Chapter 81: Sneaking Away in the Middle of the Night
[Margaret’s Perspective]
In the darkness, I opened my eyes.
I looked at Donald, who was lying beside me. His breathing was steady and he looked to be fast asleep. I gently turned over and carefully observed Donald’s movements.
Good. He hadn’t been awakened at all.
I glanced at the bedside clock. 10:30. It was time for me to leave.
I slipped off the bed on tiptoes and headed for the bathroom in my room.
This was the plan I had come up with this afternoon. Donald would definitely send someone to patrol outside the door. I couldn’t take the risk of strutting out the front door. Fortunately, I found a window in the bathroom. It was just big enough for me to slip out.
I took out the patrol gear I’d hidden earlier and a rope from the cabinet. I tied the rope to a sturdy pillar on one side and gave it a couple of hard tugs to make sure the rope could take my weight well. It took me a long time to put on the patrol outfit Angel had given me. It was tighter than I thought. It took a lot of effort to squeeze into it.
The material of this outfit was light and thin, unlike all the fabric I had worn before. It clung to my body like another layer of skin and stretched with the rhythm of my breathing. I guessed that some special craftsmanship went into the making of these gears.
I put a dagger at my waist. In my pocket was the token and the envelope I had received in the afternoon. On the back of the envelope was a map of the location of the meeting tonight and the route I needed to patrol.
After making sure everything was in order, I stuffed the clothes I’d taken off into the cabinet and climbed down the rope that was fastened to the window. The building’s facade was brick, which made it easy to climb down.
I climbed down from above without a hitch. There was nothing around me but the moonlight. It enveloped the land gently.
I hope Donald doesn’t find out and get angry with me,?I prayed silently to the moon goddess.
I got my bearings and ran quickly in the direction of the forest.
The journey was smoother than I expected. No one stopped me along the way. When I saw some of the patrolling people, I would feel nervous. When they saw me, they let me pass. They didn’t even need me to take out my token.
I wondered if this was our security. Were we too lax? I should find a chance to mention it to Donald.
Finally, I reached the spot marked on the map. I’d never been to this part of the forest before. It was at the back of the Pack, and the trees were lusher, making it even darker in the night. I looked around but didn’t see Angel.
Is she playing with me?
This thought came to me, but she had given me the clothes and the map. If she was just trying to fool me, why go to this extent? Wouldn’t it be more appropriate for me to come unarmed?
Suddenly, I sensed a dangerous aura around me. I turned and saw a huge beast roaring at me. Its fur was gray-black, just like the night. It looked terrifying.
I couldn’t help but take two steps back. When it stood up, it was twice my height. Its upper limbs were thick and muscular. It had huge claws with sharp nails. It bared its two sharp teeth in a scary way.
“You’re late,” I heard it say to me.
I glanced at the medallion on its belt that matched mine. It was a combat-ready werewolf.
After I realized this, I realized that there was no vicious killing intent in its eyes as it looked at me.
“Uh, sorry. I’m here to hand over the token.” I took out the token and showed it to the wolf.
I heard it grunt in displeasure. It began to transform in front of me, its form shrinking until it looked like a normal man.
He was still very burly, with angular muscles in his arms. He took the token from my hand and examined it for a while before saying, “Why are you alone?”
He frowned at me, looked me up and down, and said, “I haven’t seen you before.”
I didn’t know how to answer him. In fact, this wasn’t what I’d imagined. I thought that the person waiting for me here would be Angel, or at least one of them would come and tell me what to do, but I was confused. I was afraid that saying something wrong would arouse his suspicion.
I noticed that his gaze was focused on the dagger at my waist. His eyes were focused, and an unhappy look appeared between his brows. “So you’re one of them. Why didn’t you say so?”
I didn’t understand what he was talking about. Don’t they all belong to the same patrol team? Are there factions among them?
He threw the token back to me. I caught it in a flurry. I felt him looking at me even more strangely.
“My name is Chris.”
“Monica,” I said casually.
“Monica, it’s your shift now. You’ll have to hand over your shift here in four hours.” Chris looked at me suspiciously. “You know how to do it, right?”
This chapt𝒆r is updated by free(w)ebnovel(.)com