Chapter 34

~Alistair~

I couldn’t find the pocket square I wanted to use. I had different colours and different designs, but there was one in particular that I wanted. Searching for it made me come to the realisation that I hadn’t even been seeing it around.

Maybe I had mistakenly kept it in Eliana’s backpack at the lake house. She had looked smoking hot in my shirt, and when she had left to the living room to eat her burritos, I had kept the shirt in her backpack, unknown to her, as a gift. The next day, I had ordered for the same one, and I was about to order for the same pocket square. If I hadn’t left it in her backpack, I had probably forgotten it in the lake house.

You know when you had several stuff, but you had a favourite, which you never failed to use, like it was the only one you had? That was exactly how it was with me and that pocket square. It was the last gift my dad had given to me before he passed on, and although I wanted it back, my hands were practically tied. I may get the same type of pocket square, but it will never be the exact one my father gave to me. I guess I had no other choice than to live with it.

I grabbed my suit which lay on the bed, and proceeded to head out of the house, as I was already running late for work. I went to the kitchen first to have a glass of cold water, then kept the cup in the sink, after which I proceeded to the living room, where I sat with crossed legs, waiting for Mr Coleman to give me a call, telling me he was around, so, he could drive me to the office.

I took out my phone, and was about dialling Eliana’s number, when I heard a reporter from the television, say:

“Samuel Evans and Eliana Venator seem to be the cutest couple now, as they continue to trigger a worldwide sensation, especially among the youths, after being spotted dancing together at his welcome party. A lot of shippers see them to be a modern-day love inspiration. For sometime, Eliana Venator was out of her mind, especially after being separated from her lover ten years ago. However, even after ten years of separation, their feelings for each other hasn’t changed, and it is evident in their eyes. People commend Eliana Venator for standing by Samuel Evans, and trusting that he was alive all along. She believed, she waited, she found him, and now, they seem inseparable. This has had many people wishing they could be...”

Without waiting to hear the remaining report, I turned off the television, in annoyance. I never ever watched the television, but it was mostly on just to give a little background noise, as the house could be unbearably quiet sometimes. However, even when it was actually on, the only channel that played was a channel, which showed only business news.

Never in my life had I set my television to show anything like entertainment news. What celebrities did with their lives was of no business to me, and I was less concerned about anyone who was popular or the shitty things they had done that deserved criticism and cyber bullying, or the sweet things they had involved themselves in that deserved praise and many tweets. It was none of my business. I didn’t care, so, I wasn’t surprised by the news, but by the channel that had been showing.

I was no fool. I knew that netizens would make speculations and guesses about Sam and Eliana, and I wasn’t even feeling jealous or angry about it. People always made conclusions based on what they could see, but in reality, those involved knew what exactly was going on. It was fun that they were shipping them together, and it would even be more funny when I take her to the altar and we exchange “I do's". Then, I’ll boldly say: “Never believe what you see on social media”, and this topic is going to come to a dead end.

I received Mr Coleman’s call, and he told me he was parked right outside my house. He was late, but I ignored that fact and just stepped out of my house, locking the door behind me.

It was still a mystery as to how my television had decided to show an entertainment channel. Maybe someone had put it there. It could be either Jenny or her brother, as they were the last people to visit my house, bringing some homemade meals, which I was always so glad to accept. It was possible that while I was discussing with his sister, Garrett had used his time to be watching news about celebrities and their private lives, while he should be more focused on his life.

I’d say that a glitch in the system probably caused that to happen, but there was no reasonable explanation like it being that Garrett was the cause of all these. I didn’t even know why such a trivial matter bothered me. It didn’t really matter who put on the entertainment channel, maybe I just didn’t want to see any news that suggested that Eliana was with Sam.

I didn’t want to get angry or jealous anymore. Time and again, she had made it obvious that I was the only one that mattered to her, and she didn’t even fail to do so in Sam’s presence. It would be foolish of me to assume the worst of her, and let my jealousy and anger get the best of me again. After what had happened at the lake house, I wasn’t willing to do something that got Eliana upset again. For some reason, I was scared that if I got unnecessarily angry and jealous again, she may not be so willing to forgive me like the last time.

Mr Coleman was standing right by the door of the backseat, which he opened with a hearty smile. “Good morning, sir,” He said.

“Good morning to you, too. You seem to be in a happy mood,” I said, getting into the car.

He turned around and got into the driver’s seat, still wearing a big smile on his face. “Yes, I am. My daughter just had a baby,” He said.

