Caleb Andino’s POV

I can smell it. It was potent but far away. I don’t know why I was acting this way toward that smell but it was not from my pack. It was something else. Something foreign, forbidden for me to even get close to.

“Caleb, let’s go. You will catch a cold if you stay outside any longer,” my mother was calling after me through the mind link. I howled before I ran back to the packhouse. It was full of other mutts and pups that have been orphaned recently.

Thanks to that old geezer.

He has been hunting my kind and especially my pack for his immortality elixir. I mean, of course, we lived longer than human but that did not justify what he’s done to my pack.

My people.

My family.

And I will do something that he will regret it. I will take the only family he had. His granddaughter. I heard from the scouts that she was here.

Perfect.

Time to exercise my long overdue plan. That old geezer injured my father and now, he was limping around for the rest of his life. I gritted my teeth when I imagined what I will do to his granddaughter.

I tore her heart out and eat it. Maybe it will be the sweetest revenge of all.

“Caleb,” my mother warned me as I was lingering in the woods, near that stupid house they stayed. It was in our territory as it was built on the neutral ground but that burning desire to kill him and his granddaughter was too much. I will get them one of these days.

“Dude, come on. Your mother has been nagging me for hours now. I need to get you home ASAP,” my Beta, Xavier, was rushing me to go.

“Fine, but only because I have enough of my feast on that old geezer today, not because you told me to,” I snap at him before we were running through the woods as our paws connected to the ground.

“Whatever you say, Alpha Caleb,” Xavier snickered at me before I growled at him. He whimpered before bowed his head to me, a submission move from lower ranks.

Since my father cannot run in the woods anymore, it was my job to keep the pack in one piece. I have to border the perimeter and do some rounds with the guys. Then, I will check some of the office works that needed my attention.

I was the firstborn so everything was expected of me. It will be 25 birthday soon and I think my mother has been hitting for me to mate with the Beta’s daughter, Xavier’s little sister, Diana. But I don’t feel any connection with her. Sure, she just 2 years younger than me but I have a feeling that my mate will be here soon, during the full moon.

I can smell her scent and my wolf was howling for her.

I will wait and until that time comes, I will play by the ear with this arranged marriage but I will have my agenda be in motion.

Marina Kasun’s POV

I have been recovering so well when my grandpa gave me that small vial that contained some herbs that he has been working on. I was not sure how he got it but I have to trust him. He was good at what he did and that included surviving this jungle. Or woods, or whatever it was.

I was staring at the woods out in the forest when some movements caught my eyes. I don’t know where grandpa went as he said to me that he was out hunting. I was afraid that it was some wild beast but I think that I was in the house so it will never get me.

I was still recovering day by day as my grandpa was giving me more of that liquid, brownish red and I drank it without any question. I can feel that I was getting stronger and the pain subdued. I was relieved to hear that my grandpa was out in the kitchen, indicating that he just got back from the woods.

Maybe it was him that I saw moving around the woods earlier.

“Gran, what did you caught today?” I asked him as he was cleaning his hands and face. He looked grumpy as he was frowning. But when I looked at his catch, there were several wild hare and rabbits that they have.

“Not much. Just some of these,” he said as he went to put away his stuff. I looked at his retreating figure before I shook my head. I went to skin the rabbits and hare before I can store their meat for our meals in the next few days or maybe this week.

“Don’t forget to put the skin into the designated bin. I will clean them tomorrow.” Grandpa said as I just nodded at him. I never heard him came inside the house again. He was good at what he did and he trained me to be an assassin.

With Mia Duncan no less.

My grandfather was a deadly assassin of his generation and he wished that I will inherit his skills. But I told him that I cannot be as deadly as him. I was a girl, 18 at the time. He stared at me and left without saying another word before he focused it on Mia.

He knows how to get me angry at that time as I lost my parents and I have no one but him. And he chose to ignore. So I rebelled and I was the first one that killed on our assignment together. But he told me that I was being immature and have me banned from the organization.

I waited and waited until I seek my revenge on Mia Duncan. But of course, it went sideways. I sighed as I closed the lids of the skin. I looked at the clock and it was 9 PM. I don’t have dinner yet and I can smell that Grandpa had cooked dinner. I was famished.

I went to take my meal in the kitchen as he went to bed early. He was tired at I cannot blame him. He has another mouth to feed and I cannot help him as I was still recovering from my injuries.

I looked outside as I was waiting for something. Some movements in the wood but nothing. It was still tonight. Maybe I was being too paranoid just now. I ate the rabbit stew but I felt like I was about to vomit it again. I can never taste this stew. I need to recover fast before Grandpa decided to feed me only herbs.

I went to the kitchen and washed my dishes. I looked outside again and this time there was a movement. I blinked my eyes before I rubbed it with my hands to see if I was just imagining things. I was not.

There were some movements in the forest and I was brave enough to go out and check it. I went to the back door and brought the spatula with me. I know, the horrible weapon to choose at that moment but I have another choice. I was looking around before I saw some movements to my right.

“Who’s there?” I asked as I was looking around the backyard. It was dim because the moon was not shining tonight. I saw some yellow and red lights that looked like eyes. I blinked and it was gone.

“Marina, what are you doing outside? Get back in here,” my grandpa shouted that made me jerked in my stand. I turned to look at him and he was frowning.

“Get back in here young lady, now!” He said before I scurried inside the house.

“Never leave the house after 7, understood?” He asked me and I just nodded as I was too speechless to say anything. But one thing for sure, grandpa was afraid of the dark.