Chapter 3

Days passed by, Nicholas Jones continued doing his humanitarian mission along with his packs, day and night. For the past few days of helping those humans in need, he accumulated a total of one more year of his lifeline. That means his wolf could have lived one more year. One more year to continue searching for his little brother.

"Nicholas Jones, twenty years old. Been traveling from place to place for a few months in a year. Been to Chicago, Los Angeles, France, the Philippines, and more. Well, that's quite promising," a woman's familiar voice suddenly echoed behind Nicholas while sitting on a bus heading to his next humanitarian mission.

Even if Nicholas was wearing his earphones, Sophia's words were loud and clear in his ears. So, he shortly turned his face around, in utter confusion.

"What are you doing here?" Nicholas asked before he removed his earphones and put them back in his backpack.

"Following you? Isn't that obvious?" Sophia asked back with a smile on her face.

Part of Nicholas felt pleased upon seeing her face, not because she had a goddess beau, but because she owed him a lifeline for helping her back in front of his apartment.

However, there was this part of him who also wanted not to ask for her payment when he suddenly felt Sophia was a weird woman. She may be beautiful but Nicholas could barely read what was running in her mind.

Then, Nicholas dragged his gaze throughout the bus and realized everyone occupying the seats were men in suits. All of them. And all their eyes were laid sharply at him.

"I can help you find Clark, your little brother," those were the words that made Nicholas glued to his feet when he was about to hop out of the bus.

To make sure he could that escape at that time, five of Sophia's security guards blocked the exit of the bus. And another five were stationed at the entrance, making it impossible for Nicholas to hop out, especially when the bus started moving.

"How did you know about my brother?" Similar to his expression while talking to Gregory, Nicholas' furious face was undeniably visible to Sophia's eyes.

He was furious at Sophia when he was too sensitive when it comes to his little brother. He and his brother were the only two left from his family after the Curse System has marked their lives.

Their mum and dad both died lending their lifeline to him and Clark. For them to survive, especially when they were still too young at that time. Now that his brother was missing, he will do his best to find him.

"Well. I did some digging. And found out you lied to my dad that your name is Jerome. But I found out yours is Nicholas. Be my bodyguard, Nick. That's all I ask."

"Why me? You can find anyone better than me. Or why do you still need one? You already have hundreds of them already." Nicholas insisted. He left no choice but to get back to his seat, knowing those securities will not allow him no matter how hard he will try.

Well. He can certainly do that but in his werewolf form. Unfortunately, he can't afford to unfold his secret to the humans yet. That was discussed in their annual meeting with the pack the last time.

"Because I need you. You need me, Mr Jones. Why can we help each other then? You, being my bodyguard. My family will find your brother. What does it sound like? With everything my family has, it will not be hard to find your brother. And I don't want to hear a no for an answer."

Nicholas was put into silence for a few minutes while digging into his brain, weighing the right answer to Sophia's proposal.

As far as he could remember, he has been searching for his brother for almost two years already and sometimes come to a realization that Clark might already be dead.

But he can't accept that fact unless he could see his body. Without his body, he forced his wolf to believe that Clark might be somewhere out there, waiting for him to come. He just doesn't know where.

On the other side of the coin, Nicholas might find it hard to continue his humanitarian missions. And that was one of the most important things in his life as a wolf aside from his brother. He needs to maintain his lifeline as much as possible in order to survive.

"Fine." Nicholas withdrawn. "However, here's my counter-proposal to you. Find my brother first before you'll get my answer. In the meantime, stay away from my life. Are we clear?"

Nicholas dropped his gaze to his wrist where his barcode mark is, thinking his lifeline might be deducted from his statement.

After knowing there has a deduction from his lifeline, Nicholas felt at ease in the corner while waiting for Sophia's response.

"Deal!" Sophia stretched out her hands to Nicholas with a broken smile.

But Nicholas simply stared at her hands floating through the air. Then, he grabbed his backpack and pushed the security guard from the bus' exit by force.

As soon as his foot landed on the ground, he regretted hopping out when he realized he was in the middle of nowhere. Nicholas was supposed to head on to his mission but he immediately changed his mind when his mood was already been ruined.

