Chapter 4

4

Adriel

It barely took a second to perceive I was attacked in the face and fell on the muddy glass, beside the frail body that kept whining muffled pleas. A fresh scar on my face and blood streaming down. Despite the brand-new pain arising from my face to my chest, testing me to divert my attention from the face hidden behind the brown tresses, I remained stoned toward her unseen face. 

She whined again, her soft grunts clinked in my ears, like a poem. It sort of soothed my heart but I couldn't admit she was my mate. I would've smelt it, felt it, knew it.

But the voice of my thoughts faded when that bloody Augustus howled over me and growled like his life depended on the volume of his shrillness. His fangs ascended to attack on my neck but I crossed my arms and tossed him with the support of my extended nails.

I tightly clenched my jaw as rage started to gain my temper, standing up on my feet, I darted to punch him again in the throat and tossed him to the other with another punch on his wolfie cheek. One more mighty punch and he fell on the ground, I gnashed wildly, oblivious to all the pain forming in my abdomen, warning me about my stitches reopening. He roughly stirred in my hold as I caged him between my thigh and dug my nails in his neck. He howled to call for help when I delivered him another punch.

"How dare you try to kill a human!?" I spat, hissing at him with my fangs stuck out. My eyes were glimmering in luminous gold. The kind of gold that could hypnotise anyone if he would keep staring me in the eye. And that was exactly happening to this weak wolf. He began to give in my hold.

He whined lowly under his breath, his eyes lost all the furious sparkle he had a few minutes ago. His wolfie body loosened in my hold but I still stayed vigilant. He could not be trusted when I knew whose son he was. His father was the greatest ruthless Alpha wolf of his time, and he was no different than him.

"Shift!" I commanded sternly. He whined again, but I didn't heed to his pleading. He was merely sixteen but he began shifting into his wolf form through the witchery ritual. "I command you to shift, Jackson, or should I comply to kill you right now, right here," I snapped, if not for his age, he would have been murdered by me long ago. When he was eleven. A pup, who scored his first kill under his father's supervision.

It was a deer he hunted. Not knowing I was observing everything and taking note of the two high treason. One, he ended up killing four innocent deers and the other, Rudolf—Jackson's father's wolf— cheered his son's misdeeds. The deer resided in my territory, which provoked me to lead a fight against them. 

But it ended up with a note of peace exchange between us. Thanks to Alpha Alexander who sought out the war for the time being, and addressed final warning to Alpha Jack during the committee meeting.

Augustus cried a howl again, hoping someone of his pack would come to help him, but what he did not understand was that I was far stronger than others in his pack as I was an Alpha, and it wouldn't take me a good minute to snap their necks off their bodies, including his. But I had to keep the word. I could not disappoint Alpha Alexander.

"No one will be coming to save your busted ass, you tosser! Shift back before I change my mind," I growled in his face, the wolf's eyes glistened tears. He slowly started to morph back into his human form. I kept the menacing scowl on my face. When he completely turned into a human, his body accommodated between my thighs, and not to forget mentioning, he was utterly naked before my eyes. I gave him a last disappointing look before moving onto my feet.

"This was disappointing of you, Jackson," I slurred, handing him back his clothes that I found hanging above the tree's branches. I tugged the trouser and tossed them toward his way. I averted my gaze toward the body that I found this close to pounce into the well of death. And assuming it was a 'she', I huffed thankfully that I was on time. Otherwise, he could have dragged her to his packhouse and would've made her a slave of any kind, maybe a whore. "You are going to be an Alpha, do you think such stupidity suits a future alpha?" I turned around, not caring if he was done, which probably he was as I heard him zipping up.

He didn't reply to me, just his eyes stole a glance which told me enough, he was nuts. great. To keep myself calm, I tried to push back all the questions that could flare up a heated conversation between us and asked, "What are you doing here at this hour? Your father must be worried,"

"As if you give a damn about it, asshole," He spat under his breath and I narrowed my eyes at him. Again, I was doing my best not to snap his head already.

"I do care and that is why I have asked you. Why are you here?" I gritted solemnly. Sparing no chance to let him misbehave.

"It's my place, I can be wherever I want, who are you to ask?" His tone got a little high. I clenched my jaw firmly. One of the things I hated most in life was someone shouting at me, and he was exactly doing it, while being my rival's pathetic descendant.

I smirked, pressing the right eyebrow of mine, "Well, I got to clear you, this place does not belong to you as this comes under my territory, which makes you an intruder. Secondly, you are not to raise your voice on me when knowing I'm able to do many regretful things to your body, you understand?" I kept my vocal box in check.

Jackson looked around in apprehension, the sudden change of expression on his face had me smirking hard. Good. He was to identify his mistake. "What? Nonsense, how come I...no, fuck!" He rasped as he walked in circles while I kept a close eye at him.

