4. THE BIG NEWS

~YULIA

I dragged myself out of bed. 

"Ah, my head. . ." I cried as I massaged my temples. It was banging from all the alcohol that I had taken.

Last night had been crazy. Everything about it was wrong and I was still trying to wrap my head around it. From the mysterious man to the crimson eyes in the dark, to the men who chased me and Mr Rogers who appeared with a gun shooting them. 

Nothing made sense to me anymore. I entered the shower and allowed the water to wash away all of my doubts. 

As if that was possible. 

I eventually stepped out of the bathroom, cleaned myself dry before throwing on some clean clothes. I chose a big t-shirt and a pair of shorts. I did not even bother to dry my dark hair before hurrying out of my room for breakfast. 

I heard voices even before I got to the kitchen. One of them belonged to Mr Rogers while the other belonged to Madelaine, our house keeper. 

I entered the kitchen and dragged a seat whip glaring daggers at Mr Rogers. I had dozens of questions for him but I chose to wait until Madelaine was out of the kitchen. 

"Morning, sweet child. I made you your favorite," she announced and placed a plate of pancakes and honey drippings. 

I watched as the petite woman dressed in black went to the fridge and brought out an apple juice for me. 

"Thank you," I whispered and she nodded before hurrying out of the space. 

When it was just Rogers and I, I decided to face him. 

"How do you have guns?" I began as my wolf came to a stop, waiting attentively to hear his response. 

He smiled. "You should be grateful I have them, or you would have been taken." 

I narrowed my eyes at him. This man had killed two people last night. Even if they were criminals, he looked unfazed by it, like he had done it before. 

When he saw that I was still stiff, he decided to keep talking. "My father was once a Beta of this pack. So, he thought me how to use guns for protection and I am a licensed owner." 

I corked my brows at him. This made more sense though. Yet I was still terrified by the fact that he was an easy killer. 

"After what happened last night, I'm sure you understand why you need to be more careful and why it's important you have a powerful guardian," he said. 

I frowned at him. "What are you talking about? What guardian?" 

"According to Mariana, may her blessed soul rest in peace— she stated in her Will that before you can inherit any of her wealth, you need to move in with her step brother," he dropped the bomb. 

I shot to my feet instantly. "What!" 

My heart started hammering heavily and I gritted my teeth. This was outrageous! This was beyond my tolerance!

"I don't need a guardian! I can protect myself! I am eighteen! I am not twelve!" I roared. 

Rogers watched me patiently, waiting for my outburst to end. My wolf danced with anger at the entire situation. 

"We all know you are eighteen, Yulia. You've never failed to remind us about it everytime you get the chance to," he said calmly.

I gritted my teeth as I folded my arms at him. "So why do you still treat me like a child?" I complained in a smaller voice. 

He shook his head at me. "It's not about being treated like a child. It's about your safety. All we want is for you to be safe, away from the people searching for you," he announced. 

"Who are they? Why do they want me?" I demanded stubbornly. 

"I do not have the answer to that question," he stated. 

"Then I'm not moving in with any brother of hers. There's no way I'm going to live with someone who's never come visiting my entire life," I stated, grabbed my phone and stormed out of the kitchen. 

The door bell rung and I already knew who it was from her scent. I pulled the door open and smiled. 

"Girl, where did you disappear to yesterday? I was searching all over," she complained. 

She had been my friend for as long as I could remember. I instantly pulled her into a hug before dragging her with me out of the house, the way she had come. 

"You won't believe what happened to me yesterday, Lana," I began to tell her. 

She lifted her messy brows at me. "You won't believe who I saw either!" She exclaimed. 

I frowned at her. "Who did you see?" 

"Girl, I saw one fine ass hot man stop by the funeral yesterday, right after you disappeared!" She exclaimed. 

I gapped at her. Was she really talking about boys now when I had something more important to talk about?

"Lana. . ." I complained as my wolf twisted with irritation. 

"Hold up, I'm almost done. I have to tell you how hot he looked. I know we in mourning but that man was fine. If you saw him, you'll be drooling all over for him, believe me!" She stated. "But he too disappeared after speaking with your lawyer."

I narrowed my eyes at her. "Will you listen to what I have to say now?" I raised my voice. 

"Goddess, yes, I will. Have some patience, I'm all ears," she answered.

I shook my head at her before beginning to narrate my tale. "I went to get drunk at Club Purple when a handsome stranger stopped by. . ." 

My wolf stirred at the mere thought of him even when I tried to scold it to stop reacting to anything that had to do with the stranger. 

"Yulia, hold up first. Look over there," she pointed at the main entrance. 

There was a man walking through in all his glory. 

"That's him! That's the fine ass man I was talking about!" She exclaimed as excitement consumed her. 

I frowned and narrowed my eyes at the stranger. The moment he got closer, I gasped. 

Because I recognized those beautiful forest green eyes.