Two.

DAMIAN.

"Here, Mr. Kincaid, come on in," Alfred ushered and I followed him through the gates of the mansion that was now my home.

Compared to the lush greenery of the place I'd just left, the towering buildings that lingered around were numerous, choking even. All owned the same light brown and cream color; one could barely tell them apart.

We arrived inside the building. Its minimalistic furnishing wasn't the worst. The living room alone could accommodate six more people, including Alfred and me.

"What do you think of it, sir?" Alfred asked, his voice shrill. The last time I'd seen Alfred was when his father worked for me about seventy years ago. He was a boy child then—

From generation to generation, they've served me. Each first male of his family led that legacy. It was the pact I'd made with his ancestor when the unfortunate incident happened.

"It's not the worst," I responded, taking off my cufflinks and placing them on the marble table before me. "I still can't get over seeing you with an arched back, Alfred. What happened?"

He chuckled slightly. "Age, your honor. Humans are not built to last. You should be happy for your immortality."

"Not immortality," I said. "Just a ridiculously long life." I looked around the dimly lit room.

It was warm and comfortable enough, but cozy was a far word from it. "Was there no smaller place, or is my living here another feat to delude the public?"

"Ever so blunt are you, sir. There were no apartments worthy of your grace, and as you've taken over the company as my son, we have to put you on a high seat to make the story plausible."

"Ah, I see," I muttered, opening all the doors I could set eyes on. There were four rooms in total. At least the ones I'd discovered. Each of them had a different kind of aesthetic and too much color.

"Why did you decide to come back so suddenly, sir? My father had told me to keep my eyes open for when you reach out. I hadn't expected it to happen this soon."

I inhaled deeply. I was still fighting with the decision, too— why did I come out of hiding? Was it even worth it?

"To find…people like me, if ever any of them survived that war. Maybe there's still hope for our kind."

The words left a bitter taste in my mouth, and I began to relive that horrible period in my headspace. The sounds of their cries as they begged to be saved while I, the Alpha, failed to be of help.

I lost everything. I lost her, too.

"I hope you find what you're looking for," Alfred said. "Do you like the place? I could find you somewhere else if this doesn't comfort you enough."

I snapped out of my thoughts. "It's pleasant. Thank you, Alfred, for all your help. I also thank you that you've led the company so far. Please know I do not intend to strip you of your position. This is merely a plot to put myself out to the public."

"Certainly not!" He exclaimed. "You have every right to take the reins of the company, sir. Because of you, my generation has gotten to know what wealth is."

"You're very welcome. You may leave, Alfred. I'll reach out when I need anything."

"Understood, sir Damianos."

"Damian," I corrected. "I don't want questions arising about the origin of the name. Also, how do you propose this house be cleaned up?"

"They'd be an agency specifically responsible for that. I'm aware of how much you detest company, so they'd come at noon, twice a week. My grandson, Reiss, who had seen the upkeep of this place, would also visit from time to time. Do you want any changes?"

I shook my head. "Perfect." Even though I really hoped his grandson never visited. It was already enough trouble trying to coexist with these humans.

Alfred walked to the door. His driver seemed to be waiting outside. He stopped right before he twisted the door knob. "Sir Damian?"

"Yes?"

"What does it feel like being a lycan?"

No one had asked me that in a while. I shrugged. "You get to smell so sweaty."

Alfred smiled. "That must be nice. Have a good night's rest, sir." He walked out.

I tore off the uncomfortable fit I was forced into to stand before flashing cameras and the grinning idiots behind them.

The human world was so easy to sway. Following that, I picked a room, the one with the darkest shade, and when I opened the wardrobe in it, I realized Alfred had picked that for me.

He was ever so diligent, just like his father and grandfather. A hush fell upon the room, the quietude creeping under my skin that I could hear my heart pound in my chest, although it barely functioned.

This was going to be another new beginning, not so different from others. I wake up, and I eat. I exist, nothing more. Nothing that fed the soul of my lone wolf, but I'd grown accustomed to that life.

I got off the edge of the bed where I sat and walked to the area of the house I'd hoped to be the kitchen. I crossed the threshold, and in it was a refrigerator.

Pulling it open, I was met by sudden whiteness and emptiness— just like my life, except for the white part. Everything about me had been dipped in blackness.

Would it be too much if I called a human man who was almost seventy about my refrigerator being empty?

I grabbed the car key and walked out. This could be a chance to tour my neighborhood while finding a convenience store, perhaps a restaurant.

No, God forbid I dine in the same rooms as the silly creatures. I'd done that often enough to know that it never ended well.

#

As I parked my car in the empty parking lot, I couldn't help but notice the silence that enveloped the surroundings. I'd spend more than I intended driving through the suburban neighborhood

Now I ended up at a beat-up convenience store whose flickering neon sign above its entrance provided the only source of light, not to mention the disturbing buzz that came from it.

I entered the store, the automatic doors parting before me. It'd been ages since I'd done this. Shopping was a chore. Maybe I should have reached out to Alfred.

There was a compartment immediately after an entrance where a man sat. His dark, bulgy eyes almost rolled three sixty degrees like a faulty security camera.

I said nothing to him as I walked in, hastily making my way through the aisle to pick out goods of my choice. I got an eerie vibe from the man, and I began to question why I'd left the estate's vicinity in the first place.

The bright, fluorescent lights illuminated the interior, revealing rows of neatly stacked shelves and coolers filled with variety. The man seemed neat, which earned him a point.

I picked a worn-out basket and began to select what I wanted— although I had no idea what half the things on display were– till I heard hasty shuffling from the far back of the store.

Someone else seemed to be there, and that disgusted me. I brushed it off till it grew louder and more menacing by the second.

Humans.

On purpose, I moved to where the sound came from when I caught a glimpse of a person hovering over a particular row of goods. The person was clad in faded jeans and a worn-out hoodie that went over his head.

Another thing I noticed was the bag he held and how it was partially opened, revealing a variety of goods that didn't look like they were being paid for. His movement was hasty and rough, noisy, too.

"Stealing and making noise about it don't go well together. Keep it quiet," I said calmly. I didn't have a care in the world for what he was doing—

Or why he was doing it. The shuffling sound was just too disgusting to put up with.

"Shove your opinion up your asshole," the person responded without looking back at me. It was the voice of a human female, surprising.

Daring she was. Finally, she stood up from the crouched position that she was in and turned to me. The hood fell off as she did, and her full face came into view.

She was everything—

Everything I hated. Everything that disgusted me. My breath was caught in my throat, and the basket slipped from my hand as I stared at her.

Minerva. For the first time in three hundred years. Standing before me was the same woman who had dipped a knife in my mate's heart during the war.

The merciless traitor of all times. The one person I'd failed to kill then. There she was, standing before me, living and breathing.

But she smelled human. How?

"Quit gawking, creep! Get out of the way!" She yelled, and her voice echoed in the walls of my mind. "Or are you interested in fucking me too?!"

Her dark hair cascaded down her shoulders, framing her small, deceptive face and those eyes of hazel that turned pitch black when the monster in her awakened.

A surge of energy coursed through me.

"We found her. We found her. Our way out." My wolf raged for the first time in three hundred years.

"Minerva?" I growled and watched the terror on her face.

"Mine- who? Wait…aren't you the billionaire guy from this morning? For PRIDE. you are, aren't you?" She questioned. "Even if you were fucking Bruce Wayne, I'd still shove you out of the way! Get out!"

I should kill her. Right here, and right now, just as she'd brutally murdered my people.

I reached for her immediately.