Marie found herself in a place she never would have imagined visiting. She had seen and overheard conversations she’d never expected, and each one revealed more about how Kai operated.
She was starting to understand the way he handled things for the Howlers, how many moving parts he juggled at once, and just how busy he truly was.
Eventually, they left that location behind and began driving toward their next destination, a mountain that towered in the distance, the closest peak to the town of Slough.
“I’m surprised things went as well as they did,” Marie admitted, watching the winding road ahead as the car climbed steadily.
“They went as well as we could hope,” Kai replied without looking away from the wheel. “But we can’t rely on them. Everyone has their own interests in the current situation. If helping us aligns with those interests, or benefits them enough, then sure, they’ll lend a hand. I just wanted them to see the bigger picture.”
He paused for a moment, his voice growing more serious. “I keep thinking about Gary and Lupus going up against each other. Lupus has had more time to prepare, to build up a large army. And this is happening at the Howlers’ weakest point. I’m sure there are variables we can’t even account for, so we need to prepare for them.
“But one thing’s clear to me now: the Howlers won’t be able to hold out against the Lupus group for six hours, no matter how ready they think they are... so there’s only one sure way I can think of to help them.”
Before Marie could ask what that was, the car rolled to a stop, not at the mountain’s peak, but at its base. Kai cut the engine, ending the conversation there.
He stepped out, walked to the back of the vehicle, and opened the boot. Inside were several heavy grocery bags, filled to the brim.
Marie raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything as Kai grabbed a few of the bags. She followed his lead, taking the rest. Together, they hiked into the forest. The air was cool, carrying the scent of pine and damp earth, and the deeper they went, the quieter it became.
About five hundred meters in, they came across a small, weathered cabin, half-hidden among the trees.
“There’s a trapdoor inside that leads to a storage unit below,” Kai explained.
“What, you want us to put all this food down there?” Marie asked, frowning. “What if someone comes across it and takes it?”
“The storage is just so wild animals don’t get to it,” Kai answered. “We’ll put a lock on top, one that only a Werewolf would be able to break.”
Marie glanced from the cabin to Kai, questions forming in her mind. Who did this cabin belong to? Had Kai built it in advance? How much of this had he planned for?
The more she learned about him, the more she realized just how far ahead he thought when it came to protecting the Howlers.
“Come on, let’s head back,” Kai said, nodding toward the trail. “We’re going to the peak of the mountain. There’s still some food left in the car for us as well.”
When the car reached as close to the peak as the narrow road would allow, Kai told the driver to stop. He stepped out, opened the boot, and pulled out the remaining bags of food.
“You can head back now,” he said to the driver.
The man hesitated for a moment, eyeing the boy and girl with a puzzled expression. A pair of teenagers, alone, at the top of a mountain with nothing but bags of food, it didn’t exactly look like a normal errand. The only explanation that came to his mind was that they were runaways.
“So,” Marie began as she followed Kai off the road and into the quiet forest, “are you going to tell me what your plan is in all of this? Do you... plan to contact Unzoku? Try and make some sort of deal?”
Kai stopped mid-step and turned toward her, his eyes flashing with fury.
“Getting in contact with him is the wrong move,” he said sharply. “We have no idea how much influence he can exert over us, or what he can force us to do. That would only add more variables to the situation. Right now, we need to focus on controlling the variables we already know.”
He stepped forward again, voice hardening with resolve. “On the night of the full moon, the two of us will turn and become bloodthirsty beasts. But thanks to Gary and the others, we know there’s a way to stop that from happening. If we starve ourselves, we can keep our bodies from transforming.
“Even when Gary was Alpha, this method worked for him. It’ll be no different for us.”
Marie thought back to those days. It hadn’t been easy, not even close. The process required incredible willpower and often meant locking themselves away to resist temptation. Now she understood why Kai had chosen the mountains for this plan, isolated, far from others, where no scent of blood or prey could reach them.
“It’ll be hard,” Kai admitted. “But I’m only planning for us to stay hungry and untransformed for a few hours. Remember what I said: they won’t last six hours. But I know, I know, that Gary and the others will fight tooth and nail for at least a few.
“And that’s when we’ll join the fight.” His gaze locked onto hers, steady and unwavering. “If we’re going to be wild beasts anyway... then we might as well be the strongest wild beasts we can.
“So,” he said, a small, dangerous smile tugging at his lips, “what do you say about becoming my Luna?”
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