~YULIAI watched the pictures with morbid interest. The branded skin spoke to me. They were letters... unknown letters and I knew that they held a hidden message. I had no idea what they meant but I knew that they meant something. "Where was the body found?" Issa asked as he arranged the pictures side by side, displaying the important parts of the photo shots. "Deep in the woods, close to a small river bank," Jamal said. "A bunch of teenagers up to no good came across it.""Why is this happening?" I asked, unable to take my eyes off the pictures. "That's what I am trying to find out," Jamal replied and he gave Issa a hard suspicious look. "Unless Issa can really tell us what is going on.""You make it sound like he is behind it," Miles said to Jamal with a frown. It was only natural for him to defend the Alpha and Lycan of his Pack."I am not saying he is behind it. I am saying it has happened twice ever since Issa returned to the pack," Jamal replied curtly."So you are saying th
~ISSAIt was happening all over again. The killings, the brandings, the torture. The detective was right, I was hiding something. I stayed up all night as I craved for Yulia's touch but I knew that if I stayed in the same room with her, she would not stop with the questions.I watched the sunrise as I stood by the window, dreading the confrontation that was going to take place between Yulia and I the moment we were going to lay eyes on each other. My servants had picked out my business outfit for today. A soft silk white long sleeved button shirt and grey pant suit with black Italian soft brogues. I walked to my large bed and picked up my suit jacket. Yulia was waiting impatiently as I reached the bottom of the stairway. She had her hands crossed with her right foot tapping the floor. Her eyes were wide and alert."You did not sleep at all, did you?" I asked as I watched her closely. "I could say the same about you," She brusquely replied. She picked up her bag pack and slung it
~YULIAI made sure to keep my head down as I entered the first class for today. It was a large lecture hall where the seats were arranged in an ascended order. I sat at the far upper left of the class in the back where I could blend in.I checked my phone to see if there was anything on the academy social media platform and I was somewhat relieved to see that video of the skirmish between Pete and I had disappeared. Maybe Issa had something to do with it, I was not so sure.The hall began to fill in with students with identical uniforms like mine. The only difference was that the boys had on trousers, while the girls had on short skirts.A couple of giggles erupted and I knew without looking that it was Leia and her cronies. I scoffed and slid down on my seat to avoid being seen. It was not like I was afraid of her or anything, she just seemed to love chaos and I was going through enough of that.An elderly woman with stark white hair tied in a bun and a serious expression on her fa
~ISSAI rolled my eyes as I bumped into Andrea in the elevator. I had no desire to engage in any squabble with her this morning. "Good morning to you too," She said as she saw me roll my eyes."I am not sure it's ever a good morning with you, Andrea," I replied. I could feel Iran— the erratic wolf that he was— recoil in disgust. Initially, I alone had found her attractive but as time went on and as I finally Mated with Yulia, the chemistry between us had evaporated.But she did not want to let go of what she thought we had. I could not wait for the doors to slide open."I heard what you did to the assistant Vice President," She said."He was being a dick, so I took his balls off," I replied with a shrug."Was that a genital play on words?" She asked with an amused raised eyebrows.I shrugged."Just return his money, Issa, he is threatening to involve the police," Andrea said."He can do whatever he likes, he will get it back when I feel like giving it back," I replied curtly. The
~YULIAThe Training hall was big and on the walls hung different sizes of stick swords and kendo sticks.The floors were padded with soft canvas and I could see faint blood stains. I heard gasps and soft exclamations from the girls in the class.I understood why. Detective Jamal or Professor Khan as he was referred to was in a form fitting training gear that showed off his toned body. He was barefooted and had a stern look on his face."Welcome, please take off your shoes and jackets and put on the necessary protective gears," He instructed and pointed to the wall where the gears were hung.Jamal had glanced at me but averted his eyes quickly. It was almost unbelievable that he was at my place last night showing me photographs of a dead werewolf. I wondered
~ISSAI realized that I made a grave mistake showing Andrea that I knew what she was up to.I knew because she slammed the door shut, instead of leaving my office and stubbornly took a seat on the arranged sofa beside my small library of books.I sighed wearily as I went to the small cabinet that I installed in my office by the desk and poured myself and her a drink from a bottle of my best vodka. I did not drink much and it was just there for show. However, sometimes, I invited people over to celebrate with me any time we hit or surpassed a profit margin in the company.Most people was Deucalion.I handed her the drink and held on to mine as I took a seat beside her. Andrea looked genuinely sad as she sipped the alcohol but I had no sympathy for her.
