“Hello? My Star… Oh, it’s so good to hear your voice again. I’ve missed you so very much,” was the first thing that she heard that morning.
Her mobile phone vibrating under her pillow had awakened a few minutes before. And she was glad that she wasn’t so deep in her dreams by then, or she might have missed this very important call.
“How are you, love? It has been a while, hasn’t it? The kids miss you as well, but we’re all doing fine. The town has been really quiet lately, except for a few renewed rumors that I still haven’t been able to clarify, but I feel I’ll have an answer soon. Alpha V is not really pushy, so I think I can have a few more days before I really have to give my official report to him.” She got up, wrapped her scarcely dressed, slim body in her silky, flowery robe and walked towards the window, actually thanking her beloved one for starting her day early.
“I’m very much okay, my Queen, I might be home in a couple of weeks, but that might not be great news… Right now, I’m following a detective who has been assigned to find our Alpha’s brother, and the final destination seems to be the village, so I have to make sure that at least he is delayed as much as possible, but this is an easy job, almost like a vacation, you know? I’m at the beach right now, and he might be surprised to find that his car won’t start the next time he uses it.”
Her man childishly laughed as he told her his adventures, but something that he said greatly surprised her, and, as much as it made her widely grin, it also awoke her alerted state.
“So, you mean that Eron is here? I was wondering why Virgil was letting this one slip and not asking for updates more often… When did you get to know?”
“It’s been just a few days, my love, I’m sorry that it slipped my mind when we talked, my focus was more on our personal life than on the pack…”
“No, you’re right. We even agreed that we would limit those talks, so I more than understand that you didn’t tell me, but you have just solved the mystery I was after… Who else knows that he’s here?”
“Well, I was contacted by Hiromoto. I don’t know if you remember him. He used to be in our packhouse very often, and then one day he disappeared, but I found him again here in the city, as the Left Hand of the Governor… I guess there’s a lot going on that we haven’t talked about. I hoped this mess wouldn’t involve you, but I can hear in your voice that you’re craving to see some action. Just, please, take good care of yourself, okay? Remember that you gave birth just a few months ago…”
Her toothy grin grew bigger.
“Hiromoto, huh? It’s been a while…” she thought, already planning what her next few moves would be.
“Don’t worry, okay? I promise to be careful, and, more than that, I’ll make sure that everything is ok from this end… Now, I believe I’ll have to cut our talk short; I have a couple more calls to make. Thank you for waking me up, love, and for the information you just shared. You just made your mate a very happy girl.”
She could hear a long sigh from the other side of the line. It was not a new thing that her man worried a lot, especially due to her focus and her tendency to go above and beyond when it was about a mission.
“Okay. Hope to see you soon. If not during this mission, I’ll take some days off right after to be with you and the kids. I miss you, my Star…”
“I miss you too, mate. Hope to see you soon.”
And with that, the call was finished. Quickly, she changed into her exercise and training clothes, then walked to her twins’ room, which was right next door to hers.
They seemed to have just woken up. She could see their tiny hands and feet up and moving. Also, a few baby noises and giggles as the boys were ‘talking’ in their baby/twin language.
“Good morning my handsome babies. Mommy is right here and is very happy to see you,” she smiled, taking baby Lukas in her arms and sitting in her armchair to breastfeed.
As soon as the baby and she were comfortable, she took her phone out. Leena then looked for a name that she thought she might not find in her contacts.
“Ah! Here you are. I knew I’d have kept it. Why did I doubt myself about that?” she whispered to herself while pressing the ‘dial’ button.
She waited three rings and heard a deep voice replying on the other side of the line.
“Hello H, long time not hearing from you. How is our dear Sorah?”
“Leena! Wow, it’s been a while indeed. This is really a surprise. Sorah has been at the packhouse since yesterday, and… well, many things have happened, but I don’t think a shinobi like you is calling just to catch up, or am I wrong?”
She couldn’t help but smile at the way that he used to call her back then. And apparently so, some things never change.
“Yes, and no. I’ve actually been curious about your whereabouts since you left to get her transformed into a werewolf, like us, but I also mean business now.”
And indeed, as focused as she was on the matter at hand, which even made her call someone she knew from so long ago, she couldn’t help but remember the first time that she re-encountered Hiromoto.
She was new in town back then, and the job she was assigned to was to investigate the supposed werewolf attacks that had been happening in the village, and, per request of the Council of Elders. SilverClaw’s Alpha, Virgil Camden, chose her as one of their stronger warriors and best spies to check on the matter.
“Reporting, Alpha,” she said through the mindlink while looking through her rented room’s window. “The locals don’t seem to be very open to foreigners. To be very honest, the town is not exactly a tourist attraction. There’s not much to do around here, and nobody is really open or has the time to show anybody around. It would look a lot more suspicious if I say I’m just touring this forgotten place.”
“I see. No problem, since this has been happening for a few months already, just buy a house there. Tell them you’re a… writer looking for peace and quiet to work on your books, or a singer incognito, whatever you choose. I’ll make sure you get the money as soon as you find the house, just keep me updated.”
“Yes, Alpha Virgil,” she said, and with that, their mindlink conversation ended.
She got out and walked around until she found the house that would end up being her permanent residence for a few years.
Alpha Virgil did as he said, and sent her the money right away. She settled in the house that was at the best strategic location, exiting the town and entering the forest… or vice versa, depending on one’s point of view.
From that house, she could spy on whoever passed to go to the forest from the village every night. Her enhanced senses also allowed her to know who was or wasn’t a werewolf among the people living there.
Her suspicions were aroused when, not long after her arrival, a certain tall, young, yet muscular man with dark hair and dark brown eyes started going around the area.
She got to know that his name was Hiromoto and that he was leading a few of the men who frequently came and went around. The ones she discovered were dressing up like werewolves to hide whatever dishonest businesses they had there.
Until this guy’s appearance, she could confirm that there were no rogues or packs involved in the events that were happening in the village. So SilverClaw couldn’t actually interfere. If they did, the cure would be worse than the illness, and they could actually give the villagers proof that there were werewolves involved.
And giving their existence away was definitely against their law.
Leena knew Hero from when they all were younger, but he had been gone for so long that he was unfamiliar to her. Even if the name did ring a bell, she was unsure if she should tell him about what she really was and the pack’s interest in him and his minions and superior. She kept an eye on the man until she found him in the forest running with a human girl in his arms.
“What the hell are you doing now? And in your werewolf form, too? This is a first,” Leena whispered to herself from the top of a tree where she was watching his every move.
Making sure that he didn’t notice her, she jumped to the ground and got closer using the bushes as a shield. Then she saw him change to his human form and heard him talking to the girl who was surprisingly not trying to run away from him.
“Leena? Are you still there?” Hero said from the other side of the line.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I was suddenly distracted. Listen, I’ve heard that you know the whereabouts of Alpha V’s brother?”
“Oh… of course it’s about that… yeah, I sent him to the old village where I found Sorah… He just fake died, so I thought it was the safest place for him to be.”
“How long ago?”
“Just a few days. Why?”
“I’m still at the village, you know. I just got to know that you might need some local help, so… What can I do for you?”