Traveling to the South Region was nothing like moving from one pack to another within the sa region.
It wasn’t just about the distance.
Each region had its own security system and regulations. I wasn’t familiar with the rules there. And as a rogue, getting in would be far more difficult.
"Let’s regrow your right leg first. After that, you can shift and move much faster," Loodie said.
After extracting all the information from the kidnappers, I headed to the forest near Sand Pack and waited for the full moon.
When the moon finally rose, my right leg regenerated.
I shifted for the second ti.
The first ti, I had shifted without a single limb.
Loodie howled joyfully inside my mind. She could feel her abilities growing stronger in her wolf form.
That happiness didn’t last long.
I sensed a powerful werewolf aura approaching. In wolf form, I didn’t need Loodie’s help to detect nearby energy.
Five werewolves, all in wolf form like , began circling .
Because I was in a good mood, I didn’t injure or kill them the way I had done to Rudy and his group.
Instead, I used mind shock to immobilize them.
As I walked past their frozen bodies, I heard them talking.
"That’s definitely the one we’re looking for."
"But she doesn’t have the scar on her face."
"Still, she uses mind shock, just like Ronald and Linda said."
My steps halted.
Ronald and Linda.
My kidnappers.
Had they contacted their criminal acquaintances to take revenge?
"What did they ask you to do to ?" I scoffed, cutting into their conversation.
All five wolves turned their heads toward , then glanced at the one who seed to be their leader.
"Ronald and Linda said you needed a ride to the South Region," the wolf replied.
"We’re heading there too."
I was bewildered, trying to determine whether they were telling the truth or just trying to escape my control.
"They’re telling the truth," Loodie said inside my head.
"I just realized sothing. Every ti you use mind shock on soone, they slowly beco more obedient to you. With Ronald and Linda, you used it excessively. The effect on them is much stronger."
I froze.
But because it was Loodie who said it, I believed her imdiately.
So these five werewolves will also unconsciously beco obedient to ? I asked, staring at them as they lay pressed to the ground.
"Yes. Though if a major decision conflicts with their will, they may still resist. The influence isn’t that strong yet."
A smirk tugged at my lips.
I was already imagining how often I’d be using mind shock on them to ensure their loyalty.
I released the pressure on them, introduced myself, and discussed how we would reach the South Region. Apparently, three of them were rogues as well.
Luke was the leader of the group. He wasn’t a rogue and handled docuntation and information gathering about the South Region.
After being without an identity for so long, I finally had one again.
Even if it was fake, created by a broker.
The na on it was Rissa.
We departed a week later, using one car and one truck.
The truck carried illegal goods to be sold in the South Region, which was also their reason for going.
Inside the car, I sat in the front passenger seat beside Luke, who took turns driving with his team mbers.
Two of them sat in the back seat, while the remaining two drove the truck.
The car rolled through the busy streets of Sand Pack. No warriors stopped us. Luke had taken care of everything.
I glanced sideways.
Luke had short ginger hair, ssy in a way that reminded of Larry. His skin was tan, probably from work, though I had accidentally seen his chest earlier and noticed it was much fairer.
Judging from his face, he was in his mid to late twenties. Sharp features. A straight nose.
Honestly, he was far too handso for a criminal.
"Is there sothing on my face?" he asked, snapping out of my stare.
My mind raced. I didn’t want to be seen as so shaless woman openly admiring a man.
Finally, I asked a question I was genuinely curious about.
"When we first t, why were you planning to attack ?"
"Because you were at the location Ronald and Linda ntioned," he replied casually.
"If the woman we were supposed to find wasn’t there, but you were, then that ant you were the criminal."
I clicked my tongue.
All of that misunderstanding happened because the scar on my face disappeared after my second shift. Sothing I hadn’t even realized at first.
anwhile, my kidnappers had told them that I had a very obvious facial scar.
Luckily, I hadn’t attacked them first.
...
By car, the journey to the South Region was estimated to take about a week, slightly longer than usual.
That was because Luke had carefully found out who would be guarding the border during that period. Our car had to pass through when the person Luke had already paid was on duty.
Throughout the week, every ti we stopped to rest, I sparred with Luke. He even taught a technique called invisible walk, a way of moving without sound or trace.
It was a skill essential for criminals. He taught it to all of his team mbers.
"Among all of them, you’re the fastest to master this technique," Luke said, praising .
For so reason, being praised by a criminal made feel oddly proud.
After a week on the road, we arrived smoothly in the South Region. It was already sumr, yet the temperature here remained cold.
