In an abandoned building and inside a room where several monitors were set up, a woman was furious because the cameras she had set up were discovered and destroyed. She was biting her nails while looking at the other cameras because she knew that one of these days those remaining working cameras will soon be removed. She had been very careful while placing those but Xander still manage to find it now, she can't watch him sleep and it has caused her anxiety to spike up.
"Those are just cameras. You can replace them whenever you want and besides isn't the real thing better than that image on the screen." A man hidden in the dark spoke. She shuddered at the deep almost guttural voice coming from his mouth. He was the one who helped her in setting those up and now he was also the one comforting her if you could really call that comforting.
"Yes, you have a point. The real thing is better. Yes, it is better. Better. I like how those sounds." Then the woman continued to mumble to herself while pacing on the floor.
The man who was watching him in the shadows smiled as he watched the her. When he found her, she had already lost it and her obsession with the alpha's mate was the only thing driving her to live so he decided to give her a hand and now the fruits of his labor were going to be harvested soon. Just like that, he left that place and disappeared into the night with a maniacal laugh on his mouth.
The next day, Xander dropped of Xerra to school then he returned to their house where he found Carl had started packing already. He did not hesitate to help in packing and loading all of their baggage in the car.
"I'll contact you once they cleared the house but to be safe stay in the other house for a few days as a precaution." Carl advised after they loaded the last baggage.
"Yes, thank you for the help. Come visit me once you are done here." Carl watched as Xander drove away.
He pulled out his phone from his pocket and called a familiar number, "Have you checked the other house already?" He silently listened to the man's answer from the other line while nodding his head. "I understand, make sure to leave some of your people to stay on guard."
After the call, Carl entered the house and started to walk around. He had done a single round around the house when a knock came from the main door. "You're here, make sure to not miss any single suspicious things inside the house."
"Alright boss, you don't have to worry." The man together with his crew entered the house and started cleaning. Every nook and cranny were thoroughly checked even the outside were thoroughly surveyed. It took them around half a day to make sure that the property was clean before Carl called to inform Xander.
With all of his work piled up, Xander's mind was taken off from the issue of those intruding cameras for a while but after the day was done and even though Carl had already informed him that the house was now safe, he was not settled yet. He personally fetched his sister because he was worried that the person who installed those cameras might do something to her.
"This is not the way home, where are we going?" Xerra asked after she saw that they were going to a different direction from the way to their house.
"That's because we are going to stay at the vacation house for a while. I sent someone to fix something at our house and he told me that it will take them at least a week to fix it." He explained while looking at his sister through the center mirror. He could not tell her what happened and it was best for her to remain uninformed.
"Have you packed my things then, even my dresses?" her eyes twinkled when she heard that they were staying at their vacation house. That place was spacious and it has a wide backyard and a swimming pool. The house also had her favorite sun room where she could draw or paint and even just sleep. The oddness of the situation was replaced by her excitement.
"Yes, I even packed your art materials since I know that we will be staying there until the week ends." He was glad that his sister was so easy to coax.
"How about Aoi, did you bring him too?" she then remembered her trusted teddy because her brother might have forgotten to bring him.
"Yes, he is already there waiting for you." Xerra cheered and even hummed while they were on the way. She was really excited that she started to tell stories and tales of what had happened at her school that day. Her enthusiasm was infectious that Xander could not help but laugh with her.
For the next few days, the anxiousness had grown and he became increasingly restless because of the feeling that he was being watched. The only time that he could feel peace was when he was at home then the feeling of eyes constantly watching him would disappear. Carl had been helping him and urging the person he talked to at first to find out who was stalking Xander to continue digging deeper.
This news already reached Zael but he could not tell it to the Alpha because of the on-going situation they had and he feared that if she would hear about this then she would leave. He was at a loss whether to actually tell her or not. Zael took a deep breath before he contacted Zayier and told him the situation.
"Alright, I'll send some of our warriors to protect him and his family. But one of these days we should tell the alpha." Zayier agreed with his brother, they were in a crucial moment and once she hears what happened to Xander she might do something reckless.
