Leah's POV
Just as my mind was racing fast, I heard Josephine's quirky voice -
"Leah Lewyn, did someone send you here to pry on what we're doing?"
I stared into her eyes and said, "I've got no idea what you're talking about. I'm here to ask for your assistance in protecting innocent people's lives. I didn't expect that you guys wanted to create chaos, which would result in thousands of people in Mediland losing their lives."
Then, I turned to Darren and asked, "Are you in this as well?"
Darren looked shocked and hurt at the same time.
"Leah, after all this time, I can't believe that you would have such a low opinion of me." He said in a low voice. "I just wanted to come and take Josephine away. She's completely consumed by her anger."
"And then, what?" I asked.
Darren clenched his fists and lowered his head, "I'm planning to hide her away from the public for a while."
"Hiding...?! Are you kidding me, Darren?! She killed an innocent old man! Now Mick Toussaint thinks I am the killer of his father! And the only thing on your mind is to hide the real killer and get me into trouble?!" I stepped forward to draw myself closer to him.
"I don't have a choice, Leah. Jo is my mate. If she dies, I will die and..."
"And you chose to protect her at my expense," I said, feeling that my heart was being stabbed.
"No! That's not what I'm planning to do!" Darren lifted his head and stared at me. "Leah, listen to me. I will never let anyone hurt you..."
"Except that you're the one who's hurting me," I said and shook my head.
Darren bit his lips and couldn't say more words. He lowered his head.
Josephine gloated, sitting in her wheelchair. She looked more than happy to see me being miserable like this.
Again, she managed to take away someone very important in my life.
However, Darren drastically lifted up his head to look at me. I knew he wanted to walk away with me.
I stretched out my hands toward him, trying to hold his arms.
But at that time, Josephine suddenly wept and said, "It's OK, Darren, go with Leah. I'm just a poor rogue now! I can't walk for the rest of my life! I don't deserve someone like you."
Despite saying this, she leaned against Darren's chest while wrapping her arms around Darren's waist tightly.
"What?" Darren panicked.
He crouched down to touch Josephine's legs and asked desperately, "Do you mean that you can't walk from now on, Jo?!"
"It's OK, Darren. I understand that you're working for Leah now. Working is your priority. I really understand," Josephine pretended that she was about to faint.
"Oh, Jo... I'm so sorry that I wasn't there for you. It's all my fault." Darren said and held Josephine tightly in his arms.
Josephine's body was shivering, burying her face into Darren's arms while smirking at me over Darren's shoulder.
"Fuck you! Bitch! He's mine!" Josephine mouthed at me silently.
As I watched from a distance, my blood boiled with fury as I saw Josephine nestled in the arms of Darren.
Why didn't this nasty woman just disappear from my life once and for all?! I thought to myself.
My heart felt heavy with bitterness as my emotions churned like a stormy sea.
My eyes narrowed into slits as she saw Josephine's smirk of satisfaction, gloating in her apparent victory.
I ignored her provoking smile and looked at the dead headless corpse.
"What is this?" I asked Diego.
Diego looked chilled and said in a nonchalant voice, "This is a dead corpse."
"It was running without a head," I said.
"That's what happens when science goes wrong," Diego said. "They are the enforced ones, Miss Lewyn. They're trained to be great warriors. They are very powerful and determined."
"This is inhuman," I said.
"We aren't human beings, Miss Lewyn. We're werewolves. Our existence is inhuman," Diego said.
"You can't do this to your own people," I said.
"Trust me, Miss Lewyn. If I had a second option, I wouldn't resort to something like this." Diego pointed at the dead corpse and said with clenched fists. "Extreme measures have to be taken in a crisis like this."
"Where did you get this kind of technology?" I asked. I had a bad feeling about this situation. Rouges couldn't have come up with something like this. It wasn't about intelligence or money. It was about the concept itself. To manipulate with their own kinds, trying to play god. There was something inherently wrong and sinister about this concept.
"You're asking too many questions, Miss Lewyn," Diego said. Then, he asked his people to take the dead corpse away. Then, some people came and wiped the floor clean.
A few moments later, it seemed nothing had ever happened in this bar.
Darren sat next to Josephine, holding her hands while comforting her. Diego was talking to both of them.
I had no intention of joining them, so I turned to Frank Skakel and asked, "Do you know any of this?"
The old man nodded slightly.
"And you allowed your own son to do something like this to other werewolves?!" I asked.
The old man walked slowly behind the counter and took his seat.
I followed him.
"Miss Lewyn, if Diego had ever listened to me, he would have left Mediland long ago. This place is toxic. It's a total disaster. I used to be a gardener when I was in Moonhowlers Pack. I took care of plants and flowers for a living. None of this is..." The old man lifted a finger and pointed at the chaos in the bar, "...what I want. This isn't a place where I want to raise my sons and daughters."
"Where did Diego get this kind of enforcement technology?" I asked.
Frank shook his head and said, "I don't know. He doesn't tell me anything. In his eyes, I'm just a useless old man. But I overheard his conversation with someone the other day, talking about something called the Yellow King. I didn't know what it was. I guess it must have something to do with the enhanced werewolves."
Then, he lifted his eyes and stared at me.
"Miss Lewyn, please walk away from this when you are still able to do so. Go back to your family and hug them when you still can. I have buried five of my children now and I am highly likely to bury the sixth one." As he said, his eyes lay on Diego. "Diego is my youngest child and the last child I've got. After burying him, I will end my own life."