His Wolfless Bride

CHAPTER 12: The Dangerous First Move

It’s tremendously uncomfortable to sit next to the former Luna who puts my entire life in a living hell. Her flowery scent stings my nostrils while her fake, nice way of communicating with me churns my stomach. With that said, I stay focused as she sets out the plans to save Captain Haile and the others.

“Marguerite will leave our pack and temporarily be branded as a rogue,” she says.

Alright. That first instruction is not a big deal. I don’t mind being a rogue.

She continues, “The Prince Ultima has an unpleasant side to him, which is only known to the high officials of our kingdom’s five packs. He spends most of his nights in the capital’s redlight district, getting drunk and hitting on women."

My eyelids falter at that. Prince Giannis, who acts high and mighty, is also a d.ouche? So I’m right then - he's worse than our former Main Alpha! If he’s as irresponsible as I’m assuming he is, then we really need to stop him from becoming our new king! He’ll only destroy our kingdom!

“How he’s hiding his identity whenever he enters the capital’s grandest brothel is unknown. That’s why Marguerite has to figure that out herself.” Claudette angles her view at me, then adds, “You can only find him if you enter the brothel called Canis Home and become a p.rostitute there.”

I freeze for a moment, unable to comprehend what I just heard. Cold moist quilts my palms while beads of sweat congeal on my neck.

“A p.rostitute? Me?” I ask while pointing a finger at my startled face.

Naomi smugly says, “As if the Prince Ultima would sleep with her. He might get sick and puke just by the thought of it.”

I was uncertain about being a p.rostitute, but thanks to Naomi’s insult, I’ve gotten the confidence to be one. I counter, “If Captain Haile loves sleeping with me, I’m sure the Prince Ultima won’t have any problem doing it too.”

The smugness on Naomi’s face retreats and is replaced by disdain.

“But, you can’t be too complacent that the Prince Ultima will choose you among many p.rostitutes out there,” Inang says. “I don’t know how you’ll do it, but you have to have some private time with him, so you can easily put your mission into action.”

Finding time alone with Prince Giannis is already tough as hell and killing him is even tougher than that. I’ve never killed anyone before and thinking about it rattles my nerves. Despite that, I can’t fail. Captain Haile’s survival is in my hands and I can’t let it slip.

“I’ll do my best,” I respond.

Claudette looks around the table, then says, “While Marguerite is away, all of us here will train and plan for an attack. Once we receive a message from Marguerite that the Prince Ultima is killed, we’ll attack the castle. And if we don’t receive a message in fifteen days, we’ll still have to attack the castle. Understood?”

“Yes!”

The majority agrees. Though there are a few who are hesitant, they choose not to disapprove Claudette's plan.

Fifteen days sounds too long. I’m not sure if Captain Haile will still be alive by then. So my plan is to accomplish my mission in just a day or maybe three days.

‘Leave before sunset’ is the last instruction given to me by Claudette.

To start preparing, I leave Claudette and the others, who are now discussing their own mission. I can’t apply as a p.rostitute if I look like a mess. So I head back to Captain Haile’s house to clean myself. The moment I step in the living area, the scattered documents for my promotion and my land title are the first things that catch my attention. The painful memory of Captain Haile’s rejection brings moisture into my eyes and my attempt to commit a s.uicide because of it pushes a tear to fall.

My knees weaken when I step closer to the table where the documents are scattered and my hands quiver when I gather all of them. I slowly crumple the papers, then aggressively tear them apart, before tossing them on the floor.

“I won’t lose Captain Haile because of these pieces of paper!” I yell.

Though I’m hurt that he rejects me over his duty, that’s not enough to hate him. He's the only one who accepts me and looks beyond my imperfections and flaws. He’s the only one who cares for me and makes me understand what happiness means. He’s everything to me, so I’ll have him again. I swear.

I dry my eyes with the back of my fingers as I head towards the bathroom. My wounds ache and my muscles jerk as soon as I dip myself in the cast-iron tub filled with luke-warm water. It’s been days since the last time I bathed. Back in the clinic, Captain Haile only cleaned me with a soaked towel coz I was so weak and could barely move. Though the water jabbing my skin now is satisfactory, my heavy thoughts and heart are thwarting that satisfaction.

I haven’t spent a minute in the tub yet when the once clear water becomes muddy, so I have to drain the tub and refill it. I submerge my body and head back in the water, then close my eyes and allow my mind to wander.

This is the very first mission that’s entrusted to me. If I thrive through it, not only I’ll have Captain Haile back, but maybe… just maybe, I’ll get the respect of my packmates too. I wanna be enlivened at the thought, but considering that my mission involves killing a man who just wants to avenge his late father and protect his throne, I can’t. Prince Giannis has a valid reason for doing what he did. Not to mention, I’m sure he has some people who care for him. They’ll be devastated by what I’m about to do to him. I don’t expect to be forgiven, but I hope I’ll be understood. It’s not wrong to be selfish from time to time.

