Help You, Help Me
Diana stood in front of the fuming alpha. Head bowing down and hands hiding behind her, she waited for him to calm down—or at least when he would stop pacing back and forth in front of her.
With a fidgety Sally beside Diana, she opted to retain her façade of a humble and cowardly omega. “Uhm, A-Alpha?”
Diana bit back her yelp when she received an elbow from Sally, warning her not to act presumptuously in front of the alpha. She looked at Sally, bit back her laughter, and bowed down again.
‘You look hilarious, Sally. Eyeing me like that when in reality I am your alpha’s second chance Luna, only, your alpha is acting as some lovesick fool who can’t be moved,’ Diana snickered at the back of her mind.
A low growl pulled Diana from the trance she was in. ‘What is it now? Sadly, I do not have a list of errands to give you right now in case you go nuts again.’
“!!!” Wide-eyed, Diana looked up when Alpha Dylan Cain pulled her wounded knuckles which were not even bandaged. She looked at Sally to seek help on what to do. As an ‘oppressed’ omega, Diana did not know what to do to keep it real.
As expected, Sally looked away. She hated the contact, but she was spineless enough to pretend not to see anything.
“I hate repeating words,” he seethed, his breath fanning over her face, making her close her eyes on instinct. She immediately snapped her eyes open and met his gaze head-on as she mouthed her words: do you care?
Three words.
Three words were enough to make the ruthless alpha look away from her before taking a step backward from her. In a blink of an eye, Alpha Dylan closed the distance between them again. Pinching her chin to force her to look him in the eyes, he growled his cruel words.
“Make no mistake. I don’t want to be on the receiving end of Beta Ritchell’s wrath.” He pinched her chin harder, making her wince. He continued mercilessly with the intent to crush any lingering hope within her if there was any. “You can go and kill yourself, just don’t bring my pack along with your scandal. Do not taint my pack’s name because of your carelessness.”
‘As if!’
Though her eyes portrayed the other thing, she spewed the words as if she meant them. “I will keep your words in my mind, Alpha.”
“You.”
“Y-Yes, Alpha?” Sally almost leaped from her spot.
“Bandage her. If I smell any blood, I will have to throw you both out in the wild for a month.”
“Y-Yes, Al-Alpha!” Sally immediately pulled Diana by the wrist.
The entire time, Diana hung her head low.
“Now, scram.”
As soon as Sally turned around with Diana, the latter looked back and met Alpha Dylan’s sharp gaze. Diana earned herself a frown from the stoic-looking alpha by just giving him a teasing wink.
‘What a crazy alpha. The other moment he is like a bitch in heat, the next moment he is like a cranky old man.’
AS THE MOON WAS ON ITS PEAK, A HOODED FIGURE APPEARED like a ghost from the mist shrouding the lake. By the boat, it inched closer to the cabin that was now surrounded by fog. The hoots of owls and the nearby howls of the patrolling werewolves filled the night.
As soon as the figure stepped foot on the small depleted docks of the islet, a silhouette appeared out of nowhere, as if the latter was waiting for the figure for quite some time now.
With the lamp in his right hand, the silhouette inched the source of illumination in between them.
“I thought you are all talk,” said Shinro the Blood Claws Pack’s doctor.
The figure took off the hood and revealed a smiling face. “And what? Destroy your growing hope? No way will I be able to do that to my future ally, right?”
“Let’s talk inside.” Shinro guided Diana inside his well-kept cottage, offering her a cup of coffee before taking a seat in front of her.
“Thank you.” The entire time Diana was taking a sip, her eyes did not linger on the supposed doctor.
‘Who would have thought I would be sitting here enjoying my coffee in front of the man who will become the king of the rogues five years from now? In all honestly, after I read his history when I was the Luna of Crescent Pack, I could tell that society made him the villain. If I tweak the flow of the future, having him by my side and keeping him from his dark bloody past is already in the package, right?’
“Speak,” said Shinro, “How did you know? Why—”
“Why did I sound so sure?” Diana cut him off as she placed the mug on the table. Though her gentle smile did not dwindle, the glint of a monster hiding behind her calm façade could be seen for a split second. No, she let him see it, proving how she was not different than him, that in fact, she was far worse than him in the level of depravity.