~YULIAI was not expecting to be helped but then again, I was not expecting to be humiliated. My face felt hot as I struggled to breathe. “Face your opponents and focus,” Jamal’s voice roughly rang out and the sparring session continued. “That’s it?” Leia asked mockingly. I got up to my feet and I felt so much pain on my left rib. My breathing was getting easier but the rage that was boiling up in me was another issue. Yara was growling in agitation as I resumed my stance.“Atta, girl,” Leia said with a cruel smile. “Try to last longer this time,” She added arrogantly.Jamal passed us as he spoke. “You are not only connecting with your wolf, you must also trust your instinct, you must become one with the core of your wolf, that is the only way to secure victory over your opponent.”I was not going to make that mistake of taking my eyes off her again. I called to Yara to give me strength. Although I still felt the warm embrace of rage throbbing all over me. My nose was filled with
~ISSAI needed to get to Yulia immediately. I just had to find a way to get rid of Andrea and this idiot of an assistant vice president. Mark was currently on his knees massaging Andrea’s right foot. He had the look of a defeated man and I was certain that he had learnt his lesson. I stood up from where I sat and dropped my unfinished drink on the cabinet before I went to my desk. I put in the password to access the computer before opening the dark web where all of Mark’s money was kept.I had kept it all in an offshore account. I transferred all his money back into his account. All sixty million dollars in total.“Check your account,” I said curtly.Mark hastily got up from where he knelt and frantically reached into his inner suit jacket for his phone. He heaved a sigh of relief as he saw the numbers and ran to embrace me. I flinched from his touch but I did not push him off.“Oh, thank you, thank you, I promise from now on to be a team player, you will hear no complaint from me e
~YULIAI had never been to a place like this before. I was wracked with anxiety and excitement plus a little fear because I had no idea how tonight was going to end. I was not even scared when these big burly men approached me with hunger in their eyes. I felt revolted by the way they were leering at me with their lust filled eyes. However, I was not afraid of them, they were humans and I was not. I could even take them on even if they decided to try anything. But that was not going to be the case tonight.I looked at their jacket to see if they were part of the motorcycle gang I was looking for but they were not. “Who is blind enough to leave you all by yourself on a night like this?” The one to my left drawled. His breath stank of alcohol and I suppressed a gag. He was leaning on the wall by my left while his partner in crime was to my right.I shrugged. “I came alone, I am just looking for a good time,” I said, giving my best innocent smile.“Well, you are in the right place, d
~ISSAYulia’s breast was distracting as I rode through the barren road. I loved the way they vibrated against my back. I loved the way her arms wrapped around my body. I loved the way her breath felt on my neck. I should use the motorcycle more.It was pitch-black out here in the city outskirts, and we rode through it like fireflies floating through the dark. Here, the law simply did not exist, I could vividly smell the stench of death on these barren corpse-filled land as we rode on.I realized that I had forgotten to lay out the plans on what to do when we got to our destination. That was a lie, I deliberately ignored the plan because I preferred to react to whatever happened as we went. I loved to improvise because I had first-hand experience on plans not working out. Besides, we were dealing with dark magic here and there was nothing predictable about that kind of magic.I saw the lights in the darkness far ahead of the road. Death Valley loomed ahead of us. The road ahead curve
~YULIAA voice in my head was telling me that this was a mistake, but I knew that it was just fear speaking. I had no idea how we were going to go about this but I was confident in Issa’s plan. It was midnight and the only sound in the room was Mile’s munching loudly on the Pizza Issa ordered.“Where are they located?” Jamal asked. “And how the hell did you get this information?” He demanded from Issa who was gazing meditatively into nothing as he slowly paced the room.He stopped pacing and turned to glare at Jamal with a piercing cold look in his eyes. “Jamal,” he began. “I am sure that in your years of being a detective, no one has ever told you or asked you how and when to do your job, please do not ask me how to be a Lycan, I find it insulting.” I covered my mouth to hide my smile. The banter between the two of them always made me laugh. “Finding information about criminals is not part of being a Lycan, that’s detective work,” Jamal retorted.“So, why did you not get the infor
