Chapter 3

DAWN:

"Who the hell is Russell Hondra?" he demands to know.

I was tempted to move toward him and tell him to quit the bullshit but I stand my ground. If I want to get the truth out of him, I will have to do it the right way.

"I believe I'm staring right at him," I say, maintaining the smirk I have on.

"For goodness sake, I'm not Russell Hondra or whatever you think I am! My name is Leonard—"

"Oh please," I cut him off, "who the hell gives himself such a name for a cover up?"

"Leonard's my real name," he insists.

"It's a made-up name," I look deep into his eyes like I'm trying to search within his soul. At least that's what I think I make him think I'm doing.

I continue, "I know who you are. You're Russell. And you cannot deny the fact that it's your name so stop with the lies."

He looks at me from head to toe before saying, "You sound even crazier than you look."

"Don't mind the way I'm dressed. I went through a lot just to find you."

"I don't care what you did to find me. You're a criminal and I'm going to get you arrested!"

"Tell me one thing first, Russell—"

He interrupts with a snap: "My name is not Russell!"

I ignore him and continue, "Where are your parents? Oh, let me guess. They died about twelve years ago, right? And how do I know that? Well, because I know a lot about you."

That seems to have hit a nerve. I could see the switch in his countenance as he looked like he was going to explode any moment from now.

"Stop speaking now and leave my house! You said you were going to leave after I handed the ring over to you. Why haven't you?"

"Because you're the reason I'm here in the first place," I state. "Why will I leave when I haven't fulfilled my mission here?"

I decide to take two steps toward him but he doesn't move away from where he's standing. He doesn't even look scared like he was not too long ago.

"If you really wanted to get rid of me, then why haven't you done that yet? Why haven't you called the so-called cops you claim would bundle me out of here? Who even are they?"

"The cops are the police."

He says that like I'm supposed to understand what he means. What even are these strange terms in the human world?

"Whatever. But you know I'm right about you. You know who you are but it seems you're scared about revealing your true personality. That won't stop me from reminding you."

"Who even are you? How can you just barge in here and then tell me you know me? Does that make sense to you?" he asks, frustration evident in his tone.

"I didn't barge in here," I correct him. "I came in through a portal. A ring similar to this one was what brought me to this place and it sure didn't lead me to the wrong place." I hold the ring for him to see but it doesn't do anything to wash off the confusion that has mounted his expression.

"Let me explain how the ring works so I can convince you that I didn't just come here without much of a clue."

"I don't want to hear anything about it," he tells me but I ignore him.

"The ring works with the mindset. It takes you to wherever you want to go even if you haven't been there before," I explain. "Before I came here, I set it in my mind that I wanted to find the rightful heir to the position of Alpha of the pack I come from... the pack you rightfully come from too. And that's when I landed here. Do you think it's a coincidence? I guess not."

"What did you smoke before coming here?"

I scrunch up my face in confusion. "What?"

"You must be on drugs or something because what in the world are you spewing from your mouth?" he states. "Pack? Rightful heir? Those are some bullshit. And I'll remind you one more time. I'm not who you think I am. I'm not some guy in some made-up story of yours and neither will I tolerate you being here any longer than this."

"But you still haven't kicked me out, Russell. You know I'm right about everything I'm saying. You just don't want to admit it."

"For the last time, my name is Leonard. Stop calling me Russell!"

"I can't call you the name you're not. You might have succeeded in fooling the humans around about who you truly are but you can't fool me," I rebuff. "Tell me something, Russell. Haven't you felt something in you? Like an entity that lives inside your head? A beast that you can't summon but is a part of your existence?"

He raises a hand to shut me up. He then says, "I don't want to hear any more of your nonsense. Just leave. If you leave now, I promise not to call the cops on you."

"You didn't even bother denying it. You know what you are. You're no human. Like me, you're a wolf and you can feel it inside you. You're just in denial of the truth."

I could tell that I was getting through to him and I wanted to complete the task fast and as soon as possible.

"This ring won't last me more than a day here. Whoever brought you here knew how the ring works so he only timed you to be kept safe here. But that time spent in a world that isn't your own is over. It's time you fulfill the reason you were born."

Slowly I moved a bit closer again until the gap between us wasn't that wide again. It wasn't at arms reach but it was enough.

I proceed to announce, "Russell Hondra, only surviving son of the late Alpha Denver Hondra, it's time to come home. The Red Moon pack needs you."

My ears instantly catch the sight of something. It was like the sound of a strong wind current and I think I might have an idea what was going on.

Not that I have an idea. I knew what was going on. A portal has been created and whoever it is that created it from my world was here already.

"They've found us..." I mutter but it was to his hearing.

"Who has found us?" he asks, apparently more confused than before.

I quickly walk up to the doorway leading into his room and my eyes catch sight of something extraordinary. There were three different portals closing up and out of those portals were warriors from the Red Moon pack. The sigil on their outfits were hard to miss.

The one who was leading them was the Alpha's dog, Gamma Connor. And from the look on his face, he was prepared to teach me a lesson.

When I look back, I see Russell or Leonard staring at the scenario with his eyes wide open. He was in shock and for a moment it made me want to believe he wasn't who I came to the human world for.

"We need to go!" I announce before slamming the door into the room shut and then grabbing him by the wrist to make a run out of here.