***Back in the dining area, Camille was laughing uncontrollably. “Philip is not a bad person, Trav…Troy. He will only take a life if it’s for a good cause.”“And you think taking Paul’s life is for a good cause?” Troy looked and sounded incredulous.“I didn’t say that.” Camille tried to compose herself. “Listen, you said yourself that your mother said no harm will befall Paul, right?”“She promised,” Troy responded.“Her word is gold.” Camille smiled. “Trust me on that. I’ll take good care of Paul. Don’t worry about him, okay?” At Troy’s nod, she added; “And remember, Philip is the most kind-hearted and amazing man. It would be great if you tried to get to know him.”“Not on your life.” Troy breathed, ignoring Camille’s gasp. “I don’t trust the guy. I know the woman meant…”“Gloria.” Camille interrupted. “That’s her name.”“Glori…”“Don’t call her that.” Camille interrupted again.“But you just said that’s her name.” Troy groaned, looking confused.“Yes but she’s your mother.” She sa
***In his room, on the tenth floor of the magnificent Stanwood building which stood proudly in the middle of the vast land of the Stanwood Pack, a naked Alpha Philip Harrington paced. He’d had a fierce run but still felt restless. He didn’t understand why Travis…or Troy or whatever he called himself, made him so angry. Maybe it was because they were close to having a full moon. That would understandably intensify his emotions. But that notwithstanding, no one had managed to get him so angry so quickly in his thirty-three years of existence. The boy knew the exact buttons to push to get him into furyland.Philip prided himself on being a very understanding person. He’d always had to be because his best friend, Jeremy, had been a handful right from their childhood because of his Ojah power. He’d had to assume the role of the voice of reason which had had a calming effect on Jeremy. Philip had therefore never had the luxury of giving in to anger like a typical male werewolf would.As an
***“You’re all idiots.” He muttered as he turned towards the bar to pour himself a drink. “The silly boy is refusing to change the bloody cat’s name.” He growled as he came back to join his friends.“I love this boy.” Paige laughed.“Lip, you okay?” Jeremy asked softly.“What do you think?” Philip rasped.“You need to go easy on him, dude,” Jeremy told his friend.“Your brother is a piece of work, Jer,” Philip muttered.“Put yourself in his shoes,” Jeremy said quietly. You first kill his family and then threaten to end his pal. You wouldn’t like you either if you were him.”“Yeah, the cactus.” Stan drawled. “Damn, that was a good one.”“From what Cami tells me, those two are just friends so chill,” Jeremy said.“Your smart mouth of a brother is not making it easy, Jer.” Philip groaned.“Easy, brother,” Paige murmured. “You’re what? Twelve years older than him, right? Come on, Lip. He’s bound to irritate you. Try not to allow yourself to be drawn into his…”“Wait till you find yoursel
***“What happened to him?” Troy raised a brow with curiosity.“He…he went out there and slaughtered a lot of hunters,” Gloria whispered.“Oh my god…” Troy gasped. “But they were innocent.”“We didn’t know that.” Gloria reached for the glass of water on the coffee table and took a sip. “Until Ryan figured it out some days ago, we all thought you and your father had been killed by hunters.”“I still can’t get over the knowledge that Reynard had a son,” Troy murmured. “I was told that all his kids died. And he couldn’t father any more kids so…”“Yeah, Ryan took him by surprise all right.” Gloria chuckled.“So you werewolves actually accept that? Marriage between men, I mean. We don’t.” Troy said, making Gloria laugh softly.“Son, you’re a werewolf too. And Luna, our goddess, decides who our soulmates should be. Jeremy and Ryan are not married by the way.” Gloria chuckled. “They are mated. Get your terminologies right.” She laughed when Troy burst into laughter.“I will learn eventually.
***“Reynard,” Troy whispered as he stared at Ryan. Everyone stared back at him. Paul was the first to break the silence.“It’s rude to stare, Troy.” Paul admonished his friend in a loud whisper. Then he turned apologetic eyes to the white-haired man. “You must pardon him, man.” He addressed Ryan. “It’s your hair that’s shocking him.” He grinned when Ryan turned to face him. “He’s still getting used to the weird hair colours that people are sporting these days. Do you blame him? Dude’s been holed up in some magical fortress all his life. You should have seen his reaction the first time he saw someone with green hair.” He laughed. “Yours really suits you, by the way. Your hairdresser did a great job.” He gave a thumbs-up sign.“That’s his real hair, Paul,” Jeremy growled.“What?” Paul gasped. “Really?” It was his turn to stare.“You must be Ryan,” Troy said quietly.“I am.” Ryan managed to tear his amused gaze off Paul and began to move toward Troy with a hand extended. “Nice to meet y
***In the conference room the next evening, a serious meeting was taking place. The topic on board was Troy. Present were Philip, Jeremy, Joel, Stan, Paige, Ryan, and Deloris. The meeting had been called by the Alpha of Alphas.“I’m saying he’s a ticking time bomb,” Jeremy said quietly. “He can shift at any time…which is good. We just need to keep an eye on him. I had to explain to him that he wasn’t sick.”“That poor child,” Deloris murmured. “He must be so confused right now.”“Not just confused.” Philip rasped. “He’s in pain.” He stood and began to pace. The werewolves in the room knew how a first shift felt like. It wasn’t a pleasant experience.“My problem is that,” Jeremy went on, “I think mum is trying to suppress the shift because she thinks Troy is not ready.”“What?” Philip gasped.“What makes you say that?” Joel asked.“You all know Philip and I had to attend an alpha’s meeting today.” Jeremy glanced at the faces around the table. “We’ve been away from the pack house the w
***Troy went so quiet it almost seemed as if he was sleeping. Jeremy knew better. He could sense the tension inside his brother. Apart from the struggle his body was going through because of his premier-shift, Troy clearly had a lot on his mind. And as a werewolf, Jeremy could easily feel the anxiety pouring off of his brother. Since he hadn’t had his shift yet, Jeremy couldn’t link up their minds and read Troy’s thoughts. All he could therefore do was hope that his brother would trust him enough to tell him what was on his mind. He wished…“I’m sick.” Troy blurted out suddenly. Jeremy knew better. But he remained quiet. “I have been for years. It’s a monthly ailment. Does our father or mother have any such disease?” He raised his head and looked at Jeremy with eyes filled with curiosity.“No, they have no such…”“Then why do I...how about you?”“What you have is not a disease, Troy. It’s…”“Oh, it is.” Troy gave a short laugh devoid of humour. “It started when I was fifteen. It’s ne
***“Nitwits,” Paige murmured with an eye roll as Ryan shook his head in amusement.“Mum’s going to descend on you.” Ryan chuckled. “Brace yourselves.”“She should bring it.” Philip grinned. “I’ve already called her to join us.”“Lip come on, she can’t leave Troy alone at home.” Jeremy groaned. “It’s danger…”“Who said anything about leaving him home?” Philip snorted.“You dirty pervert.” Paige chuckled. “You just wanna see him, don’t you?”“I didn’t see him the whole of yesterday. Neither have I seen him the whole of today.” Philip drawled. “Do you blame me? Stan, please tell the guys to prepare the Jungle Room.”“Way ahead of you, boss.” Stan grinned as he relaxed into his seat. “Just sent them a message.”“Good.” Philip gave a thumbs-up sign.A young lady entered with some snacks for them. Everyone, but Philip helped themselves. The thought of seeing Troy again in the next few minutes was causing all sorts of warm feelings to course through him. Truth be told, he’d missed the annoy