CHAPTER 3: THE CRYSTAL WOLF

***CALEB***

“WHAT THE HELL!” I exclaimed in shock as I placed my coffee mug on my central table. I keenly kept my eyes on the TV, watching the news report; my brother's fiancee and my mate had been found dead and buried in a shallow grave back in the Woodcreek mountain at the borders of Woodthorn. 

Grrrrrr Grrrrr! 

Grrrrr grrrr!! My phone rang. 

I picked up the phone with my eyes still glued to the TV and placed it in my ear. 

“WHAT are we gonna do now?” my best friend Kathy said into the phone in a hysterical tone. She must have seen the news; the only woman who could break my curse had been murdered. 

“I don't know, Kathy,” I said to the receiver as I bowed my head in frustration, taking my eyes off the TV. 

“you're gonna die, Caleb, oh my God,” I could hear her stomping her feet in her house from the phone; she was furiously pacing around. 

“We should have just kidnapped her when we had the chance when she was alive, we should have kidnapped her, and you should have marked her immediately,” she said again, this time rushing her words as though I was going to die anytime soon.

“calm down, Kathy, it's still a year and a half till I'm 28,” I said, chuckling at how she sounded; apart from that, I could only laugh at myself. 

“You're laughing, really?” she said, I could picture her rolling her eyes as she made the statement. 

“what else is there to do but laugh, Kathy? Nothing, nothing entirely,” I said, finality edging in my tone. 

“But your father, he's dying, and you need to show everyone, you've broken the glass curse, if you don't, for all we know, if he dies before u die, your remaining existence will be a living hell if Lucien becomes the next alpha,” Kathy pointed out, and she was right. 

If I wanted to enjoy the rest of my days, I had to be alpha. 

“and as alpha, you can decide who succeeds you, you can name little Ethan as your Heir for all I care, as long as it's not Lucien,” Kathy said with disgust in her tone, and to think she had once dated Lucien, and now she hated him with passion, I could never understand the dynamics of love, not when I had never been in love. 

“So are you suggesting we go for plan B?” I asked Kathy. 

“Yes!” she sharply replied. 

“do you know where she is?” I asked, “even her twin has never met her, it's like she's been wiped off the face of the earth,” I noted to my best friend. 

“While you were out there, thinking you'd end up being the one marking little Kylie, I had prepared for the worst, and yes, I found her twin, you have an appointment to meet with her today by 5 pm,” she explained. 

“5 pm? Why that far, I could meet her now,” I blurted out. 

“Well, you'll have to get there first,” Kathy said into the phone, making me get impatient. 

“what do you mean?” I asked. 

“Fianna is at…” 

“Fianna?” I asked cutting her off. 

“Yes, Fianna, and bloody hell! Let me finish my sentence; calm your balls, man,” she snapped back. 

“I'm sorry,” I apologized. 

“It's fine; Fianna is on a farm at the outskirts of Woodthorn to the north where she's slaving away; you'd find her there,” she explained. 

“the outskirts to the north? That's over 7 hours drive away,” I retorted in frustration. 

“Exactly, and it's only 8 am, and you are to meet by 5 pm; that's enough time to get there early enough if you get your ass out of that sofa of yours that I know you're sorted in and start moving!” she backed her orders at me into the phone. 

And she was right; I was sorted on my sofa, “So, you're not coming with me?” I asked her. 

“Nope, I have to give my condolences to your brother; I'm highborn, remember?” she said, and I just “Ahmed” along. 

“I'll get it covered Kathy, and thank you, bye, I better be on my way to fetch Fianna,” I said getting to my feet without her replying, she cut the call and I grabbed my car keys from my kitchen counter, put on my goody so no one could see my face and left my home, locked it, then hop in the car, I was going on a long drive in the middle of winter to the northern faction, the coldest part of Woodthorn. 

***

I checked my phone, looking at the address Kathy had texted me; the address where Kylie’s twin sister lived. 

