Crossing Paths With The White Wolf
Chapter 10

Helios POV

The next couple of weeks went by without incident. Business was business, making my friends business partners was the best decision I could have made. I have realized over the last 10 months that they have so many more talents than I ever realized. If I ever have

to part ways, I know they will be more than able to flourish on their own.

The thought of having to start over without my friends was something that hurt more than I cared to admit. These had been my closest allies for over a thousand years, but it was something that had plagued my mind a lot in the last few months. I didn't know where Selene's path for me would take me, but I had to get used to the possibility that it would take me from here.

I was sitting in a small hideout that Sebastian recommended. It was far enough that there was no way that they could see me, but with the camera lenses I bought, I could see the entire dock in front of The Castidian, the ship that should contain the black-market goods. The only downside of this spot was that I was upwind of them. Hearing was not easy. I had set up another camera on a tri-pod for video.

My adrenaline was rushing through my system as night descended. This was always the favorite part for me. Watching, studying, analyzing. There were so many nuances to keep in mind. People never realized how they walked, interacted with others and even how they breathed said a lot about who they were and what their place in this world was. The insecurities you might display in the way you treat the people who were working for you, your leadership abilities you showed when you made people follow you through fear versus loyalty. This is what made it easy to dismantle these operations. Reading the queues correctly was key to avoiding loss of life.

They arrived and I noticed instantly that they were all responding to a tiny man with glasses and a clipboard. Every one around him scuttled around his order. If only I could hear what he was telling them. I sighed but checked to make sure the camcorder was still aimed at the correct area, before I brought the camera back up to my face and hoped I was getting everyone's face clearly so I could try to identify them later.

When the first container was brought down, I noticed a couple of people coming down with it. They hung to the top. These must be the ones that came with the goods. It was slightly concerning that they needed keepers. I knew this ship was coming from South Korea. There was no reason that black goods carriers came with their goods on a 2-month trip one way without a good reason. Cargo ships were not luxury cruise ships.

I was initially relieved when I saw nothing but thin and small boxes brought out. They did not look like weapons and, by the way they were carefully removing them, they had to be valuable art pieces.

My relief was short-lived as they opened the second container. Even from all the way over here and the wind blowing the noise away from me, I could already hear the distressed growls and howls of animals.

"Do you guys hear that?" I said into the mic. Gonzalo, Sebastian and Theo were in 3 places nearer to the dock, out of sight with a team each. They were ready to attack at my command.

"Sounds like a zoo. A distressed zoo." Theo's voice came over the comms.

"We needed some ear plugs for this," Sebastian grumbled.

"Just hang tight. They only have two containers left," I said as I refocused the camcorder on the opening of the containers.

I shot pictures as they began emptying the second container. The white tiger looked like it was underweight. I wondered if they'd run out of food for the animals on their journey here. Next was a couple of dholes and my anger was mounting. Even through the camera. I could see their ribs and one of them wasn't moving. All I could do was hope it wasn't dead. There were a couple more cages that looked like some animal cross between a deer and a kangaroo that I didn't know the name of, and three small leopard cats. They looked so small from here that I could barely tell what they were. They appeared to finish unloading and the container was taken back onto the ship. The 18wheeler pulled away and waited by the gate.

"I can't hear any more noise," Gonzalo said.

"The second container is unloaded. Just the one left," I said.

"Might be an early night then," Theo piped up.

I readjusted the camcorder to the new container. My heart was beating fast now. I saw two men go inside with chains and another two with stun guns after all the cloth had been taken off. I double checked the camcorder was still recording and saw as they began taking out a big cage. It appeared to be empty at the start, as I could see no animal, then the end of the cage came into view and I sucked all the air around me.

The most beautiful white wolf came into view. I couldn't see its eyes from here but her fur shined as the water and moon reflected through her. I had no doubt in my mind from the moment I saw her that this was no regular wolf. This was a werewolf. Which made her even more rare. White wolves were only ever confirmed to be females. There have only ever been a few in recorded history. Most white wolves were destroyed in pack wars. They were so coveted as they were rumored to have healing abilities like never seen before in their kind and there were even rumored to have more than one special ability gifted by the moon goddess.

I looked at the moon. Is this what you need me to do? Save the wolf?

I felt a strong wind and I had to grab on to the tri-pod to stop it from falling. I looked back at the white wolf. It looked like it had stopped snarling. It lifted its head and after about a minute, it let out the most sorrowful and anguished howl I had ever heard. It was mournful and heart breaking. My heart clenched and I found myself wiping a tear from my face.

