Kasan’s POV:
Blood. Blood. Blood.
I’ve never been more terrified of the mere sight of the crimson red liquid that I had seen so much of.
My chest tightened and as I fought to suck in air, I began to feel as if I was choking, as if I was slowly dying on the very spot.
If there’s one person that should never be harmed in this lifetime, then it’s her…. my mate. How could I let this happen?! And in my own fucking house at that?!
In that moment, I might’ve been overflowing with anger but my wolf was beyond enraged. I could feel it in my bones… the hostility… the bloodthirst… the crave for control.
The longer I stared at Clara’s wounded form, the more I couldn’t breath. I don’t know what got ahold of me at the time, but my wolf didn’t forcefully devour a part of my consciousness… I was the one who willingly gave in to him.
Then slowly, my body took on the form of a half-shifted werewolf.
My anger was bubbling so hot that the consequences of my actions slipped my mind and it didn’t even occur to me that Clara would’ve witnessed what I didn’t want her to see. Even the voices of Kenley and the others tapered away until it went completely inaudible.
I was focused on one thing and one thing alone… whoever harmed my mate NEEDED to pay.
“Kenley, show Lora to her room.” I growled. “The rest of you get Clara to the nearest infirmary. If something happens to her on the way…” My lips recoiled and my teeth bared as I looked out the smashed window. “… You’re. all. dead.”
Walking closer, my eyes frantically searched the forest below, zooming on a retreating figure. My fingers clenched into a throbbing ball, an enraged animalistic huff leaving my lips.
“I’ll take care of that human myself.”
My feet wasted no time before they sped off and without an ounce of hesitation, I lunged through the cracked window. Glass splattered through the air and ripped through my flesh, but I didn’t even flinch in the slightest.
The wind whipped against my skin, dancing through the brown strands atop my head and as soon as I landed, my fingers pulsed, itching to grab him by all means necessary.
I could hear his heart beating a mile a minute and his feet moving sloppily through the forest. He was scared… and that only made me more impatient to rip him limp from limp.
I took off, numerous growls rumbling up my chest as I moved. My wolf was pumping harder than the norm, fast enough that the trees blurred in my vision and the wind made whooshing sounds against my ear.
Within mere seconds, the human was at arms reach. “You. Hurt. Mate?” My wolf was the first to speak.
At that, shock devoured his being and before my eyes, his body jolted with fright. Terrified eyes made the mistake of looking back at me whilst his feet stumbled through the withered leaves, then without my intervention, he pathetically tripped over air and fell to the forest floor.
The itching in my fingers immediately started up again.
You are so fucking dead!
“W-What are you?!” He scurried backwards, his face painted with fear and his cheeks covered with an unmanly river of tears. Leaves rustled under his body and dirt clogged his nails as he moved. It was only when his back hit the trunk of a thick, overgrown tree that he finally refrained from his useless squirming.
They sent a middle aged man to snipe my mate?
“I see you’ve realized running is useless in your situation.” I stepped towards him and with a crack of my neck, I allowed my claws to extend. “And I don’t think you’re in any position to be asking questions. I take it they didn’t tell you what you’re up against?” I halted at his feet.
His eyes bulged, nails sinking into the ground. “T-They didn’t g-give me the details, I swear!” He exclaimed. “A picture!…. He only gave me a picture of the woman!” His shaking fingers dug into his back pocket, fishing out a folded photograph before hesitantly pushing it my way.
“They were s-supposed to back me up after t-the strike, but they never showed! Please… please don’t h-hurt me.” He gasped for air as I circled his terrorized form. “I have two sons and a daughter! H-He is the one you want!”
“He?”
“T-The one who hired m-me! I’ve never seen his face… we’ve only made contact through texts or phone calls…” He rushed through his words, and all the while, I could see his eyes sweep the ground, most likely in search of a weapon.
Tsk.
“And where did you get the scent-hiding spray?”
