Joshua:
It wasn’t easy being in the North and realizing that Suki wasn’t here.
When I heard Clentine say they went on a mission, a dangerous mission, and returned with the coals, I felt really disappointed.
They all ca back, even Oriana, who was terrified of the North.
She survived, so why? Then why was Suki the only one who didn’t return?
It made no sense, and it affected my ntal health deeply.
"Joshua, are you coming too? You should take a nap first. I’ll be on guard duty with Mira. The Black Squad refuses to work with us," Jack said as he ca up behind .
I was staring out the small window.
The windows had been boarded up, but I found a tiny opening.
I needed to see the house Clentine had ntioned.
"It’s okay. Let them be," I comnted. "I don’t think they know what they’re doing right now, so it’s better if they aren’t involved in anything. I can stay awake though," The three of them acted like Oriana’s puppets, so involving them in anything important, or related to safety, was pointless.
"Are you sure you want to stay awake first?" Jack asked again.
"Yeah, I’ll be fine. Go ahead, take a nap," I replied, glancing at Mira, who was patrolling the living room.
I was fine sitting alone, lost in my thoughts.
"Why are you so interested in the underground tunnel?" my wolf asked.
"Do you feel lonely? Ever since she’s gone, nothing seems interesting enough," I said, staring out the window.
"I know Clentine and her squad have trouble, but that doesn’t seem enough," my wolf added. I nodded, he was right.
It wouldn’t be too much of a punishnt.
"Do you think Oriana got her hands on sothing magical?" I whispered, knowing no one else could hear .
"What if she did? What does it an for us?" my wolf asked.
"If she can control soone, why can’t we do sothing magical to bring Suki back?" I asked, my hands shaking as I rembered that night.
Losing her had been the hardest thing I’d ever experienced.
I tried to move on.
During the vacation, I did everything I had enjoyed before coming to the North, partying, playing golf, running around, boxing, but nothing worked.
At one point, I even stopped trying.
My eyes were fixed on the house. Soon it began to rain, but even the downpour couldn’t blur my vision.
The house with the underground tunnel.
I turned around and wandered through the living room, passing the Black Squad’s bedroom.
This ti they had taken two rooms.
The n refused to share one with Oriana.
In fact, the three of them cramd into a single bed, lying stiffly as if afraid that any open space would be claid by her.
Furious, Oriana stord off and took the other room for herself.
Now she was alone in the bedroom, but there was sothing about her that held my attention.
I stared at her, wondering if she was the only way I could bring Suki back.
After a while, there was a change in the night duty.
The others were supposed to wake up, but I stayed where I was while they took turns through the night.
Clentine’s squad mates didn’t wake her.
They said that since she used more of her strength than the others, she deserved to rest. That struck as strange.
She had left her old squad, joined a new one, and yet they respected her even more than before.
Still, what puzzled most was why any of her forr squad mates would turn away from soone like Clentine.
"I must admit, she has quite a spark. Her red outfit looked like sothing worn for revenge." My wolf stirred, but I shook my head.
"I’m not interested in talking about anyone else. You know that. You can’t tempt ," I told him, refusing to let him think he could distract with soone else just to make move on.
When Suki died, our bond shattered.
My wolf might not have felt much pain anymore, but I did. I was still hurting. I couldn’t move on from her.
By morning, I already had plans. Everyone was awake and eating breakfast.
Clentine sat with her squad mates, her eyes occasionally on her forr ones, probably discussing what we’d talked about the previous night.
Everyone was suspicious of Oriana, and I could tell she sensed it.
She had already called out several people for staring at her since dawn.
"Clentine, a word."
I reached her table and gestured for her to follow .
The mont I did, I noticed the male mbers of her old squad glance up at .
If looks could kill, I’d have been dead.
Even the blind could have sensed their jealousy, their wish to be the one calling Clentine over.
But none of them dared speak, Oriana sat right beside them.
"Boys, pay attention."
She clapped her hands once, and all three jolted, turning their eyes back to her.
Clentine rose from her squad mates and walked over to .
We went to the kitchen, and I signaled Jack to make sure no one else ca in or lingered nearby to overhear us.
"What is it?" she asked, her tone sharp and confident.
The way she dressed now, paired with that attitude, made her look like walking fire, and I didn’t an that in a lustful way, just being honest.
"We need to get Oriana alone, away from those three."
I watched her raise an eyebrow while washing her hands at the sink.
"Why are you so interested in freeing my squad mates from whatever magic Oriana has on them?" she questioned.
As expected, convincing Clentine wouldn’t be easy. She was unpredictable.
"When I tried talking to you earlier, your squad mates glared at . I realized one whistle from her, and they could attack . Besides, we need them in their right mind."
Before I could continue explaining, Clentine raised her palm to silence .
"You seriously think I believe you when you say you want to help them? I rember your threat from that night. You said, clear as day, that you’d make them suffer. So tell , what is it?" she asked.
She made it nearly impossible for to lie to her.
Why did she have to be so difficult? Why couldn’t she just listen and believe ?
"Okay, fine. I want them free of her influence so they can go back to caring about you. So that when I punish you, they’ll feel the pain I felt when I lost Suki."
That sounded like the perfect excuse, or so I thought, because Clentine imdiately shook her head and laughed.
"Co back when you have a good excuse, Joshua," she remarked with a tired look before walking out of the kitchen.
I clenched my jaw and grunted under my breath. She was so damn annoying.
"What is it? What’s going on?" Jack appeared, asking why I’d shifted my tone with Clentine.
"We need to get our hands on Oriana. We have to find out how she’s managed to gain so much power and control over those three alphas," I told him, resting my hand on his shoulder.
It was my way of reminding him that we could still be friends.
And I knew he wanted to be. He’d said it more than once.
After a while, we joined Clentine’s squad.
Oriana still sat alone, keeping the three alphas’ strength away from us.
"So next ti, when the Whisperer arrives, before he starts whispering, we’ll be ready," Clentine repeated what she’d already told the others. "There will be two groups. One will take care of those who fall victim to his whispers, and the other will kill the n." she paused.
"Now, we only have a few weapons, all knives. Let’s put them in one place. Once we realize who the victim is, during the statent of guilt, the other group will grab the weapons to make sure the victim doesn’t get any. Then it’ll be quick and done. I hope this ti, when everyone’s ready to jump out the windows or doors, we’ll finally catch that man."
Clentine explained it well. It was a solid plan, a good strategy to keep the victim safe and the Whisperer within our reach.
It was going to work. But I didn’t want it to. I stayed silent, letting them believe I was fully on their side.
Everyone got distracted. There were no signs of the Whisperer.
The door was quiet, and everyone gathered in the living room.
Just the living room. I needed enough distraction to make them leave so I could unlock the door.
The Fleshmingos were outside. I could already hear them.
That was the only way to get Oriana alone and others distracted. I would let the fleshmingos in.
As evening settled and still nothing had happened, everyone started getting tired.
"Jack and Nate should take the watch while the rest of us rest," I said, assigning the duty to my two n.
"I’ll stay awake too," Clentine offered, raising her hand.
As expected, she had to make things harder.
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