He still hadn't shifted to his human form, and he knew staying as a wolf kept his senses sharper than his already impressive hearing and visual capacities were. As it was, his intensive training with his father’s pack had honed him into one of the most superior warriors in their clan, even equaling his older brother, but his experiences outside the packhouse had increased his fighting skills even more. 

Much as Eron hated that part of his life, he couldn’t help but appreciate it for truly improving his skills and abilities.

Especially in times like these…

He expertly jumped to the ground, his front paws landing silently first then swiftly ran towards the direction where he “felt” several presences. Since he did shift to werewolf as he climbed up a tree earlier on just so he could see the house better, along with its residents, he had decided to change to wolf as he hid behind the branches and continued in that form in his present personal mission.

“Whoever those people are, it’s obvious they’ve been doing this regularly. And yes, it’s not just one…” he told himself as he followed the moving scents and sounds in the darkened forest.

Within a few minutes, he suddenly felt a shift in the group’s direction. They were now moving farther away from the village and the lumberyard, going even deeper into the forest. And they were slowing down as if they were carefully trying to find their way around the area. 

And within a few minutes, he found proof of this…

They were now using high-powered flashlights to move around this denser part of the trees. Eron decided to also slow down and stay deeper in the shadows. He knew that his dark-chocolate-almost-black-colored fur was the perfect cover while staying hidden in the darkness. However, he didn’t want to risk being seen by these strangers. 

He knew for sure now that he’d smelled some of these people before. They were part of Mad Max’s little gang of lumberjacks, but their team leader was obviously not with them.

“Typical,” huffed Eron, as he slinked behind them, almost invisible in the night. “I knew he was the kind of ‘leader’ who will send his minions to do his dirty work. Well, the first one is obviously to spy on Diwana, probably to find out if I was with her when she went home. But what are they up to now, I wonder…”

The slowly moving men were now approaching a sharp incline and Eron now realized that they were going up the higher parts of the mountainside. He had never been exploring in these parts, not even in his wolf form, and was now partly thankful that he suddenly had a reason to do so.

Even if it meant following a band of questionable ruffians into the unknown…

+++

Detective Myron Gabrielle got a call late that evening and he was quite surprised as the caller’s name flashed on his mobile’s screen. His eyebrows knitted together and as he reread the words on his phone.

“I know I have the guy’s number on my phone list but never thought he would ever make a call directly to me…” the strawberry-blond snitch thought, as he finally pushed the green icon on the screen so he could receive the call.

“Detective, good evening. I am so glad to finally connect with you personally.”

“Governor, hello there. To what do I owe the pleasure of this call?”

“Ah, very direct. I like that. Well, I want to give you a personal request, something that not even my Left Hand is aware of. And I insist that we keep it that way if you do intend to accept this mission.”

“Hmmm… that sounds very intriguing, Sir. Does this mean that you don’t trust anyone among your men with this particular request?”

“Well, I’m quite sure that they are very qualified to do this mission, especially my Left Hand. However, I want to keep this outside of my internal circles, not because I don’t trust them, but because I don’t trust the target.”

“Really? And who is the said target?”

“Aaron, my Right Hand.”

A long pause suddenly took over the conversation, and the Detective was almost hesitant to break it…

“Uhhhh… isn’t he deceased, Governor? I mean, that’s what I knew, last time I heard…”

“Exactly, Detective, which is why I want you to try to prove this theory wrong.”

“But that’s the problem, sir. He’s not just dead in theory but his death certificate has been released and he is legally recorded as deceased already.”

“And again, I agree with you, Detective Gabrielle. However, I am willing to pay good - no, not good - an insane amount of money to prove that Aaron is still alive and is probably in some god-forbidden place somewhere in another part of the continent. Now, are you interested?”

Myron stopped speaking for a moment, his eyes now reverting to the slim, light-brown-haired woman who was placing dishes and cutlery on a nearby patio table out in the two-story house’s balcony in preparation for a romantic candlelit dinner under the stars. Her dark green eyes connected with his own light green pupils, and she gave him a cheery, girly smile that seemed to light up the sky. 

He couldn’t help but feel a familiar warm sensation in his chest, plus a spreading heat in his groin, as he answered her loving look with a wide and pleasured grin of his own. 

“Detective, I am not a very patient man,” the slightly shrill voice of the Governor pierced through his thoughts. “Please, let me know if you’re interested or not. Do take note that you can name your price…”

Just then Raquel, his wife-to-be who was busy serving dinner, bowed down to place her infamous stuffed chicken dish in the middle of the circular metal and glass table, giving him a peek of her buxom breast’s deep cleavage. At the sight, the detective’s tummy grumbled, as his manhood hardened.

The woman, and her cooking, was truly his weakness… 

And the urge to please her with a beautiful and memorable wedding suddenly became even stronger.

“Alright Sir, consider your challenge accepted. Let me know when we can talk about this mission in detail and I will be ready. But for now, I hope you will excuse me while I eat… dinner… “

The older man at the other end of the line laughed heartily before replying, “But of course, who am I to go against you fulfilling your more primal instincts, Detective Gabrielle? I’ll give you a call tomorrow at around noontime and we can speak more about this offer you’ve just accepted. For now, good night, and thank you for accepting my request.”

Then the call ended abruptly, not even giving the snitch a chance to give his caller a proper farewell.

