Their New Friend

Before I could slip a word about the truth, I turned my head sideways to check if someone was nearby. Then I dragged them both inside the house.

"What's going on, Danica?" Justine continued before he reached out to my hand to stop me from gritting my fingernails. "Who is he? Why is he still in his werewolf form?"

Bombarding me with his endless questions even put me in a tough position. I am in the middle of deciding whether to let go of Christopher or let him stay in the house.

Worst-case scenario. If I were going to let go of Christopher like a free wolf, everyone in the village, including Alpha Damien and Lady Divina, would get furious at me. They don't want anyone to know their son's existence.

On the other hand, if I am going to let him stay in our house, my parents are going to kill me either, adding another stomach to feed. But either of the choices, the result remained the same - me getting killed. Or worse, everyone close to me including my parents and Justine, my best friend.

Justine tightened his grip on my hands to stop me from pacing end to end. "I have been freaking worried about you, Danica. You left me without saying a word. Even your parents don't have the slightest idea about your whereabouts as though you vanished without a trace. Tell me the truth. Where did you go and who is this man with you?"

I shortly fixed my gaze to Christopher who did not even care about me and Justine talking. His undivided attention was focused on the house. Perhaps it was his first time seeing such a small house where the living area, the rooms, and even the dining area were one glance away.

"Christopher?" I softly breathed out his name while caressing his dense fur. Luckily, he lifted his calm gaze at me so I took the opportunity and continued, "Brother Justine and I will be playing hide and seek. Do you want to play with us?"

One thing that I learned from someone with autism was their love of playing games. Despite his age, Christopher's mindset still loves to play. It was the only way where Justine and I could have our private conversation.

"Really? Can I really join, Ms. Danica?" He eagerly replied the way I expected. But the only person who could barely understand what was certainly going on was Justine.

Christopher and I possessed an ear-to-ear smile on our faces but several long curve lines were written on Justine's forehead. "Can you count from one to one hundred? Because I still need to hide, remember?"

"Of course," I replied. "But make sure you hide within the perimeter of the house, do you understand?"

Without further questions, Christopher nodded his head and went straight into my room. Then I began counting to make sure he would not sense my confession to Justine.

"What do you think you're doing, Danica?" Justine murmured before he dragged me into the corner away from my room.

"His name is Christopher Silvia." I began. "I am his nanny. Does his wolf's scent seem familiar to you?"

"What?" Justine furrowed as he enhanced his werewolf senses and fixed them to the room. "Can you cut to the chase, Danica? Apart from the fact that he was not from here, I don't know anything about him. Not even his wolf's scent."

"Once I told you everything, will you promise me that whatever you hear from me, remains in this house? Can you do that for me?" I replied.

"Actually, it depends, Danica." he debated, "If I could see this could put you in danger, I will not hesitate to do something - to avoid you from getting hurt. So better be honest with me."

Justine and I have been best friends as far as I can remember. We have shared wonderful and awful memories together. Even if I sometimes showed him my negative side, he still chose to be my friend.

That was one of the things that made me fall in love with him. He always cares for me. He preferred to get hurt instead of me. I like him. No. My heart speaks I love him.

However, I'm afraid that if I am going to tell him my hidden feelings for him, everything about us might change. And I cannot afford to let go of him. I would rather betray my feelings for him.

"The reason you and my parents are still breathing right now was because of that wolf in the room," I said back and kept my eyes fixed on his, allowing him to read the sincerity of my voice. "Do you still remember the day when Alpha Damien and Lady Divina visited me in the house?"

Justine extended the long curve lines on his forehead, but he was left with no other choice but to nod. "That wolf in my room is their hidden son."

The heavy tension in the room hung in the air as the truth was about to unfold. My wolf and I trusted Justine to keep the truth remain hidden.

"Hidden son?" He cleared his throat. "But why? Because he was not normal like us?"

Undeniably, Justine had sharp and keen eyes. He immediately noticed something was off with Christopher. I nodded. "He had severe autism and bipolar disorder. They kept him from the pack because they were terrified that the pack humiliate, degrade, or worse, dethrone them from the pack. And they hired me to help him become the next alpha king."

"And how are you supposed to do that, huh?" Justine debated as he found my confession ridiculous. "You're not a healer or any ability that can straighten anything that's bent, Danica. We're talking about brain issues here. Aren't you supposed to hand him over to his parents?"

"Already done that two hours ago, Justine," I replied, my voice barely above a whisper. "Christopher and I met them earlier."

"What did they say?" he asked.

"Alpha Damien said that bringing him there was the biggest I have ever done. He even threatened me that if I was not gonna do my job, they were going to hurt everyone close to me. And that includes you."

My words cut deeper into Justine's heart, I can tell. He was furious earlier but it immediately shifted into worries and fears. I was not supposed to tell him the last part of my sentence but it was the only thing my conscience could do for him to believe me.

"I badly needed your help right now, Justine." I continued, "Help me fix everything about Christopher. I spent a few days with him and I can tell he's a good guy. Perhaps, if we can do something for him, he can be the Alpha King the omegas needed. Perhaps if we can make him realize that it was us, third-rank omegas shaped him into the man he becomes, everything might change, don't you agree?"

Justine was put into silence as though he was gathering all his thoughts. "So, what do you suggest we should do?" he finally asked after a few minutes of being lost in his thoughts. "Do you think it's a good idea to let him live here with you?"

The idea was a bit uncomfortable considering Christopher will be staying in our house, specifically in my room. What else could I do? Our house only has two rooms. I cannot let him sleep with Mom and Dad, nor on the couch in the mini-living area.

The only option we had was in my room. After all, he had a brain disorder. I believe he will not think about taking advantage of me while we were sleeping. I mean, Justine saw him with his own eyes. The man was completely harmless. He can sleep on my bed while I can have the floor.

"For the time being, yes," I replied without considering things further. "Unless you have someplace in mind where we could hide him from the pack."

"We cannot hide him forever in this village, Danica," Justine replied with the truth that strikes me like a bolt of lightning. "How about your parents? Do you think they would agree to this? Putting extra stomach to feed?"

My parents were already having a hard time putting food and drinks on the table for just the three of us. Adding one more plate would put them in a difficult situation.

"How about the cottage we have on top of the mountain?" Justine highly suggested it before he gently lifted his feet toward my room.

He slowly opened the door without producing any sound. There, right in front of our eyes Christopher in his naked human form, profoundly sleeping like a child. Perhaps he got bored while waiting for us.

He then covered Christopher's body with the blanket before I stepped foot inside. I securely locked the door to make sure he could not escape. "Who could have thought such a good-looking young man had a brain disorder?" he mumbled while fixing his eyes on Christopher's innocent face.

"Couldn't agree more. He looks exactly like Alpha Damien, isn't he?" I mumbled back. "Do you think our safe haven would be the best place for us to keep and train him?"

"Danica? Is that you in the room? I brought you your favorite food. It's on the table. Share it with your friends." Mom's loud voice vibrated my ears.

Justine and I got panicked when we did not expect this to happen. The balls of our eyes even dilated when the door of my room was now open and found no Christopher lying on the bed.