Chapter 2: An Ice Pick in the Heart

I’ve waited until sunset, and now I head out of the mansion using a passage that few people know, one that I’ve used often to fulfill Baltazar’s most secret missions. If I want to achieve my goal, I must move quickly to the other side of the city to find Beck.

Outside the villa, I hop into a cab.

“Broadwick Street,” I tell the driver.

I have photograph memory, and having seen it once on Baltazar’s papers, I’ve already memorized my target address.

For generations, the Silver Moon and Red Moon packs have been sworn rivals. I know I have to act carefully. There is a reason why Silver Moon is the most intimidating pack in London. It has fewer shapeshifters, but their abilities make them more powerful than members of Red Moon; they are all mystics.

Of the three species that rule our world — wolf shifters, sorcerers, and mystics — the mystics are the most powerful. It’s said that the mystics are the children of shifters and witches, so they possess a unique power that makes them invaluable.

I know that Baltazar has always longed for the power that our enemy pack possesses and that he dreams of eliminating them, but he has never been able to. Therefore, I am surprised that he was able to acquire so much information about them. I’m impressed that he managed to get that much information about the pack, considering how mysterious they are and how they keep to themselves.

The Silver Moon pack is made up of only exceptional mystics, making them exceptionally powerful. And Owen Becker, or Beck as they say he calls himself, is the Alpha of this pack of dangerous foes.

But none of that matters to me. He is the murderer of my parents! The thought keeps circling inside me, but I control myself. My expression remains calm, even as inside I howl with pain and anger.

Sky, my wolf, hasn't stopped whimpering in pain since she heard the news. Yes, let’s get this done with. I’ve been waiting for this revenge for over ten years, and I can’t wait a minute longer. After that, I can move on with my life.

The car drops me off near my destination, and I walk from there. The rival pack's hideout is located in a six-story building that’s half destroyed by time.

It appears to be abandoned, but as soon as I approach, I see the guards on duty. I work my way across the building to the nearest entrance quickly and quietly.

Something doesn't feel right. Unless I am just lucky, it shouldn’t be this easy to move in the shadows undetected. However, since I’ve already passed the security guards, there’s no point in turning back.

Inside the darkened building, I hear the echo of music. I follow it to a formal room that takes up an entire floor and is crowded with people dancing to music amidst the neon lights.

Moving among them is easy, and using my power, I trick a man into telling me what I want to know. Although subtle, my power is strong; I can emanate a sweet scent from my skin that manipulates the feelings of those who are mesmerized by it.

Yes, I am a mystic myself.

"Where is Beck?" I whisper innocently against his ear in a sweet voice as he sighs in rapt attention. I know he is feeling hopelessly attracted to me and eager to tell me everything I want to know.

"In the room upstairs, down the hall, and up those stairs," he says. He is as honest as a fool.

I smile charmingly and use the scent of my skin to confuse him at my departure so that he won’t remember what happened.

I plunge into the dark solitude of the abandoned corridors of this building. My breathing calms, and I open the door quietly.

The lights in the large room were off, and I almost gasp at the silhouette of the man standing with his back to me.

"I've been waiting for you," he says, in a husky, slightly raspy, deep voice that sends a shiver down my spine. In that split moment, I am not sure whether I should stay or retreat immediately.

Then he turns around to face me. His eyes look right into mine. The room is dark, but I see his silver eyes clearly. His intense gaze locks on me and I feel that I can’t look away.

The bite in my neck begins to throb with force, and almost at the same time, Sky reacts inside me, howling with pain.

I know who he is.

"It's a pleasure to see you again, Artemis," he says in a calm voice, slightly husky and full of power, then he takes a step toward me. The city lights are behind him through the floor-length window, and even his silhouette is enchanting.

I watch him approaching and signed, “It’s you.”

I’ve always been wondering who the man was who marked me when I was eighteen. That night seems so unreal, but the burning on my neck reminds me often that it wasn’t a dream.

It can’t be possible.

Why does he have to be my mate?!

Before I know it, he’s in front of me. His slender fingers brush through my cheek and lift my chin. My heart is racing as his face gets closer. I have never met someone as handsome as him.

My gorgeous mate... is the murderer.

He is leaning down and his lips are inches away from mine.

I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I feel tears dripping down my cheeks.

The next moment, my eyes snap open. A hidden knife from my wrist band is in my hand, and without hesitation, I stab it toward his neck.

My heart is bleeding, and my eyes are moist, but even against Sky's desperate growling inside, I am very clear about what I want in this instant from Beck.

I want revenge.