Battle Of Alphas

CHAPTER THREE

C R I M S O N V I L L E

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N A T H A N I E L'S P O V

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I lay on my back after ripping off my shirt. My completely broken left shoulder is out of use at the moment. I have never felt such a pain.

I pant restlessly, as the beads of sweat on my forehead won't go away, even under an air-conditioned room.

I manage to turn on the TV with my right hand, and I put it on Crimson Ville's local news.

It seems like the goofy barista of the coffee shop I just bought earlier on is being interviewed. I can see clearly that both he and the young lady with the microphone are standing in front of Coffee-Me.

Somehow the police are involved in this, as I can see a few policemen through the broken glass door.

"Mr Gareth Claims The 25-year-old CEO Of LAW ENTERPRISES bought his coffee shop earlier this morning," I read the news headline to myself, staring at the screen to see if the fool is going to say anything that'd get the press's attention on me. I hate been flashed by cameras and having low lives encircle me in the name of getting information for the news.

N E W S

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MR GARETH (Owner Of Coffee-Me):

I told you ok, Yeah, Yeah, Coffee-Me used to be mine alright, but it just isn't mine anymore. I told you the billionaire Nathaniel Law owns it now. I have no idea whatever it was that happened here. I got paid, like I told you early, and it is the best thing that has ever happened in my life.

WOMAN: Why would a billionaire chose to buy a random coffee shop and then after that chose to make such a mess of everything in it?

MR GARETH (Owner Of Coffee-Me):

That's for him alone to say. I got my pay, that's all that matters. Nathaniel Law changed my life this morning, and tonight I'm the happiest man in Crimson Ville, that I can tell you. Whoo!

WOMAN: Mr Gareth, is there anything else you'd like to share with us concerning this?

MR GARETH (Owner Of Coffee-Me):

About the damages. Mr Law mentioned something that had to do with extermination.

I jolt up my right shoulder, which is the only one functioning for now. My brows draw together as I hear the Barista talk about the extermination on TV. He better not say anything that'd get the press on me.

WOMAN: Extermination of what, exactly?

The young woman seems so interested in that part of the story. She's definitely curious and wants to hear more. I narrow my gaze into the TV screen as I wait to hear his response.

"son of a b***h," I mumble to myself as he is just about to open his mouth.

MR GARETH (Owner Of Coffee-Me):

I don't know. Who knows a billionaire's mind? But whatever it was, it got me rich.

"Good boy!" I say. It was just like I was there to stop him from going any further by reporting the exact words I said to him.

WOMAN: Thank you Mr Gareth for your contribution.

The barista leaves the camera to the young lady, and she readjusts to conclude the news for the night.

WOMAN: You all heard Mr Gareth, the owner of Crimson Ville's most popular café, claims that the CEO of LAW ENTERPRISES, Nathaniel Law, bought the entire property earlier this morning. The reason behind him buying the property, and the destruction of the properties in the building, still remains a mystery. My name is Evelyn Perry, and I'll be here on your screen to feed you with the happenings in our very own Crimson Ville, every 8:00 PM. Have a good night!

I turn off the TV and I sigh. I hear footsteps moving up the steps gently and I sigh again. Only one person has a key to my mansion and can bypass my tigers, but only on my command.

The light from the TV screen is out, and the oil lamp sitting on the shelf by my drawer is the only source of light.

A beautiful 24-year-old woman pushes open my door gently. And even as the room is dimly lit, I can still see how elegant and captivating she is. She is in a red dinner gown and barefooted, she must have put off her shoes downstairs. Her glossy hair shone even through the dark.

We were supposed to have a dinner tonight. I had plans to take her out so we can spend some time together after a long while, and maybe continue with the plans for our wedding, which is supposed to be next month. I've been really busy with work at the office and sticking by the CREED. I barely have time for her and with everything that happened earlier today, I know I've just got busier.

She walks gently towards my bed and she sits by me gently.

"Honey, how did this happen?" She asks, whispering to me after giving me a kiss on the forehead.

I ignore her, and she tries to stroke my chin, but I turn away. This is the only way I can get her to take the CREED more seriously and work with me into achieving what I've been working on: eliminating every wolf there is.

"You are mad at me," she says and I say no word to her.

"I knew something went wrong the moment you didn't show up to pick me up, and then I came running down here," she says.

"Don't pretend to care about me," I say to her. I make sure to be as cold as I can ever be, showing no emotions and making sure I make her feel guilty about what happened to me.

"What are you even talking about?" She says, curious. And I can see her countenance change, gradually.

Yes! Exactly how I like it. She's going to a point where she'll think I'm beginning to lose my feelings for her, and then I'm going to come in with a condition which would make her do anything to please me.

Of all three species, Panthers are the superior, and Katerina, as the Queen of the Panthers, has just exactly what I need to fulfil the codes. That is 90% of the reason I proposed to her, and the other 10% could be anything else, maybe her pretty face. She doesn't know this, does she?

