DRAKE'S VIEW
"RELAX!" I demanded to Anna as I saw her eyes fling open with panic. "It's just the nanny. Mathew has a temperature because of his teething," I explained to her. I could see the relief in her eyes as she sat down. Anna has been on edge since she had been attacked twice already. I don't blame her. I tried reassuring her that everything was going to be all right, concealing my own fears.
My brother has become unpredictable lately. Usually I am one step ahead of him, but lately he has been doing things that were outrageous. I know full well that he wants to eliminate me and Anna, but now he has gone too far. I put double security on my son, and I added extra security to this apartment building. I hope that it will be enough in the interim.
I need a plan to get rid of him so that I can train Anna to kill him. I wish I could take her to the Sharman in the mountains, but he's not there. He is very ill, and he needed to do some kind of meditation. It's my bad luck that he is on a pilgrimage, or that would be the perfect place to hide out. I know he's getting help. The question is, who is helping him? And why? Drenmore hasn't got the money or the capacity to have goons. Whose goons are they really? And what are their motives? I have to admit that I have a lot of enemies. I don't trust anyone. That's why, when Anna asked me that question, I bypassed it.
There's no one I ever trusted, and I don't think I will ever. Not even Anna herself.
She did betray me, and if she had the chance, she would do it again. My family was responsible for her father's death. I can sense she hasn't forgiven the one's who killed her father. Maybe she still believes that I may have a hand in it. I covered so many of my family's crimes and accumulated so many enemies, and Anna may be one of them.
That won't stop me from protecting her. She's the mother of my son. The son to whom I have no emotional attachment; even so, I need him, because he is my heir and will rule over Develonte's peak one day. He has the blood of a werewolf hunter and a werewolf. That makes him extra powerful and a massive threat to Drenmore.
That's not the only reason I am protecting Anna. She is the key to killing Drenmore. She may be the chosen werewolf huntress by fate, and she is totally oblivious to it.
She needs to be trained and sharpened. She needs the necessary skills to take down Drenmore, and I am going to make sure it happens. First things first, I need a solid plan to get my evil brother, Drenmore, out of the way. I need to figure out who is helping him and why. I need Anna's help to do that. I need to suss the rat that's financing my brother, and the source is closer than we think.
When we leave my brother powerless, we can eventually destroy him. It is a pity that I have to use Anna. I don't want to, but I have no choice.
"About that question you asked me earlier?" I queried. "You don't want to talk about it, I know," she said to me. "Not entirely," I said, shrugging my shoulders. She caught my gaze. "That wasn't the impression you gave me earlier on when you completely ignored me," she said with a frown. "I know what I did, and it was rude, but we need to address this issue, since we are going to spend a lot of time with each other."
"So then, do you trust me? And have you forgiven me for trying to get the goods on you?" She asked me once more. "I don't know," I shrugged. It was the truth. She looked at me with her adoring puppy innocent eyes. "You know that I am sorry and I was wrong. I don't know what else to say on that topic." She told me. I didn't know what to make of it. Maybe she was sincere, but with my experience with women, they almost never meant what they said.
"Probably you mean it. I don't know. Just say you did; will you prove it to me?" I dared her. I had to bait her. It wasn't the best thing to do -'emotional blackmail,' but it was the only way to achieve two things: I needed to know if she's still in contact with Colonel James, and how deep is that connection? "How can I prove my loyalty to the mighty alpha?" She mocked as she rolled her eyes.
"You know sarcasm doesn't suit you." I countered. "I am not being sarcastic. I just want to know if you can trust me again." She asked me. "Darling, I never trusted you, not from the minute you walked inside that door at my club.."
"I get it you don't trust me, so we can drop that topic," she said, sounding rather annoyed. "I never said I don't trust you entirely. You kept your word and never came back to Develonte's Peak when I banished you," I pointed out.
"Coz I was scared to death that you would kill me, and beside, there's nothing for me there now," she said, with honesty detected in her voice. "What about the werewolf committee?" I pounced the question; she didn't expect coming. "I swear to you, that I have no connection to them whatsoever. They left me there to die. Why will I ever associate with such traitors?
"I don't know, maybe you still want revenge on your father's death, perhaps?"
I needed to know what her thoughts were, hence my interrogation tactics. "And, my brother coming after you," I added on. She met my gaze with a deep frown. "I put that behind me. I had no idea that your brother was after me, and besides, it was in the hospital and on the run with you. How the hell will I get the chance to call them?"
"I think you should give them a call," I suggested. "Are you out of your mind? What game are you playing?" She snapped at me. "A charade!" I answered back.
"What are you talking about? I am not talking to them ever again. They probably thought that I was dead and that you killed me."
I gave a short laugh. She gave me a disapproving glare. "You mean no one even inquired about your funeral?" I remarked with sarcasm. "I don't know Drake, I was banished, remember. I don't know what occurred in Develonte's Peak after my absence," she retaliated. "Nothing! Nothing happened. Life went back to normal," I said. It was the truth. I didn't have the heart to tell her that Andrea took her place at her old job. "That's what happens when you trust snakes!" I re-iterated.
"Don't throw that on my face. It cost me my whole life and my career that I loved."
"You have a second chance in life, you know," I said, in a comforting voice. "How? Even if your brother isn't trying to kill me, my life still stinks. I am no longer a journalist. I am a waitress," she said. "Don't be a pessimist. I believe that great things are coming in your future. You just don't see it yet," I pointed out.
It was the truth. She was born to one of the most powerful werewolf hunter families. It was an honor and a privilege. She was destined to be powerful, but how would she know that? When her family kept her in the dark. "What do you mean?" She queried, with a confused expression on her face. She was a beautiful woman. I had to keep my wolf instincts at bay. The weekend we had together was phenomenal, but I can't do that again. Not with what I know now.
She batted her sexy eyes at me. "Please tell me, what are you trying to say?" She repeated herself. "I mean, you need to be positive, and you have to win my trust by doing what I say.."
"And that is?' She interrupted. "Contact the werewolf committee!" I demanded.
"Why?!" She had a bewildered look on her face. "What does that have to do with our current situation?" She interrogated.
"A lot," I replied. "I have a plan, and I need you in on it. But I need to know if I can trust you completely," I questioned her. She nodded. "Of course! I am not that stupid girl anymore. I know now. What's the plan?" She asked me with enthusiasm in her voice. "It is complex. That's all you need to know," I replied. The less she knew, the better it was. Hell! I didn't know what the actual plan. All I wanted to know is where Drenmore's money is coming from.
"Gather yourself together. We leave for Develonte's Peak in an hour." I announced. Her eyes widened. She was startled.
Develonte's Peak! WHERE EVERYTHING FIRST BEGAN….