Chapter 4

"Is this location secure enough for us to meet in this manner?" As soon as Amanda walked into his room, Brandon asked.

The white witch smiled and nodded. "Yes, it is secure. I've warded the whole place. Even if you leave the door and windows wide open—even if you scream bloody murder—which I hope won't happen—whatever you say in the house won't exit the house."

Brandon said sarcastically, "That's wonderful to know. Although the task has taken too long, I was able to make contact with Kennedy."

When he realized he still had a bruise on his cheek, he flinched. Brandon would have healed in the middle of the crowd if Amanda's potion hadn't slowed down his healing. His rapid healing would have revealed his real identity. Amanda became aware of his agony as a result of the injuries. She went around his room to get the medical kit she had packed.

Mira instructed her to gather whatever Brandon would require for his mission. Mira could still reach him through her portal, but she hadn't perfected that power yet. It would take her longer to travel such a distance in one portal. 

"It was as expected," Amanda said as she knelt in front of Brandon and examined the purple bruises on his legs after placing the med-kit on the bed. "Do you have any broken bones or anything unusual?"

As he untied the bandage from his right knee, Brandon said, "Not that I'm aware of. He kicked hard on my knee."

"At this time, there are no new instructions for you. As a result, we'll continue as scheduled. Even if you turn down Kennedy Strauss' offer to join his legion of bodyguards, he won't let you go easy," Amanda replied.

She assessed the seriousness of his knee with her blue-glowing touch. His knee damage was not life-threatening. Given his extensive training, this was a minor blip on the radar for him. Because of the potion he consumed before the match, she couldn't heal him with her medical magic. They had discussed the benefits and drawbacks of a witch's potion before the mission. Yet, Brandon chose to drink the potion. As long as the potion remained in his system, Brandon could not be healed by medical magic.

"The most I could do is clean the injured surfaces to keep them from becoming infected." She took up the cotton balls and sprayed them with antiseptic.

Brandon leaned his body backward slightly. His limbs were aching in soreness and pain. "Does Vincent happen to be around?"

"He's going to meet someone for whatever reason. Mira had assigned him a mission."

"The Luna has a hectic task, huh?"

Amanda went straight for his injuries on his back and cleaned them up. "Well, you're familiar with Mira and her personality. That woman can't sit still for an entire day."

"How are her sons doing?"

"Their daily routine is giving their mum a heart attack and a headache."

Brandon burst out laughing. He remembered an occurrence two months ago when the Alpha heirs summoned their Lycans.

# Brandon's memory

Brandon was stationed outside the lake house, keeping an eye on things. The Gamma was going through his routine of checking for any signs of intrusion. Cohen had beefed up the security around the lake house ever since the Knights of Death had gained access while Stefano and Amanda cast spells around the house to keep uninvited guests from appearing nearby.

Brandon was walking along the lake in his human form when he heard Luna scream her heart out. Knowing Luna, she was unlikely to be startled by anything. But something caught her off guard this time. He dashed to the lake house's front deck, thinking something horrible had happened. Brandon pushed open the double-glazing door. The three black Lycans stood in the kitchen, and the refrigerator door smashed to the ground. That was the seventeenth fridge since the Alpha heirs could summon their Lycans out of their human bodies and the third fridge for this month.

"Tanto!" Mira's gaze was drawn to the Lycan of her youngest son, who was gripping raw turkey meat between his jaws. "Put that down." She made a gesture to the ground.

Tanto, the most naughty of the three, consumed half of the turkey while shaking his head and feigned he hadn't heard his mother's command. It was strange to witness the three cruel and savage Lycans confronting their mother's wrath if Brandon didn't know any better.

"Tanto, drop that turkey right now," Luna demanded once more. "Get your head out of the fridge, Mathias."

Brandon noticed the triplet's elder sibling had his entire head inside the fridge as if he was trying to hide his mother's stare. Ryker was silently chewing on a large piece of steak with his back to his mother.

"Ryker, turn around."

Mira inhaled deeply and swallowed her dissatisfaction. She, too, was incapable of becoming enraged. These Lycans were her sons' other halves. These Lycans were, in essence, her sons. Despite the chaos they had made in the kitchen, she kept a slight smile on her lips.

"Come on, boys. Don't give your mother a headache trying to figure this out," she grumbled, squeezing her nose.

Mathias took the fridge door off the floor and aligned it with the body of the fridge. His large claws fiddled with the hinges until impatient grunts burst from his chest, and he slammed the door shut forcefully. His right hand raced to the door as he growled. It shattered the door in the middle, leaving a massive dent. The fridge door was jammed, and he smirked at his mother as if he was delighted with himself for fixing it.

"I believe we all know where their frustration comes from." 

Brandon brought it up because the Lycans' impatience was similar to the Alpha's.

"At the very least, their father didn't smash seventeen refrigerators!" Mira grunted.

"Cohen shattered the desks and the walls." He reminded her of the number of times they had replaced the Alpha's office desk with a brand new one. They also had to repair the damage in the wall that he hit when he was angry.

"You make a good argument, though."

Tanto sat on the floor, letting out a gigantic burp. After that, he delivered a cocky grin. Mira reached for the surviving meat and stared at Ryker as he tried to pick it up before her. They were cruel and vicious, to be sure. However, their amusing expressions usually managed to bring a grin to someone's face. Ryker frowned, his bloodshot eyes as though he disagreed with his mother's deed in stealing the meat.

"Go to the corner." Mira gestured to the kitchen's empty corner. "Now!"

They dragged their feet to the corner and sat down like a child who had been scolded for the mess with a series of groans. They crossed their arms and turned aside as if they were pouting at the moment.

"If you want more meats, drop the attitude."

#

Since the arrival of the Alpha's heirs, chaos had been following the pack from behind. Brandon was astounded that Mira hadn't gone insane dealing with the Lycans right then and there.

"How many refrigerators did they destroy this month?" he asked.

She counted with her fingers. "Nine."

"That broke the previous month's record."

"Stefano is developing a method to prevent the boys' Lycans from erupting from their human bodies regularly. As good as it is that they can summon the Lycans, there could be a complication."

That was not a good sign.

"Get some rest and stick to your regular diet," Amanda said. "We have no idea how long this mission will take or how much of those potions you'll need. For the time being, I've reduced the dosage. Instead of five hours, the effect will last two hours. Avoid dragging your fight in the ring for an excessive amount of time."

"Understood."

Amanda packed the medical kit and placed it conveniently where Brandon could readily access it if he became incapacitated.

"We'll keep an eye on Kennedy's movements from afar while you get closer to him," Amanda remarked, wiping her hands clean and glancing out the window at the tree. "It's a good thing we've secured this location."

Brandon followed her gaze, and it didn't take him long to realize that someone was looking in from the outside.

"I'm not going to stop by for a while to limit our touch to a minimum while you're being watched. You should be able to last three weeks with the potions you have. Remember to go to the place Mira gave you if you're too hurt to treat your own wound." Amanda approached the door and stared at him. "Good luck"

"That's a polite way to say try not to die."