She continued, “It is a trade secret. But know this, Shinro, I am by your side. I can help you clean your name and take your revenge.” Diana slid a folded parchment on the table toward him. “This is the name of the patrol at that night. There is a reason why he suddenly got promoted to a gamma.”
“If what you are saying is correct, then why now? You could have helped me a few years ago. That was when I needed this information the most.” Bitterness laced Shinro’s voice as he stared at the crumpled parchment in his hand.
“Would someone believe the words of an omega who is by the way from your neighboring pack? It took me a mountain of corpses to be here, Shinro. I believe you know what happened to the Tribute Ceremony.”
“But you are regarded as the seeker of justice! Unless…” Realization dawned upon the middle-aged pack doctor after staring at Diana. Her calm eyes reminded him of a vast ocean that was hiding unspeakable horrors for those who believed that it was safe and peaceful—a monster ready to devour anyone, anything, at any given moment. “You orchestrated everything.”
Diana merely smiled sweetly at Shinro. She stood and looked down at him. “I will be expecting good news from you…. Alpha Shinro of the Black Ridge Pack.”
Turning around, Diana walked away.
She was about to shut down the door of the cabin when Shinro finally spoke. “Why are you doing this? Why risk your secret to help me?”
With her back against him, she said, “Help you, help me.” Diana looked back. “Never forget that it is not Alpha Dylan Cain who gave you the dagger to pierce your enemies. The one who helped you? Her name is Diana and she is an omega.”
“HEY! HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT IT?” A man’s voice resonated from the men’s comfort room.
“You mean about what happened to the Werewolf Committee and the Black Ridge Pack?” Another voice answered.
“Even Alpha Dylan has been summoned as the prosecutor of this case!”
“Our alpha will have a hard time, right? Both are his childhood friends, you know. I heard from my grandmother, they were trained in the Werewolf Committee together.”
“The accused is the present alpha of the Black Ridge Pack and the accuser who called for the trial is our pack doctor! The Werewolf Committee will be pretty busy these days, huh?”
Diana, who leaned against the wall of the girl’s comfort room, had her arms crossed as she listened to the voices of the men that were growing fainter as the seconds passed by. The corners of her lips curled up. Even with her eyes closed, she could very well imagine the happenings within the Werewolf Committee.
‘This should be enough to postpone the arrival of that son of bitch. With this event, the discovery of being a mate to the future alpha of the Crescent Pack is put on hold. I will take this time to move the chess pieces of her game before the real deal begins.’
She looked down at her pocket watch. Diana hastily took the maintenance sign board before proceeding to the comfort room within the pack house. Her feet had taken her to the only floor she dared not ventured no matter how Sally had punished her with multiple slaps.
There was only one reason why she finally decided to clean the uppermost floor of the pack house.
As soon as Diana placed the signboard, she closed the comfort and started her set up for cleaning.
“Why are you doing this? Why now?” Alpha Dylan’s muffled voice could be heard from the back wall of the comfort room.
A familiar voice answered. “If not now, then when? When that bastard finally obtains the support of the entire members of the Werewolf Committee?”
“We are brothers, Shinro!”
“Brothers don’t stab each other’s back!” A banging sound followed. “I lost the respect of my people. I failed the legacy of my clan. I lived the past years believing I was a failure only to realize that I am innocent! This is more than the title of being the Black Ridge Pack’s alpha, Dylan. This is about honor among leaders. I will not die as a failure when it is far from reality!”
‘Yes. Bring that son of a gun down for me, Shinro. Arthur Leran, the alpha of the Black Ridge Pack in the original future, who supported Axel. By bringing him down before he can support that bastard, I can hit two birds with one stone.’ Diana relished her train of thoughts only to be stopped upon hearing Dylan’s next words.
“You sounded as if you received help from someone,” Dylan probed.
For a good minute, Shinro became silent.
Diana’s heart pounded while waiting for Shinro’s next move.
“I am sorry, brother. It is a trade secret.”