Chapter Three

A few minutes after watching Evelyn enter the hospital building, Michael saw his wife's best friend, Rebecca, drive into the compound.

He came out of his car and walked over to greet her." Hi Rebecca," he said, standing next to her car.

She looked up at him. "Why are you here? Shouldn't you be at the hotel?" She asked as she parked her car and removed her keys.

"Well... I drove Evelyn here."

"What? Evelyn is here?" She sounded excited as she stepped out of the car.

"Yes," Michael answered.

Rebecca locked her car and looked at him with surprise. "She's not supposed to resume work until two weeks from now," she told him. "But if she's here, that means you did something to upset her."

"It was just a simple misunderstanding."

"A simple misunderstanding couldn't have made her angry enough to want to come to work immediately after her honeymoon when she should be resting," she said angrily. "That's why I was against her marriage to you," Rebecca added. "You better not have hurt her."

"Come on, Rebecca, you know I wouldn't hurt her intentionally."

"Did you cheat on her?"

"Is that what you really think of me?" Michael asked.

"I think you're too dangerous for her, and you might cause her a lot of trouble," she said, walking towards the entrance.

Michael followed after her. "We argued about the ritual," he said.

"My God, what I was afraid of. You told her already?"

"No, I haven't. I don't want her to go through with the ritual. She sensed that I was hiding something, and now she wants to know what."

"What the hell is wrong with you? Every minute she's around you is dangerous for her, and the only way to truly keep her safe is to let her do the ritual." Rebecca said.

"I know... I know. I just don't want her to be a part of my world."

"Well, you should have thought about that before you married her," Rebecca told him. "If you won't tell her, you bet I will. I'm tired of lying to my best friend."

"No, don't do that. I will tell her. I promise. I just need to sort out some things first." Michael replied.

"You better hurry. The clock's ticking."

He walked her to the entrance of the hospital and stopped when she was almost at the door. "When is Evelyn's shift supposed to be over?" He asked Rebecca.

"Why should I tell you when she didn't let you know? You better be here when she closes from work."

"Yeah. Of course."

She went in, and Michael walked back down to where his car was. Rebecca was a smart woman, and he liked her. He liked that she was his wife's best friend, but the only problem was that she didn't like him.

Not only because of his previous playboy, gigolo lifestyle that he had left behind after meeting Evelyn but mainly because of his origin. She knew what his family was. She was aware of the supernatural hidden part of their world.

Rebecca was not like normal humans. She was born into a family of dormant supernatural hunters. They were only active if one of the members of the supernatural community broke their agreement by killing a human.

When she found out her friend wanted to marry a Wolf, she knew it might lead to her friend's demise, so she had been against their relationship from day one.

After waiting several minutes in the car on the hospital grounds, Michael decided to go back home to see his father and discuss if there was a way to prevent the ritual.

He arrived at his family home, Wolventin Castle, after hours of driving. He honked three times, signaling for the gatekeeper to open his gate. That was his signature honk; whenever he arrived, the gatekeeper, Mr. Clifford, knew to open the gate without checking who it was.

The gate remained closed, and Michael was concerned. A young man came out of the small single gate to check who it was.

"Good morning, sir. Who are you here to see?" The young man asked.

"I'm here to see my father," Michael answered.

"Sorry, sir, can I see some identification?"

Michael sighed in frustration, opened his wallet, and gave the boy his ID card.

"Oh, Mr. Michael, welcome home, sir," the boy gave back the ID and rushed inside to open the gate.

Michael drove inside and parked his car. There was not really any change in the castle; it still looked the same as he had left it three months ago, except for the increase in the number of cars in the compound.

The young man ran to meet Michael to welcome him again. "Good day, sir. I'm sorry about earlier, but I needed to confirm before allowing anybody in, sir."

"It's fine, lad," Michael came out of his car and tossed his keys at the boy. "Where's Mr. Clifford?"

"He's in the hospital, sir."

"Why? Is he sick?" Michael asked.

"Yes, sir. So I'm here as a replacement."

Mr. Clifford had been the gatekeeper for as long as Michael could remember. He had been working for his family for close to thirty-five years.

Mr. Clifford had always been his friend. Whenever Michael needed advice on certain issues, the man was one of the very few people he listened to.

Michael looked at the new gatekeeper and saw how skinny he was up close. Not that they needed any protection from thieves or burglars; no one in their right mind would want to steal from the Wolves. He thought his father should have gotten someone at least older than the boy.

"What is your name, boy?"

"Brian, sir. Brian Clifford."

"Wait, hold on. Are you related to Mr. Clifford?" Michael asked.

"Yes, sir. I am his son," Brian answered.

Michael stared in amazement. He never knew Mr. Clifford had a child, not to mention a son. He always thought he knew Mr. Clifford well, but it seemed he didn't.

"How old are you?"

"I'm sixteen, sir."

Michael patted his head. "Be good, huh," he told Brian.

"Yes, sir. Your father is in the garden with some guests, sir."

"Okay, thanks, lad."

Michael walked to the side of the castle where the garden was. His father loved greenery a lot. He always told his children the scenery reminded him of their ties to the earth. Whatever he meant by that, Michael could not understand.

There was a portion of the garden that was covered with glass. One could see inside the glass house from the outside but could hardly hear anything. Michael walked into the glass house and saw his father and two brothers seated and dining together with several guests.

"Hey, Michael. What's good," his immediate older brother stood up and hurried to greet him.

"Hi, Sam."

"What do you mean, 'Hi, Sam?' Who are you acting posh for?" He put his arm around Michael and tightened his grip on his neck.

"Dude, come on," Michael released himself from his brother's grip.

"Let us welcome the man of the moment. My kid brother Michael, welcome back home," John stood up to welcome him.

"Thanks, John," he said as he hugged his older brother.

John was the oldest of the brothers. He was their father's right-hand man, the most meticulous and most organized person Michael had ever known.

Sam went back to his seat while Michael went to greet his father.

His father stood up and gave his third son a warm hug and told him to sit by his left. Mr. Wolf stood up and raised his glass. The rest stood up also with their glasses raised.

"You all attended my son Michael's wedding. He married the most beautiful and almost perfect wife. I guess he takes after me in that regard. My boy is now a man and will be responsible for creating his own family. Let us all welcome him back home. Cheers to my son Michael," Mr. Wolf said before he drank his wine.

"Cheers to Michael," the guests chanted and drank too.

"These are the guests from all over the world ready to witness the ritual, my son. I hope you are ready?" Mr. Wolf whispered into his son's ear.

"Yes, Dad," Michael answered as he watched his family and several strangers toast to his return from Europe.