Chapter 24: CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

Evan sat on the royal throne that belonged to his lineage for centuries that even his father had lost count of before his death. Evan smiled as he remembered how his father would always go on and on about how their family had ruled over each generation of the Lead pack. His father would explain how oppositions rose from each angle to dethrone them from their bloodline right but each generation had always won the war.

Evan could remember vividly that after the untimely death of his father, some powerful men from the pack had waged a war against Evan succeeding the throne. At that time, he had felt like he would not survive from all the plans they made to ensure that he does not become the pack's Alpha. At a point, Evan had almost submitted their threats and whims to leave his pack or be a subordinate.

After one of the pack elders had attacked him and injured him that night, 18 years old Evan had been filled with rage and had made up his mind never to be humiliated by anyone ever again in his life. It was either the person that humiliated him died or the person succeeded in killing Evan, but both of them being alive was something he would make sure never happened again. He hadn't known how he would have gone about it at that time, but he had simply known that he would never be abused again.

Sometimes through the course of one of the nights, he had gotten an answer that would determine if he could carry on as the leader of the pack or not. Even more, his survival was paramount on him winning. If he failed, then he would have to wish the world goodbye forever. But it was also something that would forever gain him respect from the members of his pack if he won. Once it was morning, he had had the omega of the clan then declare his intentions of challenging the most strongest and powerful wolf of the pack in a fight that only one of them could live to tell to the members of the clan.

Everyone in the pack had rushed to the fighting ring to watch the fight between the strongest man in the pack and the lanky young boy who had let his emotions rule over him. And of course, most of them had been near to tears even before the match had begun, knowing that Evan stood little to no chance of survival and he never blamed them for their fears because back then, no one had challenged the man and lived to see the next sunrise.

But luck had been on Evan's side. Fate had helped him and he had won that match that day, although he had barely survived. He had been so injured that it took his body two months to fully recover from all the deep wounds the man had cost him despite that accelerated speed at which werewolves heals. Two weeks of agonizing pains that sometimes, Evan even wished that he had died in the stead of the man. The only thing his survival had brought him though was how the pack members had started respecting him.

Finally, he had been able to command the respect that he wanted from his people. While on the recuperating bed, Evan had changed all the help that surrounded him. From the beta to the omega to the general and his assistant, Evan had made sure he replaced them all. He had let those that he could only trust among the elders remain as elders but the rest, he flung off his list. When they all saw that he wasn't ready to have their trash anymore, they all sat even tighter than they already did.

"Alpha, I heard you sent for me?"

Evan looked up and saw old Joe standing by the door. Old Joe as everyone in the pack calls him was the oldest member of the pack and the eldest chief with his age running through a century now. Everyone in the pack, including Evan himself, respected the man a whole lot since they gained and learned a lot from him. The only thing Evan hated with old Joe was how the man always stuck to his time to come even when Evan had given him the order to come immediately. But old Joe was the only one Evan had given that privilege to do that to him and no one else was allowed unless they didn't mind breathing their last without prior warning.

"Where have you been since I sent for you a week ago, old Joe?" Evan asked with a sneer.

Old Joe took a step backward, feeling afraid that Evan would hurt his frail body in anger and he would not be able to do anything to stop the abuse. When Evan saw how the old man acted in fear of him, he nearly smiled. True, he might have given the man the grace to disobey him but he made sure that old Joe does not take his leniency for granted all the time. When he saw that the man might collapse before he had the chance to ask him what he needed to know, Evan decided to ease his fear.

"The reason why I sent for you is that I wanted you to know the whereabouts of your brother," Evan told Old Joe.

"Which of my brothers, Alpha?" Old Joe asked.

"The vampire wizard," Evan responded.

Old Joe looked up to look at the Alpha. "Why? If I may ask?"

Evan got at the end of his patience. If there was one thing he could not tolerate and he would not tolerate forever, it would be when somebody questions his authority and orders. It reminds him of the suffering he got in the past because of his pack's rejection and so he loathes that part of disobedience.

"Are you ready to lose your head just to know why? Because I can guarantee you that if I tell you the reason, then you will be in your grave the next minute. If you don't want that, then you had better spill his address now," Evan threatened the man who cowered in front of him.

"He stays at the end of town, Alpha," Old Joe quickly responded.

"That's more like it. You may leave now," Evan told the oldest chief.

He watched as the man scrambled away as fast as his old body would allow. The end of the town, huh? Evan smiled as his wolf screamed into his head in anticipation of the havoc they were bound to wreck.

***

Sarah sat in front of the mirror, her makeup kit lying on the small table in front of her. She picked up her wand of mascara and swiped it on her upper and lower eyelashes to give them more definition. When she was done with that task, she picked up the purple lipstick and applied a little to her already purpled lips to give it more apparent. When she was done, she looked carefully into the mirror to see if she had done anything wrong.

When she was sure that her makeup was okay, she smiled and stood up from where she sat. She pulled out a pair of black sandals and wore them to compliment her red dress. She smiled at her appearance in the mirror, thinking that she was behaving more and more like the humans she once loathed and it was all thanks to Adam. She could also blend in with them too without giving out her identity to the people who saw her. She picked up her black matching bag and went out of the house.

