CHAPTER 4

** 5 months later **

Calista's pov

"It has been 5 months now, and I have never felt so happy and satisfied in my whole life. I have never been so comfortable in my whole life.

Esmi, Ale, and I finally decided to settle down in one place, so we got permission from the Winter Flake pack to settle down in the town near it. They were quite surprised that some rogues actually asked for permission because most rogues don't settle down on their own. Later, when the alpha got to know we are just innocent three girls, he gave the permission. That was 2 and a half months ago, but he still sends his beta once a week to check on us. We are totally fine with it. I mean, come on! We don't have anything to hide, right?

Once we settled down, the three of us started searching for jobs. Luck was on our side because we got what we wanted.

Alessia, being the designer she is, decided to work as an assistant to a fashion designer. As for Esmeralda, she decided to work at an art studio since she loves painting. Then, here I am in a library. Okay, it doesn't sound really creative like the girls, but hey, I'm a nerd! I love books! Sometimes, when I get time, I write. I love writing. And also, I'm allowed to read as much as I want.

After all, the librarian is a sweet woman in her late 50s.

"Mrs. Brown, I'm leaving!" I called, grabbing my bag.

"Sure, sweetie! See you tomorrow!" Mrs. Brown called back.

"Oh! Wait, daughter!" I was about to walk to the door when she called.

"Yes, Mrs. Brown?" I asked. She walked over to me.

She had a big box in her hand. She came and handed it to me. I looked at it carefully.

It had a very different wood, and it looked old. There was dust on the box, and it had ancient writing on it.

The picture on the lid was unclear.

"What is this?" I asked in awe.

"This is the book I was looking for," she said. "I figured that you love ancient myth books very much, so I thought I would give it to you."

"Wow. How come I have never seen this before? I've read almost all the books here," I asked, somewhat confused. "That's because it was in the stock room," she answered.

"Why in the stock room, though?"

"This book was in the cupboard when I first bought this place, which was 20 years ago. It was in this box. Once I realized what it was, I put it into the stock room. Ever since then, I forgot about it.

But when you came, your addiction to ancient mythology made me remember it. I didn't know where I put it, so I threw a clean-up crew last week to find it. It was in the stock room," she said.

"Wow. Thanks, Mrs. Brown," I smiled at her. "You are most welcome, dear," she smiled back. "Have you read it?" I asked. "No, I haven't. I'm not really into ancient mythology. I enjoy romance and action," she grinned.

"Well, I guess this guy was waiting for me all this time then," I joked. "Oh, it was!" Mrs. Brown said. I laughed.

"Bye, Mrs. Brown! You are the best!" I giggled, walking out of the library. "Bye, Calista! Have a good day!" she yelled. "You too, Mrs. Brown!" I yelled back.

I sat on the bench and took the book out of the box. I gasped. Wow. It looks old, yet so beautiful. It had a black cover. The cover was really hard and thick. The surface was rough because there was a very strange-looking design. It had a few golden patterns too.

I put the box into my bag and stood up from the bench, the book still in my hand. I started walking to the office where Alessia works since it wasn't that far. I opened the first page of the book. What the? The thing on the first page caught my interest. It was a poem. Or is it really a poem? I don't think so. It's as if it's something more.

'When the Death overpowers the light,

The light shall be reborn, The tale shall be awoken,

The looming shadows will linger in every corner, waiting to swallow you whole into the world of doom.

The Golden shall slay,

The path of destruction,

The Ancient shall bring peace and protection

To the Beasts of the Moon.’

The Beast of the Moon? Aren't werewolves the beasts of the moon? Hmm... interesting.

I turned to the next page. It was indeed about werewolves, about ancient stories.

How come an ancient werewolf book is in the library?

I was so caught up in reading the book. Suddenly, I bumped into something so cold, as if it was ice. I fell onto the ground, feeling a dreadful sensation inside me, but I didn't know how or why.

I looked up to see a muscular man. He had piercing silver eyes and white hair that almost looked like snow, but he didn't look old. He appeared to be in his late twenties.

He stared at me coldly, a frown on his face. I quickly grabbed the book and stood up. "I'm so sorry, sir," I said, gulping.

He simply looked away, and I quickly walked away from him. I couldn't shake off the dangerous vibe I got from him.

It was as if I could still see the long and deep scar on his face, extending from his forehead to his ears. There was a scar across his jaw too.

Why was he so pale? Is he a vampire? No way! Vampires have red eyes and reddish lips.

Something in me snapped, but I didn't know what it was. It was as if something in me was slowly awakening.

I ignored it and continued walking to the office while reading the book. I saw Alessia standing outside the office. I ran to her, and we walked to the bench beside her workplace and sat down.

Five minutes later, we saw Esmeralda. She had a big smile on her face.

"I wonder what is the reason behind that smile," Alessia said.

"Hey, girls!" Esmeralda said cheerfully. "Should I be worried? You are being shockingly cheerful!" I asked, narrowing my eyes suspiciously.

"Nah! It wasn't you guys! It was the other artist guy there! He pulled a prank on me," she said, grinning.

"He... pulled a prank on 'you'? Then why are 'you' being sooo 'cheerful'?" Alessia asked, emphasizing certain words.

"What did you do?" I asked Esmeralda, trying to hide my smile. I already knew where this was going.

Esmeralda looked at me with a happy glint in her eyes. "Took you long enough to ask that."

"Come on! Just tell us, will ya?" Alessia whined.

