"Maybe they're already busy with the job," Jane muttered under her breath, frustration bubbling up after several failed attempts to reach Drew on the phone. Each call had gone unanswered, leaving her to wonder if her instructions were being carried out. After a moment of contemplation, she decided there was no point in continuing to call. Drew and the team were likely in the middle of executing the plan she had assigned them. It wasn't like Drew to leave her hanging unless something significant was happening; she and Drew had known each other for quite some time now, so she understands already.With a sigh, Jane finally let the phone drop to her side, her gaze shifting across the room to where Bella stood, poised by the window. Bella had been silently watching the world outside, her sharp eyes scanning the horizon. The tension between them was palpable, though unspoken. They didn't need to exchange words to understand that Drew’s silence wasn’t a cause for panic. They knew each other
"Damn it! They destroyed everything! All of the devices!" The computer tech burst into the room, his voice trembling with frustration. Maxwell turned to him, his gaze narrowing. The beta wolves, still gathered around their captive, had been waiting for answers, but now it seemed everything was falling apart."They destroyed everything? What about the data?" Maxwell’s voice was calm, but his eyes betrayed the storm brewing within him.The computer guy shook his head, defeated. "Come see for yourself."Maxwell followed him through the narrow hallway, each step growing heavier with the tension. The door creaked as they entered the dimly lit room where the tech had been working. Scattered debris of shattered monitors, broken keyboards, and tangled wires painted a scene of deliberate destruction."Look at this," the tech said, his hands gesturing helplessly toward the chaos. "They wiped it all. I’ve got nothing left to recover. It’s gone."Maxwell scanned the room, his pulse quickening. He
“I'll leave you with Luke, the new Zega of the pack. The two of you can strategise and come up with a stronger plan. Your wealth of knowledge will undoubtedly guide the decisions you make concerning this war,” Lawrence said to Mr. Charis, his voice filled with a mix of respect and confidence. Luke, who was now standing beside them, nodded in agreement, knowing the responsibility now rested heavily on his shoulders.The discussion between Lawrence, Luke, and Mr. Charis had been both insightful and heartfelt, bringing a brief sense of calm to an otherwise grim situation. Despite the looming war, the presence of Mr. Charis offered Lawrence a rare moment of peace. For the first time in days, he found solace in knowing that his trusted advisors were handling the weighty details of the impending battle. With this reassurance, he allowed himself to momentarily set aside the tension and focus on something—someone—far more precious—maybe Camilla and his family.As Lawrence left the training a
You know this isn’t about faith,” Lawrence replied, his voice steady but firm. “It’s about survival. We need to align, Luke. If our forces aren’t united—if our leadership is divided—we’ll be crushed by the enemy before we even have a chance to fight.”Luke scoffed, tossing the remnants of his snack back onto the tray. He rose from the couch with a suddenness that startled even Lawrence for a brief moment. “So now you’re concerned with unity? After all these periods, grand Alpha, now you want to talk and have a discussion with your little brother, huh?”Lawrence clenched his jaw but kept his composure. “This isn’t about the past. I didn’t come here to dredge up old wounds. We’re both responsible for the lives of every wolf in that army. If we don’t walk into this war on the same page, we might as well surrender now.”Luke crossed his arms over his chest, his gaze sharp as ever. “Funny, I’ve always wondered how long you’d keep this charade of righteousness going. But fine, Lawrence. Let’
“How was your last experience when we showed you the magnificence of this mansion?” Jane asked, her voice as smooth as silk, watching George play around with his sister in one of the spacious rooms.George looked up from his toys, an innocent smile spreading across his face. “It was lovely, I must say. Thank you again for the gift,” he replied, his eyes full of childlike joy and excitement. Jane mirrored his smile, though hers still concealed her dark plans. As Jane motioned for George to come closer, the warmth in her eyes never wavered, despite the malicious thoughts swirling in her mind. She gently took his small hand, her grip firm but betraying no hint of the sinister intent beneath. George, still lost in his playful world, wriggled free to dash back to his sister, grabbing one of his toys with an infectious laugh that filled the whole place.“We have something even more exciting for you,” Jane said sweetly, her voice dripping with false enthusiasm as she watched George's excit
“What can it be? What is this bad omen around my family that you speak of?” Lawrence’s voice trembled with fury; his eyes narrowed as he paced the room. His anger radiated with every step, the weight of the looming war heavy on his shoulders. “Is the war that will separate me from my family not enough? Or is the Moon Goddess trying to punish me in a way I can't understand?” His tone grew sharper, each word biting as he turned to face the Mouthpiece, the appointed messenger of the Moon Goddess. The revelation had struck Lawrence like a blade, and his temper simmered just beneath the surface, threatening to boil over.“My lord,” the mouthpiece began, his voice measured appropriately, soothing, as though trying to calm a storm. “I have no control over the events that unfold. I am but a messenger, speaking the will of the Moon Goddess. The message may be bitter, but it must be delivered.” Despite the calmness in his words, the mouthpiece felt the gravity of the situation. The timing could
