A Promise of Revenge

"Why didn't you invite your friend to come in?"

"Tch, you're saying that after scaring him?"

The old man laughed.

Gray could not help the smile, escaping his lips. This old man is who they called the lone wolf but with him under his care, the monicker lone wolf no longer applied to him.

He was the one who was overseeing the Freedom Land for all the wolves who ended up taking refuge in this place.

A refuge.

The smile on Gray's lips disappeared like it didn't happen. His face turned into a blank canvas once the word refuge registered in his brain.

He had taken refuge in this place. However, his parents were not as lucky as him and the others who came and lived peacefully in this place.

"Stop thinking about your parents, Gray. Let their memory rest in peace."

Gray looked up and met the knowing eyes of his guardian. The man who saved him the night his parents were killed by someone named Briare. He had the name etched into every part of his memory because he was going to do what he had asked him to do.

And even if Briare did not tell him to kill him, he would do it. He would make sure that he would pay for the death of his parents.

The old man's hand on his shoulder pulled Gray from the pit of anger that was boiling in his chest. He did not notice that he was already growling in rage.

"Learn to control your emotion, Gray. If you can't, you're going to lose. Those who is being controlled by their emotion cannot think clearly and are bound to commit a mistake. Detached yourself from your emotions to maintain a clear head. Your eyes can deceive you if let your emotions run havoc within you."

Gray heaved a deep breath, exhaling the air that he gathered in his chest slowly. He shoved the rage he was feeling deep inside, letting his wolf have it for dessert.

"I'm sorry. I feel like I'm never going to learn what you are teaching me."

The old man pulled him into a tight embrace. "Gray, you're doing fine. You're going to be fine," he whispered in his ears.

Gray closed his eyes and let the old man's words wash the worries in his heart.

He doesn't like to be touched but this old man is an exception. And he knew that his standing to the old man was the same. He had made a lot of exceptions to accommodate him.

One of it was the fact that he did not like being with another wolf. His companion in the house and in his life was a woman named Samara.

The old man's aloofness to their kind and his personal choice to live alone in this historical piece of land was the reason why he was called the lone wolf of Maine.

But he had not been alone for the last eight years because he had taken Gray under his wings.

"Are you going to the forest tonight?"

Gray shook his head. "No."

The old man grabbed his shoulders and pushed him away from his chest.

"Gray, didn't I tell you to make friends and joined the others?"

Gray took a step back, leaving the comfort of the old man's arms, and in a steady voice declared.

"I'm going to live my life alone. I must be. I have a higher calling than making friends."

The old man did not say anything but stared long and hard at Gray as if he was trying to read what was on his mind.

However, Gray had already closed the part of his consciousness that the old man had access. He met the old man's eyes and held his stance.

"Gray, I don't have to tell you that wolves live in a pack, do I? Our kind thrives in a group not in being alone. Don't be like me."

Gray curved the corner of his lips into a cold smile. "It's exactly what I intended to do. And you can't make me change my mind."

"You don't have to change your mind until you have dinner."

The old man chuckled, shaking his head when he heard the scolding tone Samara.

Gray giggled when Samara gave him a conspiratory wink.

"You're spoiling the child."

"I am not a child," he said, catching up with the old man's long stride.

Gray watched him walk in a commanding manner. His silver hair, flowing in the breeze, gave him the mysterious aura that others kept on talking about. How the lone wolf got his power by being alone.

Not only Gray was amazed by the old man, but he also wanted what he was seeing because he wanted to be strong like him. He wanted to be strong to make those who took his parents away from him.

"Gray, you cannot be strong by just being alone. After you have your dinner, go to the Turning event. Go as my representative."

Gray sighed defeatedly. He no longer had an excuse not to go since he was ordered to be there as the representative of the old man.

His brows knitted in annoyance because the old man got him in a position where he could not say no. He did not like it when he lost with him.

"He only wants the best for you."

The frown on Gray's face disappeared when he felt Samara's hand on his back.

These two people are now his family. They took him in when he became an orphan at age seven. They gave him everything he needed. And he would give everything in him for them.

"I know," he said with fondness. "But you can't deny the truth that sometimes he asks me to do something just to annoy the hell out of me."

Samara laughed. He loved her laughter. They were like bells ringing in the distance, signaling for him to come home.

"Well, I did not think of denying it because, between the two of us, we know the truth. And don't forget the fact that he doesn't want to be there, hence, he's pushing you to be there in his stead."

Gray looked at Samara and both of them rolled their eyes at the same time. They ended up laughing like two kids, sharing a naughty secret.