Adide’s POV


    “Alpha Adide, Alpha Lance has sent a messenger with a letter for you,” Beta Valentine announced, handing me the letter.


    “The messenger said it’s urgent.”


    I quickly opened it. Inside were just a few words, “Adide,e to Redwood City immediately.”


    It was signed by Lance.


    I recognized his handwriting instantly.


    The letter was brief–no details, just an urgent summons to Redwood City, with no mention of what to bring.


    “Where’s the messenger now?” I asked.


    “He’s in the dining room. After shifting, he ran all the way here without rest for three days. He’s exhausted and hungry,” Beta Valentine exined.


    1


    I immediately instructed, “Beata, pack a few sets of clothes and some travel essentials. Bring him over after the messenger finishes his meal. I need to speak with him.”


    “Right away!” Beata hurried into the house to pack.


    A whileter, the messenger was brought to the conference room after his meal.


    I was already dressed and ready. Looking up, I recognized Tommy.


    His head was covered in dust, and his skin was peeling from sunburn, leaving him red and ck.


    It was already the Full Moon Festival, yet his appearance suggested he’d been traveling for a long time.


    “Tommy, didn’t you go to the Shadow Peaks with Alpha Lance? Why are you in Redwood City? Why does he want me there?” I asked.


    After burping from his full meal, Tommy stood a bit awkwardly, likely due to running too long in his shifted form.


    1 gestured for him to sit and take his time.


    “Thanks,” Tommy said, sitting down.


    “Alpha Lance did take us to the Shadow Peaks. We stayed there for three or four days and were on our way back. But in Cypress Valley, my wallet was stolen by a pickpocket.”


    “I caught the thief on the spot and was about to take him to the police station when I noticed a few ragged wolf


    pups nearby. Judging by their scent, they were rogues. They bolted at themotion.”


    As the rogue pups <b>scattered</b>, Lance happened to look up and saw one of the younger rogues who bore a striking resemnce to my second brother, Randall’s son, Cedric Davidson.


    The young rogue had a limp and was running slowly.


    Lance was about to chase after him when someone pushed a cart into the crowd, toppling several people.


    Lance stopped to help.


    When he looked up again, the young rogue was being picked up by a burly man and stuffed into a car.


    Instinctively, Lance shouted “Cedric,” and the young rogue looked up with an expression of disbelief.


    Lance immediately took off after the car, which weaved through traffic and knocked over a few more pedestrians.


    By the time Lance caught up to the vehicle, both the man and the young rogue had vanished.


    Cypress Valley’s streets were crowded with narrow alleys crisscrossing everywhere. There was no telling which direction they’d taken.


    Lance had only brought Tommy with him. Tommy, preupied with catching the thief, had no idea who Lance was chasing and could only wait on the spot.


    When Lance returned empty–handed, he interrogated the thief.


    The thief was dressed simrly to the young rogue, and the fact that the others fled upon his capture suggested they were part of the same group.


    However, the thief turned out to be mute and unable to write, making it impossible to extract any information.


    Lance handed him over to the police station. Upon hearing that Lance was there, the sheriff promptly weed him personally.


    Lance inquired about the young rogues in the area, and the sheriff sighed, “These young rogues have been roaming Cypress Valley for a while. Some beg, others steal–there’s definitely someone masterminding them. We’ve arrested them several times but can’t pinpoint the mastermind. It’s not just here; several other ces are experiencing the same issue.”


    “Many of them are rendered mute or have broken legs. We can’t get any information out of them, nor can we return them to their original packs. We’ve had to temporarily house them in relief stations. But they escape as soon as they’re ced there. Take the thief Lance caught–he’s been arrested multiple times for theft.”


    Lance was furious and questioned why the sheriff couldn’t catch the mastermind.


    The sheriff had no choice but to admit that a powerful rogue gang was behind it. Their members were exceptionally strong and dangerous, making arrests difficult.


    Eventually, they just stopped trying.


    Lance dealt with the sheriff for dereliction of duty and stayed in Cypress Valley to investigate the young rogues‘ whereabouts while sending a letter to the Shadow Peaks.


    He asked Instructor Irene to contact the gang’s leader.


    It turned out that these individuals weren’t part of the powerful rogue gang but were exploiting its reputation. They captured young werewolves and forced them to beg or steal, collecting the proceeds.


    “Alpha Lance tracked them all the way to Redwood City and finally found the boy,” Tommy concluded.


    “But the boy has been made mute and has a limp. When asked if his name is Cedric, he neither confirms nor denies it. He’s extremely wary of Alpha Lance and has tried to escape several times.


    “Alpha Lance wants to take him back, but the boy either hits himself or bites Lance. The journey back to the capital is long, and Lance fears something might happen to him along the way, which is why he’s called for you.”


    After hearing Tommy’s ount, I was stunned.


    Instinctively, I shook my head. “No, it’s impossible.”


    Tommy’s chicory pheromones seemed to carry the scent of Redwood City. This smell caused my wolf ears to bristle uncontrobly, their silver tips gleaming in the candlelight.


    The moonmark on the back of my neck red with pain, and silver–blue blood seeped from beneath my hardened nails.


    “Impossible,” I whispered.