"You know I care so much about you. Why are you saying these things to me?" She says, as her eyes waters.

"If you had gone with me on the hunt, none of this would have happened? But what did you do? You were in your apartment getting ready so I could take you out, because that is all you seem to care about, giving no regards to the CREED," I say to her and a tear drop rolls down her cheek.

She looks away from me as she tries to hide her tears. She wants to make me believe she's a strong woman, but I know her too well to know my words are sinking deep into her at ease.

"Maybe we should consider cancelling the preparations for our marriage. If one doesn't share the goals of the other, it can only mean they're not compatible and not fit for marriage," I say to her and she turns to me in shock with tears in her eyes.

"When did we get to this? We were alright a few ours ago?" She sobs. Breaking down completely and revealing to me the soft and delicate woman behind the Panther.

"We got to this when I discovered you never really loved me. Everything you do, you do for your own selfish reasons and never really cared about what I want," I say to her and she sobs even harder.

She grabs my hand and I just slip it off her grasp.

"Please, whatever it is I've done, I never meant to hurt you. You are the only man I've ever loved. I'd never hurt you intentionally," she says as she grabs my hand softly, and I just slip it off again to prove my point.

"It's been a long day. I need rest if I want my shoulder healed before tomorrow," I say, and her eyebrows draw together as her lips part.

"Are you making me leave?" She says to me and I ignore her. I turn to the left, enduring the pain of laying on my injured shoulder just so I can turn my back against her.

Even though I can no longer see her, I can feel her break down in another round of tears.

I feel her weight leave the bed and I hear footsteps moving towards the door and just as I hear the door shut, I turn around to see that she has left the room.

With this, she'll do anything I ask of her. I do not only need her to give me command over the Panthers, but I also need full control over her as her strength alone can eliminate the Crimson pack. And then we can focus on the packs outside of Crimson Ville.

DANIEL'S POV

I walk behind her and ever since we left Coffee-Me, my sister has not spoken a word to me. I get it. I know she's mad about the fact that I left and she had to come find me.

"Dana! I told you I was sorry," I say to her and she halts forcefully.

We've been walking for hours without saying a word to each other. We've successfully made it out of the residential areas of Crimson Ville and, at the moment, were trapped between trees in a lonely forest. We are heading towards the camp, but it will take us at least another night in the wilderness to get to the camp.

"I'm sorry," I say to her, placing a hand on her shoulder and she turns to me. She stares at me with a stern look on her face for a while and her face dissolves into a grin and then we both laugh.

"You better not try this ever again. It was stupid," she says and I chuckle.

She mess up my hair with her hands and I laugh.

We walk side by side through the thick forest to a place where there are two fig trees. It seems like a safe place and we could have some rest here, and continue moving by dawn. I sit and lean my back on one of the trees. Dana slaps her back on the second one, which is directly opposite me and slides down gently to sit.

"The bite. How are you coping with it?" Dana says. I look into her eyes and I see how worried she is about everything.

"It hurts, it hurts pretty bad," I say to her and I can hear her heartbeat quicken. She's worried.

"You don't have to worry about it. If it was strong enough to kill me, Nathaniel wouldn't have come back to finish the job," I say to her and her brows draw together.

"But how will you be able to cope with a wound that never heals on your arm," she says and I stroke the arm gently through my sweater.

"The bleeding. Has it stopped yet?" She asks and I nod.

"It stopped bleeding yesterday," I say to her and she nods.

"It's a win," she says and I smile.

"You just have to be strong for me until Marcus and I can find the cure," she says, and I grin.

KATERINA'S POV

I sit on my bed after changing into my night wear, folding my legs. I haven't stopped crying and thinking about everything that happened tonight. Nathaniel literally asked me to leave his house. He must be so angry at me.

I hear my phone beep and I wipe off my tears quickly.

“Nathaniel,” I whisper to myself. I really hope he is the one who texted me to apologise for his hurtful words. Then, I'd sleep without soaking my bedspread in tears.

I swipe up my phone and discover it is just a notification from an app on my phone. It makes me break down emotionally, even more than I was initially.

I can't believe Nathaniel suggested we cancel our marriage plans because he thinks I do not care about CREED.

I have to do something. I can't lose him because of this. I've always been the one who takes the blame in our relationship, I've always been the one who apologises.

I pick up my phone and text him, because I know he wouldn't want to speak with me at the moment.

Text: I'm really sorry honey, I'm ready to do whatever you want. Please just don't think about cancelling the marriage plans.

I send the text and after waiting for what felt like 10 minutes, my phone beeps and when I look into the screen, I see that he has left me a message.

“Good! Nice choice,” He replies.

“My cats are trying to track the two wolves that attacked me at the Coffee-Me. I want you to have your cats on them the moment I send you their location,” he sends again.

“Anything for you,” I say to him and he doesn't reply to me. Even with all that, I'm still glad he is able to reconsider.