Chapter Two: Arctic Blue

Arctic blue eyes gazed deep into mine. The unusual tension encircling my mind also became apparent in his eyes. There was no doubt that the man experienced a similar sensation. However, within a glimpse, his eyes turned cold. "You, girl, how dare a nasty rogue like you attempt to infiltrate the white wolves' territory?" the guy asked, tilting his head and placing the cigarette between his lips seductively. His low-pitched voice pierced through my soul. If it weren't for those intense cold eyes, his voice would be the most attractive voice I had ever heard. Nevertheless, I didn't even flinch at the terrifying aura encircling him, which resulted in annoying him even more. What was the point of even answering him? I wondered. I had almost ended up ripping my vocal cords earlier, in an attempt to explain to them that I was not a rogue. Or perhaps I was. However, I considered myself a stray. And I had no idea about anything the thugs asked me continuously until I lost consciousness. "Now a rogue is daring to defy me?" he asked again, leaning toward my chair. He placed his tall leg on the side of my chair as I was lost in my thoughts. His Chanel shoes gleamed even in the dim light of the basement. The strange feeling returned as soon as he came near me. The man's eyes changed as well. He hastily got up again, shooting me a burning glare. The phenomenally handsome man turned to the old guy from earlier, lying in the corner of the room, barely conscious. I was surprised that I didn't notice him all this time. "Weren't they together?" the guy asked, coldly staring at the old man, who appeared beaten. "Yes, Alpha," the thugs said, who had brought me here earlier. Alpha? Was he the leader of those thugs, or was he a werewolf like me? I wondered. The alpha guy leaned and grabbed the old man by his collar. He asked in a cold, piercing tone, "Which pack do you belong to? What were you doing here with that rogue?" The old man began to throb violently in fear and cried out, trembling, "Ple-please, have mercy on me! Please don't kill me!" "Do you believe after daring to invade our territory with a rogue, you can leave with your limbs intact?" the guy asked, getting up. "Kill him, and this rogue as well. Even the site of this rogue is making me want to throw up," he said bitterly, turning to me. My eyes widened. The man was scary, and for some reason, he despised rogues. Considering the weapons earlier, I wondered if they were some mafia gang. Still, how could he kill that old man? I didn't know what they were saying. But I couldn't just let him kill an old guy. The thugs had grabbed the old man, forcing him to stand with his arms tied. "Give up this act already," the thug from earlier said. "A beta can't be this weak. Do you think you can fool us by acting like an old man?" They began to punch the old man as he continued to ask for mercy. The man started coughing blood as the guys continued to beat him severely. My eyes widened at the gruesome torture before my eyes. The handsome man from earlier was standing at a corner calmly. His eyes were gazing at me. "Please stop!" I cried out, closing my eyes. My voice created a mysterious impact on the thugs. Everyone halted, staring at me, puzzled as I was gasping for air. "I am not a rogue!" I cried out. "I don't care who you people are, but you can't just kill someone like this," I said. "Now this rogue is talking. Are you this afraid of death?" the guy from earlier asked calmly. "Should I torture you instead to unveil your true intentions?" The guy came towards me in a blink. I felt like he would beat me. However, unexpectedly, all the guys fell to their knees, bowing. Shortly, a man in his late fifties entered with a bunch of men dressed in black suits following him. "Greetings, Master," the handsome guy said, bowing gracefully. "Caspian, what is taking you so long to deal with just two invaders? I heard one of them is just a young girl," the older man asked the handsome guy. There was something graceful about his ambiance. He was different from any of them. I could sense a powerful aura from him. "I apologize for disappointing you, Master," Caspian said, not raising his gaze. The man turned to me and asked, "Is this the rogue girl?" The man seemed perplexed as our eyes met. "Your features," the man mumbled. "You look so familiar." I possessed a rare pair of dark purple eyes from my mother. Due to my pale skin and unusual eyes, people would often get stunned by my appearance. However, I couldn't deny that the aged man standing before me appeared oddly familiar to me. Even though lines of his age were apparent on his face, his well-built body was screaming of his strength. Not to mention his raven hair and rare purple eyes. They were too much to ignore. One of the guys in a black suit came toward me and grabbed the bag I had still hanging on the sides of my body. "Don't touch my bag!" I yelled. My mother's jewelry box that my uncle had given me was the only way to find my family. They began to unload my bag. There was nothing much in my bag except for the bare necessities for a woman. The jewelry box fell on the concrete floor. The guy grabbed the box and attempted to open it. However, it did not open. I tried to open it back in my home as well. But my uncle said he had no idea where the key for the box was. "Leave that box alone, you jerk!" I cried out. I stared at the old man to find him standing there frozen. The look on his face was unfathomable. He took tiny steps toward the man and snatched the box. He stared at it for a few seconds and asked, "Where did you get this box?" "It belonged to my mother," I said calmly. "I am not a rogue or anything. I just found out that I'm a werewolf a few days back. I don't even know who that man is. I only wanted to help him because he looked old," I said. The older man stared at me skeptically and desperately asked, "This box belonged to your mother, you said?" "Yes, my parents died when I was just an infant. My uncle raised me all these years. I came to this city to find the rest of my family but got caught up in this mess. And the next thing I knew was that they were going to kill me because I am a rogue," I said in a tiny voice. The aged man stared at the pendant hanging on my chest. He hastily came towards me and grabbed it. "What are you doing?" I asked, getting perplexed by his attempt. He took the pendant and put it on the box. Suddenly, the jewelry box began to open, playing a lullaby that sounded like a beautiful siren's song. "Wolves asleep amidst the trees, Bats all swaying in the breeze— But one soul lies anxious, wide awake, Fearing all manner of ghouls, hags, and wraiths." I stared at the aged man confusedly, who had tears in his eyes unexpectedly. How did he know that pendant was the key to the box? I wondered.