*SMASH*
The sounds of glasses breaking and the smashing of the furniture resounded in the room as Zant vented his anger and frustration on things around him. His subordinates stood just outside the door, not wanting to interrupt lest they anger the man more.
He panted with anger as fury filled him. He kept clenching and unclenching his fists, looking around. Everywhere, there were signs of destruction. What used to be the study room has now become a literal mess; papers were strewn all over, the cabinets were smashed, the chairs and table were broken and broken vases were scattered throughout the room.
Zant heaved with heavy breath, his bloodshot eyes becoming more red as he recalled that day at the interrogation room. Unsatisfied, he kicked a broken chair in front of him.
"Fecking mutt! Who is he to dare to command and embarrass me??" he cursed out loud. He could still recall the disdain and the disrespect on Lachlan's face when he scolded him. He was just a puny Police Chief! At that moment, he did not realize that he too was just an acting mayor who doesn't really have much power in the office.
His subordinates did not dare to answer him as they kept quiet, just quietly watching him. Looks of fear painted on their faces as they await his next commands. Earlier before, they had been yelled and scorned at by Zant.
Soon enough, the latter whirled around to face them and ordered, "Call that useless boy here!"
One of the subordinates quickly ran to find the boy he was looking for, knowing who he meant by the 'useless boy'.
Few minutes later, there was a young man nonchalantly walking into the dilapidated room, letting out a low whistle. "Man! You really outdone yourself."
He suddenly leaned to the side, narrowly avoiding a glass bottle being thrown his way. The bottle crashed behind him and he looked behind to see the shattered bottle and back again. "Whew! If I was a bit slow, that could have hit me."
"Isn��t that unfortunate?" Zant said sarcastically, scowling.
The young man then walked to the side of the room, away from the debris and leaned against the wall, his arms crossed across his chest. "What's up?" he asked.
"What's up? Whats… up???" Zant repeated, gritting his teeth. "Have you even found that wolf yet??" he roared.
The young man frowned, a bit displeased at Zant for shouting at him. Although the latter was his superior, he still did not like being shouted at. He scoffed. "I found him but unfortunately, the mutts that you sent before failed in capturing him."
"Mutts?" Zant repeated slowly.
The young man nodded. He then told him about the two shifters that were in the park the other day. He mocked their stupidity and for being weak that he had to jump in to save them. Even though one of them had died.
Zant looked down on them as well and muttered how shifters as a general are weak and useless. "So, what are you going to do about it?" he asked, his eyes narrowed dangerously.
The young man immediately casted a spell around him and Zant to ensure there was no eavesdropping and began to tell him of his plan.
The more he talked, the brighter Zant's smile became as he listened to the young man's plan.
It wasn't unsure what was the plan but the latter seems satisfied after the young man had finished telling him about his scheme.
-----
Both Noaz and Hamish stared at Dane, wide-eyed. They still could not believe that the shifter before them was Dane. Although there were not many changes to the shifter himself and that they could tell it was Dane, they could see how much difference a soul can make, much less the one that can help one become full.
"Dane?" Noaz asked. "How are you feeling?"
Dane placed his paw underneath his jaw, cricking his neck as he walked towards them. Once he was in front of the two shifters, he looked down at his body and thought that perhaps he wasn't done with the soul. He hasn't fully shifted yet. Based on how much his body had changed, he probably would need another part of his soul before he can be a full lycan.
And because he found one part of his soul, some memories too came to him.
From his newly-gained memories, he could distinctly remember how his soul was ripped apart by some warlocks back then. And to ensure that it wasn't destroyed, he recalled himself able to break his soul into three so that he could gain them back. Unfortunately he did not remember the incident back then, and before meeting Erick, he had roamed around freely, unaware that his soul was incomplete.
With his memories, he could also feel some of his powers returning back.
Dane suddenly turned to look at Noaz straight in the eyes, startling the latter and sighed. It seems his other power was still dormant.
Realizing that he hadn't answered Noaz's question, he replied in his raspy voice, "I'm fine."
"You sure you won't pass out any time soon?" Noaz awkwardly joked as he nervously took a step forward, his hand raised up.
Dane looked at him and then shook his head. And before Noaz and Hamish could say anything, he shifted back to his human counterpart.
Blinking away the dizziness, Erick put his hand on the side of his head to stabilize his mind since it was so sudden. Just then Noaz threw him his clothes and that was when he realized that he was in his birthday suit.
After he got dressed, Noaz and Hamish immediately crowded around him, studying him from top to bottom, checking whether there were any injuries or something.
Once they were sure that Erick was fine, they began to shoot questions at him, asking what happened, what did he see, whether he was conscious when he shifted and so forth.
Erick had pushed the two of them away from him, feeling a bit suffocated. He then patiently answered their questions one by one.
After they were satisfied with his answers, Noaz suggested to spend the night there since it was already late. And knowing that they hadn't encountered any trouble or danger since they came to the stream, it should be fine.
Laying down on their back, it was not their first time sleeping out in the wilds, without any blankets and pillows. Erick had used his backpack as his pillow, though. Even so, it wasn't that comfortable either.
They did not dally around and immediately went to sleep. The day itself was kind of tiring for these two young shifters. Noaz just wants to sleep.
When morning started to shine bright in the sky, the three shifters inside the Kraken forest were unaware of it since they had been in darkness for hours. They could not tell whether it was nighttime or morning. However, since Noaz was an early-riser, who has an internal alarm clock inside him, even if he does not have enough sleep, he will always, without failure, wake up at 5 AM every morning.
After they have gotten up, they freshen themselves by washing their faces with water from the stream. It felt cool and refreshing.
Hoisting the backpack up on his shoulder, Erick turned to Noaz and Hamish and asked, "Shall we go?"
The two of them nodded.
With that, they ended their short journey in Kraken Forest.