23 A Monster

Raine finally opened her eyes and clenched her teeth after recalling what had just happened. The lollipop boy got lucky once again and escaped from her.

"Damn!" she grunted as she tried to sit on the bed. She was currently resting at one of her hide-outs known only to Levi, Mia, and Lyne, her most trusted people.

She stood up and slowly walked out of the room.

"Boss! How are you feeling?" Lyne asked and rushed towards Raine once she saw her entering the dining room.

"Like shit. Damn the doses of our tranquilizers. They are really high! It knocked me out instantly. Plus I'm really starving," Raine complained as she took a seat.

"You've come at the right time Boss. I just finished cooking and was about to set the table," Levi commented.

"I will go and call Mia," Lyne said to which Raine nodded.

Raine watched Levi prepare the table. Despite being the only man among them, whenever they were together, he often did all household chores like cooking.

"You will make a good wife Levi," Raine teased as she took a spoonful of the nourishing soup he had prepared. His face blushed in response which made her laugh even more.

"Boss, instead of wife… Can't you say, husband?" Levi mumbled with a pout. He wanted to add that he would be a good husband to her as well but he did not dare do that. He knew that she saw him only as a younger brother so he didn't cross his boundary.

"Hmm, you look like a good wife eagerly waiting for her husband after cooking. How cute! You'll be the perfect wife. Right, Lyne?" Raine asked as soon as she and Mia entered.

Lyne looked at Levi and her lips quivered as she said, "I'm not so sure Boss. But he is a better cook than the rest of us so I guess I will give him that."

Raine chuckled and said, "Let's eat and discuss what happened. How is the little girl by the way? What was her name again?"

"Her name is Stella, Boss. For now, we have locked her in one of the rooms and left so she could settle there well. All the things she needs are in the room and we have also kept some food inside. We were monitoring her movements while you were unconscious. That lollipop boy was right. She was able to transform back into her human form," Mia answered.

"Yeah, but the question is whether she can control herself once she shifts into a werewolf?" Raine said and continued eating.

"Boss, there is something that is bothering me. You have the ability to differentiate a human from a mythical creature just by looking at their eyes even if they are in their human form right? So I am curious about the lollipop boy. Is he human? He seemed too strong and fast to be a mere human Boss. And the way he fights…" Mia commented as she recalled the scene of him fighting their squad members. Something about him was mysterious. His aura and…

"He's human!" Raine answered with a serious tone.

'He should be human,' Raine quietly convinced herself though she wasn't able to confirm it. He has to be human as the lollipop boy managed to stay alive. Because she would have had to kill him if he were to be a werewolf like her mother was. It was her responsibility to eliminate all the monsters lurking among humans.

Mia looked at Lyne and Levi who signaled her to stop talking. She wanted to say more to prove her claim but stopped when she noticed her Boss' aura change. She had become serious all of a sudden. That only meant that there was something going on between Raine and the lollipop boy just as Lyne and Levi had suspected.

But no one actually knew the whole story about it. Lyne and Levi could only assume that there might be a story connecting them based on how their Boss loved the lollipop and connected it to the lollipop boy.

After that discussion, there was a deafening silence in the dining room except for the clinking of their knife and fork as everyone focussed on eating.

"Thank you for the dinner, Levi. As usual, you cooked deliciously. I will go and check on Stella first," Raine commented after she was done eating.

She stood up from her chair and left the other three in the dining room.

"I wish I had abilities like her," Mia commented. Their Boss was gifted but her kind would not be categorized as mutants as she was perfectly human. No one knows about her kind, but the three of them could tell that there was something more to her than her gift and special abilities.

"What do you think her kind is? I mean I had overheard it before… That our Boss is above humans and that's the reason why Sir Yun is actually scared of her. He was always very careful around her," Mia commented.

"Shhh. Don't think too much about it alright? Let's just do our best to assist our Boss and protect her," Lyne commented and Mia nodded in agreement. The three of them owe their lives to Raine so they would do everything in their power to keep her safe.

Meanwhile, Raine went to the place where the little girl was locked. It was not an ordinary room with a bed and windows. The walls were made of strong metal which not even the strongest werewolf could break through or escape from.

"Hello Stella," she greeted the little girl with a sweet smile. Lyne and Mia had cleaned her up while she was unconscious.

"The dress looks good on you. How old are you?" Raine asked gently.

"I am eight. Where's my grandpa? What happened to me?" Stella asked as her voice cracked. Everything was still vivid in her mind. She had clearly seen her reflection in the mirror. She had turned into a monster.