"Take it easy, kid. I'm not like your father who loves to punish people for self-gratification, I'll send someone to escort you close to your region, stay close to the Santa Monica route," I told him while he seemed to be having a hard time swallowing the truth.

I averted my eyes from his consumed self toward the fainted body. I walked to her, crouching down closer to her frame, she was colder than I anticipated, I doubted if she didn't encounter frostbites. I dusted off a few strands to clear her face, but her fainted breath fell on the back of my skin. I put two fingers on the crock of her neck to observe her nerves. She was barely alive. I had to do something about it.

Before I could waste another second, I lifted her in my arms, holding her close to my flaming hot body. As a regal werewolf, I had the privilege to give the freezing frames some extra hotness in a matter of seconds. A whitish-face-turned-paler peeked through her locks just as she twitched her head, but her features still weren't clear to some point.

I turned around when a sudden swish of blushes caught my ears. Jackson was gone with full feet. I shook my head with a small smile over his impulsiveness and impatience. Like father, like son.

Without delay to inflict more pain on her tiny frame, I began walking back to the packhouse. She was rolled in my arms like a snowball. I beamed, with my heart feeling the tug at the sight of her hand when she fisted the lapel of my shirt.

"Isn't she a sweetheart?" I heard Zion making a comment in my head out of nowhere as I continued ambling.

"I don't know," I replied monotonously, he narrowed his eyes at me, downright dissatisfied with my answer.

"She is something," He stated, again, and I rolled my eyes.

"Don't start with this again, Zion, she is a human," I replied in a bored tone and reminded him if he had forgotten. Indeed, there was a mesmerising scent oozing out of her skin but that didn't mean I was permitted to become the wolf my father wanted me to be. I had to behave the way my mother trained me.

"So what? Mum was also a human until the ritual was performed," I gritted inwardly at his reply.

"We have talked over this many times. You promised me you would not repeat it ever again," I replied back as I crossed the danger zone signboard. I remembered the day planting this board after a fight I had with Jack's wolf. Zion was also in action at that time.

"Repeat what? I was telling you the truth, mates can be human," Zion defended his stance.

"But you know our parents were not mates," I rebuked briefly as the girl moaned in my arms as her body temperature started rising to normal. I smiled softly, watching her heal with my touch. A sudden twinge in my heart caught me red-handed. Her scent again invaded my nostrils, this time much stronger than ever. She was the closest to me, but I failed to comprehend how could I get affected by this fragile frame. She was not any special till now, except for her soothing body fragrance. Her body was petite, she looked flimsy, and her limbs were breakable in one snap. How could she be special?

"I know what you're feeling," Zion interrupted, I grew a frown.

"And what exactly am I feeling?" I enquired back.

"Denial," He answered, which at one point sounded true, but again, I wouldn't make any judgements until she would be awake.

"She needs Charlotte's assistance before I pass a verdict," I told him, truthfully. He sighed deeply in my head and gave up arguing back the moment we reached the packhouse. Just as I crossed the main gates of the mansion, I heard the howling of multiple wolves. It was the peak hour of the full moon. This was their shifting time.

There was Kason on duty, I walked a few feet toward him, "Kason?"

He turned toward me, bowing slightly, "Alpha,"

"I want you to replace Roger with your position and you take Jackson Hyde back to his territory, he's near Santor valley, if not then look for him in forbidden lanes and make sure you stay down with him, he's a hot-headed one," I briefed him, he nodded his head in understanding.

"Noted, Alpha," He rogered, and I took my leave after whispering 'Good'

I took her inside the mansion as the howling continued getting louder. I further walked into the foyer, finding no one when spared a bird's eye. I walked to the stairs and stepped down to the basement, stepping in straight to the medical room after passing two corridors. The girl again squirmed, and this time I noticed her tightly shutting her eyes, the blinding lights must be a bother for her so I forwarded my head to cast a shadow, she calmed under my gloom.

It took me four strides to reach Charlotte's laboratory. I opened one of the doors and slid in only to find William and Charlotte chit-chatting until they perceived my presence. Both of them hitched when they saw the girl in my arms. But I knew Charlotte wide-eyed were on my brusied face. She stood up to scurry towards me, eventually stopping closer to my front.

"What happened to your face and who is she? Where the fuck have you been?" She enquired a lot in one breath, vexation all written on her face.

"All I know is there's a girl in my arm needing your assistance, are you willing to help?" I asked sardonically. Her eyes widened more when her gaze again ascended to my lower area. "The fuck again," She slurred with a grimace sitting on her features.

"What?" I asked, clueless. She didn't reply to me, which got me more curious. I strode to put the girl down on one of the beds.

Just as putting her safely, I came across my shirt that was pathetically soaked in my blood.

"Fuck," 

My wounds reopened.