Claire had no choice but to drag Elaine out of the restaurant, all while trying to disperse the storm of murderous energy practically radiating from her werewolf friend. Elaine, meanwhile, didn't bother maintaining even the slightest appearance of a pure-blood lady. Right in the middle of the street, she casually hummed an ancient wolf poem but her pronunciation was so atrocious it sounded like a curse spell, causing several men passing by to stare at her as though she were some extraterrestrial creature.
As the two of them wobbled down the street like a pair of drunken sailors, Elaine lifted her head, ready to tease Claire and recite yet another poem. But before the words could leave her lips, her gaze suddenly met a row of tattooed, rough-edged men who looked like they had just crawled out of a rogue wolf den. She didn't even have time to scream before one of them reached out and scooped her off the ground as easily as picking up a stray kitten.
Just moments earlier, Elaine hadn't thought anything was strange. People sometimes moved like mirrors on the sidewalk, she stepped left, they stepped left; she dodged right, they dodged right. So when she noticed a few hairy, muscular pairs of legs in her way, she simply tugged Claire aside, assuming it was nothing unusual.
But strangely… no matter how many times they tried to step aside five, seven, maybe more, they were blocked every single time. It was as if those men were magically glued to the same trajectory as the two girls.
Claire barely managed to say, "Elaine, something's wrong..." before Elaine's world flipped upside down from being lifted, her feet dangling uselessly in the air as the wind slapped her face.
And in that moment, Elaine finally understood:These men weren't coincidentally walking the same direction.They had been waiting for them.
"Hey, you're Elaine, right?"One of the men stepped forward, comparing her face to a photo on his file.
Elaine, who had been in high spirits seconds ago, felt her mood crash instantly. Narrowing her eyes at the stranger without a shred of the instinctive caution a young wolf should have, she said, "Yep, this is the almighty Elaine. What's the problem?"
Perfect. Someone had shown up at the exact right moment for her to unload her pent-up frustration.
The man leading the group flinched. He hadn't expected a young girl to be this fearless.
"What's the problem? We're from Silvermoon Bank's Credit Recovery Company. You maxed out your card last month, didn't you?"
Claire went pale. "Oh my god, Elaine! What did you do this time!? How much do you owe!?"
Elaine's eyes darkened, turning an even deeper violet than the royal wolf hue."Someone must be framing me!"
The debt collector rolled his eyes. Who on earth would waste time setting up a kid wolf like her?
He shoved the documents toward Elaine."See for yourself. Credit card statement. Over one hundred thousand dollars. Evidence is all here."
"One hundred thousand!? Elaine, are you insane!?" Claire hissed.
Elaine squatted right down in the middle of the street, as though she were contemplating philosophy instead of facing a pack of werewolf debt collectors.
The man barked, "What the hell are you doing? Just sign it already!"
Claire squatted beside her, panicked. "Fine, fine, just sign something!"
Elaine propped her chin on her hand, eyes shimmering a soft blue, the telltale sign of a wolf instinct plotting something.
"I need to remember what on earth I spent that much money on…"
Claire nearly fainted. "Oh ancestors…!"
Suddenly, Elaine shot to her feet.
"Hey! You... the guy in charge!" she yelled.
The man frowned. "I'm Anderson."
"I don't care if you're Under-sun or Under-stone!"(Since she didn't understand the language well, she turned "Anderson" into a string of nonsense.)
Elaine stepped forward, her small face instantly twisting into an expression of exaggerated pitifulness, intentional, of course.
"Look, I'm just a student. How could I have that kind of money? But my fiancé is very rich. He can pay!"
"I. Am. Anderson!" he nearly screamed.
"I know, I know… O-ooo-oh…"Elaine covered her face and began to sob loudly like a wolf pup abandoned by its Pack. Her performance was so dramatic that all three debt collectors panicked.
"H-hey, stop crying! People will think we're bullying you!"
Claire sighed, saluting inwardly. Elaine's acting skills were terrifying.
Elaine continued crying,"Mr. Stone... ah sorry... Anderson something… You should go find my fiancé. He'll definitely pay. I don't have a single coin!"
The debt collector clutched his head. "My name is Anderson! Not Stone!"
But Elaine, still misunderstanding everything, began muttering about "Stone" and "Anderson" like it was some kind of linguistic philosophy.
Eventually, he gave up.
"Fine! Whoever pays is fine. Just sign here!"
Elaine immediately stopped crying. Her eyes sparkled with slyness.
She grabbed the pen and signed a name so enormous it looked like ancient werewolf runes:
ALAIN.
The collector froze.
"…You signed someone else's name?"
Elaine lifted her chin proudly."That's my billionaire fiancé."
...
Lancaster Corporation,
At the heart of the city stood a hundred-story tower encased in the signature violet-black glass of the Four Great Werewolf Conglomerates. It was the territory of Lancaster Group, the dominion of the strongest Pack.
Inside the elite conference room, every report was presented with military-tight discipline. To Alain Lancaster, money was merely numbers, yet he remained the only one among the Four Tycoons capable of pushing their empire onto the global stage.
Alain, the new Alpha of the Ravenhowl Pack, was tall, composed, with a sharp nose and eyes as cold and dark as a true dominant wolf.Even at his young age, his presence was enough to silence the entire room.
When the meeting ended, his secretary Andy hurried over.
"Sir Alain… Two… very strange people have been waiting for you since morning. Without an appointment."
Alain frowned. "Strange?"
"Yes… they claim to be from a bank. But… but…"
"But what?" Alain's voice cooled.
Andy gulped.
"They're carrying… a debt notice. And the one listed as responsible… is you."
Andy swallowed again before adding:"And they said they came on behalf of your fiancée."
Alain, halfway down the corridor toward the CEO's office, stopped dead. His tall frame stiffened.
Fiancée? What fiancée?
"Bring them in."
He scowled, pushed open the office door, and entered.
The two men were ushered in quickly, Mr. Anderson and two burly subordinates, here to meet the "fiancé" Elaine had promised.
Alain sat back on a premium leather sofa, his white shirt and neat tie accentuating the clean, perfect lines of his build. He said nothing as they entered, merely observing them with sharp, deep Alpha eyes.
The two debt collectors shivered involuntarily.Even as men, they didn't dare look at him for more than a second.
Mr. Anderson placed the documents on the table.
"Mr. Alain, sir, we were commissioned by the bank. Miss Elaine owes one hundred thousand USD, and she has signed an authorization stating that you will assume the debt."
He looked up nervously.God, please let this end quickly. Debt collection was hard enough; now some brat had dragged them into a prank involving this terrifyingly handsome CEO.
A flicker of confusion crossed Alain's face.
He opened the document. At the bottom were several crooked letters so crooked an entire flock of crows seemed to fly across his mind.
Who on earth forged his signature this badly?
Then his gaze shifted to the signature above it, the one belonging to "Elaine."
Her handwriting was beautiful, precise, clearly practiced.
But… Who on earth is Elaine?