Chapter 167: Licensed Killers 2

Draven’s POV

"What do you mean they’re humans?" Zeno asked.

We all moved in and confirmed it for ourselves.

It was true.

"Their pulse dropped immediately," Valentina said. "A wolf’s pulse doesn’t go off until twelve hours after death." That only proved my point further.

But we couldn’t stand there staring at it ... we had to move before we got caught.

We bolted back to the van and peeled off into the night.

Inside the van, we were already talking it through.

"It’s possible that Mr. Tony and the entire organisation are human," I said. "We need to find that out carefully."

"But Melvin ... the one who brought us in ... he was a wolf," Salvatore said. "He had the eyes, everything. We just didn’t think to check everyone else. We weren’t expecting it."

"That could mean Bernia is a city with both wolves and humans living in it," I said. "But I don’t want to jump straight to thinking Mr. Tony is hiding something from us. He’s been open with us. We were the ones who didn’t pay close enough attention."

"Let’s get back to the base first," Salvatore said. "Then we figure out everything we need to know."

We stepped off the elevator and were hit with applause ... the whole team at the company erupting in celebration the second we walked in.

"Congratulations on passing your first mission," Tony said.

I almost forgot we still had trackers on us. They had heard every single word we said in that van.

"You gave us the tools and we did the work," I replied to Tony. "Credit belongs to you too."

Tony’s assistant and four other women came around to remove the trackers and earpieces from us and take them back.

"Now you’re ready for the next mission ... the real one," Tony said. "Consider what you just did an appetiser."

I was thinking in my head ... what could possibly be worse than wiping out an entire family?

Tony and his assistant led us to another room. We had been in this building for almost a full day and we still hadn’t seen all of it. Some of Tony’s workers trailed behind us.

Then we stepped inside and I understood why.

What the fuck.

It was a red room. Red lights saturating every wall, floor, ceiling ... completely red.

"I know you’ve made some discoveries today," Tony said. "And yes ... we wanted you to discover them. We aren’t hiding anything from you."

We all knew exactly what he was referring to.

"So it’s true, Mr. Tony ... you’re humans?" I asked.

"Yes, we are," he said. "We came to Bernia not long ago. We found wolves here when we arrived, but now their numbers have almost been depleted. Which brings us to your next mission."

"What is the mission?"

They powered on the large screen. It was a live feed of a location, the image sharp and unmistakable.

"There’s no need to look too far," Tony said. "It’s Morvaine."

My mouth fell open. This couldn’t be real.

"What do you want with Morvaine?" I asked.

"The wolf population there has grown beyond what we can manage," he said. "Many of them are a dangerous species that cause havoc across territories. We intend to solve that problem."

He was spitting all of this out with an audacity that genuinely baffled me. I had no idea where it was coming from.

"Can you just tell us exactly what you plan to do and stop dancing around it?" Ciro said flatly.

That was bold as hell. But it worked ... Tony straightened up and got to the point. So I was grateful for it.

"We want to obliterate a significant portion of their population," Tony said. "A massacre, to be precise. And you are going to help us carry it out."

"Are you serious right now?" I asked him, genuinely trying to figure out if this man was out of his mind. "What makes you think you can get us to wipe out our own people?"

"You wouldn’t be killing everyone," he said. "Just a large number. You five would still be alive afterwards ... still wolves. But their current numbers make it impossible for humans to live and move freely in these territories. That is why we’ve had to resort to this."

"There has to be another way around this," I said. "We cannot kill our own people."

"You took an oath," Tony said. "And that oath was sealed by blood marking. We do not show mercy here. This is the price of your freedom ... total clemency from every sin, all at once. So unfortunately, you have no choice."

After that, none of us had anything left to say.

We stood in silence, because Tony and every man in that room wore the same expression ... they were not joking, not even slightly.

The entire organisation. The government. The whole of Bernia. Human population. I had been so certain that wasn’t the case when we first arrived.

They brought up the screen again, this time with a detailed map of Morvaine ... specifically Winterwood.

"They are on the eve of a major festival," Tony said. "That is when we strike. They will all converge at a newly established territory called Icefang ... which is now the seat of power."

This was the first I was hearing any of this. Winterwood was no longer the seat of power? It had shifted to Icefang ... a territory I had almost forgotten existed.

Then the faces appeared on the screen.

Lucian. Roran. And someone I was seeing for the very first time ... William.

Fuck.

"Selene and William are the Luna and Alpha of Icefang respectively," Tony said. "We will strike on the third and final day of the festival."

"What the fuck..." The words left my mouth before I could stop them.

"What happened?" Valentina turned to look at me.

I said nothing.

I couldn’t speak.

Selene was Luna now. Luna of a rising territory ... a whole power seat. That was a climb I never saw coming, not from her. The quiet, timid librarian’s protégé who had once been my mate ... and I had thrown her away. Cheated on her with her own half-sister because I thought she wasn’t enough. And look at where she stood now.

Oh my goddess. What had I done?

Why hadn’t the goddess rewritten my fate the way she had rewritten Selene’s? That question sat in my chest like a stone.

"Your primary targets are William and Selene Steelborn," Tony continued. "They are the wealthiest and most powerful faction across all these territories. As long as they are alive, wolves will retain control."

So not only was I discovering the most shocking truth of my life ... I was being handed an assignment to kill them both with my own hands.

"Is there anything else you’d like us to do for you while we’re in our hometown?" I asked Tony. I couldn’t keep the sarcasm out of my voice even if I’d tried.

"If you deliver everything as instructed," Tony said, "you’ll have bought yourselves more time."

That was all he gave us.