Myron woke up pretty early for this task since he didn’t want too many people at the precinct when he finally got there. He didn’t plan to stay there for long, either. Just get the stuff and go, hit and run as he would always say as a joke among his colleagues. 

He was quite the charmer in their department, which made his “sideline” even less likely to be discovered. Besides, the fact that he’s a locally decorated hero twice in his lifetime would definitely put any naysayers or doubters at bay. 

All he really needed to do was to be careful so he wouldn’t be caught while making sure his “client” would be satisfied with his services.

So far, he’s doing pretty well… 

“Baby, it’s still too early… Why are you getting up already…?” a sleepy, sweet voice said beside him.

He looked at his naked wife-to-be who was looking up at him with cute goo-goo eyes, obviously upset that he wouldn’t be staying to snuggle. The boyish-looking cop smiled at her, feeling himself going hard at the longing expression on her face.

“I’ll only be gone for a few hours, baby love. I promise, when I get back, I’ll give you extra cuddling. Meanwhile, you can go grocery shopping while waiting for me.”

The slim, pixie-looking female, with her large amber eyes, pinkish lips, and heart-shaped face, pouted at him, trying to look angry. It wasn’t really working, as he felt himself melting instead of being alarmed.

But he can’t give in. He really needed to go soon, or he would lose one day of work on his new mission.

“Please, Raquel… Just for today. Look, I can go by your favorite bakery and get you your favorite cake,” Myron soothingly crooned while nuzzling his girl’s earlobe, while she hugged him tightly around his waist in an effort to keep him with her on their king-sized bed. “I know you’d like that…”

“Not as much as I like what you’re doing to me right now, lover boy,” she replied with an adorable pout and cutesy voice that made Myron even harder.

“Baby, I need to go to work double effort because we are planning to have our wedding this year, remember? I can’t wait to call you my wife for real.”

Raquel found herself smiling widely now, and it was not just because of her fiancé’s kisses. She turned her face towards him, her lips now replacing her ear on her lover’s open mouth. 

Their kiss was full of tenderness and desire, but eventually, the girly woman decided to give in to the request of her handsome “boy” …

“Fine,” she whispered into his lips as she pulled away. “Just make sure you take your work home or I’ll be forced to visit you at the precinct… again.”

Myron heard the naughtiness in her voice, but he still considered what she said as a threat. And it’s not because he would be embarrassed if she decided to “fetch” him from his office…

It’s because he had seen how many of his co-workers have checked out his girl, and even flirted with her right in his face. Not that he didn’t trust his Raquel, but he would rather not have her deal with men who saw her only as a sex object.

And he knew there were many who seemed to automatically see her like that, not that it’s her fault…

She just seemed to trigger a man’s natural instinct for protection…

Or, in some cases, lust…

No, he had no plans of her going to the precinct more than she needed to.  

“Ok, ok, I promise to just pick up my workload and then I’ll be back here in a jiff!”

Raquel’s naughty smile turned cheerful this time, “Good, now run along before I decide to share the shower with you and make you even more late.”

Myron laughed and jumped off the bed in a hurry, afraid that she would do what she said since he would have no power to stop her - or himself - if and when this lovable and desirable female would attack him.

After a rushed shower, a fast-paced shave, and swiftly dressing up, he was soon driving his Mercedes-AMG GTr C190 towards the precinct. He didn’t have to worry about explaining his very expensive sports car to his superiors or the auditing department since it was part of the gifts he received for his most recent civil service award.

Of course, his client was partially responsible for him receiving this much-coveted award.

His thoughts as he parked his car in his reserved parking space beside their police headquarters: “Oh, the benefits of being well-connected. So good to be me…”

+++

“Thank you all for attending this quick meeting… I know it’s early, and the topic will be a little bit off since it’s not about our work today, but it is actually a matter that concerns all of us who live and work here. I know you heard that yesterday night some people saw a wolf in our mountain. I’m sure many of us have seen the bulletin today, and the ones who came from the village also saw it on the Town Hall wall. I need for you all to think about any possible thing connected to this incident that you might know about.”

Jack started the morning by calling in the workers who arrived early to work. Everyone could see that he was very much concerned and unusually troubled by the news going around town.

They didn’t expect this reaction though…

Some of the men who were present looked at each other wondering why he would be so interested. There were a few who even yawned and murmured an “It’s too early to argue about the town’s gossip.” However, there were those who found his concern worthy of attention, since it was not only Jack’s family’s business territory but also his family and friends who might be at risk. 

Along with their own lives and families.

“Anyone who remembers anything, even if it’s not directly related to last night’s incident, but other sightings recently, or whatever you might think of that’s connected to the appearance of wolves, you can talk now, or if you prefer, you can come to my office and speak to me about it in private. But please, any small piece of information, pictures, something you remember, whatever you have or know, please tell me,” he finished and looked around waiting for people to talk.