"Alright, brace yourselves!" Esmeralda said. "He changed my painting with Dana's, and I got angry," she started.

"Mmhmmm?" I gave her the sign to continue.

"Of course! I kicked his ass!" she yelled at the top of her lungs, making us burst into laughter. I saw it coming.

We went to Starbucks after that.

"What are you reading?" Alessia asked, taking a bite from her lasagna. She still had her rainbow frappuccino.

"It's about an ancient werewolf. It's like a legendary one," I said. I finished my mac and cheese five minutes before, so I only have my Oreo frappuccino left.

"Hmm... Interesting. I have heard lots of legends. Tell me more," Esmeralda said and took a big bite from her bacon-wrapped chicken. She called the waiter and ordered another coffee frappuccino.

I took a sip from my drink.

"It says she is a golden wolf. I have heard about that before," I said, looking at them. "Me too," Esmeralda said.

Honestly, I don't know if it's true or not. I mean, golden wolves? There are no gold-colored wolves. Only brown, white, black, beige, gray, and such colors. But no gold. But I have heard of the legend. That there once was a golden wolf. It's said that she was a wolf sent to stop the evil forces.

"It says that she was killed in the battle 2000 years ago," I said. "Wow! That's long," Alessia gasped.

"It also says that she will be reborn. That she will have to stop the evil. It says this new evil wolf will be a descendant of the ancient one," I said.

"What? Reborn? Oh my God!" Esmeralda gasped at me.

"If she isn't able to stop evil, then the world will suffer. Not only wolves, but every supernatural being. Even the humans. The moon will lose her light too. The world will be ruled by evil. Only the Golden can stop him," I read a sentence in the book.

"The world will suffer... That's bad," Alessia said.

"So, the Golden is a she. And whoever the evil person is, he's a guy," Esmeralda said. I nodded.

"It says she might have been reborn now also. But she might be hidden from others," I told them. "That... that means..."

"That the Golden is somewhere out there. So is the evil," Esmeralda mumbled. We stared at each other in shock.

"There is a marking on the Golden. It will appear on her left shoulder. However, no one knows what the marking looks like. It's said to be unique. There is another marking on her. It's the eyes. Once she embraces her inner beast, her eyes will turn to amber or gold. But, in wolf form, her eyes will be red just like rogues. The difference is her eye color will be deeper and darker than rogues," I read.

"A marking. Hmm... I would love to meet the Golden wolf. How cool would that be!" Alessia gushed. I let out a laugh.

"What are you thinking about?" I heard Alessia's voice behind me. I was outside our house. I was lying on the cold grass in the night. She came and lay beside me. Soon, Esmeralda joined too.

"Nothing," I said.

"Come on, you can tell us anything. Did we do something wrong? Wait! Did we hurt you?" Alessia asked. I let out a little laugh.

"No, you girls didn't do anything wrong. In fact, you two are the best people I have ever met. You showed me that there is more than hate and cruelty in the world. How could I ever be unhappy with such beautiful people like you?" I said, looking at the moon.

"Then what's bothering you? I know that look, Rowy," Esmeralda said. I sighed.

"I can't stop thinking about him. After everything he said and did, I still miss him," I said. "Your mate, Luciano?" Esmeralda asked. I nodded.

"He mated with another," I said as a tear left my eyes.

"WHAT?" They both yelled at the same time.

"But how did you know?" Alessia asked quietly.

"I felt it. I was in the library today when it happened," I sighed.

<<[Earlier Today]>>

I gave the book to Sir Robert. He is a special person to the library. I bid him goodbye and went to put another book on the shelf. Suddenly, I felt hot. Very hot. My neck started burning. I couldn't breathe. My lungs were burning. I felt thousands of needles piercing my skin. I ran to the restroom and locked the door. Tears formed in my eyes as I fought to breathe. I was shaking. I felt bile rise in my throat. I ran toward the toilet bowl. Once I was done, I moved away and washed my mouth. My throat hurt so bad. I went to flush the toilet, but what I saw scared the hell out of me. It wasn't vomit. It was blood. I flushed it at once and leaned against the door as the pain came again. I wrapped my arms around me and cried silently. My whole body was on fire. My abdomen hurts. My neck burned. Sweat dripped down my face. And then it all suddenly stopped. It all stopped. The pain slowly started to fade.

<<[End]>>

"I'm so sorry. I know how it feels. Probably the worst thing I have ever experienced," Alessia said sadly.

"It's okay. I don't care. He can do whatever he wants," I said. But who was I kidding? It's not okay. I care. And it hurts. A lot.

I sighed, standing up. "I'm going to sleep. Good night, girls!" I gave them a small smile, which they returned.

I walked back to our little house. I went to our room and climbed onto the upper bunk bed.

I closed my eyes, but sleep was miles away from me. I'm not the girl that stuttered at home anymore. I'm different. Alessia and Esmeralda brought the old me to the surface. And I will forever be grateful for it.

I looked out at the moon from the window next to my bed.

Maybe one day, I will get a wolf. I will be able to run like Alessia and Esmeralda. My parents, my siblings, my mate, and White Ray Pack may not see it, but I know two things for sure:

If I get a wolf one day, the day I get it will be one of the happiest days of my life.

Ale and Esmi will be there with me even if I don't get a wolf. They are the truest friends, best friends ever.

And I will do what I can to protect them, with or without a wolf.

And that is a promise.