Marry to Alpha or Vampire?

As night fell, the aroma of dinner wafted through every corner of the kitchen. Hazel sat at the dining table, her mind troubled. She watched her grandmother’s busy figure and felt a pang of sadness. She couldn’t let her grandmother be harmed in any way.

“Hey there, sweetheart, a delicious lemon white chocolate pie,” Gerard placed a plate of pie in front of Hazel.

“Thank you, Gerard,” Hazel managed a faint smile. She didn’t want to bring her worries home; it would only make everyone concerned.

“Theo won’t be back tonight,” her grandmother handed Hazel some ice cream. “Sweets can make people happier.”

Hazel guessed that Theo must be assisting Cyril in dealing with the situation regarding the notes. She looked at her grandmother’s silvery hair; this was her beloved grandmother.

“Grandma, Gerard, I need to tell you something,” Hazel put down her ice cream, preparing to explain.

“We’ve already noticed. You look like you’re about to drop your mouth to the table,” her grandmother teased, and Gerard chuckled, adding a bit of humor to the conversation.

“Go ahead, Hazel. What’s troubling you?” Gerard’s laughter faded, and he gazed seriously at Hazel.

Hazel picked up a slice of lemon white chocolate pie and began, “A stranger has appeared in our town. They entered my room without a sound, left a note, and took my ring. It seems they want to frame me.”

Her grandmother and Gerard listened attentively, their expressions growing grave. This was indeed not a minor matter.

“Did they attack you?” Gerard inquired, his face showing deep concern, his beard quivering.

“No, they didn’t alert me. They took my ring and left it by Bessie’s body, apparently trying to implicate me,” Hazel summarized the key points concisely, hoping to draw her grandmother’s and Gerard’s attention.

“My dear, you never told us about this,” her grandmother sighed. She finally understood what the rumors over this period were all about-people saying that Hazel was somehow connected to someone’s death. She never inquired because she didn’t want Hazel to feel pressured. If her granddaughter didn’t want her to know, she would pretend not to know.

“Grandma, I didn’t want you to worry,” Hazel held her grandmother’s hand. Her grandmother was getting older, and she should enjoy her life.

“So, what about these notes?” Gerard spoke again. His sharp intuition told him that this matter was far from simple.

“They are monitoring our home, or more precisely, they are primarily watching my every move,” Hazel said. The thought of someone invading her room when she wasn’t there or while she was asleep sent shivers down her spine.

Hearing this, her grandmother and Gerard exchanged a look, their faces filled with concern.

“Tell Alpha,” her grandmother said. She firmly believed that Alpha Cyril could help. If these outsiders were truly monitoring Hazel, something was definitely wrong. She couldn’t let her granddaughter be in danger.

“Grandma, he already knows about this. Cyril said he’d assign more guards to protect us. Don’t worry,” Hazel reassured her grandmother. Regardless of the strangers’ motives, if they dared to harm her family, Hazel would not spare them.

“Hazel, I will protect all of you too,” Gerard added at the right moment, as it was his specialty.

“Thank you, Gerard, but I need you to protect my grandmother,” Hazel looked at Gerard, seeking a promise. She believed in Gerard’s abilities, and having Gerard protect her grandmother would put her more at ease.

“I’ll make sure to protect your grandmother,” Gerard nodded. He understood the gravity of the situation and wouldn’t take it lightly.

“Let’s have dinner first. My Hazel must be starving,” her grandmother said, putting aside her worries.

Hazel managed a forced smile. She had kept her plan to cooperate with Cyril a secret. Not many people needed to know about it. The three of them had a simple dinner.

After dinner, Hazel lay down in bed early. She had no mood for anything else. The thought of tomorrow’s patrol made her feel anxious. The last patrol had led to the discovery of Bessie’s body. What about this time? Would it be safe? What new incidents might those people create? Hazel didn’t dare to imagine.

“Hazel, don’t worry. I’ll be there with you,” Rita suddenly spoke, sensing Hazel’s emotions.

“Thank you, Rita,” Hazel replied.Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

“If something really happens, I’ll take you away,” Rita expressed her concern.

“Rita, having you around is a great comfort,” Hazel said and closed her eyes. She felt tired.

In the morning, Hazel turned off her ringing alarm clock because she had already prepared. She found herself waking up earlier and earlier these days. She no longer needed an alarm clock to wake her, and it was a welcomed change.

Hazel quickly left her house, heading towards the edge of town. She had agreed to meet Eloise and the others at the forest entrance in that direction.

“Good morning, Hazel,” not far from the entrance, Hazel spotted Marcus. She hadn’t expected anyone to arrive earlier than her.

“Marcus, you’re here quite early,” Hazel smiled, and Marcus’s gaze was clear.

“Hey, good morning!” Eloise jogged over to them, still wearing a smile. Marcus’s eyes lingered on Eloise for a moment before he withdrew his gaze.

Hazel curiously watched the two of them; there seemed to be something different.

Patrol started at eight-thirty, and it was now seven-thirty. Only Elmer hadn’t arrived yet.

“What’s that?” Hazel noticed a new announcement posted on the bulletin board nearby. She was sure there had been nothing on it before.

Marcus and Eloise exchanged a glance, then followed Hazel to the bulletin board.

Hazel quietly read the contents of the announcement. Cyril had announced Bessie’s death, which had previously been known only to the patrol team. He stated that the perpetrator was an outsider who had not been caught yet and warned against spreading rumors without evidence. He would exercise his rights as Alpha.

“Is Alpha speaking up for you, Hazel?” Eloise blinked at Hazel, wondering when she might find a man like that.

“He’s just doing his duty,” Hazel shrugged. She didn’t believe Cyril was speaking up for her. Perhaps he would do the same for anyone in a similar situation.

Hazel admitted that her relationship with Cyril was a bit ambiguous. She yearned to get closer to him. Cyril’s charisma had her captivated, but his attitude left her confused.

“Sweetie, trust me, our Alpha is special to you,” Eloise placed her hands on her hips, not seeing how good Alpha Cyril was to herself.

Hazel didn’t say anything more. She saw Elmer walking towards them.

“Good morning, everyone. I’m a little late,” Elmer said, looking somewhat embarrassed.

“It’s still early. Are you all ready?” Hazel asked the group.

“We can start the patrol,” they all chimed in.

This time, they decided to patrol the forest in their wolf forms to be prepared for any potential danger.

“Rita.” Hazel called Rita’s name loudly and allowed Rita to take control of her body. Her clothes were already torn.

Hazel, in her wolf form, turned to look at the other three. They stood there, staring at Hazel’s wolf form, astonished.

It was a pure white wolf, a striking sight. People had rarely seen pure white wolves; they were an extremely rare occurrence, existing mostly in legends. Hazel had just surprised them all.

“Darling, I’ve never seen your wolf form before,” Eloise communicated to Hazel through the mind link. Eloise had heard her mother talk about pure white wolves, how they were extremely rare, a one-in-a-billion occurrence. Eloise didn’t expect Hazel’s wolf form to be pure white.

Looking at Elmer and Marcus, they also wore looks of amazement in their eyes, seemingly unable to believe what they were witnessing.

“Hey, now is not the time to discuss this,” Hazel admitted, surprised by their reactions. She had never known her wolf would cause such a response, but now wasn’t the right time.

“All right, where do we begin the patrol?” Eloise, Elmer, and Marcus also shifted into their wolf forms.

“We’ll start from the east,” Hazel communicated with them through the mind link. Then, she quickly ran to the east, and the other three followed closely, running into the forest together.