“Hey, pretty boy, are you finally done with your phone call? The food will get cold…”

Myron swiftly moved towards his cute and girlish fiancé, who was still wearing an apron under her short, spaghetti-strapped pink mini-dress, and hugged her close to his muscled torso. 

Raquel looked up at this beautiful boyish man with a now mischievous and slightly seductive smile. She couldn’t help but suddenly get turned on by his presence. He may not have the physique of a bodybuilder, but his very toned swimmer-like physique has always been a weakness for her.

That, and his handsome smile and sense of humor…

“I honestly don’t mind the food getting cold, dearest. What I’m afraid of is you getting cold…”

Raquel giggled girlishly. “But how can I get cold when I have you to always warm me up, my cute darling?”

The Detective laughed at her, knowing she was probably the only person he knew who could call him cute and get away with it. 

Or he could make her pay for it now…

Myron picked her up in his muscled arms in one swift, smooth motion as she squealed into his neck. He chuckled again at her very girly reaction and the tickling sensation her breath and her lips were giving his shoulders and neck. 

“MYRON! Noooo… What about my chicken?!”

“Oh, your ‘chicken’ will be taken care of by my own cock. It will be stuffed and very happy in just a few moments.”

Raquel could be heard protesting and giggling loudly as she was brought back inside their house by her very eager and randy fiancée. Of course, they would be “eating” first before having dinner later.

It’s only normal since Myron had a lot to celebrate about.

And it’s not just their anniversary as a couple…

+++

“A cave? Here? Who would have thought...”

The dark-furred wolf had finally shortened the distance between him and the men he was following since they had already entered the opening of the cave. But wait, there’s more…

“That looks more like a mine than just a cave…” the wolf thought to himself as he started to sneak towards the large opening at the side of the mountain. “And it actually looks ancient…”

Eron knew it was risky to get too close since he could still see the flashlight glow near the cave entrance and could even hear the men talking loudly inside as well. However, he also knew he couldn’t get much visuals just by standing at a distance.

“No guts, no glory,” he told himself as he crept behind bushes just to finally reach his target.

Well, more like targets, really…

“Dude, how many more days do you think we can finish this job?” a raspy voice asked from the interior of the cave.

“Well, this job would probably take a week more. But the next one will definitely take longer.”

“What? What the hell other stuff would we be doing in this damn cave, anyway?” said another with a whiny tone.

“Heh, so no one told you? I’m not the one who’s going to tell you, then.”

“This place is rumored to have been a gold mine, bro.”

“Why the hell did you tell him?” 

“Why the hell shouldn’t I? He agreed to join us in this, he might as well be told,” the bossier one retorted irritably.

“Spoilsport! I was gonna tell him the version of the haunted hidden treasure instead.”

“WHAT? Dude, if it’s anything scary like that, I’m out.”

“Ohhhh noooo… the little cowardly crybaby is scared of scawwwwy ghost curse… hahaha!”

“Knock it off, you guys! Look, we only get like five hours of work here so we don’t get caught after lights out in the lumber camp. So, get your asses in gear or we’ll be delayed again and you know who will have our heads!”

“Yeah, he-who-must-not-be-named. Damn, talk about paranoia. As if there would be anyone passing by this place in the middle of the night who might hear us say his name…”

“That’s his number one rule, boy. So yeah, follow his instructions or you’ll get a reduction in your share,” replied the bossy one again.

“Humph, fine! I’ll call him Voldemort, then! Hahahaha!”

A few of the joker’s companions laughed along with him, but they were all told to continue working by another irritated but authoritative voice. Eron then took this chance to stealthily move away…

“I’ll come back here when they are busy at the campsite. The question is, when can I do that? And who the hell is this Voldemort, since he’s obviously the head of this operation,” the wolf thought to himself once again. “The more I stay in this village, the more secrets I seem to be unearthing. I might have to say goodbye to my perceived idea of peace and quiet while staying here in the mountains.”

He had already walked quite a distance when he was suddenly surprised by a familiar sound from afar, and then another one zinging past his ear.

Eron’s thoughts: “That’s a fucking gunshot! And It’s aimed at me?”

And then a male’s screeching shout echoed from far behind him, “WOLF! THERE’S A WOLF HERE GUYS!”

“FUCK!” the wolf yelled internally, as he swiftly ran as fast as he could back into the forest.

He didn’t even get far when he was suddenly assailed by a lot more gunshots. Eron knew he had to get away, and he was glad that these guys didn’t have a vehicle that could chase him through this very dense forest. 

Then out of the blue, he felt himself suddenly thrown up into the air by a force he couldn’t see until he was already hanging far from the forest floor and high up in a large tree’s thick branches.

It was too late for him to sense the trap that he stepped on and he was now in a net around ten meters from the ground!

“Damn it!” the wolf thought as he could now see from a distance the armed humans who were fast approaching him, running as far as their feet could carry them.

Knowing it was his only chance to escape, he shifted to his werewolf form. His huge 7-and-a-half-foot size and massive width tore through the net as if they were spiderwebs, and he dropped to the ground like a typical superhero landing from a tall jump. 

And since he was even swifter and stronger in this form, he was soon gone from the scene, leaving his pursuers way behind. Soon, the puzzled men were looking up at the torn net of their trap hanging from above, along with more pieces of thick nylon netting on the forest floor.

One of them took pictures of the site and it was later that they noticed the mysterious prints left on the moist ground. 

They were massive monster footprints.