Chapter 3: Max's POV

“How the fuck isn't she dead?!” My voice thundered through the phone I was holding.

“I… I did as you requested, sir,” the man stammered on the other end. “I don't know how she survived… but her car was beyond recognition.”

His words only made my blood boil hotter, my grip on the glass table tightening until my knuckles went pale.

“Now you’re calling me,” I growled low, my voice sharp like a blade, “because you expect me to pay you for a job well done? The job was to kill her, not send her to a fucking hospital, you moron!”

“I didn't—”

I cut him off, not waiting for him to complete whatever he had to say. My patience was gone, shredded to pieces. “You didn't what?” I barked into the phone, my voice so loud and harsh. “The question still remains– Is she dead or not?”

There was a beat of silence on the other end, before he slowly whispered. “I… didn't confirm,”

I slammed my palm against the counter, the sound echoing through the room. “Fuck!!!”

My other hand pinched the bridge of my nose in frustration, trying to contain the seething rage swirling inside of me.

“One simple job,” I muttered through clenched teeth. “Just one simple fucking job.”

My chest heaved, anger boiling inside me.

“Just a weak human,” I spat bitterly. “I already made your job easy but you still managed to fuck it up!” I growled through gritted teeth.

“I'm sorry, sir,” he pleaded desperately. “Please… give me another chance.”

“Another chance?” I scoffed darkly, and then my voice dropped, cold and sharp as steel. “I can't give you the luxury of that.” 

I quickly ended the call not wanting to hear another word from him. My jaw went tight, my temples throbbing from the sheer force of keeping my temper in check. 

I will deal with him later. Right now, I need to make sure I finish what I started.

Making sure Amaris dies.

I walked over to the mini bar at the left corner of the living room and poured myself a glass of whiskey. I swirled the amber liquid slowly as my gaze became unfocused.

I need to return to the Stormhowl pack by tomorrow. I have been away for too long. The council had reminded me three days ago that if I don't return, my pack will fall into the hands of another pack.

That was their final warning.

I downed the whiskey in one goal, setting the glass down with a loud clink sound.

I won't let that happen. 

Everything I had done, every sacrifice I had made, every lie, was all for my pack.

The Supreme Alpha would be visiting in the next moon festival and if I don't pay the debts my late father left behind, he would seize my pack for himself… or sell it off to another Alpha.

My hands clenched into tight fists, my teeth grinding against each other. I couldn't believe my father gambled away the only inheritance he had left for me.

The Alpha seat of the Stormhowl pack.

I had been stunned when the Supreme Alpha had called for a meeting with all Alphas and had disclosed to everyone that the Stormhowl pack was without an Alpha unless proven otherwise. 

I was made to understand the pack was in several debts and my father, the past Alpha, had collected those debts using the Alpha's seat as collateral.

I had stood before the Council of Alphas, swallowing my pride, and begged for time to clear those debts — to prove I was worthy to retain the Alpha seat of the Stormhowl pack.

No Alpha was willing to help me. They all claimed my father was owing them too.

I knew they were all waiting for me to fail so they could claim what's left of my pack. But I wasn't going to back down—at least not without trying.

And so, four years ago, I set out for the human world—empty and desperate.

I searched for jobs, but none was enough to save my pack from its pool of debts. 

For one year It was from one job to another, the fear of losing my pack was what kept me going despite the many times I had tried to give up.

But still — all my efforts were like a drop of water in the ocean.  

I had almost given up… until Amaris came into my life.

She was beautiful, sweet, innocent and most of all, she had what I desperately needed most—-wealth.

Our first encounter had been eccentric thanks to my wolf, Lycario — a wolf of burning passion — a wolf who seduces not only with his body but his presence.

Anaris had immediately become our target and the aura from Lycario drew her in, causing her to have a strange pull towards us she couldn't explain.

She had thought it was love. 

I sneered, pouring myself another glass of whiskey. I didn't down it once this time, rather I took my time to savor its essence as my mind continued reeling

Foolish human.

She wasn’t in love. She was merely reacting to the way Lycario wanted her to.

She's a human and that means she's weak. All I wanted was her wealth, her influence in the human world—but if she was offering her body as well… 

I clicked my tongue, a bitter smirk curling my lips. 

Who was I to refuse?

It had started as an employer-employee relationship and then I knew I needed to take the bold step of making her my wife — to tie her to me in every way possible.

My lips unconsciously curled into a cold smile as I recalled the excitement in her eyes when I had proposed. She had accepted, her eyes brimming with soft tears.

I remembered Lycario kissing those tears.

We don't love her. She was merely our ticket to reclaiming our power and position.

With her wealth, the Stormhowl pack will rise above many other packs.

Everything was going perfectly well, Lycario was fond of her innocent tight pussy —- until the day she told me she was pregnant.

Lycario had growled furiously from within me, but I had to keep him in check to avoid rousing any suspicion from Amaris.

We hadn't gotten what we wanted yet, and no human was qualified to carry our pup.

They weren't worthy.

We knew we needed to act. We knew we needed to get our head back to the game.

I succeeded in convincing her into having an abortion. And to make sure such a mistake doesn't happen again, I instructed the doctor to take out her womb.

Lycario felt that wasn't punishment enough for daring to conceive his pup, so he asked the doctor to take out one of her kidneys and a part of her liver.

That was what he had for dinner that day.

Yes… Lycario was a beast.

Not just Lycario — every werewolf in the lore carries the same hunger, the same darkness.

That's why we lived far away from the humans — to protect them… and sometimes, to protect ourselves.

Lycario hates the weak and has a strong attraction to the strong.

But the desire to save our pack was stronger than his feral desires and instincts, hence the reason why Lycario had been under control in the human world until the pregnancy.

The mere thought of his pup coming from a human was an insult to him.

If I had left him, he would have torn it out of her that very moment — but that would ruin our plans.

Many might think I'm the devil, but wait till you meet my cousin — the Supreme Alpha.

He's worse than the devil himself.

He didn't even spare his uncle— my father.

And he's not sparing my pack too.

At the thought of the Supreme Alpha, my chest tightened and I got up on my feet and picked up my jacket, shoving my arms into the sleeves with sharp, angry movements.

Amaris has to die for me to get what I want.

I had no choice 

I can't lose my pack.

Not now.

Not ever.

Not when I'm this close.