<h4>Chapter 322: 322-I Want Something Magical Too</h4>


    <strong>Joshua:</strong>


    It wasn’t easy being in the North and realizing that Suki wasn’t here.


    When I heard Clementine say they went on a mission, a dangerous mission, and returned with the coals, I felt really disappointed.


    They all came back, even Oriana, who was terrified of the North.


    She survived, so why? Then why was Suki the only one who didn’t return?


    It made no sense, and it affected my mental health deeply.


    "Joshua, are youing too? You should take a nap first. I’ll be on guard duty with Mira. The ck Squad refuses to work with us," Jack said as he came up behind me.


    I was staring out the small window.


    The windows had been boarded up, but I found a tiny opening.


    I needed to see the house Clementine had mentioned.


    "It’s okay. Let them be," Imented. "I don’t think they know what they’re doing right now, so it’s better if they aren’t involved in anything. I can stay awake though," The three of them acted like Oriana’s puppets, so involving them in anything important, or rted to safety, was pointless.


    "Are you sure you want to stay awake first?" Jack asked again.


    "Yeah, I’ll be fine. Go ahead, take a nap," I replied, ncing at Mira, who was patrolling the living room.


    I was fine sitting alone, lost in my thoughts.


    "Why are you so interested in the underground tunnel?" my wolf asked.


    "Do you feel lonely? Ever since she’s gone, nothing seems interesting enough," I said, staring out the window.


    "I know Clementine and her squad have trouble, but that doesn’t seem enough," my wolf added. I nodded, he was right.


    It wouldn’t be too much of a punishment.


    "Do you think Oriana got her hands on something magical?" I whispered, knowing no one else could hear me.


    "What if she did? What does it mean for us?" my wolf asked.


    "If she can control someone, why can’t we do something magical to bring Suki back?" I asked, my hands shaking as I remembered that night.


    Losing her had been the hardest thing I’d ever experienced.


    I tried to move on.


    During the vacation, I did everything I had enjoyed beforeing to the North, partying, ying golf, running around, boxing, but nothing worked.


    At one point, I even stopped trying.


    My eyes were fixed on the house. Soon it began to rain, but even the downpour couldn’t blur my vision.


    The house with the underground tunnel.


    I turned around and wandered through the living room, passing the ck Squad’s bedroom.


    This time they had taken two rooms.


    The men refused to share one with Oriana.


    In fact, the three of them crammed into a single bed, lying stiffly as if afraid that any open space would be imed by her.


    Furious, Oriana stormed off and took the other room for herself.


    Now she was alone in the bedroom, but there was something about her that held my attention.


    I stared at her, wondering if she was the only way I could bring Suki back.


    After a while, there was a change in the night duty.


    The others were supposed to wake up, but I stayed where I was while they took turns through the night.


    Clementine’s squad mates didn’t wake her.


    They said that since she used more of her strength than the others, she deserved to rest. That struck me as strange.


    She had left her old squad, joined a new one, and yet they respected her even more than before.


    Still, what puzzled me most was why any of her former squad mates would turn away from someone like Clementine.


    "I must admit, she has quite a spark. Her red outfit looked like something worn for revenge." My wolf stirred, but I shook my head.


    "I’m not interested in talking about anyone else. You know that. You can’t tempt me," I told him, refusing to let him think he could distract me with someone else just to make me move on.


    When Suki died, our bond shattered.


    My wolf might not have felt much pain anymore, but I did. I was still hurting. I couldn’t move on from her.


    By morning, I already had ns. Everyone was awake and eating breakfast.


    Clementine sat with her squad mates, her eyes asionally on her former ones, probably discussing what we’d talked about the previous night.


    Everyone was suspicious of Oriana, and I could tell she sensed it.


    She had already called out several people for staring at her since dawn.


    "Clementine, a word."


    I reached her table and gestured for her to follow me.


    The moment I did, I noticed the male members of her old squad nce up at me.


    If looks could kill, I’d have been dead.


    Even the blind could have sensed their jealousy, their wish to be the one calling Clementine over.


    But none of them dared speak, Oriana sat right beside them.


    "Boys, pay attention."


    She pped her hands once, and all three jolted, turning their eyes back to her.


    Clementine rose from her squad mates and walked over to me.


    We went to the kitchen, and I signaled Jack to make sure no one else came in or lingered nearby to overhear us.


    "What is it?" she asked, her tone sharp and confident.


    The way she dressed now, paired with that attitude, made her look like walking fire, and I didn’t mean that in a lustful way, just being honest.


    "We need to get Oriana alone, away from those three."


    I watched her raise an eyebrow while washing her hands at the sink.


    "Why are you so interested in freeing my squad mates from whatever magic Oriana has on them?" she questioned.


    As expected, convincing Clementine wouldn’t be easy. She was unpredictable.


    "When I tried talking to you earlier, your squad mates red at me. I realized one whistle from her, and they could attack me. Besides, we need them in their right mind."


    Before I could continue exining, Clementine raised her palm to silence me.


    "You seriously think I believe you when you say you want to help them? I remember your threat from that night. You said, clear as day, that you’d make them suffer. So tell me, what is it?" she asked.


    She made it nearly impossible for me to lie to her.


    Why did she have to be so difficult? Why couldn’t she just listen and believe me?


    "Okay, fine. I want them free of her influence so they can go back to caring about you. So that when I punish you, they’ll feel the pain I felt when I lost Suki."


    That sounded like the perfect excuse, or so I thought, because Clementine immediately shook her head andughed.


    "Come back when you have a good excuse, Joshua," she remarked with a tired look before walking out of the kitchen.


    I clenched my jaw and grunted under my breath. She was so damn annoying.


    "What is it? What’s going on?" Jack appeared, asking why I’d shifted my tone with Clementine.


    "We need to get our hands on Oriana. We have to find out how she’s managed to gain so much power and control over those three alphas," I told him, resting my hand on his shoulder.


    It was my way of reminding him that we could still be friends.


    And I knew he wanted to be. He’d said it more than once.


    After a while, we joined Clementine’s squad.


    Oriana still sat alone, keeping the three alphas’ strength away from us.


    "So next time, when the Whisperer arrives, before he starts whispering, we’ll be ready," Clementine repeated what she’d already told the others. "There will be two groups. One will take care of those who fall victim to his whispers, and the other will kill the men." she paused.


    "Now, we only have a few weapons, all knives. Let’s put them in one ce. Once we realize who the victim is, during the statement of guilt, the other group will grab the weapons to make sure the victim doesn’t get any. Then it’ll be quick and done. I hope this time, when everyone’s ready to jump out the windows or doors, we’ll finally catch that man."


    Clementine exined it well. It was a solid n, a good strategy to keep the victim safe and the Whisperer within our reach.


    It was going to work. But I didn’t want it to. I stayed silent, letting them believe I was fully on their side.


    Everyone got distracted. There were no signs of the Whisperer.


    The door was quiet, and everyone gathered in the living room.


    Just the living room. I needed enough distraction to make them leave so I could unlock the door.


    The Fleshmingos were outside. I could already hear them.


    That was the only way to get Oriana alone and others distracted. I would let the fleshmingos in.


    As evening settled and still nothing had happened, everyone started getting tired.


    "Jack and Nate should take the watch while the rest of us rest," I said, assigning the duty to my two men.


    "I’ll stay awake too," Clementine offered, raising her hand.


    As expected, she had to make things harder.