Three hours flight and one hour sitting inside a taxi heading to Silver Light Pack, led by Cohen’s cousin, Janet Reese. But, Liam didn’t let the taxi take him straight into Silver Light’s territory. Instead, it stopped in a small town forty minutes away from the pack’s main territory. He walked along the empty road heading to the main territory, where he spotted a group of patrolling Enforcers.
“Liam Blake, it’s been a while,” someone greeted him at the border.
“Ashton, you’re looking good,” Liam replied.
Ashton Mayer was the pack’s Beta. Liam used to train Ashton back in Cohen’s pack. Silver Light Pack was established ten years ago by several members of Cohen’s pack. They left Cohen’s pack because their mates were from a different pack. Not wanting their mates’ Alpha on bad terms with Cohen, they decided to make their own pack. Hence, Silver Light was founded by the former members of both packs. Several other packs sent their former members to Silver Light.
There were some cases where some Alphas weren’t pleased by their pack members who found their mates from other packs. Sometimes, this could lead to another war between the packs because one pack was losing pack members while another pack was gaining some. To cool down a situation like this, both parties left their packs and established their own to maintain a good relationship with their former packs. These were the reasons why there were many small packs. In recent years, Silver Light Pack received an increase in pack members as they welcomed any former members of other packs into their own.
Liam knew Cohen didn’t mind it if his pack members found mates from another pack and left his pack to be with their mates. But not all Alpha thought the same as him.
Ashton led Liam to Silver Light’s pack mansion, and he spotted Alpha Zidane of Twilight Pack was there. Zidane was also Cohen’s cousin. Twilight Pack was established along with the Southern Werewolves Pack by a brother who continued the surname Kingsley and a sister who married someone who had a surname Sutton.
“Liam, nice to see you again,” Zidane greeted him. “How’s our grumpy cousin?”
Liam chuckled. “He’s not that grumpy anymore.”
“Right, right. He’s got Mira and the babies now. By the way, I’ve finished your paperwork to stay in my territory. I’ll email it to you soon,” Zidane said.
“Thanks, man. Where’s Janet?”
“She’s in the office. I’m heading back now. I’ll see you around.”
“I’ll see you around.”
Liam went into the pack mansion and greeted some of the people who passed him. He went to the Alpha’s office and saw Janet and her husband were talking.
“Liam,” Janet’s husband, Roy, greeted him.
“Roy, I see you do still not agree to be an Alpha,” Liam said.
Roy chuckled. “She does much better than me. I’m just an omega werewolf.”
“Was,” Janet corrected him. “How many times have I told you that you’re not an omega anymore?”
“Right. I’ll go check on the training.”
After Roy left the office, Liam turned his attention to Janet, who just huffed some angry breaths.
“It takes time,” Liam said to her.
“It’s been ten years, Liam. He still thinks he’s an omega!”
“Relax, Janet. Here are the files Mira wanted you to read.” Liam passed a hard drive stick to her.
“Knights of Death, huh?” Janet said softly. “I wished we could have sent help when you guys needed it.” She sat down on the chair with a sigh.
“Don’t overthink about it, Janet. It’s in the past now. Cohen’s happy. Mira’s safe.”
“Mira thinks the Knights of Death are still operational?”
Liam nodded. “She didn’t know the exact number yet, but there are some signs that one of their bases of operations is in your territory. Just in case things go bad, Cohen and Mira wanted you to be prepared about it. We’ll send some help when you need it.”
“I heard from Zidane. So, what’s your motive for going out this far from your pack? You never left this far before, especially now your Alpha and his mate are expecting.”
Liam smiled. “Mira challenged me. So, I accepted it.”
“Well, whatever it is, I hope you succeed.”
“Thanks. I’d guess that’s all for today. I need to head to Anita’s place.”
Janet reached for a key on the desk and threw it to him. “Your motorbike is in the garage. I could have taken it to Zidane’s place but knowing that idiot, he probably took a spin with your motorbike.”
“Thanks, Janet. I’ll come to visit sometime soon.”
“Sure thing.”
Liam went to the garage and sat on his motorbike. He sent a text to Anita to tell her his location while he was waiting for the garage door to lift automatically. Once it lifted, Liam rode out with his motorbike. Zidane’s territory was two hours away, but Liam enjoyed a long ride because it had been a while since he had a long ride like this.
Ten minutes after entering Zidane’s territory, Liam received a text from Anita telling him that Jazmine’s car broke down in a parking lot. Anita texted the address, and it didn’t take Liam long to find her. His breath hitched inside his throat when he saw her standing next to a man. Five years had passed, and Jazmine looked just how he remembered. No, she was different than before. There was no hint of a shy and quiet girl on her anymore.
Liam stopped at the guardhouse and said, “I’m a car mechanic. I came to repair Jazmine Diaz’ car.”
“She’s right in the parking lot,” the guard replied while pointing to the parking lot.
“Thanks, man.”
