Chapter 54 Eiden
Eiden's POV
I returned to that place once again. I hated the noise and the heavy scent of alcohol clinging to the air, but I forced myself to ignore it.
The five-story building was never empty. Even in freezing winter temperatures, people wasted money, as if tomorrow doesn't exist.
I'd never come here before I had nightmare attacks. All this time, I'd been relying on my spy warrior.
I sat at the bartender's counter with a glass of alcohol on the table. Daydreaming while waiting for someone was all I'd been doing for the past ten minutes.
'Arlo.' I called out to my wolf, my eyes dull as they lingered on the bartender preparing a drink for the man beside me.
'What? What did you want to say?' my wolf asked nonchalantly.
'I just realized that now.' I gripped my glass tightly, but not so tightly that I could crush it.
'I told Celeste I didn’t want to contact the rogue assassin group because I was worried I’d just ask them every time I needed information and forget that I had my warrior spy.'
'And?' My wolf looked up, staring at me disinterestedly.
'I just realized now that ever since I started having nightmares, I’ve been contacting a lot of rogue intel to ask them to help me find someone who can stop them,' I said.
'And then?' My wolf was utterly uninterested in the topic I was discussing. He was annoying.
'I didn’t realize I was relying on rogue intel for information. So why was I afraid to contact the rogue assassin group?' I shook my head. 'How strange of me.'
'And then?' I wanted to strangle my wolf. 'Are you going to contact the rogue assassin group now?'
'I don’t know.'
'You don’t need to tell me that again.' My wolf snorted harshly.
I couldn't tell my warrior spies about the nightmares that plagued me every night. Beta Serena learned of my plight from my wolf, who wanted at least someone to know what I was going through.
"Alpha Eiden." A rogue man wearing red glasses sat to my left, his face begging for forgiveness. "I apologize for making you wait."
“I don’t mind.” I waved my hand. “I’d rather wait than see your tortured face.”
The male rogue grinned broadly as he scratched his head. He was so embarrassed by me. How could he not be? He had to go to the bathroom because of a sudden stomachache, and I waited for him for half an hour.
“Can you give me the medicine now?” I hated small talk and wanted to get back to my pack.
“Here’s the medicine, Alpha.” He placed the green bottle on the table.
“This medicine is said to ward off bad things and drive away misfortune. Many people have already proven how effective it is,” he said, sounding like an overzealous salesman.
"I hope this is the medicine I've been looking for." I stared at the green bottle in my hand, my heart pounding with excitement, wondering if last night would be the last time I'd have a nightmare.
“I’m 100 percent sure this is the medicine you need.” The rogue man didn’t stop trying to convince me.
“Okay. I’ll try it.” I put the green bottle in my pants pocket. It was smaller than my phone. “I’ve transferred the money to you.”
“Yes, I’ve got it.” He nodded.
“And what about the other thing I asked for?” I didn’t need to lower my voice in this place, although I was still worried someone might overhear us.
“It’s all here, Alpha.” He handed me a flash drive. I quickly tucked it into my shirt pocket.
“Okay. Thank you. I hope this information is useful to me,” I said. The male rogue nodded confidently.
Five minutes later, I was outside the building. I stared at the evening sky for a moment, feeling the cool autumn breeze and hearing the rustling of leaves.
I was at the Rogue Clan. It was a shame I came here in the afternoon, but I actually hadn't asked Liam if he would like to meet me when I went to his school.
The car took me to the rogue clan gate. Paulo and his brother-in-law had spared me the half-hour of questioning. I didn't know what to say if the staff asked about the green bottle.
The warriors at the werewolf clan border gate were also reluctant to question me because they knew I wasn't a troublemaking Alpha.
Meanwhile, the warriors at the River Pack Klan border gate were curious to know what I was doing out there, but they didn't press me for an answer.
“Back to work. Nothing can separate me from work.”
I sat down in my office chair. The mansion was becoming increasingly comfortable. Maybe it was because I had fond memories of Liam, Levi, and Celeste.
I couldn't wait to try the medicine. The red-glasses-wearing rogue said it would work immediately; I wouldn't have to wait for days. I hoped he was telling the truth.
“I've had dinner. Now it's time to take this medicine.”
I poured the green liquid onto a spoon. It had no scent, but it tasted incredibly sour and bitter. I nearly vomited it.
“By the Moon Goddess, this is the worst medicine I’ve ever had.”
I downed the glass of water and then put the green bottle in my desk drawer.
'You really don’t like medicine,' my wolf said. I grinned. 'Now go to sleep. Don’t forget to pray to the Moon Goddess to free you from those nightmares.'
'Yes, of course.' I nodded.
That night, I didn't drink any coffee to keep me awake.
I leaned back in my chair, arms folded across my chest, and stared at the ceiling. It didn't take long for me to fall asleep. I've never had trouble sleeping.
Pristine white walls without a single stain, a cold temperature biting into my skin, closed doors lining the hallways, and rows of empty chairs.
There was no one around, but the noise of the babies crying was deafening.
They were so close to me, but I wasn't going to look for them because I hadn't dealt with babies before. I guessed I would just make their cries louder.
I frowned. This place was clearly a hospital. It wasn't hard to tell, but why was I here?
"Moon Goddess." I jumped in surprise to find two babies crawling toward me. What made me stop breathing and freeze was that they were crying, but they had no heads.
I tried to think positively. Maybe they weren't the ones crying. Then a question hit me hard, waking me up to my foolishness. How could they still be alive without heads?
This wasn't right. Something was wrong with them. I shouldn't be here.
“Moon Goddess.” I spun on my heels and started sprinting, my breath caught in my throat, and sweat pouring down my face as the two babies crawled at breakneck speed.
“Damn it. Damn it. Damn it.” I swore. The hospital corridor was so long it felt like I wasn’t allowed to leave.
'This is just a bad dream, Eiden,' the voice echoed in my head. 'That medicine isn’t helping you.' He snorted.