Chapter 9 Celeste
Celeste's POV
Liam walked into school cheerfully. His enthusiasm never wavered.
His smile was wide, but his eyes still held sadness over his stepfather's death.
He didn't want me to worry about him.
I hoped nothing bad had happened to him.
I didn't think so. Rogue wasn't racist against werewolves. His classmates wouldn't shun him as long as Liam's behavior wasn't annoying.
I trust Liam to find the right way to socialize with his friends. He's used to playing with the kids in our group.
I took Levi to the playground near Liam's kindergarten.
Levi was thrilled to see all the toys and meet his friends, and he didn’t hesitate to approach the girls playing house under the tree next to the seesaw.
“Good morning, Margot.” I have friends too. We always meet at that park. I hope Margot isn’t interested in visiting my house.
“Good morning, Celeste.” Margot waved with a broad smile. She sat on our favorite bench, eating a lamb sandwich.
“It’s such a beautiful morning.” Margot looked up at the sky adoringly.
“I hope it doesn’t rain this morning,” I said, squinting against the bright sunlight.
"Let's hope it rains after the kids get home from school," Margot understood what I meant. I nodded.
I chewed on a piece of her homemade roast goat. It tasted delicious.
“Did you know many of the leaders’ children were infected with the virus?” Margot looked at me questioningly.
“Yes, I know,” I remembered Alpha Johannes telling me that he and his friends had accused a group of rogue assassins of being behind the virus.
She continued, “My Alpha told us yesterday that his second child has attacked the virus. He’s paralyzed and can’t speak. Everyone has different symptoms.”
I felt sorry for them. No one knows for sure the purpose of the virus's creation, but I am very grateful that no one knows Levi is the heir of one of the rogue assassin groups.
Margot leaned toward me and whispered, worried that others might overhear.
"My Alpha said he got information from Alpha, one of his close friends, that the mastermind wasn't a group of rogue assassins. He asked us not to accuse them again if we wanted to live."
I held back a snort. Rogue assassins were a terrifying threat to everyone on this planet.
Trust me, we never kill carelessly. We only kill for money.
Even if we’re really pissed at someone, we won’t get rid of them without a strong reason. We would keep that resentment in our hearts.
As usual, I listened to Margot talk about this and that. Honestly, she was perfect for my group. She knew all the gossip, even if it was questionable.
We didn’t only eat goat sandwiches. When the food cart selling mountain venison parked by the playground gate, we hurried to grab some before the crowd rushed it.
"Mom," Liam ran toward me with a bright smile, holding a piece of paper.
Levi and I stood near the gate. Margot had already met her son and was waving goodbye to me.
“I drew a mama duck and her three ducklings swimming in the river.” He proudly showed me his masterpiece.
“Wow, that’s a beautiful drawing.” I wasn’t exaggerating. Liam drew the duck and ducklings with such detail, even if their bodies weren’t perfectly shaped.
He’s pretty smart for a five-year-old, isn’t he? He remembered the shape of a duck so well.
“The ducklings are swimming in my bathtub,” Levi said.
“You’re right. You can imagine them swimming in your bathtub.” Liam took Levi’s hand and we walked to the car waiting at the gate.
They were adorable.
I snapped a few photos of them with a big smile and joy filling my chest.
Time passes so quickly without us realizing it. They’ll grow up, and I’m not ready to see them taller than me.
The kids boarded the school bus. Liam understood perfectly why the warrior was the one dropping us off and picking us up.
When they got home, Liam and Levi went into the playroom.
Meanwhile, I went to the warrior building, which wasn't too far from my house.
Beta Dylan had been there since morning. I arrived just in time to check on the five warriors.
The vitamins to accelerate body regeneration worked rather slowly in the bodies of the two severely injured warriors.
My body went weak when I found out so many of their bones had broken and punctured their organs.
We all breathed a sigh of relief when they were healed.
I sat quietly next to Beta Dylan and in front of the five warriors, one of whom was a woman.
“They couldn’t find the room where the group that made the virus kept their files,” Beta Dylan said.
We weren’t disappointed. That was common. Missions don’t always succeed on the first, second, third, and so on.
We never gave up until the mission was complete.
“But they obtained very useful information. Everyone in that organization is a wild werewolf, and they have three bases.” Beta Dylan gave a smug smile, and I could see nothing but piles of cash in his eyes.
Of course, we would make a lot of money by selling that information to the Alpha rogues who are looking for the mastermind behind the virus.
"Is the base you visited their main base?" I asked the five warriors. They were as healthy as ever. There were no scars whatsoever.
"No. That's their second base, but they spend more time there," one said.
"Their main base must be hidden somewhere, somewhere we wouldn't expect." I frowned.
The virus that had been attacking the children of the rogue clan leader had been going on for a year.
We investigated where the virus came from, and five months ago, we finally found its base. It wasn’t easy to break through their security. The five warriors came back injured every time they tried to get in.
"They created the virus, and it's strongly suspected they were funded by wealthy individuals who wanted to wipe out the rogue clan, or at least make the rogues lose their way without their leader. This is a long-term project," Beta Dylan added after a few seconds of silence.
“They’re so mean.” I clenched my fists and shook my head.
“Alpha, Beta.”
We were startled when a woman opened the door and looked panicked at us.
“Our system was hacked for five seconds. We recovered quickly. During those five seconds, every computer screen in the room displayed this message.” The woman showed us her phone.
(You truly are impressive. We’ve never lowered our security system. In fact, we kept upgrading it. But it seems today you went home carrying information about us. We wonder how much money you’ll make from selling that information.)
I held my breath as I read every word. Disbelief, anger, and anxiety squeezed my chest.
"We were negligent. We shouldn't have left a trace." The five warriors apologized in unison, prostrating themselves before Beta Dylan and me.
The atmosphere was tense for a few minutes. I thanked the woman, returned her phone, and she left the room.
I wondered what I should do now. What wise decision should I make?
“They hacked into our security system. They know who we are. They’re challenging us,” Beta Dylan growled. His eyes burned red with anger.
“Get up, you guys,” I asked the five warriors to stop prostrating themselves and sit back down. They were trembling with fear.
"I'm sure you're not being careless." Still, my words didn't calm them down. "We shouldn't rush to find out what they know about us."
"Exactly." Beta Dylan nodded, his fists clenched tightly. "Only rogue assassin groups know about other rogue assassin groups."
On this planet, there are three rogue assassin groups, ours included. Who leaked our secrets and our IP address? This can’t be ignored.