1. Big Wolf?

This is where Valerie is, walking in the border town of Japah, dragging her small suitcase. A 17-year-old girl with pale white skin, long wavy hair, and a model-like slender body was forced to leave the orphanage that had been her home because the orphanage was about to be evicted, so the children there were moved to another orphanage.

Valerie also decided to look for work in Japah, the closest city that offers a lot of jobs. Because her money is very limited, Valerie finally decided to walk to find the nearest rented house instead of taking a taxi. The girl hasn't even eaten all day.

Valerie raised her head to the sky and then took a deep breath. The dark sky was adorned with the moon shining brightly; it seemed like it was a full moon night; the streets were getting deserted; and the shops were starting to close. It seems she arrived too late in the city. The bus she was riding wouldn't stop in town and just dropped it on the outskirts of town because Valerie only paid half the price.

The girl tried to cheer herself up. Everything will be fine; all the difficulties that she experienced will pass quickly.

"Wow yeah! Look at that! God bless us with the presence of a beautiful girl!" shouted someone from inside a very dark, small alley.

Valerie, who felt scared, quickened her steps to a place that she thought was brighter and safer. The girl half-ran to avoid the strange noises made by some men coming from the alley.

"Don't be afraid; we are good people!" shouted a man while running up to Valerie.

The girl trembled with fear at the sight of the man standing unsteadily holding a bottle of liquor in front of her.

Just as Valerie was about to run away, she was surrounded by several men who were just as tottering as the man before. They were all drunk.

"Help!" shouted Valerie when a car passed nearby, but unfortunately, Valerie didn't get any help but a hard slap on her cheek.

Valerie fell on the floor quickly; the girl almost lost consciousness because the slap was so hard.

"Your voice makes my ears hurt!" one of them snapped.

Valerie tried to gather her strength; she hit one of them to open a path so she could run away, but the big men could easily catch her.

Blame that small and weak body.

"I like rebellious girls like you!" one of the men shouted as he pulled Valerie into his arms.

Valerie kept screaming and crying. She tried to fight back, but it was no use considering how weak she was.

Someone violently tore Valerie's clothes. The girl kept screaming, but no one came to her until she lay unconscious when a liquor bottle hit her head.

The men tried to strip Valerie of her clothes, but the sound of a wolf's howl made them stop. The cold night wind seemed to penetrate their bones.

Not long after, a large, four-legged creature emerged from the forest across the road. The drunken men gasped in shock and fell to their knees when they saw a huge wolf leaping at them.

They also ran screaming with the remnants of consciousness that he had.

The big brown wolf with bright red eyes approached Valerie and turned into a handsome man with a naked body. The man then took Valerie away from that place before someone came and saw him.

The man led Valerie into the forest and through the tall, towering trees.

***

The smell of burning wood woke Valerie from her long sleep. When she opened her eyes, the girl fell silent without saying anything.

After her consciousness returned, she just felt panic when she saw herself in a very strange place. She sat on a wooden bed surrounded by whitewashed walls. The smell of medicine also wafted through this place. Valerie looked around her; she didn't find her suitcase, and when she saw her body's reflection in the mirror in the corner cupboard, she gaped in disbelief. She doesn't know whose clothes she's wearing now.

Valerie ran out of the room and fell to see a group of burly men who were topless in a large room like the living room.

"You're awake?" chirped a middle-aged woman who had just come out of the kitchen.

"Where am I?" Valerie asked fearfully.

"Relax; you're safe here, honey!" said the middle-aged woman as she helped Valerie stand up.

The middle-aged woman smiled so warmly at Valerie.

"Daren is picking up your luggage; rest here for a while," said the middle-aged woman as she led Valerie to sit on the sofa. The girl looked down as the burly men there looked at her with strange looks.

"You guys scared her; go and get some more wood!" the old woman ordered.

Without saying anything else, the topless men quickly left the house. Valerie looked at the wooden window that showed the atmosphere outside the house, which was only lit by a bonfire. It had been a very long time since Valerie had seen a bonfire like that.

"You must be very surprised," said the old woman, looking closely at Valerie's face.

Valerie didn't say anything and just nodded slowly.