The tension in the room thickened with every passing second, wrapping around Jane like a suffocating fog as her eyes remained locked on Bella. The atmosphere was heavy, silent except for the faint rustling of Bella’s purse. Jane’s heart pounded faster and faster, the dread creeping up her spine. As Bella’s hand slid inside the purse, pulling out the cold steel of the gun, Jane could feel the weight of the moment settling into her bones. Bella moved slowly, deliberately, as though time itself had warped around them. Her actions were painstakingly methodical, yet each motion carried a deadly intent.Bella lowered the gun onto George’s small chest, his childish giggles breaking the oppressive silence in the room. His innocent eyes were squeezed shut, his face radiating excitement, blissfully unaware of the danger looming over him at that moment.He stood there, an obedient child, waiting eagerly for the "surprise" Bella had promised him. His smile was wide, trusting, and untouched by the
“I’ll be leaving soon. The war is finally upon us,” Lawrence began, his voice heavy as Camilla entered the meeting room. He watched her closely as she settled down with the kids, the weight of what he was about to say reflected in his gaze. His eyes lingered on each of them, soaking in the warmth of their presence, though the cold grip of fear tightened around his heart."I called you all here for a reason,” he continued, his tone now softer, almost pleading, though a storm and some form of fear brewed beneath his calm demeanor. “It's important I tell you this before I leave. I want to make sure I return to find my family—alive." Camilla immediately noticed the shift in his voice, the unspoken fear lurking beneath his usual strength. His words, though measured, revealed cracks in his composure. The mere fact that the Mouthpiece of the Moon Goddess was present in a conversation meant to be private to the family unnerved her. Something was terribly wrong.“There is something evil lurkin
Even with the sunshine streaming through the window illuminating the tiles, the hospital room appeared to be freezing.Camilla laid her back on the thin pillows behind her, feeling self-conscious in the poorly woven hospital gown.Her arms were rendered immobile to her body by the metal cuffs whose edges had been tenderising her skin. The sound of chains rattled softly as she moved, trying to get into a position that was not too cramped within the confines.However, her focus was nowhere near her physical discomfort. She was exonerated for poisoning Bella's son.However, her suffering was not finished. Bella’s schemes had left emotional as well as physical scars on her.Camilla hadn’t finished the struggle, however. Her name remained sullied, and there were people in the pack, and even more so in the elders, who were not ready to absolve her.They wanted her to be put away until everyone was sure that there was nothing to be apprehensive about. Lawrence was trying to resist but it was
The sound of machines in the hospital filled the room where Camilla was, still a bit weak but recuperating.She was connected to an IV and had her wrists bandaged due to the straps that had restrained her to the bed—reminders of the fact, that needless to say, she was still considered a criminal and a patient at the same time.The grey hospital gown had been too oversized for her body. There was no mistaking the patience strength in her eyes, the vividness of life that once inhabited her can only be remembered.But Lawrence transcended. He stood next to her bed with his broad shoulders drooping, bloodshot eyes bearing the evidence of sleepless nights.His hand was just above hers, wanting to hold her hand but scared at the prospect of hurting her more.The vow he made to her was that he would bring her justice and that was one vow he would keep. But being here in this common room, looking at her wasting away from a fictitious story, every single second was a shame that he could not es
The heavy door of the female prison traced a long sound down the dark corridor.Camilla sat on the hard, cold mattress, looking at the wall in search of the clusters in it.She had become used to this solitary confinement, this waiting that went for hours in this agonisingly silent place, to the thinking that after all her efforts, it was Bella’s betrayal that would ruin her.Yet deep down, it was not only fear. There was something else. Lawrence was on the warpath. He had sworn an oath to resolve the matter and extricate her from this predicament.There was no option but to endure. However, the fear about the impending threat that had been increasing over the past few days would not go away, even if Camilla wanted it to.The other female prisoners had started to gossip about something different. They would look at her sometimes with suspicion; now, that look seemed more calculated. The security men, too appeared sharper, more alert. Something was in the offing. She could sense it.As