They escorted to Bloom Pack, the warst territory among the packs in this region and also the central pack.
Suzie’s house, my destination, was located near the river’s edge closer to the border, while Luke and his team had business in the city center.
We parted ways.
I stayed at an inn nearby while gathering information. Now that I had an identity card, I was free to move around.
Finding Suzie’s address turned out to be easy.
As I was about to head there, Loodie sensed a familiar aura. Not long after, Alpha Will’s car passed by.
Don’t send any signals to Alpha Will’s inner wolf, I warned Loodie before she grew sentintal and accidentally exposed my presence to that bastard alpha.
I followed from a safe distance, far enough that he couldn’t sense my aura.
Alpha Will’s car stopped in front of a house with the exact sa address as Suzie’s.
Just like Linda had said, Suzie’s house resembled a mansion. A large two-story building with a wide yard, a garden, and gates enclosing the entire property.
Alpha Will stepped out of the car. I had to restrain myself from punching his face.
Before I fully succeeded in calming myself, I saw soone else exit the car behind him.
Soone unfamiliar.
It was Shannon.
My heart tightened. Not from anger, but because the pieces of this conspiracy were finally aligning, one by one.
Using invisible walk and ordering Loodie to suppress my aura, I leapt over the short fence surrounding the property.
As an alpha, Alpha Will was powerful. I moved with extre caution to avoid being detected.
I climbed a tree near one of the side windows. Though it was a bit far, with my enhanced hearing, I could clearly hear their conversation.
The very first sentence Shannon spoke made flinch so badly I almost fell from the tree.
"Mom, let’s open the gift Daddy and I prepared for you."
Shannon, seated inside, pointed at a box on the table. A middle-aged woman who looked young, elegant, and beautiful sat beside Alpha Will. That bastard casually wrapped an arm around her waist.
"You don’t have to keep giving gifts. Mom is already happy that you can co here freely again," the woman replied while opening the box.
I could already guess.
She was Suzie.
My skin prickled when I heard Shannon call her Mom, and Alpha Will Daddy. They looked exactly like a perfect little family.
The problem was, Luna Eileen still existed. The alpha’s official mate and Shannon’s adoptive mother.
"Mom, that bastard child is already dead. That stupid Luna trusts even more now. Even if she saw us, she’d never imagine that you’re my real mother," Shannon said casually.
Alpha Will didn’t react to his wife being insulted. Instead, he gently stroked Shannon’s head.
"Shannon’s right. Don’t worry about that woman. As long as I’m around, every ti she goes into heat, the hormones during that period are enough to make her stupid," Alpha Will said, openly mocking Luna Eileen.
No wonder I had always felt Luna Eileen was foolish and unreliable.
It had all been Alpha Will’s manipulation.
"What about the second son’s inheritance?" Suzie asked.
"Edwin has already promised to give his share to Shannon. As for the cursed girl’s portion, it’s still being handled. Grey Pack isn’t leaving any openings," Alpha Will replied.
"Why didn’t you make sure she was dead? Because her body was never found, what should’ve been finished has beco complicated," Suzie snapped.
Shannon took Suzie’s hand. "Mom, don’t be mad at Daddy. This is my fault. I asked him not to kill Clarissa imdiately, so she could feel pain all over her body. She shouldn’t have suddenly appeared and tried to take my place."
Suzie stroked Shannon’s head lovingly. "Mom’s daughter is clever. That child deserved to suffer."
"Don’t worry. I’ve already sent warriors to search for her body in the forest. If she’s still alive, I’ll make sure she dies," Alpha Will said seriously.
The happy little family laughed, as if talking about torture and murder were nothing more than casual conversation.
Only then did I truly realize how twisted Alpha Will was.
I didn’t care that he betrayed Luna Eileen. But because he wanted dead, I would make him feel the desire to die without ever being able to.
...
I stood in front of the balcony door of the luxurious mansion, my gaze steady and resolute.
I wasn’t here for revenge yet.
I was here to find a pawn.
After learning the truth—that Alpha Will had planned to eliminate even before I was born, and that he was still trying to kill now—I understood one thing clearly.
None of this would’ve been possible without his mastery of political manipulation.
Alpha Will was dangerous. Even if I was The Healer, he could still pull strings from the shadows. In that scenario, I would eventually beco his puppet.
Before becoming anyone’s puppet, I would choose my own pawn first.
The door in front of opened, revealing a young woman with ash-gray hair, her expression frozen in shock.
I smiled at her.
"Tessa Grey," I said calmly. "Help destroy the Greens."
...
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