“Wow. That’s wonderful news. Congratulations on being a grandfather then,” I said.

“Thank you, sir,” He said, and started the car.

A baby... I wondered how it was going to be like if I ever had a child, and the only person I could think of having a child with was Eliana. That child will be incredibly beautiful inside and outside, as well as intelligent, strong and thoughtful. If Eliana and I were to decide to have children, they would be perfect, because we were a perfect match.

“Sir, do you see that?” Mr Coleman asked, pointing at a particular direction.

“See what?” I asked, looking at the direction in which he had pointed.

He looked suddenly perplexed. “I don’t know, sir. It was right there,” He said.

“What was right where?” I retorted.

“I could have sworn that I saw a big dog coming out from behind those trees,” He said.

“A big dog? Even if you did see a big dog, what is so alarming about it?” I asked.

He trembled. “I don’t know, sir. There was just something off about it. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that breed before,” He said, increasing the speed of the car.

Ours was a lonely and quiet road. Only wealthy people lived in this area, and they didn’t make a noise or disturb others by playing loud music or shouting at every little thing. Everyone drove quietly to work in the morning, and came back at night. No one had the time to disturb other people, or make life unbearable for them with noise and other irritating issues.

My father’s estate was at the end of the crescent, and before busting out on the main road to get to the office every morning, it seemed like a long drive. The crescent was surrounded by large trees and gardens, which made the area even more peaceful, and provided cool breeze to we, the inhabitants.

My eyes struck the “big dog” that Mr Coleman had claimed to see. It wasn’t a big dog, it was a wolf.

“Eyes on the road,” I told Mr Coleman immediately, so, he didn’t get to see the wolf, and come to the realisation that what he had seen hadn’t been a big dog.

The next thing that was most likely to occur was him calling the cops or animal control, to come and take a look into the matter. He would need me to be his witness, and I couldn’t afford to betray one of my own, by making the mistake of letting the authorities know that we had indeed seen a wolf. Everyone would be curious to find that wolf, and in the process, go even into the forest and they wouldn’t rest till they found it, after which they’ll put it in a zoo, and it would be declared that wolves haven’t yet gone extinct in California.

There would be more people who would try to find where other wolves could possibly be hiding, and that definitely would not bode well for my people. They’d be forced to remain in their wolf form forever, as they wouldn’t be willing to transform into human beings, in order to protect the secret that werewolves actually did exist.

Forever, I’d live in regret and as if the guilt I already felt in my life wasn’t enough, I’d feel more guilty and would never remain the same again.

I could tell that it was a werewolf, because of the blue glow in its eyes. It was a beta, and if it was here, out in the sun, in wolf form where everyone was human, it was probably having trouble transforming back into a human being, or perhaps it had a message for a fellow werewolf... Me.

As we drove past it, my eyes met the blue glow in its eyes, and it gave me a small bow, looking longingly at me as the car sped past where it was. I kept on looking back, till I could see no trace of it anymore, and the car was already close to the main road.

I knew who that wolf was, but I couldn’t place my fingers on where exactly I had known that particular wolf. It was likely a member of the pack that had thrown me out, abandoning me and forcing me to fend for myself at such a young age, and there was a sudden attachment I felt to the wolf. I was practically drawn to it, and when it bowed, it was trying to tell me something.

No way...

“Aunt Salome,” I thought aloud to myself.

“Are you all right, sir?” Mr Coleman asked.

I nodded my head, in the affirmative. “Yes. Yes, I am,” I responded.

Initially, I had thought the wolf had bowed as a mark of respect, but then again, wolves didn’t bow to each other as a mark of respect. I had just loved doing it as a child, and Aunt Salome used to mimic me all the time. We’d both bow to each other, and laugh about it. No one ever understood why we did that, even both of us didn’t understand why. We just did it, and we liked it.

I would have gone back to check why she was around and possibly spying on me. The look in her eyes told that she needed help with something, but I decided to ignore it anyway and went ahead, with Mr Coleman driving the car. Twenty five years ago, Aunt Salome had been the one to chair the meeting to discuss my removal from the pack, and the banishment from its territory. Even if she did need my help for anything, that was her problem, and not mine.

For a second, I had felt nostalgic after realising that the wolf had been my long forgotten aunt, but now, I’d rather prefer it if she remained long forgotten. She wasn’t home, none of them were.

Eliana was home.

Jenny was home.

Garrett was home.

Crimson moon pack wasn’t home, and I was determined to leave it that way.