Setting Off I.

Everyone fell unceremoniously silent.

"I don't think there's much left here for us to do, so when do we set off?"

What did he mean?

The eyes of everyone in the room darted around in confusion. Who were they, and what were they doing?

Set off... to where?

It wasn't enough that his presence alone had put them on edge. He opened his mouth and threw a curve ball, too.

Ocean's golden eyes flickered with amusement as he observed the wary expressions of Vince, Casey, Trudy, Tate, and Winnie.

Casey, despite his unease, managed to muster a composed facade, "You... what do you mean set off, set off to where?" he said, his voice tinged with caution. "And what exactly brings you here at this hour?"

Ocean's smile widened slightly,  revealing a glimpse of his sharp teeth. "Out of consideration for you and the other aloha representatives, I thought we might leave quickly." he replied casually, his tone cloaked in playfulness. "Besides, Kristensen really can't wait, right? She needs to pledge soon or else the bloodlust..."

Vince exchanged a skeptical glance with Trudy. They had only found about Kristensen's bloodlust, and he already knew? It made their thoughts run wild, especially Trudy, because he'd seen Ocean with Kristensen more than once...

Besides, could they leave when they were in the middle of something this big?

Tate and Winnie, on the other hand, seemed almost mesmerized by Ocean's presence, their apprehension momentarily forgotten as they gazed at him with a mix of awe and fascination.

As the silence stretched on, Ocean leaned back in his chair, crossing one leg over the other. "So, when do we set off?" he repeated, his gaze lingering on Casey with unnerving intensity - his lazily demeanor flashing between serious and not, giving of a teasing illusion.

Casey hesitated, weighing his options carefully. He knew that Ocean could be the key to unlocking the puzzle they had at the moment, depending on his mood. But with Isaac still at large and the threat to The Camp growing more imminent by the day, he couldn't afford to openly go against Ocean openly.

And what he said about Kristensen was something else to consider, if she didn't pledge to an alpha soon to join the pack or at least get an alpha's assistance to break through the bloodlust then, Isaac was going to be the last of their worries.

"There's... there's something we, we, we need your help with before we make that decision." Casey said, choosing his words cautiously. "As you might know, Isaac is at large, and we found something more disturbing at the building Trudy and Kristensen saw Leah."

Ocean's smile remained fixed in place, but his eyes narrowed slightly. "My help," he said, though there was a hint of intrigue in his voice betraying his nonchalant visage. "I'm all ears, at your service. What do you meet my help with?"

The room fell silent once more, the eyes of others all focused on Casey. They conveyed the same thing... all the best.

Casey gritted his teeth as he threw Vince a glare - if looks could kill - but there was nothing for him to do. He'd been singled out by Ocean's since he stepped in the room.

"Kristensen said you were there, at that building where the pack's sacrifice took place." Casey said, making a statement rather than questioning.

Vince, Trudy, Tate, and Winnie threw Casey the same look - his way of questioning was too weak.

Ocean raised a brow, silently prompting Casey to go on, but he was a little shocked that his pub's senses were that strong. She was unconscious and occupied by that gatekeeper yet still managed to notice him?

His brows furrowed unconsciously. It threw him off a little that he missed what Casey said, "What?" Ocean asked when he saw Casey's mouth had stopped talking.

Casey exchanged a wary look with Vince and Trudy...

"Were you there? Did you see anything or anyone? Maybe someone in charge of the pack's sacrifice?" Casey fired questions rapidly, realizing he had Ocean's attention.

He said them at once as though he wouldn't be able to if he didn't that Ocean let out a slight chuckle.

"I was there, I did something, and I didn't see who's in charge of the pack's sacrifice." Ocean answered the questions, counting with his fingers. "Anything else?"

A lot, a lot more, but Casey didn't have the guts to pursue it further, and his entourage didn't seem to want to help. All they did was throw him provocative glances.

With that, Ocean rose from his seat, his movements fluid and graceful. As he made his way to the door, he paused, casting a lingering glance over his shoulder at the group.

"Until next time," he said cryptically before bumping into Kristensen right at the door.

A real smile flashed through his eyes quickly as he stared down at Kristensen, satisfied with the changes he saw. "Well, we're really fated." Ocean said.

Kristensen smiled against her will. She'd had a long night, but running around in her wolf form paced her. It seemed to be the first time she didn't feel separated.

"You're everywhere." She said as she pushed Ocean aside to step into the room.

While she was running, she remembered something else besides just the ritual and came to see if it would help with finding something.

Ocean followed Kristensen into the room. His pub had been giving him surprise after surprise, and he was too curious to know how exactly she'd notice his presence under all that strain. Ocean's eyes steeled...

It was involuntarily, but a bud was growing in his the barren land of his heart. Could, could he really have found her after such a long time?

His... his... it was so unbelievable that even in his head, he couldn't say it. Ocean knew more than anyone he was at the end of his ropes, about to lose himself to madness.

This was the curse on him, Ocean Ly.