Liam rode his motorbike into the parking lot and parked next to Jazmine’s car. It took everything in him not to pummel the guy standing next to her.
“Your car broke down?” Liam asked as he took off his helmet.
“Liam?” Jazmine looked at him as if she didn’t believe he was in front of her after five years.
Liam almost couldn’t keep his calm for the whole time as he listened to the guy named Jay Bernard talk to Jazmine. When she agreed to his dinner invitation, Liam almost broke the starter relay inside her car. After getting it fixed and having a small talk, Liam left the parking lot because he knew if he stayed for another second, he would pin her against the car and do things he wanted to do. But he didn’t want to rush anything. Mira told him to see if Jazmine felt the pull of their mating bond. For now, Liam had to keep a proper distance to see if the mating bond would pull Jazmine to him.
He went to a car workshop he passed by earlier and bought a starter relay for Jazmine’s car before scheduling an appointment with the workshop’s owner to service Jazmine’s car. Everything was in order until he saw her in her bathrobe.
He almost lost it right then and there. He asked for her car key with a hint of urgency, but Jazmine took her sweet time to fetch the key. When she left with Jay Bernard, Liam turned into a stalker. He followed them to the restaurant. They sat in the private lounge on the far end of the restaurant while Liam took a seat a few tables away from them, making sure they didn’t see him. Then, Liam saw Jay Bernard touch Jazmine’s hand.
“Sir, are you okay?” The waiter asked him when Liam crumpled the menu.
“Sorry...I just…” Liam took a deep breath. “One ribeye steak. Make it well done.”
“Sure. Anything else?”
“A bottle of DRC La Tâche,” Liam replied. “That’s all.”
The waiter nodded and left with the order. A moment later, Zidane entered the restaurant and chuckled when he saw Liam.
“What are you doing here?” Liam asked him as he sat down on the seat across.
“I came to have dinner,” Zidane replied.
“Welcome, sir. What do you want for your main course?” the same waiter asked after handing a menu to Zidane.
“I’ll have the same as he ordered,” Zidane replied.
“A ribeye steak and a bottle of DRC La Tâche champagne?”
Zidane looked at Liam. “What year?”
“1999, sir,” the waiter replied.
“Really, Liam? Are you that fancy?”
“I was feeling fancy tonight,” Liam said, shrugging his shoulders.
“We’ll have one bottle only,” Zidane said to the waiter before the latter left. “You spend—” he paused as he checked the menu for the price. “Nearly eight thousand dollars for a bottle of DRC La Tâche while stalking a woman.”
“I’m not stalking her,” Liam grunted. “I’m having dinner as well.”
Zidane chuckled. “Really? Have you met your sister yet?”
“No, she wasn’t in the penthouse when I arrived.”
After having their dinner, Liam left first even though Jazmine was still in the restaurant. He couldn’t risk himself being spotted by her. He rode his motorbike to the penthouse building. Anita was already home and had just finished talking over the phone.
“Five years without visiting your little sister, huh?” Anita said, crossing her arms.
“You didn’t even want me to come," Liam replied.
Anita sighed. “You’re right. Sorry about that. I didn’t want our old-fashioned parents to get mad at you as well.”
“You never returned my calls or wrote an email to me. I messaged you through your social media, and I didn't get your reply. You avoided me.”
“Well, you’re not the only one who has problems,” Anita replied. “You know, right after you left my eighteenth birthday party, I got a call from dad.”
Liam looked at her in shock. “What did he say?”
“He didn’t say a word. But I heard his breathing before he hung up. I’d guess he was still mad about me leaving. So, I stopped responding to your calls and email, thinking that they were mad that you always came to visit me.”
Liam sighed as he remembered how much pain Anita had to endure on her own after leaving the pack. She didn’t leave the pack. She only left the territory. She was ten when it all happened, and with her age, she couldn’t sign an agreement saying she left the pack. Their parents didn’t want to sign it either because they didn’t agree with her decision. Cohen handed the agreement to Liam since Liam was the only one left to sign it. The agreement was still inside the drawer of his desk in his office.
“How could you just mail the key to my college mailbox?” Anita asked him.
Liam sat down and leaned against the couch. “You didn’t want to do anything with me, and I couldn’t come without you getting mad about it. So, I just mailed the key to you. I didn’t expect you to accept it, though.”
“Just because we didn’t contact each other for five years didn’t mean I knew nothing.”
“Thanks for everything.”
Liam huffed. “I couldn’t thank you for maxing out my credit card.”
Anita laughed.
