Chapter 1

Blood splattered on the white floor. Cheers filled the arena. One punch after another, he continued. He could have knocked his opponent with one punch easily, but he didn't know why he decided to take it slow this time. In the previous few fights, he knocked down his opponent in the first five minutes. He never dragged the fight longer than intended. But this time, he dragged the fight as if he was toying with his weaker opponent.

The cheers that came from the audience filled him with adrenaline. He took a beating to the face, resulting in a bruise on his left cheek and a tear inside his mouth, but he kept it in. He still stood firm on his two feet. His opponent made another move, swinging his fist right to his face and kicking the stomach. 

He smirked as he dodged the fist and caught the leg. With a swift punch right to the side of his opponent's head, his opponent dropped to the floor. The referee rushed to his opponent's side and checked before the countdown began.

"One!" The referee counted.

"Two!" The crowd joined together.

He panted heavily at the corner as he listened to the crowd go wild. The countdown went on. By the count of ten, his opponent was still on the floor. The referee announced Brandon as the unbeatable winner again. With bloodied face, he left the ring and walked to the changing room. He looked at his state in the mirror and barely recognized himself with blood on his face.

Brandon Kane, the Gamma of the Southern Werewolves Pack, had been involved in numerous illegal fights two weeks ago. He fought in the ring not because he wanted to but because he had to, and none of his opponents were humans. They were rogues who fought in illegal fights to earn some money. Brandon didn't need the money, nor did he enjoy the fight. He was there for a mission, although it seemed his mission had been dragging on for a while now.

Brandon was standing under the hot shower with his right hand planted to the wall as he looked down. Blood was running down his body, and soon, his wounds would heal up. For the sake of his mission, he was ready to put his life on the line to accomplish it. More than ever, he was getting close to his target.

# Brandon's memory

"Your target is Kennedy Strauss. He's a 6-centuries old vampire. He earned his money through prostitution, clubs, drugs, sex trafficking, to name a few. Of course, he owns plenty of slaves his own," Cohen briefed him as soon they got in the Alpha's office. "According to a small tip, Strauss is expected to auction ten young girls to the highest bidders in one of his clubs. The date and actual venue are yet to be revealed."

Brandon looked at the photos of the man he was targeting and the victims he was supposed to find. His hands clenched as he looked at the list of girls who fell into Kennedy Strauss' traps and were sold as sex slaves. Although this wasn't new to the supernatural world, it didn't mean everyone had to treat the case as something normal. 

"So, I go in, find the girls, and go out?" Brandon checked the file, memorizing the picture of the vampire businessman.

"Not that easy," Mira interrupted before she placed another file on the desk. "Sure, our main targets are rescuing the girls because they are human. There is also another thing. Strauss is running another business with people involved in many fields—politics, laws, enforcement, stock exchange, and everything. We need to uproot Strauss from the inside if we want to stop his business. At least, there would be one less predator."

"Okay, I can do that." the Gamma nodded. "So, how am I going in?"

"Illegal fights." The Alpha pulled out a small poster of an illegal fight. "Strauss picks his men from illegal fights like this one. You win many of those fights; you're going to catch his attention."

"And, be careful with Celeste Diamond." The Luna showed a photo of a blue-haired woman with bright golden eyes. "They called her as The Blind Bandit. She's blind and a very skilled assassin working for Strauss as his main bodyguard. She rarely leaves his side as well. Please don't take her blindness as her weakness. The girl is something else."

Brandon stared at the photo for a few minutes as something unsettling erupted inside of him. It felt like he had known the woman in the photo for a very long time, but he knew he had never met her before. He didn't know how he had such feelings while this was the first time he saw her.

#

Brandon kept winning on the ring night after night, but none of those nights he ever spotted Kennedy Strauss or Celeste Diamond. He knew they had men in the illegal fights, but Brandon hadn't managed to find out who just yet. He wrapped a towel around his waist and came out of the shower to be greeted by the two prominent people he had been looking for. But what caught him off guard was the Blind Bandit when they met eye-to-eye. Sparks ignited in the air, and Brandon's wolf howled.

His hands clenched, and his heart churned. He never wanted it to be this way.

"Can I help you?" Brandon asked the two of them as he stood there just in a towel.

Celeste's eyes were skimming down his body, and he had a hard time resisting a cocky ass smirk. Too early to blow his cover-up.

The biggest question was how she even saw his body if she was blind. Brandon had no answer to that, but he intended to find out. There was no way she could maneuver herself around easily without some help. Looking at her, she didn't have any walking assistance or a walking stick for blind people. Could she possibly see from a different kind of sight?

"Dante, isn't it?" Strauss acknowledged his fake name.

Dante, no surname. Aged 34. Grew up on the streets. No known family. Just a ghost who suddenly existed with the name Dante. Except that that information was all faked.

"Yes," Brandon replied.

Strauss took out a card from his jacket's pocket and passed it to him, "I'm Kennedy Strauss. Maybe you've heard of my name around here."

Around here, around everywhere.

Brandon had heard his name to the point he felt nausea just hearing his name. For the past two weeks, many people had mentioned the name plenty of times, but nothing else was mentioned. Kennedy Strauss was like the big gun in the town. Not only did he do illegal business, but he also did some legal business where the town's mayor recognized him as a good citizen. If only someone looked deeper, none of his business would represent a good citizen. He was anything but good.

Brandon nodded and accepted the card, which he almost crumbled in his hand. He was mad for what the vampire man was doing for the business. Now, he understood how Mira felt when she hunted down slave masters and sex traffickers.

"I saw how you fought in the ring, and I'm impressed. If you have a spare time, maybe we can make a business negotiation," Strauss went on.

The Gamma wasn't so sure whether he should scream in the joy that the vampire had failed to recognize his scent as a werewolf or rage that he couldn't kill the vampire just yet.

"I'm not interested," Brandon replied with a tightened jaw.

He didn't want to sound too interested in the offer. Brandon knew how to negotiate with this kind of person. They would sense something was queer if he instantly accepted the offer.

"Think about it," Strauss insisted. "Give me a call if you have decided again."

The Gamma watched as the vampire man left with his bodyguard. Celeste made a curious glance over her shoulder as if she was beginning to sense something was odd about Brandon. But, he kept his face neutral as his inner was in turmoil. She followed her employer out without uttering a word. The sound of her boots accompanied her movement. Brandon listened to it for quite a while until the sound disappeared from his hearing distance.

He turned and stared at the mirror. He had found his mate. And she was the bodyguard that Mira had warned him about.

Life was about to get very interesting soon.