Chapter 9

The outside world is a dangerous place, so have I been told ever since I was young. But what I was seeing here in New Orleans was totally different. As Hayes drove along the streets of the city, I found myself admiring its beauty and its people. Apparently, they were celebrating a festival today. Their smiles, laughter, and dancing captivated me easily. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t tempted to join these people.

“Don’t be deceived.” Hayes suddenly muttered, cutting into my thoughts. “No matter how alluring they may be, they are monsters.”

I gulped down my saliva, staring at him as he focused squarely on the steering. His tone spoke of nothing but deep hatred, and his countenance perfectly complemented that. I looked out through the window again,

“Just look at them,” I commented. “They look so innocent and harmless. It’s hard for me to believe that these people are as dangerous as we’ve been told.”

“That’s what I thought until my mate was killed by a werewolf hunter.” He glanced at me with pain clearly hinting in his tone. “They may lack the powers that we have but never underestimate the darkness of their heart.”

He was right; they were the real monsters. I didn’t even want to begin to imagine the pain and suffering Mia was currently going through right now. My palms curled into a fist as anger began to spark within me again. This was what I should be feeling, not love and admiration towards them. We drove the rest of the journey in silence till we arrived at a motel.

“So, what’s the plan?” I asked as we settled in our hotel room. Brian headed to the bathroom while Chris relaxed on the bed. Only Hayes was kind enough to answer me; he brought out a map out of his backpack and spread it beside Chris who didn’t even bother to look. He just kept his gaze to the ceiling.

“You see this area,” he said, pointing his right index finger to a spot on the map. “It’s the Robertson’s mansion,” he explained, and my eyes widened for a split second.

“It’s that big?” I remarked.

“Bigger than you can ever imagine,” he answered. “Brian and Chris will scout around the area, and once the night dawns, we will give them a full-blown surprise attack. Hopefully, we’ll find Mia as soon as possible and get the hell out of this city,” he finished.

“Is that it?” I frowned.

“Yes.”

“Are you kidding me right now?”

“Ever since you met me, have I cracked a joke to you?”

“That is why I’m hoping this better be the first because this plan is a complete joke!”

“Why? I don’t see anything wrong with it?” He frowned a little.

“We’re talking about the Robertsons here. A gold-level werewolf hunter family—surely, their security will be heavy, and there’ll certainly be quite a number of powerful people there. Yet you want the four of us to go ahead and fight them? Hayes, this is a terrible plan!” I lamented, but the look on his face showed he didn’t buy my opinion one bit. “So many things can go wrong! As much as I want to save Mia badly, this is a suicidal plan!”

“We don’t have much time, Craig. We need to act fast. The more time Mia spends in their mansion, the more she’s in danger and our pack too. This is the only way!”

“No! Let’s think of something else. I will not allow the four of us to go and die,” I argued back. My heart was beating so fast that it blared loudly in my ears, but it was mostly out of fear. Mentally, physically, I wasn’t ready for a head on with a werewolf hunter, let alone a top-ranking one.

“The three of us, point of correction,” Chris spoke for the first time, giving me an icy look as he sat up on the bed. “Hayes, Brian, and I are the only people involved in this plan. You’re the getaway driver on this mission.”

“What?” I queried in anger.

“You heard me.”

“It seems you’ve forgotten, but the Alpha put me in charge of this team.”

“Just because he put you in charge doesn’t mean you’re in charge of our lives. You must be delusional if you think we’re going to follow your orders. You’ve never experienced the outside world before. Hell, you don’t even have enough combat experience, and you want to go ahead and fight a group of expert hunters?” he scoffed.

My teeth gritted in anger; my insides were heating as if they lit with brimstone fire.

“Chris is right, Craig,” Hayes butted in. “You’ll only be a burden.”

“Are you guys crazy? Even the Alpha would rather prefer not to mess with this family, but the three of you think you can handle it alone? I’m no expert, but I certainly know werewolf hunters are not easy, so don’t go ahead and belittle me. We need all the strength we can get.” I raised my voice; Chris was about to talk when Brian sauntered out of the bathroom.

“We don’t need you,” Brian clearly stated icily. “I wonder why the Alpha put you in charge, but you’ll only be a burden.”

“Don’t you dare call me a burden!” I almost growled. He suddenly tore his shirt off his body, and I gasped with eyes widened in horror. There were so many hideous scars all over his body.

“The strike team used to be a group of five people, but all that changed when the Alpha sent us on a similar mission long ago.” He continued. “We got trapped by the Robertsons, and that was the first time we were ever taken to their mansion. They tortured two of our teammates to death. They punished them in such a way that my teammates remembered every detail of their pain till they drew their last breaths.” He paused while tears graced his eyes.

“Hayes, Chris, and I just helplessly watched as we lost them. They tortured us in such ways that made us beg for death. We thought that was the end of the strike team, but somehow, we were lucky to escape. These scars you see is evidence of their monstrosity, and, damn, it still hurts me whenever I think about it.” He exhaled deeply, and the anger in me slowly died. His eyes expressed so much pain of losing a loved one. “I’m sure this is the same fate Mia is facing right now.” My eyes twitched in fear. “She’s the weakest in our pack. She would easily break and reveal all the secrets of our pack if we don’t save her soon. I understand how you feel, Craig, but you don’t know what it’s like to be burned until you enter the fire. You’ll only die if you enter that mansion. Let us do our job.”

I stared at each of their faces, and they all seemed to agree with each other, but my palms curled instead. How could I stay back? How could I be useless when my fiancée was in great danger?

“No,” I finally blurted out. “I’m the Pack’s Beta. What kind of man would I be if I can’t save my fiancée? We’re doing this together, and that’s final.”

They stared at each other with knowing glances for a while before finally nodding in agreement.

“Whatever you do, just don’t get killed.”

“I promise to save her. I won’t,” I asserted, and when the night came, we had already prepared ourselves to set out.

“Craig,” Hayes called me back as Brian and Chris stepped out of the room. “We’ve lost so many people to those hunters. You have a bright future ahead of you. We can’t afford to lose you too.” As he said that, he stabbed my neck with an injection.

I immediately lost control of my muscles. I staggered as the injection fell off my neck. My breaths were receding, and my strength was fading at a dangerous pace.

“W-what d-did you do to me?” I stuttered as my vision became hazy.

“I’m sorry, Craig. We’ll save Mia. I promise,” Hayes said before walking towards the door.

“W-wait!” I stretched my hand out to reach him, but I fell to the ground instead. I needed no one to tell me they poisoned me.

“Wait!” I yelled again, but he was gone already. I didn’t know why, but I had a feeling something was going to go horribly wrong!