I scrub my hair and my skin with scented soap, making sure that any dirt and any foul-smell stuck in me is gone. Subsequently, after rinsing myself with water, I head upstairs and pack some clothes inside a tattered bag, before putting on the sexiest, well, the only sexy dress I have. It’s a form-fitting red dress that Captain Haile gifted to me on my eighteenth birthday. Though it looks nice on my figure, it’s awkward to wear. Its skirt is too short and when I pull it down, half of the cheeks of my b.reasts are showing. I move on towards Captain Haile’s bedroom and search through his cabinet. A dark, buttoned up coat that can conceal, not only my chest area, but also my entire arms and legs, catches my eyes. It’s a little heavy and stiff, but it’ll do. I swing my bag to my back and climb down the stairs. Anger boils in me again when my eyes slant at the torn documents on the floor. To ease that anger, I ensure to stomp on the documents first, before going out of the house. That works… my chest quite lightens up.

Everyone is preoccupied, gathering around the cube-shaped shade where Claudette is formulating whatever strategies she could think of to save her husband from getting executed. Nobody makes an effort to even glance at me, which isn’t a surprise. They only care about the success of my mission and not for the harm it might cause me. Since I have nobody to say goodbye to, I veer my attention to Umber, then amble towards him. His half-closed eyes are moist, as if they wanna cry. His partly open mouth is still flooding with his foamy saliva. And his chest moves up and down in a frail rhythm. I gently rub his forehead, which earns a shaky guttural sound from him.

“Wait for me here. I’ll save you. I promise. Then, we’ll get married once everything turns back to what it used to be. I might not agree with whatever reason you have for killing the King Ultima, but know that that doesn’t change how much I treasure you.”

I look at the sky to catch a glimpse of its purplish pink hues swirling on the dim canvass of clouds.

“Time to go. Please stay alive until my mission is accomplished.”

The guttural sound he’s making fades when I plant a kiss on his forehead. With a final reminder to myself that ‘I can do this’, I’m off to go.

At the borders of our and the Wind Winder Pack’s territory, there are several men in white and green military uniforms. They form a straight line to block my way as I move closer to them. This northern border is always my first option whenever I want to sneak out of our territory coz it’s the shortest and easiest route. In all of those times I sneaked out, there’s not a single one patrolling this area. Though I already have an inkling of their sudden presence here, I still have to ask to buy some time thinking how I can get past them.

“Why are the Wind Winder Pack’s military here?”

“We received an order from the castle to keep an eye on anyone who’s from the Crimson Crystal Pack. Our Main Alpha sent us here to make sure that none of you will enter our territory for security purposes,” one of the men answers.

If I turn back and go the other route, there’s a possibility that the other borders are also guarded by our neighboring pack’s military. Even if not, it’ll already be dark if I arrive there by then.

“I see? So, the news of what our corrupt and inept leaders had done has spread out that fast, uh. It’s unfortunate that someone like me, who has nothing to do with it and won’t benefit from our leaders’ crime, has to be considered dangerous too.” I pause to wait for their reactions, but when I only get stoic faces, I ask, “I’m not like my leaders. I’m innocent. So, can you let me pass?”

One of the men releases a ‘you-know-the-answer’ kind of sigh, but before he refuses my entrance, I add,

“You see, our future is uncertain and I need to survive. I’m leaving my pack to look for a more peaceful place to live in. I hope you don’t mind me entering your territory. I won’t do any harm to you. Look!” I point at my eyes, then continue, “I’m wolfless and, therefore, I’m harmless.”

“Wolfless or not, we still can’t let you live in our territory,” a man with a thick, messy beard says.

“How about this!” I say. “I’ll go to the capital to look for a job instead, but I need to pass through your territory to get to the capital.”

The men glance at each other, then shrug their incredibly broad shoulders. One of them replies with annoyance, “Alright. Alright. Our Gammas will accompany you to make sure you won’t cause any trouble.”

“Thank you so much!” I giggle in relief.

I’m ushered towards a wagon with two young werewolves, probably about my age, sitting at both my sides. Before the horse could lift any of its feet, the bearded man yells,

“Don’t you dare escape! We’ll effortlessly rip you apart!”

Then they screech into laughter. To me, what he said is more of an insult than a warning. But since they let me pass, I'll just ignore him. Besides, I didn’t come here for an unneeded argument.

The sun has already buried itself from view when we reach the capital. My entrance is smooth and easy compared to last time, since there are no military guarding the capital and the Wind Winder Pack’s borders.

“Hey, you can get down now,” says the wagoner.

“Yup, thank you!” I say.

I’m taken aback when one of the Gammas assists me when I hop down the wagon. He smiles and so does his wolf. Then, the other Gamma genuinely says,

“Goodluck in finding a job.”

My eyes crinkle, but I quickly soften them to avoid any misunderstanding.

“Goodbye! Thanks again!” I say.

These two are quite nice compared to the others and to my own packmates. I’m flabbergasted and amazed at the same time to be treated this way. But I do wish to meet more werewolves like them.

While they drive back to their territory, I move towards my destination - the capital’s redlight district, where I will carry out the riskiest commitment of my life.

This is it, Marguerite! It’s time to become a p.rostitute and kill!