When they arrived at the restaurant, Jazmine should have expected it to turn out this way. It was the fanciest and expensive restaurant in the town. She almost cursed to herself for agreeing to Jay’s dinner invitation. Their dinner was served a few minutes after ordering. Jay ordered most of the stuff. Jazmine didn’t bother about it because, for sure, he knew more than her. Jazmine sat there as Jay began to talk about his life, accomplishments, and family. He came from a wealthy family, of course. Everyone in the company knew how wealthy Bernard’s family was. His father, Gale, was a former state senator and a very successful businessman who owned hotels and resorts. Natalie Bernard, Jay’s mother, was a CEO of a multi-billion corporation. She inherited it from her father after he had passed away. As the only child in the family, she became a billionaire overnight with all the wealth. The association betwee
The next morning, Liam woke up earlier than anyone else. He had an alarm clock in his mind that helped him to wake up on time. Because of his fixed schedule in the pack, Liam was used to waking up early. Now, leading a normal life briefly made him feel utterly useless. Liam never knew a life outside a pack. He didn’t know what to do in all those hours.He just sat there on his bed, thinking about what he should do next. It was just four in the morning. That was his usual waking time. He would go for a patrol at four-thirty in the morning and then every four hours. That would take two hours. When he came back to the pack mansion, breakfast was already served by the pack’s cooks. Liam would do some paperwork in the morning and some training in the afternoon. He would do a last patrolling session of the day at six in the evening. By the time he returned, dinner was served. He slept at eleven in th
Jazmine sat there in the kitchen, staring blankly at the wall. She couldn’t believe that she said it to Liam. When Liam said he wasn’t married and the redheaded woman in his photo was a wife to his friend, Jazmine was elated, somehow. But then, she managed to ruin the rest of the conversation. She mentioned his leader was heartless.Was that why Liam stormed off, leaving her in the park?“Why are you awake this early?” Anita walked into the kitchen and opened a fridge to grab a bottle of water. “Where’s Liam? I didn’t see him in his room.”“Anita…” Jazmine called. “I said something harsh to Liam.”Was it harsh? She didn’t know. She didn’t know anything about Liam’s life in the estate where he grew up. She didn’t know anyone in that estate. His words rang in her ears like audio on a loop. She couldn’t forget the way he said those sentences.&
“Oi!” Anita waved her hands in front of his face.Liam snapped from his deep thoughts as the waiter came to their table with the foods they ordered earlier.“What are you thinking?” His sister asked.“Just some stuff I discussed with Zidane.”“Geez, you never stopped thinking about work.”Liam was mostly in his own world for the whole time. He wasn’t the type to take a long vacation either because he knew how big his role was in the pack.“To think about it, what kind of work do you do?” Jazmine asked.“Workshops,” Liam replied. “I repair mo
The next morning, Liam arrived in Zidane’s pack mansion. Cohen planned to do a meeting with Liam regarding the departure of his parents from the pack. Liam could barely sleep, and he chose not to tell Anita yet. He didn’t want to worry his sister for no reason.“Cohen…” Liam greeted his Alpha.“Sorry to ruin the mood yesterday,” Cohen said to him. “If I keep it a secret, it would ruin more.”“No, it’s good. What did they say?”“Well, they submitted the documents. They said it was time for them to leave the pack.”Liam chuckled as he sat down. “It’s ironic. They didn’t like Anita leaving the pack. Yet, they’re doi
“This is….” Liam paused.Jazmine looked ahead, and a blush crept her cheeks. When Anita suggested they go shopping before the vacation, Jazmine didn’t expect this would happen. Lately, Jazmine was busy getting her work done, so she came home late, but Anita was just there every time she came home. Anita kept saying that Liam had other business to attend to. The entire week passed just like that, and their summer vacation would start in the morning.“Anita, why would you drag us here?” Jazmine asked, shaking her best friend, who kept laughing like a maniac.The store that Anita suggested was a lingerie store.“You need some bathing suits. Don’t tell me you’re going to spend your summer in clothes? Right, Liam?&r
The next day, Liam strolled around the building, looking for something suspicious. He got in contact with the Ghost team that was watching Anita since day one. Liam went to the gym that he frequented in the past few days and spotted a few guys working out. He walked into the locker room and encountered the member of the Ghost team, Ian.“I’ve acquired the information you wanted,” Ian said, handing a brown envelope to Liam. “One month ago, there was an increase in murder cases in the town. Although the victims seemed random, the killer shared similarity.”Liam opened the envelope and looked through the file and photos inside. Then, his hand stopped at one photo. A picture of a man shifted into a grey wolf. Liam recognized the man because he was once part of Cohen’s pack. He was banished from the pack after he was found g
# Jazmine’s memoriesWhen she was a little girl, Jazmine never understood why her mother, Helen, sent her to her uncle, Richard, who lived five states away from their home. Richard Diaz, a successful businessman who often went abroad for business trips, suddenly became a legal guardian to a four-year-old girl. His bachelor life ended right when she showed up on his front door with her mother. Richard was never a good cook or good cleaner, but he did everything he could for Jazmine, the four-year-old girl who never saw him once in her life. His life was once filled with wild parties, beautiful women, powerful allies, and work suddenly became a life full of tea parties, bedtime stories, groceries shopping, and princess’ dress shopping. Everything changed instantly.He did everything he could to give her the best life and everything s