"Thank you, I'll watch the alpha and find a time to tell her since I know that we can't keep this from her." Zael brushed his hair and kept sighing even after he talked with his brother.
"Edrei, I'll be sending some pack warriors to you and I want you to secretly find out the person who is behind this then inform me of your progress. Let's keep this from the alpha for a while." He instructed while tapping his table. He will surely receive a scolding when the alpha learns that he had kept this from her and he might get beaten but he was willing to go through it.
"I understand. I will wait for them and I have already followed the person that Xander's friend had hired to look into it too." Edrei reported and for some reason, he did not question why Zael decided to keep it from the alpha so he would do his utmost to catch the person.
"Mr. Crellac," Xander called out when he saw the familiar back standing while looking at the on-going construction. He did not expect to see the man here.
"Xander, how many times have I told you to call me Antonio when we are outside." The man was grinning.
"Ah, I forgot. I got so used to calling all of my clients politely so please pardon me if I would call you that from time to time." Xander shrugged his shoulder and stood beside the man. "I did not expect to see you here."
"It was along the way so I decided to drop by and check on its progress since I'll be gone for a few days due to some business." He casually answered like they were actually friends and Xander was actually glad because of it. He had also seen how the man interacted with the workers and that they actually liked him. They have a good impression of this person who despite having a high status in society was still talking to them. Xander had heard good stories from the workers which only elevated Mr. Crellac's status in his dictionary.
"While you are on your trip I will still give you updates on the progress of the gallery so you can leave at ease," he spoke up.
"I'll be counting on you then." Mr. Crellac grinned because of how responsible Xander was. He was not disappointed because even though he was young, he was easier to get along with and was not uptight in things. "By the way, I apologize because I failed to invite you and that young lady for a dinner."
"It's fine, I'm sure that we will have many more chances in the future." He could not help but smile at the thought of Amber which was noticed by the other man beside him.
"Is she perhaps your lover?" he asked out of the blue which caught Xander off guard as he could feel his face heating up. She was not yet but he had been thinking about it in the past, that he will definitely court her, the human way.
He shook his head but his smile remained. "Not yet, but maybe in the future," his smile turned into grin that did not disappear instead it widened which made Mr. Crellac chuckle.
"She must have caught your heart since you've got the face of a smitten man. Congratulations in advance and I wish you success in that endeavor. Don't let her go because I have seen that she is a person with a good heart and the two of you are quite well-matched." Those words made Xander even more embarrassed but at the same warm inside. "Have you been busy these past few days?" his tone suddenly changed which made Xander frown.
"A little bit," he reluctantly answered because the piled-up work he had was already sorted out so he can't really say that he was not busy. It was just that it was a bit awkward if he would talk about his problems to one of his clients even though they were in good terms.
"You know, you look very tired. You should take better care of yourself." He was concerned because the young man before him had dark circles under his eyes and he seemed to have lost weight compared to the last time he saw him.
Xander remained silent for a while, "Is it that bad?" he could not help but ask. He had not seen himself in the mirror for days now and his body felt heavier these days.
He saw Mr. Crellac nod before he spoke again, "Yes, that's why I advise you to return home and have some good rest. You won't be able to work efficiently if you suddenly fell sick."
"Thank you for the concern. I'll do what you say after I make at least one round around the site to make sure that everything is fine." Xander agreed and that was his plan in the first place.
After expressing his concern again, Mr. Crellac finally left while Xander continued with his routing and after that he eventually went home. Facing the mirror inside the bathroom, he could see why Mr. Crellac expressed such words of concern towards him. He looked like a zombie. He sighed and brushed his face with both palms before he decided to just go to sleep.
He didn't know why but he had suddenly lost appetite and he felt irritated for days now. He had once snapped at Xerra which never happened before. He had continuously felt anxious even inside the office which was also pointed out by his secretary. Xander was not feeling okay and he did not know why.