and make the perilous walk home. I apologize for not arriving on time.” I spoke, partially trying to control my sarcasm but still coming off as snarky.

"Nice try, Azalea." He rolled the knife around his pinkie and asked, "Are you being considerate or just plain sarcastic?"

"I'm serious, boss," I said.

"Hmm, let's see. For the time being, I would like you to memorize this information regarding the royalty pack," he stated, changing the tone of his voice from conversational to solemn.

“The loyalty pack? Isn't that the pack of the werewolf king?” I queried him, taken aback by how casually he brought it up. Isn't he a werewolf as well? I reasoned.

"Yeah, you're right. I wouldn't have taken this letter from an anonymous sender if it hadn't been for the cash price. This message has been distributed to a number of additional covert groups in addition to our own. And there is a lot of money. If you do this, you could fund your schooling”, he advised.

I never explained to him why I toiled so hard to earn the money. I accepted his assumption that I wanted to finish my schooling. Nobody could possibly be aware of my twin. Elias questioned me about why I attended school as two different individuals, and I said that I enjoyed mimicry when he found out. He made a joke about my having a twin or wanting a twin, so I don't think he really thought I was telling the truth. I refrained from commenting and let it go. He never brought it up again, and I'm pleased he didn't since, for some reason, he didn't realize I was lying. He is a werewolf, and werewolves can spot lies quite easily, which he enjoys using to his advantage. He's not a patient man, and there's no way he would have caught on to my lie and wanted to use it to his advantage; thus, I think he can't tell if I was lying or not.

“What's the matter?” The question came from me.

“Clearly, someone wants the crown prince killed. It provided a precise time and location for when the prince would be defenseless.

“Unarmed? As if!” I exclaimed, “The prince is a werewolf. Will he ever be defenseless?” The question came from me.

"I have no idea. His assassination is your responsibility, and someone with control over fire is needed, says the message.” Elias commented while he was savoring a pickle.

“What?! This might be a trap," I remarked. “Somebody wants me killed.”

While attempting to prevent her crimson curls from getting in her eyes, Sarina suddenly burst out laughing. She asked between giggles,

"Why will anyone want you dead?"

“It can't be a guard,” Jacob says. “If it were an inside job, which I'm highly doubtful it is, it would be a high-ranking officer. But that begs the question, why would they want you dead?”

With their argument forgotten, Jacob held Sarina around the waist, and Sarina leaned her long body on him. Their relationship is a very confusing subject. At one point, it would seem like they would break up soon, but then they would start kissing and tearing each other's clothes, and I would think they would last. There's always something new to argue about with them, and everyone is tired of it. I wonder what they would do if they found their mates.

 

I rolled my eyes. He's right, I thought.

“No one knows the crown prince like that without getting close. Jacob's right, but it would be stupid to assume that the king or the second prince would want to harm the crown prince.” I said, trying to throw a cold towel on the case and still capitalizing on their arguments, pretending like I was sad about losing the money.

“It could be, or he could have a friend who hates his guts. Anyway, you've got to do it tonight before some other half-dragon, or worse, a full-blooded dragon, takes up the case.” Elias said this while flipping through a book that wasn't there a minute ago.

I exhaled a breath of air and thought, I have to do this; prince or not, I need the money.  

“Count me in. Let me go change.”

I left the meeting room and went to the suite room to suit up. I heard a moan and groaned. There were two couples among us. Jacob and Sarina, who are in a complicated relationship, and Ellie and Savannah, who are mates. I don't know if they plan on breeding children or if they love sex so much as to have it anywhere and anytime they are horny. My strong nose picked up the pungent smell of leftover sexual desire in the air. I should have smelled the air before I entered the room, I thought. Releasing a breath, I screamed, using my dragon voice,

“ES, can you leave the suit room? While you are at it, please clean up your mess. I don't like the smell you are leaving in the air. It's disgusting.” 

Away from the corridor, I could hear Elias' booming laughter and Dean's chuckling. The first day I learned of the watch shop, I met Elias and Dean. Dean is four years older than me, but I had a crush on him at first sight. For an omega, he has muscles dominating his figure like someone working out every time. But Dean is one guy far from working out. He spends his time on the computer like a geek. He has the glasses, a telltale sign that he's a geek, but he's anything but. After I found out who he really was, I stopped looking at him like I did before. He's a womanizer who lost his mate to a rogue attack two months after meeting her. He started working for Elias after that and slept with only human women. He said that sleeping with supernatural women would make him feel like he was cheating on his mate. I beg to differ.

ES dragged themselves out of the room sheepishly. I raised an eyebrow at Savannah, and she had the guts to look down, seeming ashamed of herself. They reek of sexual desire, and I had to cover my nose.

“Can you leave? I'm feeling suffocated here.” I said to them.

“You will understand when you find your mate.” Savannah said, rubbing her right elbow while staring at the wall behind me.

Savannah is my agemate, and we were close until Ellie showed up. Ellie, short for Elliot, is an orphan living off pickpocketing and stealing food from the market. He was dirty and smelly when he came into the watch shop to steal an expensive watch that he would sell to get money, but Elias caught him before he could get away. Elias would have killed him, but Savannah was there in time to save him. I still can't believe how Savannah hugged him, even if he was dirty. In the long run, Elias found his talent. He's a beta werewolf, alright, but he's a werewolf healer. He could heal himself and everyone around him too. It is a very advantageous attribute, and I am glad that he wasn't killed, but sometimes I wish that I would rather kill him than live with the pungent smell of sexual desire in the air every time they are horny.

“Just leave. I'm on schedule right now, and I've got work to get to.”

“Sorry, Lea.” Ellie mumbled. 

“Don't, Ellie. Go.” I said, pointing towards the corridor.

The two of them held hands as they walked down the corridor. I placed my hands underneath my nose and went in to suit up. My suit is black and consists of a steel getup that ends in a puffed skirt and tights. It is long-sleeved, flexible, and easy to move around in. My helmet is cat-like, and it fits my small face. But there's one way to describe my getup: I hate it. Savannah told me that Elias purposely gave me this getup because I hate skirts and cats are the bane of my existence. I complained about it, but as usual, Elias said,

“It's not the costume, Azalea. It's the job, and people describe what they see as what they see. Do your job and leave the rest to the costume.”

He was right. Everyone describes me as the dangerous cat. That was my nickname outside the organization, and I heard it more than once. I was popular among the supernatural, and I would rather hide behind the mask that created it than change it.

“Okay. Here is the scroll. Memorize all you can, because if you are caught, you are dead to me, and I don't know you. Are we clear?” Elias said. 

I tried to stop myself from rolling my eyes, and I said,

“Affirmative.” 

“Off you go. Make me proud.” Elias said while he made himself comfortable in his seat.

I went into the takeoff room. I took out the scroll and memorized the information. One talent Elias didn't know about me is the ability to cast spells. This is one of the many things that have helped me over the years, and it's one of my mother's second natures. She was endowed with the power of a dragon and a witch, but I don't know if I am a witch. I found one of Mom's spell books in the basement, and I practiced with it. I might be one, but I have no way to prove it. Sadly, neither I nor Alee took after my father's gene. I rolled the scroll after using magic to memorize the words. Standing on the disappearance machine, I got ready for that familiar feeling of fading away from the world and pushed the green button. Before I faded away completely, I heard Dean's voice saying, “Up, up, and away!”