"Kris, you're here?" Trudy stood to welcome her but sat back down when he met Ocean's scary gaze.

Kristensen nodded in acknowledgment of Trudy's greeting, her eyes briefly meeting Ocean's before she turned her attention to Casey and the others, sitting at the other side of the table with Ocean following suit. "What's going on?" she asked, her voice betraying a hint of weariness from her restless night.

Trudy filled her in on the situation, explaining how he'd asked them to leave The Camp altogether and his acknowledgment to being present at that building during the pack's sacrifice.

Kristensen listened intently, her expression growing more serious with each passing moment.

"Ocean," she said, turning to face him directly, "do you know anything about Isaac's whereabouts? Or who might be behind the pack's sacrifice?"

It didn't escape Kristensen that she'd already asked several times before. She was annoyed...

Ocean regarded her curiously, his golden eyes scanning her face as if searching for something. "I may have some information," he admitted reluctantly, "but I'll need something in return."

Kristensen's heart sank at Ocean's cryptic response. This guy and his way of making circles around her questions regarding Isaac...

"What do you want?" she asked, trying to push the annoyance out of her voice.

Ocean's smile returned, though it contained a seriousness it usual didn't. "I want your word," he said, his gaze locking with hers. "That you'll owe me a favor. A debt to be repaid in the future."

Kristensen hesitated, the alarm bells I'm her head were going off. But, even though she felt Ocean's terms could have far-reaching consequences. But she also knew the need to find Isaac was more important than any future consequences.

After a moment of tense silence, she nodded, her decision made. "You have my word," she said, her voice firm.

Ocean's smile widened, a glint of satisfaction in his eyes. "You said it." he said, turning to Casey and the others. "Isaac's dead."

"What?"

"What?" echoed throughout the room.

Kristensen's glared at him, "You lied to me?" she was fuming. The matter of Isaac was closely related to her, and he joked about it? Her eyes spewed fire the more she thought about it.

The anger of everyone in the room was palpable.

Ocean leaned closer to Kristensen, his golden eyes glinting, "I said he's dead, but I didn't say I don't know anything else besides that."

"Well?" Vince prompted impatiently, forgetting his wariness against Ocean for a moment.

Ocean threw him a hard glance, and Vince shrunk back into his seat. Right... he couldn't carelessly ask the ancestor in front of him to hurry up - point taken.

"What you're looking for isn't in that building but at Cyan." Ocean answered, "the two of you should know what I'm talking about. Why The Camp is off the grid and the hunting grounds of your two houses." He pointed at Vince and Casey.

Vince and Casey drop their heads deep in thought.

Cyan was the city in which House of Caston Maddison and House of Ryder Voss were located.

The city was big enough, and the administrators of each house dealt with The Camp. If they went in line with what Ocean said, it meant one of the administrators was the one behind the pack's sacrifice.

As if they reached a conclusion at the same time, Casey and Vince exchanged a wary glance.

Omar Voss.

Then they would really need to set off as soon as possible.

"Seems like you've reached the same conclusion from your expressions." Ocean said. "I'll be off then."

Ocean stood from his seat, throwing Kristensen a lasting glance before taking off.

"Wait," Kristensen called out, "Where's Isaac's body? I need to see it." 

Ocean threw Kristensen a puzzled look. Isaac had been in his custody since the night of Kristensen's transformation and had searched everything from his mind to his soul but found nothing that his pub could be interested in.

Why? But he didn't ask, he simply stared at her.

Kristensen let out a light smile when Icean didn't respond, "the guy tortured me for a while. I need to see for myself that his dead." she said, trying to persuade Ocean.

But that wasn't entirely it, what she wanted to confirm the most was whether Isaac had the alpha's symbol or not. Kristensen didn't know why, but she had a feeling she needed to find that more than anything.

"You don't trust me?" Ocean asked lightly.

"It has nothing to do with trusting you."  Kristensen said softly, "take it as closing a chapter."

Ocean didn't believe her, but he didn't ask further. He felt he had all the time in the world to lure his pub to his side. He had the patience to let her think she had the freedom and wasn't in his grasp. At this thought, Ocean's mood became visibly better, and his trademark light smile became present on his face.

"Alright then, come to my house tomorrow. I'll take you to see Isaac." Said Ocean, and he left.

From the corner of his eyes, he threw Tate and Winnie a look with his golden eyes glowing as he was leaving the room. The look contained his power, but only Tate and Winnie felt it, they were shaken to their core, and not only that... it seemed there had no secrets in front of him.

Even after he'd left for a long while, Tate and Winnie still didn't come to themselves, they were locked down by Ocean.

Kristensen saw it all but didn't say anything, her attention was on Vince and Casey, who were in a trance. It seemed what Ocean said had some truth to it...

"I'm guessing you know what he was talking about?" Kristensen said as she sat back down.

Vince and Casey sighed, they not only knew what he was talking about but had a headache just thinking about it. That person, Omar Voss, was someone above them...