"Helios? Is that a..." Theo asked, not able to finish the question, but I knew he had heard the same thing I heard.

"Yes, it's a werewolf. Theo, it's a white wolf. We have to save it."

"Should we attack?" Theo asked.

I contemplated for a while. We could attack now, but it would make the traffickers change schedules and tactics. We had to look at the bigger picture.

"No, I don't think they know it's a werewolf. At least I hope so, since it's in a cage. A werewolf would just be transported in human form with Wolfsbane or silver cuffs. Let's buy her at the auction so she can have her freedom without being tracked down. Just in case, do you have a way of getting a tracker on the truck? We can't let them leave with her without a way to track her."

"I'll go," Sebastian said.

I took more pictures of the wolf, probably more than I needed to, while I waited for Sebastian to confirm the tracking was in place. I didn't know what else to do. Taking pictures was the only thing keeping me from jumping down and racing to the wolf. Everything in me screamed to protect her. I hadn't heard of a white wolf in at least 2 centuries. They should be revered, protected and cherished. They were deemed to have the purest souls.

"I got it." Sebastian's voice came through the commlink. I blinked, I hadn't even seen him get near. I saw the 18-wheeler holding the werewolf begin moving.

"Impressive, I didn't even see you approach."

"It's what I do best" he boasted, making me roll my eyes.

"Alright, let's reconvene tomorrow. Thank the warriors for their service. We won't be needing them today. Hold one or two back only, I would like them to follow the tracker. Make sure if they switch transport vehicles that we don't lose them. We need eyes on the wolf at all times to make sure it will be at the auction," I told them.

"Helios, I'd like to track. I'll grab one other warrior just in case, but I'd like to personally make sure that we don't lose the wolf. She's important. Something in me says so," Sebastian explained.

"Do it," I said simply. I understood the feeling he had.

I went home and downloaded the entire video and pictures onto the drive. While they were downloading, I walked out to my balcony. I looked up as the full moon shined down from behind the clouds. I won't let you down, sister. I vowed. I walked back into the bedroom and looked to make sure that everything transferred over. I opened one of the pictures and looked at the werewolf again. She was looking up at the moon. I zoomed in on the face. Its amber eyes were staring at the moon. I couldn't look away. ~~Natalia PoV~~.

The ship has finally come to a stop.

'Eun make sure you're all shifted. Are your friends doing OK?' I asked her. We'd run out of food 3 days ago, but her friends hadn't been as careful with their water and hadn't had anything to eat or drink in days. They were getting weak. Part of me wondered if this was their plan all along. An animal won't fight back if they are passed out.

'They are weak but OK. I - I gave them some of my water this morning.' She said guiltily. I sighed, I couldn't really blame her for caring for her friends, but my priority was her. 'One of the dholes died, Nat. she cried.

'It's OK. We'll replace a way out,' I assured her.

We waited in the dock for hours. I was starting to get worried when I heard Eun-Kyung cry out through the mind link.

'The container is moving. Nat, I'm scared. She cried out.

'They are unloading you. Take a deep breath,' I said as I felt my own container start to shift. 'They are moving mine too. Don't worry, I'm still here!

We were taken off the ship and then loaded onto 18-wheelers. As I was being wheeled out, I felt a strong wind as we were wheeled out of the container. I closed my eyes and let the wind surround me. This was the first breath of fresh air I'd gotten in goddess knows how long. A second breath of fresh air hit me and Hestia stopped growling. An intoxicating smell of the sea at sunset and plumerias reached my nose.

Mate - Hestia said in our head.

No Hestia, we made a deal. No mates. - I said, and even though the words came from me, I felt both of our pain as the words left me. Hestia didn't respond. Instead, she looked up at the full moon and howled a howl of mourning. I let her cry out her frustration, because she knew I would not change my mind. I looked through her eyes at the full moon, wondering why she was punishing me again.

We stopped moving after about 45 minutes and unloaded into what looked like a big warehouse. They put Eun-Kyung and her friends a couple of feet away as well as some other endangered animals around us. They finally gave us water and food and this time, I didn't hold back. Even if we were moved again, they should be feeding us again before we did.

I eyed our surroundings while I ate. There were industrial-sized shelves all around us that were filled with objects. They looked to be antiques or high-value items. Black Market - Hestia told me and I concurred. I squinted my eyes when I was sure the men were not looking my way. The labels at the end of each shelf were in English. We were either in England or somewhere in the Americas. I wasn't sure which one I would prefer. I'll need to observe them for the next few days to know for sure. For now, with a full belly for the first time in months, I let exhaustion take over and Hestia settled down for a nap.