An hour later, Sarah was at the park to have a good time and perhaps learn more about the human race of the modern world than she already knew about. She had gotten to the point where she knew that she would have to review some things she thought were wrong as right. Then the ones she thought were right, some of them she would have to start thinking as wrong. Other things she knew though, remained neutral as they had always existed to be.

After Adam had tried to ruffle her hair and she had walked away from him in anger, she had turned to the internet to see what it meant. She had been surprised to see that it means being adored by someone according to the various sides she had browsed about it from. During the old era which Sarah was used to, a man ruffling a woman's head meant that the man considered the woman helpless and like his slave, which was why Sarah had reacted so strongly against it.

Even though Adam didn't comment about her looks, she saw how he would always look at her with a smile every time she dressed up. Sometimes, when she wore the same hairstyle as the previous day, Adam would help her create a new style he thought would look good on her. That had made her determined to learn more about making herself up, so she had gone back to the boutique and the salon and the make-up house and woke them to teach her the basics of the things they knew how to do the best.

Sarah adjusted the white scarf around her neck to fully cover her neck from the soft window that blew. She looked to her side when she heard a giggle and saw a little kid of no more than five years old on the merry-go-round having a good time along with some other people. She turned to the other side and saw some children running after each other while singing some song that she had no idea about.

Sarah reckoned in shock when something hit her squarely on her stomach. She looked down to see what was and saw that it was a ball and one of the kids that played it was already walking to her along with his mother. Sarah picked the ball up, tossing it about in her hands as she waited for their arrival. When they arrived at her side, the mother smiled broadly at her while the little boy just held out his hands in an indication for Sarah to give him the ball.

"Sorry about that, Miss. My son was a little careless, I know," the mother apologized on behalf of her child.

"Ball," the little boy said impatiently, his hands still outstretched.

Sarah bent to the little boy's height and smiled at him. "What's the magic word, my dear?"

"I'm sorry I hit you with the ball."

Sarah smiled at him again and she ruffled his hair before she handed over the ball to him.

"Thank you, ma'am," the boy said just before he turned away from her and ran back to the place where two other kids his age were.

"Thank you, miss," the boy's mother said to Sarah.

"You're welcome," Sarah replied.

"Then, I would have to get back to them so that they don't hit another person with the ball," the woman said and turned back to the kids immediately.

Sarah chuckled lightly at the improvement she had made. If it had been earlier, she would have gotten angry at the small boy and his mother and would have threatened to cut their head off or feed off their blood using her fangs. She looked around to see if she could spit anything of interest and her eyes landed on Adam. Before she could wonder what he was doing at the park, she rushed to him, stopping midway when she saw that he was not alone. Sarah paused and looked more to confirm if the redhead she just saw was truly with him.

It was at that exact moment that the woman wrapped her arms around Adam's waist when another woman stared at him for some seconds too long than necessary. With the protective act the woman had just carried out, it was clear to Sarah that they were at the park together and it also seemed to her like the two of them had something going on between them.

Sarah took a deep breath to calm her fast-growing jealousy. She knew that if she didn't, the jealousy would turn to anger and she was bound to do something awful. She looked at the arm the woman still had about Adam and shook her head to clear her head. For all she knows, the woman could simply be an acquaintance to Adam.

With that thought in mind, she took another step towards them and stopped again as Adam whispered something to the redhead with him. The redhead smiled and hugged Adam, then promptly kissed him on the cheek. The jealousy Sarah had been trying to keep at bay sufficed. Before it would turn into anger and she would murder anyone, she turned away from the two lovers and walked away from the park.

***

Adam pulled himself away from the hold Xana had on him. When a woman had stopped in front of them and gave him a suggestive look, he had thought that he had seen a way out of the predicament he was in, only for Xana to put her arm around him in a manner that suggested to anyone watching them that they were lovers. And of course, the other woman had left when she saw that.

Adam had turned to Xana and warned her never to try that with him again when they were in public but instead of feeling ashamed about what she had done to earn her the warning, she had simply hugged him and dropped a peck on his left cheek. He knew that the message she was trying to pass across to him was that she thought that he already belonged to her. And why wouldn't she think so when his mother had been the one pushing her at him at every chance she got.

This was the reason why he was here with her in the first instance, he thought with a sigh. His very own mother had lied to him that she needed to get some things from the store near the park and that while Adam knew the place, he wouldn't know what type she needed. She explained that Xana would pick what she could use since she was also a woman but the only problem was that she didn't know the store.

And that was how his mother had been able to pitch them together for the stupid date Xana had today him about when they were at the store. Adam had wanted to leave immediately but Xana had pleaded for them to stay for a while. Xana brought her face close to his and attempted to kiss him but Adam pulled away just in time. He looked at Xana, feeling tired of her already. Adam hoped that she's had enough fun already because he was leaving regardless of whether or not she had.

"Let's go," Adam commanded her and walked away from her to where he parked his car. He didn't bother to look back to see if she followed or not.