67\u2013Going Alone On A Mission\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeline:\u00a0<\/p>\n
After I told Baxter about the contract and reminded him that he could not act foolishly, I asked the two of them to leave me alone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Graham immediately obeyed, but Baxter tried to resist.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He grunted, coughed, groaned, and stomped his feet\u2013childish tantrums meant to make the children hear him and come out, asking me to spend time with him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He did not realize I was one step ahead.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The moment he started all that, I had already closed the door to my children\u2019s room.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I did not let him near them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After he left, I locked the door and sat by the window, intending to have a glass of wine.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But my kids had already woken up from their nap, so I could not.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHow are you?\u201d Nina asked after we had played with the kids, fed them. And now that they were watching TV, we had some time for ourselves.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I was holding the file in my hand, walking from one corner of the living room to the other.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cJust stressed out,\u201d I replied, showing her the file, the case I was working on.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI know I\u2019m not the best person to give you any advice, or even suggest any theories about what might be happening. But I remember when I was a child, my father used to tell me stories. He said my mother was from a very ancient tribe of werewolves.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nina caught my attention the moment she mentioned a tribe.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ones that could start the fire with their hands?\u201d I asked almost too quickly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d She shook her head in confusion, making me wonder what else it could be.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCome on, have a seat,\u201d I told her, taking her hand and leading her to the side where a large window stood, with two coffee chairs and a small table placed a little away from the children.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTell me about your mother,\u201d I insisted.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was from an ancient tribe, like I said. My father met her in the woods. At that time, he didn\u2019t have a wolf, which is why we ended up in the human land. My mother used to tell him stories about her tribe and how they could shapeshift.\u201d She paused, watching my face as if waiting for me to understand.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShapeshift?\u201d I questioned, confused.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah. She said her tribe wasn\u2019t very kind. They were malicious people who wanted what others had, and it was in their blood. That\u2019s why my mother tried to run away from them. Even after generations passed, the tribe kept some of their magic and their hatred. I\u2019m sure they\u2019re still somewhere in the woods. If my mother was there, they must be too.\u201d Her tone wavered slightly, probably at the memory of her mother.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really saddening,\u201d she said quietly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I never got to sit with her and ask about her background.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
67\u2013Going Akane On A Mission\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
I only knew that her father arrived in the human land when she was five years old, and he was certain she would never have a wolf.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWait! So what happened to your mother?\u201d I questioned, confused.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She began to play with the red thread around her wrist.\u00a0<\/p>\n
From what I remember, she told me this thread was from her mother\u2019s old dress.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When she was born, her mother wrapped it around her wrist.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As she grew, she loosened it and adjusted it to fit.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, the tribe found her. They learned she was living with my father in the woods. They got to her and they killed her. That\u2019s why my father ran away. He knew he was next.\u201d She sighed, taking a deep breath and leaning back in the chair.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you mean by shapeshift? Isn\u2019t it the same as being a werewolf?\u201d I asked, and she shrugged.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe into some monsters,\u201d she replied.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMy head hurts from thinking about all these tribes and ancestors. I just don\u2019t understand why anyone would want to kill children,\u201d I commented tiredly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I leaned back, stretching my arms and tapping my fingers on the papers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI heard something,\u201d she spoke softly, making me lift my eyes toward her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe two alphas that were here earlier? I didn\u2019t mean to eavesdrop, but I couldn\u2019t help it. Your wolf woke up?\u201d she mumbled, her voice barely audible.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The hair on the back of my neck stood up.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I swallowed hard, realizing that with her here, I couldn\u2019t possibly hide the truth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
With the children\u2019s sickness, word would spread that my kids had a wolf\u00a0<\/p>\n
So if they\u2019re staying, I\u2019ll have to tell them I have a wolf, so I can stay too.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s complicated,\u201d I replied. I guess that wasn\u2019t a\u00a0<\/p>\n
y helpful answer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you\u2019re not coming back to the human land, then?\u201d she asked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know. I don\u2019t think they\u2019ll let me in,\u201d I replied.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I noticed how she anxiously straightened her posture in her seat.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about everything you created back there?\u201d she continued.\u00a0<\/p>\n
All I could do was shrug. I had no idea what I would do in the future.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAll I know, Nina, is that I might not even be able to solve this case. There\u2019s so much happening with the kids, and with the tribes getting involved, I\u2019m not even sure we\u2019re heading the right way,\u201d I explained tiredly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then something popped up on my screen, the librarian\u2019s number.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My eyes widened, and I grabbed the phone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is an important call. I\u2019ll take it, okay? Please keep an eye on the children,\u201d I told her, excusing myself as I\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
67\u2013Gong Alone On A Mission\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
stood and rushed back to my bedroom.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Closing the door, I answered the call.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHello, did you find anything about the writer?\u201d I asked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, I actually got in contact with him. I\u2019ve texted you his address,\u201d the librarian replied.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As she gave me the good news, my energy returned.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I wanted badly to learn more about my wolf.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Remembering the librarian\u2019s <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
67\u2013Going Alone On A Mission\u00a0 Madeline:\u00a0 After I told Baxter about the contract and reminded him that he could not […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19063","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-no-daddy-novel-by-novelnozi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19063","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19063"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19063\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19268,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19063\/revisions\/19268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19063"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19063"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19063"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}