Chapter 3
1535 Words
'Damn!' Cody cursed.
He was on the branch of a tree, with a sniper rifle aimed at a large manor some distance away.
The Wolfgang manor.
It was about the hundredth time he has cursed that day, and he's only been out of the bar for about twenty minutes.
First, he had cursed when the mysterious man had told him it's a Wolfgang member. Then he had cursed again when he learnt it was not just a random member but the daughter of the alpha.
"I can't do that." Cody had told the man. "That's suicide."
"So was going after the staff of the third grand alpha." The man had replied.
"Well, for one, I didn't know it was suicide. And two, I survived the attempt."
The man smiled. A knowing, mocking smile. He had taken a leisurely swig out of his cup, then grimaced at it and poured the rest of the drink on the floor.
"Not yet." He had said.
It was then Cody had learnt that it did not matter whether he was already out of the cave or not. As far as he was with the staff, certain people will always know where he was.
Losing the staff was no option. At least for Cody, it wasn't. So he just had to kill the daughter of an alpha if he wanted to complete his journey to grand alpha without being hunted down by people way more powerful than him.
So he had cursed yet again. And gone on with the task. Which, by the way, was proving more difficult than he expected. And that was despite the description the mysterious man had given him about his target.
The man had told him the alpha's daughter has blond hair, but didn't mention that blond hair seemed to be a requirement to serve in the Wolfgang manor in the first place. All the maids he had seen so far, including the boys, had blond hair.
Not that the hair color was the only description the man had given, but he was too far away to see features clearly from the scope of his sniper rifle. He didn't want to make a mistake.
Having the whole of the Wolfgang pack after him was already bad enough on his own. If he fails, then he would have another set of people after him too. The ones that almost had him dead in the forest.
There was nothing else to do but to move into the manor. He had a map, but he could never sneak around without getting caught. If he must reach the alpha's daughter, he must blend in.
Never in all his life did Cody think he may have to one day be a maid to save his head, but how else could he get into the manor without attention?
Well, first things first, his hair has to be blond. And an apron. A quick trip back to the bar and Carissa's make up kit solved that problem.
He dropped the rifle with her too. He wouldn't need it inside the manor. What he would need is a knife, which he can easily get inside the manor.
Just as he got back to his location, he saw some maids leaving the manor.
Perfect.
He waited for them to pass him on their way back, then tagged along. He kept behind and silent, forming the attitude of a shy inexperienced maid. Meanwhile, he kept his ears wide open to the maids' gossip.
What he heard intrigued him.
The girl's name seemed to be Isabella. And she was quite a character at the manor. Always coming and going suspiciously, and never letting anyone know where she went, not even her father who doted on his only child.
In fact, the fact that today was her twentieth birthday and her father would be making her the luna of the pack later that night did not deter Isabella from sneaking out again. She didn't tell anyone when she would return.
Cody wished he hadn't heard that last bit. So he would be killing a luna?
There was a pile of laundry in a cart near the front entrance of the main building. Without breaking a beat, Cody grabbed it, threw in some clothes on the floor and casually pushed the cart into the building.
He immediately stepped into a different world. He has robbed rich homes before, but this was in a class of its own. The carpet was a plush he has never walked on before. The paintings on the walls were worth a fortune each. And there were exotic flowers every few footsteps in the hallway.
The chandelier looked like it was pure gold. The window lintels were some kind of metal he had never seen, but which looked valuable all the same.
Cody's hands itched to steal. He glanced around, no one was looking directly at him. His hand strayed to a small figurine. Brushed against it. Caressed it as if cleaning off some speck of dust. Came back to him.
Things were already complicated enough as it is.
Just as he withdrew his hand from the figurine, he noticed someone had been watching him. An elderly woman with a stern face. He had no doubt the woman had been fully prepared to raise an alarm.
He thanked the moon goddess for that bit of luck.
He kept his face straight as the old woman approached him. As if he had not meant to steal the figurine, and did not know the said person suspected him of it.
"You must be one of the new maids, huh?" Said the woman, looking him straight in the eyes.
Cody lowered his eyes, as shy maids were meant to do.
"Yes ma'am." He answered timidly.
The woman nodded sagely.
"Knew that." She told him. Then she reduced her voice to a whisper. "You must not touch anything here with the intention of taking it for your own. Even if it's the best of jades, you will find it's not worth it."
Her voice went even lower.
"It's rumored every piece here had the same magic as all of the grand alphas' relics."
"Huh?" Cody had been listening with half interest, but the mention of the grand alphas' relics immediately caught his attention. He had one tucked away somewhere in Carissa's bar after all.
The woman, misunderstanding his 'huh?' for one of shock, gave a nod full of foreboding.
"Yes! You heard that right. I've done my duty by you, lad." She said, and walked on.
Unwittingly, she had given Cody something definite to do in the manor, at least for a while. She had given Cody something to think about.
As Cody pushed the cart filled with clothes, he wondered if the woman had meant that each of the pieces in the manor could transform someone to a grand alpha.
Lost in thoughts, he pushed the cart to the kitchen. It was then he realized he didn't even know the layout of the manor.
The old lady was in the kitchen again, and of all the stares, hers held the most suspicion.
"You don't know the laundry, huh? Or the young miss's queer tastes requests for dresses for her dinner?" She asked, chopping some greens on a board furiously.
The whole kitchen laughed. Cody gave an appropriate awkward and embarrassed smile.
"I haven't quite known the manor well enough, ma'am." He mumbled, as if to himself.
The lady excused herself from her companions and made herself his guide. She showed him to the laundry room, then commenced a full tour of the manor.
"What's that?" Cody asked, pointing to something that looked like a booth near some stairs.
"I was saving that for last, but oh, well…" she said, grinning.
"That's a soldier's booth."
"A soldier's?" Cody asked in astonishment. "I thought the soldiers stayed at the north and west walls?"
"Yes, they do. But see those stairs? They lead to the alpha's room, and his daughter's too. And they like their security. Any danger, they pull a rope and that soldier in the booth, who's one of the best werewolves in this pack, will stop whoever or whatever it is from going beyond the stairs." She chucked.
Cody mirrored her. He was smiling inside. That was vital information for him. He took a deep breath.
"So, their rooms are upstairs? Can I see the young miss's room?" He asked in an awkward voice.
The woman looked at him suspiciously.
"Thinking of playing some games?" She asked in a conspiratory voice.
"Just in case she needs me to pick her laundry from her room if the usual person is not around. " Cody replied quickly.
The woman led him up and showed him the room. That was all Cody wanted to know. He only paid attention half-heartedly the rest of the tour as the woman rambled on and on.
He only paid attention to potential escape points.
____ ___ ____
Some hours later, the ceremony was over and the alpha's daughter was officially the luna of Wolfgang pack. Cody watched her retire to her room, then waited some more hours.
It was time for him to strike
- Writer