My wolf was scratching at my consciousness as I spoke, demanding that I rip him to shreds. But before that, I needed answers… answers that would lead me to the mastermind. However, I can’t expect too much since they left him here to die. I doubt he’d be able to give significant clues.
He blinked. “S-Scent w-what…?”
I sighed. It was obvious that he truly knew nothing about our kind nor the scope of his foolish actions. But whatsoever the case, he was still going to die…. especially now that I know he’s completely and utterly useless.
Clara’s POV:
“Wolvesbane?! Is that your excuse?!”
Bang!
My eyes fluttered open as my ears took in the sound of multiple voices firing at one another, one in particular ten times louder than the rest.
Kasan.
“That useless amount of wolvesbane had you knocked out while my mate was in danger?…!”
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
… What the hell?
The moment I was fully awake and conscious of my surroundings, the whole mansion which I’d been living in for the past several weeks suddenly felt like some kind of prison.
The memories came back to me like a boisterous storm and along with the pain that plagued my now bandaged shoulder, another emotional pain surged through me.
I didn’t know what to think and I definitely didn’t know what to do. I mean, what could I do when up against a beast that could do the unthinkable?
Run? I knew wolves like Kasan would be able to catch up to me in seconds.
Beg him to let me leave? If Kasan was even the slightest bit like my brother then he wouldn’t give a flying shit about my pleas.
I want to think of it all as a dream, but the physical pain I was currently feeling would instantly contradict that thought.
Kasan?… a werewolf?
How could I not have known?
And those who follow his lead… are they the same kind of beasts? Nate? The twins? Kenley? All of them?!
Why would they keep a human among them?
Why did he bring me here in the first place?
Do I have something they need?
How many of them exist aside from those I’ve seen?
Why are they gathered together?
What’s their purpose?
Is the mafia their disguise?
Questions piled ontop of one another, and I tried in vain to think of answers til my head even started to throb, but in the end, there was only one person who could flawlessly answer them all.
Kasan.
I dreaded seeing his face right now, and though he hasn’t harmed me all this time I’ve been here, I couldn’t help but think of what he would do now that I know his secret. Would things change?
Aside from the fact that they’re violent creatures that can shift from man to beast, I knew nothing else about them. That’s just it. So while I’m aware of the possiblity that I might be in danger, I want to know the mysteries behind these creatures nonetheless…. and deep down, I could feel myself also wanting a reason not to fear him the same way I fear my own brother.
Before that though, my parents… I need to make sure my parents are out of harm’s way. I can tell from this snipe hit that the old dipshit on the phone was dead serious with his threats. And if it is that they actually aren’t safe wherever Kasan had placed them, then they needed to be moved… fast!
Everything else could wait…. for now.
I shifted on the bed and slowly brought my feet to the floor, my nose sucking in a deep, long breath. Air swept up into my nostrils and despite the situation, Kasan’s distinct scent that swarmed the sheets calmed my nerves… even if it was just a bit.
Thuds after thuds could be heard downstairs, but I still continued to inch out the door and down the stair, my body sweating harder the closer I got to the bottom.
A small part of my mind urged me to grab a knife atleast… while another part refused to do such a thing. The thought made me feel like I was the one who was betraying him and not the other way around.
How foolish…
“You had one job…”
Bang!
I jerked, startled.
“One fucking job!”
Who is he talking to?
With another deep breath, I took catious steps off the stair and hesitantly rounded the corner, all the while ignoring the way my fingers twitched for some kind of object to clutch unto to…
Why do I suddenly feel like I should’ve grabbed that knife?
A few more steps, and I was met with the sight of the twins, Kenley and a million other faces that I’ve never even seen before. They were huddled together in one sweaty ball while Kasan’s familiar head peaked out from the center of the chaos…. literally.
Could all of them be werewolves?!