"By the way, my name is Lusi; what's your name?" asked the old woman.

"I'm Valerie. Sorry for bothering you. Do you know what really happened to me? I just remember some drunk people bothering me, and suddenly I woke up in this place," Valerie said, looking at Lusi doubtfully.

Lusi smiled faintly; she then took Valerie's hand and held it tightly. Daren had already told him everything. And he was very concerned about what was going through Valerie. It must be really scary when some unknown man tries to rape her.

"Daren brought you here when we were hunting," said Lusi casually.

Hunt? What are they hunting? Valerie wanted to ask that, but she didn't dare because she knew it would be impolite.

"Who is Darien? Valerie asked carefully.

"He is our leader. He's the one who saved you; thank him," said Lusi, looking at the entrance.

Valerie followed Lusi's gaze and saw a very handsome, tall, burly man with brown hair. The man's tan skin made him look so sexy in Valerie's eyes, and it made her heart beat so fast.

Valerie had never seen such a handsome man before.

"Have you found the case yet?" asked Lusi while standing to welcome the man.

"I didn't find anything there; someone must have taken it," the man replied.

The man glanced at Valerie and looked at her from head to toe.

"Are you okay?" the man asked quietly.

Valerie nodded slowly; she then stood up and approached the man.

"Are you Darren?" Valerie looked at the man closely.

Daren nodded slowly and put his hands on his hips. He looked at Valerie with a strange look.

"Where is your mind? Don't you know that it's very dangerous to be alone on the street like that? What's more, you're so weak!" Daren grumbled, making Lusi shake her head slowly and choose to return to the kitchen to prepare dinner while Valerie looked down.

She did not have enough energy to tell what she had experienced to have to walk alone at night like that.

"I'll take you to the police station tomorrow," Daren said quietly.

"What for?" shrieked Valerie, confused.

"I can't find your suitcase! You can make a loss report; isn't that case valuable to you?" Now it was Daren's turn to stare at Valeri in confusion.

Valerie nodded slowly. She kept the rest of the money she had in that suitcase. There was nothing of value there except money and clothes.

"How can you save me?"

Hearing a question from Valerie, Daren turned his attention to her and left. Somehow, he had to answer the girl's question. Valerie must have freaked out when he said that he, in his wolf form, scared the drunken men away and brought Valerie to this place.

"How about we have dinner first? I bet you are very tired!" interrupted Lusi, who had just left the kitchen.

"Great idea!" Daren shouted, then hurriedly left Valerie to go to the dining table.

Lusi smiled so warmly and invited Valerie to enter the dining room. The girl was quite surprised to see the topless men, who had previously been chased away by Lusi, now sitting casually around the dining table.

"Sit down." Lusi motioned for Valerie to sit beside her.

The girl was about to refuse because she felt bad for Lusi and Daren, who had saved her, but her stomach was so hungry that she couldn't even think anymore. The rest of the money was in the lost suitcase, so she couldn't buy food. Valerie thought it was okay for her to accept Lusi's kindness again.

"Mark contacted me; he said the police station is busy right now because some people have reported sightings of large wolves roaming the streets!" shouted one of the men sitting in front of Valerie.

"Sean, come on, why do you have to bring this up here? We're not the only ones here!" protested the man sitting beside the man named Sean.

"Things are getting worse, Ben! We can't let that girl go, or our secret will be exposed! After all, she has our DNA; it should be fine if she finds out the truth!" cried Sean with a look of disapproval.

"She passed out when Daren saved her!" Lusi intervened.

"OK, and when she hears what's out there, she'll know right away that the big wolf that the whole town is talking about is Daren! It is very dangerous for us; she can spread our identity even in this place!" Sean shouted angrily.

Valerie, who was surprised to hear Sean's words, could only cover her mouth with both hands. Her habits.

"After all, she's also part of us; wouldn't it be better if she stayed here with us and buried the secret in this place?" snapped Sean.

Wait a minute! Valerie tried to digest the words that came out of Sean's mouth. What did the man mean by 'part of us,' DNA, and so on?

"Sean, slow down!" Lucy snapped.What really happened? What are they all talking about?