“But Boss, wasn’t it proved before that this werewolf story was a trick of the old Mayor to bring tourists and money to the town? I mean, once I saw a big footprint too, but since the truth was unmasked, there was nothing to think of that. Like the media said, it’s all fake. Maybe the same people who helped him back then came here to prank us…” one of the workers spoke from the back, and the murmur started to go around.

“Yes, I think it’s all a fraud, too. Especially because not even the elders can tell who sent the information and the picture to them. Come on, Boss, who could believe in monsters in this time and age?” another one said aloud.

“The more reason for us to pay attention!” Jack shouted back to the murmuring crowd. “It is even more important for us to find out and make sure if all of this is fake or real. Imagine, what if there really is a dangerous monster out there and we don’t even know it? So, whatever you know or find out, as I said before, come forward. I’ll be joining some other people and we’ll investigate the matter, true or not. We need to make sure that everybody is safe on our mountain!” 

With his authoritative demeanor and a speech like that, one would wonder why Jack hasn’t run for office. The townspeople would easily vote for him as Mayor if he continued at this rate. 

But Jack himself was not interested in all of that. Right now, as he stood in front of his workers, he couldn’t help but be deeply affected by all the talk, the news, and the opinions that he was hearing around him.

“Yeah, who would believe in werewolves, right?” he thought, his mind suddenly leaving the lumber camp. Instead, he was now seeing the old village a few weeks after his sister was taken from their family house.

“Oh, Schneider, hello! It’s been a while since we last saw you at church, and even longer since we saw your daughter. Is she not okay?” one of the very well-known gossip ladies of the town asked as she approached the remaining members of Jack’s family. 

This was after they went to church, as they were trying to get back to a more normal life after the dreadful incident. They had just finished shopping from the town’s small market and the elderly rumormonger had just finished buying food for herself as well.

“Hello Mrs. Hadi, it’s really nice to see you again. My daughter met a foreign gentleman and he invited her to meet his family. They are planning their wedding and their new life’s other details so we don’t really know when they will come back to see us. You know how young ones are, they live so differently from us. Always in a rush…” Jack’s mother said with a forced smile, while his father put their shopping bags at the back of their car since they were now ready to go back home.

“Dad, why is mom telling that story to other people?” Jack asked softly as he helped his father load their purchases. “We should tell them the truth, Dad… they’re talking about my sister… horrible things about her too. Dad, how can we let them think dirty thoughts about her when she never even disobeyed you in anything… Please, Dad, let me tell everybody that she was taken… please! We all saw the monster and they should know, too!”

“Stop it, Jack…” his father murmured breathlessly and fiercely, the tone that Jack feared the most, as there was evident rage contained in the slow pace of his words. “Son, you might not understand it now, but we are trying to give you a good life. We just want you to don’t have to live with people thinking that you are crazy because of what happened. You wouldn’t want to live here your whole life with that kind of reputation!”

“And my sister’s reputation will be the price I’ll pay for my own? Father, please! I don’t care about what these people say about me! If it is for me, then don’t do it! Let’s do something for her, instead. We might still be able to find her!”

“I SAID, STOP IT, JACK!” his father now shouted, making his wife look back at them, and what was happening to them as they talked near the car.

Jack stopped talking. He has seen his father explode before and he knew his father was still controlled right now. The young man would never want to be there when his dad did finally burst. 

“I’m sorry Mrs. Hadi, but I believe I need to go. My men in the car need some lunch, you know how men get when hungry, right?” she smiled, leaving hurriedly the old gossip that she respectfully called Missus but was never even close to getting married. 

Still in the middle of her goodbyes to the elderly woman, Jack’s mom got into the car. As soon as her door closed, her husband stepped on the accelerator, leaving the gossiper in a cloud of dust.

“May I know what all that screaming was about?” Mrs. Schneider asked a bit irritably. 

“Your son still wants to tell everybody that his sister was kidnapped. I don’t know how many times I’ve explained to him, but he doesn’t understand!”

“Mom… It’s my sister…” the teenager answered, now with tears in his eyes. “I don’t care if they think I’m crazy, I need them to know what happened to my sister… Mom… I can’t just sit still and let her be forgotten… especially by you!”

“We’re not forgetting her, son, but you’re the only thing we have left, and our duty as parents is to give you a better life for you. Can you at least understand that?”

“How can this be better? I need to know…” he thought looking out the window as his tears rolled down his cheeks. “How, when I have lost her…”

And that phrase echoed in his mind through the years, until this very day when he was already a grown man, standing in front of his employees…

“I need to know…” 

+++

Raquel watched as her newly bathed and still-flustered fiancé walked out the door. She wasn’t exactly happy when he had to leave her this early since he hadn’t done that in a while. To be honest, she wasn’t really happy when he was far away from her.

She continuously got tortured by this feeling that he might get himself into serious trouble. And it would all be because of her…

Just at that very moment, her phone rang. She jumped a little upon seeing the name that was flashing on her mobile’s screen.

Reluctantly, she pushed the reply button. “Hello…”

A hated male voice spoke out, “Hello there, Raquel. How is our handsome little boy detective today?”