Yup, it was here, I was sure of it, the shabby house in which I stood looked somewhat creepy., I attempted to knock on the door, but the screams that came from the inside of the house made me pull back. 

“Fucking get out of my way, you worthless bitch,” I heard the voice of a man yell, then the rattling of something came from the house; it was as though the house was being turned upside down. 

“papa, you just made her blood get on my beautiful gown,” a tiny squeakish voice said, but I knew it was the voice of a young lady, not that of a child. 

“Papa, you shouldn't be beating her up; she should look great for her buyer, don't you think?” another female voice called out while I could hear the sobbing of another woman coming from the house. 

Unsure of what was happening, I decided to go for the knock, so I knocked on the door. 

“He's here, he's here,” I heard the male voice I had heard earlier exclaim in excitement. 

It was getting dark already, and looking at the sky, I knew we were going to have a full moon today; I better get this over with before the full moon came, I thought; I wouldn't want to turn in front of these people. 

The door opened, and a sturdy man who appeared to be in his mid-50s stood in front of me. 

“Here for the breeder?” he asked in a very calm tone as though he had not been squirming in excitement earlier. 

I nodded and the man made way for me to come in through the door. 

“I'm Brandon, do have your seat here,” he said, pointing to a chair that stood beside a window in the shabby yet cozy sitting room. I walked to the chair and sat in it; just opposite me were two young ladies, dressed elegantly, too elegant for where they lived, “those are my daughters, Lenita and Venita,” Brandon said, pointing between both girls. 

My eyes traced their way to the fireplace; just beside it, in rags and shackles, was someone whose hair was covering her face; she was wounded all over. I wondered why she was like that

“It's good to keep the wild ones in bondage,” Brandon said as though reading my mind, then slowly, the shackled and ragged lady lifted her head, revealing her face, the first thing I noticed was her bleeding mouth, and the next thing I noticed was that beneath all of those bruised face laid the face that belonged to my original mate, Kylie, only that I knew, this was Fianna, her twin sister

“So you wanna get straight to business or you want to have dinner with the family?” Brandon asked. 

“No, I would very much like to get to business and be on our way,” I answered him, “How much is she going for?” I asked. 

“4,000 dollars,” Brandon said. 

I looked at Fianna and back at him, “she's worth more than she looks, she's a fine breed,” he replied trying to justify his price, but the way he spoke of her, of someone I knew could very well be turned into a fine young lady somewhat made my blood boil, he spoke of her like some worthless animal and with the way she was looking, showcasing exactly how he had been treating her, it was evident he had raised her, thinking of her as nothing less than a wild animal. 

“I will give you 5,000,” I said then stood to my feet. 

“fi….ve thousand?” he asked, excited and surprised; his eyes grew big just as his veins popped out; he looked satisfied enough. 

I dipped my hands in my pocket, brought out the cash, counted it, and handed him the payment for Fianna. 

I walked to the fireplace, “keys!” I ordered, and Brandon dipped his hand in his Jean pocket and threw the keys to me; I unlocked the shackles, revealing her purple-colored wrists and ankles. 

How could he do this to a human, and think I was the one labeled as the cursed one that was to bring doom to Woodthorn if I lived beyond 28 years? I shook my head in disappointment and anger. 

I tried to help Fianna stand, but immediately her legs felt the weight of her body, she fell back to the floor, but this time, her eyes were shut, frantically, I quickly bent to my feet and tried to check up on my newest investment that had just collapsed to the ground at the point of purchase, then I saw it, Fianna had died, she had given in to the pain and anguish that had been inflicted on her, and her soul who couldn't take it anymore had left her body. 

Fianna was dead, just like her twin sister Kylie, and soon, so will I.

The full moon rose in the sky, and the rays of the moonlight peered through the window of Brandon's house, with that and the rage I felt within, the curse was activated, and slowly, I changed into the glass wolf.