~ISSAIris coming over to my place had almost derailed the plan but we were back on track. “We need Jamal and Miles for this to work,” I told Yulia.I wished there was another way to do this but I could not think of anything else. I knew that I was putting her in harm’s way and Marianna would be rolling over in her grave if she knew what I was about to do, but I was tired of waiting in the shadows. The last time I had ignored the growing signs of the witches’ uprising it had cost me my parents; it had taken my sister and almost taken Yulia when she was just merely a toddler.I wanted blood, I wanted revenge and I needed this cult to know that they had no right to exist. Before I went over any of the plans with Yulia, we both waited for Jamal and the beta of my pack to arrive.Yulia went up the stairs to have a hot bath, while I ordered pizza for the two of us. I was not in the mood for a home-made meal, nor did I want any of the maids anywhere near the house. I heard the sound of th
~YULIA“You want me to do what?” I asked in disbelief.“It is alright if you don’t want to do it, Yulia, it was a wild suggestion,” Issa said as he drove us home.“I am not against it, I just did not expect you to willingly put me in harm’s way, I thought I was too precious to you for that kind of thing,” I replied.“Was that sarcasm?” He asked as he glanced at me before he faced the road again.“No, I am just surprised, that’s all. I was actually excited too… So, when do we start?” I asked.“You also sound excited,” Issa mumbled.“I am tired of being on the sidelines, and this puts me in the front line of what is actually going on,” I replied.Nothing was said as he drove and we both sank into the silence of the car.“Are there any other crazy exes I should be aware of?” I asked.“Yes,” He replied. “I will make a list when we get home,” he replied.“That was sarcasm, wasn’t it?” I asked with a small smile.Issa shrugged as he drove.“Is everything going to be fine between you and you
~YULIAI paced back and forth at the hospital hall as I waited for news from the doctors about Lana. I was not bothered about Iris because I knew that she would heal but with what the doctors said, it might take a while. Third degree burns. “You need to relax, Yulia, you have been pacing for a while now,” Jamal said with a health magazine in his hands. He sat crossed leg and occasionally flipped through the pages of the catalogue.“Lana could be dead for all I know,” I said.“She is fine, you should worry about Iris instead,” Jamal said.“Does it make me a bad person if I don’t really care?” I asked in a low voice.Jamal shrugged. “She attacked your human friend and threatened to kill her right in front of you, I’d say she got what she deserved.” I was glad Jamal was on my team. A mature doctor with thinning white hair approached me. He was in an open white coat with a stethoscope hanging snugly around his neck.“Ms. Yulia?” He asked as he got near to me.“How is she?” I asked.“W
~ISSAHeavy is the head that wears the crown.Those were one of my father’s parting words to me as I grew up to become the Lycan I was today.For a creature in my position, I was feared, revered, hated and wanted. It was a tiring existence when everyone always wanted something from you. For some powerful werewolf families, it was my cooperation to be their ally in times of war. For some it was my Lycan seed and for some, it was my death.Everybody wanted a piece of me and that was fine. It was the occupational hazard of my existence.“I had no idea that she was at your place, Issa, and I did not even think she would ever come there,” Deucalion said to me through the phone as I walked toward the transparent elevator that brought me thousands of miles under the ground to my secret place of work.Shadow one was still hard at work trying to get the information of the people I had just given him.“Maybe if you had not put it in her head that I was into her, she would not have overstepped h
~YULIAI took a quick glimpse at my phone and clicked the text message Issa had sent me. He warned me about how suspicious Iris was and that only increased my anxiety. Although, I wondered why her sister Andrea had not told her anything about what was going on between me and Issa.‘Tread carefully,’ Yara whispered in my mind. I began to feel uneasy as I remembered that Lana was here and to everyone in this room, she was the most fragile.Iris never stopped her intense glare on me as she sat rigidly. Her question caught me off guard. What was I to him? I was his freaking soul mate bitch! But she could not know that, at least for now.“Look,” I began. “I do not know how family works where you come from, but we tell each other everything in this family, including if my uncle should settle down with a walking red flag of a woman like you,” I added a hint of sarcasm to throw her off.“Yulia, that’s rude,” Lana whispered and poked my arm.“Lana, she does not even think highly of you,” I s
~ISSAI was a very old creature of the night. I had centuries on my existence and I aged very slowly. I had developed an uncanny affinity towards technology when it came into existence. I had attended the first unveiling of the iphone and from there I had been fascinated by how the internet worked. The idea that I could access all forms of information on such a little device intrigued me so much. Back in the ancient days, knowledge was a very hard commodity to come by and some even killed for it. However, I noticed that there was some information that was restricted from public knowledge and consumption. Like the secret meetings of politicians, or information of violent criminals or secret international black operations by the military.I began to wonder how I could access these secrets and that was where I discovered my gift for hacking. I had of course learned from the best and consumed everything I could about it. The idea that I could get anything I want from Hacking thrilled me