Lahat ng Kabanata ng Beasts Of The Moon Rise Of The Outcasts : Kabanata 31 - Kabanata 40

Scar. Monday, 22nd February. Next day... “Mr. Scar, Asher Denvers is ready for you now. He’s at the training arena just through that door.” I lift my eyes at the sound of the receptionist’s voice and wordlessly close the screen of my new phone, where I was staring at the picture from a page of the pack hierarchy book I photocopied yesterday. “Take this phone.” Emerald said last night as she handed me a box. I received it, confused. Shocked. “You will need it to work and to…” She paused, and I looked at her. “And to tell me where you are. I wouldn’t want to worry about you.” She added the last bit with uncertainty in her voice. Something shifted in me at the care she showed when she said those words. It was unexpected, knowing she didn't know me. I closed the space between us and kissed her. “I like you being worried about me, Doctor Ford,” I muttered. She smiled shyly, and for once I heard her thoughts. 'Keep it together, Emerald Ford,' she said inside herself. I smiled

Primrose Denvers Night... I hear footsteps out back as I stand in the kitchen, pulling the chicken casserole from the oven. The rich smell fills the room, warm and comforting. The back door opens, and a lot of heavy stomping follows. “Luke, there are less obvious ways for you to get all that snow off your boots, you know,” I remark absently, not even looking in his direction. He makes a chuckling sound, one that still manages to make me feel young. Finally, he steps into the kitchen. “Years later, and you still bother me, wife,” he says as he presses a kiss against the side of my neck. I purr softly and turn to embrace him. “Long day?” I ask when we pull apart. He nods quietly. Then he steps around me, grabs a couple of plates, and walks back to the kitchen island. He sits down and extends both plates toward me. I serve us each a portion of the casserole. “Emerald invited someone, a stranger, to join the patrol team,” Luke says, forking some casserole into his mouth. “And As

Emerald. Thursday, 25th February. Two days later. Ford Mansion. Night. I miss the days the leaves used to rustle. These days, because of winter, the trees are only covered in snow. It snowed again last night. And slightly this morning too, while I was on my shift at the hospital. I inhale a shaky breath as I finally push my gaze to the girl seated in front of me, who just narrated her story. “So, Tabitha, you are saying that your father doesn’t want you to marry the man you have chosen?” I echo her words. Well, not exactly her words. Just a summary of everything she has complained about. Being an Alpha is hard. Now I see what Dad suffered all those years as leader of the pack. Memory surges inside me of earlier today with Dawn after our shift. “Sorry, Dawn. Let’s have that lunch tomorrow.” I told her when our shift ended. She looked at me, disappointed. “Pack issues, huh?” She stepped forward and gave me a hug. I nodded, letting the embrace ground me for a moment. Then

Asher. Friday. 26th February. Next day. Morning. I park my truck at the front of the station, right where Emerald asked us to meet this morning when she called me earlier. I had just returned from patrol when she called. She sounded urgent. “Make sure no one knows what we’re going to do,” she had said over the phone. Now I’m walking to where she stands by her car. Her back is to me when I reach her. She doesn’t even realize I’m beside her until I touch her. “Asher…” She gasps, pressing her hand to her chest. “You scared me.” I look at her, concerned. She looks worried. Like she’s barely slept. If anything, Emerald is never scared. “What’s got you all spooked?” I ask, lowering my voice. A couple walk past us without paying us any heed. Emerald glances around and inhales shakily. “Nothing. I’m not spooked. I was just lost in my thoughts, that’s all,” she says quietly. I try to read her thoughts. But as usual, I never get anything from her mind. Only mumbo jumbo. Static. Noi

Scar. Hotel Somber. Blue Lake Town. Two days later… Night. I checked into this hotel two days ago, after my altercation with Emerald. I didn’t wait one bit for her to say one more word to me. I left the combat center, went back to the mansion, and grabbed everything I now owned. My notes. My copies of the pack books. And that damned hemal injector. I left. Searched online for the nearest and most discreet hotel, and I picked this one. Now I sit in here and watch the camera views of the pack borders through my phone. I linked the cameras to my phone at the same time they were linked to the control room. At least I will still be able to infiltrate the pack when I’m ready to. All I need to do is gather Mum’s troops and we attack. Everything should just be as easy as this. I have seen their weaknesses. Their strengths. I have sparred with them in combat. I can take them down now. Yet, all that gives me no satisfaction. Rather, all I feel is this hollow and aching feeling gnawing