Bella paced around her hospital room and attempted to bite the urge to panic that was building up in her system.She was in the bathroom of Frank's room thinking of how Lawrence had approached her that morning.Frank, on the other side, was not helping her, as he was clenching his jaw, making it difficult for her to ignore the tension building up in her chest.Things were going south, and the efforts of the lawyer representing Lawrence were making the situation worse every moment.She had thought that she could turn the tables—contain the situation the way she always did. Lawrence’s doggedness in wanting to lick Camilla’s accusation clean even the further it was from her was slowly but surely tearing her apart.The lawyer was a brilliant and unbending executioner who had been pricking her for weeks.Bella had not taken him very seriously, as she thought that he would eventually give up on finding any truth. But she did not expect this level of meticulousness. He was starting to dig up
Lawrence perched himself on the edge of the hospital bed, his fingers playing a drumroll along the cold metallic edge. He was cosy in deep thoughts, yet his brain was tyranny, struck with several thoughts at the same time. The young boy who was his child, was unconscious in the hospital, and so many devices were attached to his tiny form. Every beep, every breath, was painful to hear, breaking the heavy silence in the room, indicating the seriousness of the matter.Moreover, there had been additional problems concerning Frank which even the doctors could not explain. The only plausible explanation had been the poison theory up until that point. At least until the head researcher on Frank's case, Dr Nolan had wanted to speak to him privately.Embarrassingly enough, every sensation caused in him was mixed with tension. The chilling thought of Camilla tortured him. She was in a prison cell, waiting for her turn to be acquitted of the charges of poisoning Frank. It had all been Bella’s tr
At the moment her heels clicked on the ground, and the enormous boughs of metal gates crashed behind her, panic coursed through Camilla. The implacable ambience of the barricade encased her in a thick layer of mist.She heard her footsteps bouncing off the walls in the long stretch that had steel-barred cells on all sides. The other occupant who was being brought in looked at her with a fierce intensity that signalled annoyed, hollow, and accusing silence.The door was opened by the guards and she made to come in. Camilla avoided eye contact with her because she looked like trouble.Hours passed, and she was still hearing them constantly bickering about her poisoning a child.She had to remind herself that this was not true. It was a horrible fiction, one that she found herself accusatory burning into the present time because of Bella's machinations.For having allegedly attempted to poison Bella's child, Camilla had lost her freedom and her self-respect.Now, stuck in the exhausted ex
At the moment her heels clicked on the ground, and the enormous boughs of metal gates crashed behind her, panic coursed through Camilla. The implacable ambience of the barricade encased her in a thick layer of mist.She heard her footsteps bouncing off the walls in the long stretch that had steel-barred cells on all sides. The other occupant who was being brought in looked at her with a fierce intensity that signalled annoyed, hollow, and accusing silence.The door was opened by the guards and she made to come in. Camilla avoided eye contact with her because she looked like trouble.Hours passed, and she was still hearing them constantly bickering about her poisoning a child.She had to remind herself that this was not true. It was a horrible fiction, one that she found herself accusatory burning into the present time because of Bella's machinations.For having allegedly attempted to poison Bella's child, Camilla had lost her freedom and her self-respect.Now, stuck in the exhausted e
Camilla was in prison. How could all this have happened so fast? First, it was that room where they interrogated her, and the next thing she knew, she landed in a cell.It still couldn't fully get into her head what had happened. It was like an Andy Warhol painting facade of surrealness that would eventually take the form of reality when she was out of it with her sanity intact.A moment before, Camilla had stood in front of the door to her cell as it creaked open under the command of the guard's key.The guard himself didn't say a word.Once she was inside, the heavy door slammed shut with a loud click.Saying nothing, he turned and walked away. If her cell was an inch shorter, she wouldn't be able to stand in it. The only furniture was a steel toilet, while the only lighting came from one window made of thick iron.Camilla sat down on the bed and put her head in her hands. She did not cry. Lawrence would rescue her; he had to do that. He had promised her thus.Hours had passed after
Camilla sat on the chair where she was left alone after Lawrence had gone. She could hear the guards talking from the other side. But the only thing that came to her mind was how all of these happened. It was just a beautiful morning, in less than twenty-four, and she was accused of murder. A child murder.The accusation against her was so sudden that she had no idea what was going on. “Poison?” The word left her mouth and she thought of how she could even get a hold of one“Poisoning a child?”It was unimaginable to her.Yet, here she was. In jail. Accused of something so despicable. It made her feel sick.She rubbed her hands all over her face trying to breathe. Everything wasn't going her way at all.“Who?” she whispered. . “Who could have possibly done this?”She racked her brain, thinking of every moment leading up to the incident. He was fine. Then she served him his food along with Gia and George. He began to have a seizure.She knew she was in big trouble. Everything seemed