My heart thumped throughout my whole body, beating so loud that it reigned over the sound of Kasan’s loud cussing. But as if my blaring heart beat reached their ears, all eyes suddenly turned to me.
‘Tell him and leave’
‘Tell him and leave’
‘Tell him and leave’
My brain chanted the same words again and again, but the ambience only got all the more ominous the longer I awkwardly stood there.
I wanted to turn around… but my feet wouldn’t allow it.
“I… I got a call before.” I said, voice barely above a whisper.
I’m pathetic, aren’t I?
I bet they must’ve been laughing their asses off all this time I’ve been galavanting around like a bad bitch.
“Pri–Clara!” Kasan’s voice immediately popped up. For some reason his prior loud tone before I came was gone and anger no longer laced his words. “You shouldn’t be out of bed.”
It looked like he was so out of it that he failed to notice my presence until I actually spoke.
The men began to part like the red sea, but as feet scattered out of the way and bodies shifted to the side, I was finally able to see Nate’s battered body laying in a messy puddle of his own blood.
My stomach instantly twisted with repulse.
I-Is he… dead?
As if there was not a fucking unmoving person at his feet, Kasan stepped over him and walked forward, eyes filled with something that was awfully similar to worry. And then, he did the most frightening of things… he outstretched a bloody hand to reach for me.
A feeling of deja vu creeped up my spine and without a second thought I shuffled back, my body flinching away from his bloodied fingers on impulse.
There was no hostility in his eyes nor his movements, but the moment he moved towards me, was the moment my body refused to stay still.
But as soon as I executed the action, the crook of my neck abruptly began to burn, firing up with a dangerous dose of heat.
Groaning, I clamped my palm over the stinging area but the gentle touch of my hand was enough to make my skin burn stronger than before. I dropped my arm to my side, my eyes clenching closed as the painful sensation dispersed through my whole being.
With my body rapidly draining of energy, I staggered backwards on waddling legs until I collided with the hard wall behind me, the small bumps on the surface jutting into my back.
W-What is this?
“The burning will stop soon.” Kasan’s nonchalant voice broke the sudden silence.
How… How did he know?
I peeked an eye open, finding him standing more than six feet away from me, a deep unmistakeable frown displayed on his face. His eyes were empty as they stared me down and his aura shifted to that of utter grim and disappointment.
It was impossible not to notice the sudden change in his demeanor.
The more I looked at him, the more that foolish feeling came back to plaque me…. the one that made me feel as if I was betraying him.
“Take her back to the room.” He glanced at his brother. “I’ll be there in a minute…. to explain things. And you don’t need to worry about Kenley, he’s the only human here.” He eyed me for one last second then his gaze was gone… completely. And instead, he refocused his attention back on Nate.
My arm was instantly gripped by Kenley’s fingers and without delay, I was being dragged back the way I came with little to no regards for my well being.
Considering the way Kenley was pulling me, I could only assume that he wanted me to fall flat on my face.
“Chase, have we heard from the other spies?”
I unconsciously peeked behind me, silently watching as Kasan looked towards one of the twins whilst his body loomed over Nate’s, both hands balled into a veiny fist.
His anger was definitely going to be directed at Nate… again…. and though I was glad that I wasn’t the one in his shoes, I still couldn’t help but pity him.
Before now, I’ve never thought anything about how ruthless Kasan was said to be nor how merciless he seemed, because though to a lesser extent, I was also the same…. my father was also the same…
But now, I can only wonder… Is he this cruel because of his line of business… or… because of the beastly urges werewolves tended to have?
“Nope, we haven’t gotten word from any of them.” The twin who was apparently ‘Chase’ stepped forward, outstretching a single sheet of paper. From this distance, I couldn’t make out a single word. “But based on her father’s last message… she thinks the ‘nightwalker’ or one of his henchmen is already here among us. Meaning… we have a mole.”
Following those words, the room went pin-drop silent except for the sound of our footsteps ascending the stairs….