Instead, he walked back to his apartment on foot.

Three days later, Nicholas and Cedric were in a rush heading to his apartment to celebrate after successfully saving someone who was about to jump from the bridge.

Even if it did not give them a lifeline that much, Nicholas was still being thankful for the increase in his lifespan.

"Maybe we should buy some beer, what do you think?" Cedric eagerly proposed before he removed his shoulder from Nicholas.

Nicholas grabbed his keys to his apartment and pulled the door open afterwards, "it's a good idea. Drinking alcohol once in a while will not harm our wolf, right?"

"Of course, not, you..." Cedric was about to utter profanity but was saved by the bell after seeing a beautiful face sitting on the couch.

But the one thing that made Nicholas stunned his entire body the most was the young man standing next to Sophia. Even if his face was not facing the door, his scent was as clear as crystal to Nicholas' wolf.

Slowly, the young man turned around which gives Nicholas the thrill to recollect all the wonderful memories of being with Clark. He could not stop his heart from being squeezed off and the tears that voluntarily fell to his cheeks.

Sophia then nodded to Clark and let go of her grip on his shoulder. Clark's and Nicholas' tears after tightly hugging each other's arms were steadfast and inevitable. Everyone, including, Cedric could not stop their heavy feelings as well.

Cedric knows how hard it was for Nicholas all those years keeping his promises to continue searching for his brother. He knew how Nicholas loves his brother to the point that he is willing to lend him his lifeline if given the chance he would see him again.

"See? I told you. My family can do everything, Mr Jones." Sophia muttered as she wiped the tears that also fell to her cheeks. And she hates the feeling of it.

Sophia may have no brothers or sisters compared to Nicholas but she felt pure love and overflowing happiness that lives in Nicholas and Clark's hearts at the moment.

She just witnessed an everlasting love for a family. And found it to the person she wanted to hire as her personal bodyguard.

"Thank you," Nicholas muttered to Sophia as he could not let go of his grip on Clark.

Sophia moved out from the couch and straightened her dress. "I'm not here for that, Mr Jones. A deal is a deal. You can bring your brother with you. I'll give you thirty minutes to sort things out."

Afterwards, Sophia and her security guards evacuated the apartment and waited outside for Nichola's decision to close the deal.

Thirty minutes later, Nicholas and Clark, were carrying their backpacks filled with their stuff heading to the BMW. He then nodded to Cedric to bid him farewell.

Out of the thirty minutes that Sophia allocated for them, Nicholas used the opportunity to explain to Cedric about what was going to happen and the possibility of dying sooner.

Nicholas totally hates the idea but he was a man of his word. He had to agree to his end of the bargaining agreement. What matters to him is that he already has his brother in his arms.

Later that evening, Nicholas did not get the chance to get trained on the do's and don'ts while staying at the mansion when Sophia had an emergency meeting with the minor families.

When the meeting with the minor families will be done, Sophia was scheduled to attend an auction and will stay at their booked hotel after that.

"Is he gonna be okay in the room?" Nicholas could not help but ask Sophia to make sure his brother's safety. He just got his brother back. And they haven't got the chance to talk about things.

"Clark was surrounded by hundreds of security guards, Mr Jones. Dad was already aware of your plus one. He will not let your brother gets hungry in the room." Sophia explained.

Without further questions, Nicholas eased off in the corner at the backseat bedside Sophia. He looks even stunning wearing a black tuxedo paired with black pants and leather shoes.

Ten minutes later, Nicholas and Sophia found themselves at a huge wooden table in a meeting room surrounded by security guards with their guns at their waist.

Nicholas was simply standing still behind Sophia while studying the ambiance of the room.

"Can we get this meeting straight to the point, gentlemen?" Sophia announced, a bit bored. But Nicholas did not like the sound of it. The worst part was that he sensed something about those men in front of them.

To everyone's surprise, especially Nicholas, most men in front of them grabbed their respective guns and pointed them at Sophia and Nicholas. What makes it worse was that Nicholas doesn't have any. No gun. No stick. Neither is a knife.

Good thing Sophia also brought her security guards with them. They were also pointing their guns at those men seated across her.