The Gamma He Thought Could Survive Anything Chapter 03
Theron looked at me in silence.
“So, you heard everything.”
I nodded.
“As long as you don’t regret it.”
“I chose you because you were ordinary. Easy to replace.”
I turned, inhaling deep, searching his familiar ebony scent for any trace of a lie.
There was nothing. Not a single hint.
Ophelia walked over and slipped an arm around my shoulders.
“You’re leaving tomorrow, right? Then you’ve still got
tonight. Edit one more video for me.”
I pulled away.
“I can’t.”
Theron didn’t move. On his phone, his game character had already been killed.
The next morning, the rain finally eased. Two bus
transfers later, I made it home–Mossvale Pack, small and remote.
My mother had already made my bed and cooked my favorite pasta.
After lunch, I bought a new case at the market.
Three days, and I’d be in Seawolf City for my new job.
The fresh country air filled my lungs.
For the first time in a long while, I felt alive again.
But when I got home, the last people I wanted to see were waiting for me.
My mother smiled warmly.
“Lyra, your friends are here.”
I frowned. “What are you doing here?”
Theron looked completely at ease.
“I came to visit Mrs. Swift. Things got hectic in the city.
Never properly said goodbye when she left the hospital.”
I couldn’t keep my voice down.
“You’ve seen her. Now leave.”
Theron gestured toward the door.
“Let’s talk outside. You don’t want Mrs. Swift worrying, do you?”
I forced a smile. “It’s fine, Mom.”
I led Theron into the woods behind the old stone den.
He went on, “Mossridge Mountain, near Mossvale
Pack, has a rare phenomenon during the rainy season.
It’s called the Crimson Moonrise Mist. Ophelia wants it for her film.”
“No one’s stopping you. Go shoot it.”
Theron shook his head.
“Ordinary angles won’t cut it. Ophelia wants the view
from that sketch you drew. There’s a specific trail. We need you to guide us.”
I waved him off.
“No. That trail’s been closed for years. Blind cliff. It’s dangerous.”
He insisted. “Just to the last fork. You don’t have to climb the rest of the way. We’ll handle the risk.”
“Find someone else. Ask around. Maybe someone
nearby knows the route.”
Theron was quiet for a couple of seconds.
“We’re short on time. I don’t trust strangers.”
I let out a mocking laugh.
“But you trust me?”
I spread my hands and shook my head.
“Sorry. I’m not going.”
Theron sighed. “Lyra. Your mother’s leg still needs
follow–up treatment, doesn’t it?”
My breathing caught. My fingernails dug into my palm.
“You’re using that to threaten me?”
He looked toward the cramped old stone den in the distance.
“No. It’s a trade.”
“I can give you enough money for your mother to live comfortably. She’s getting old. This damp den isn’t
helping her leg.”
“And you just graduated. How long working day and
night to afford a decent house? Ten years? Twenty?”
“I can close that gap.”
“Best deal you’ll ever get.”
I curled my lips into a bitter smile.
“Do I even have a choice?“!
A flicker of guilt crossed Theron’s face. He tried to explain.
“Ophelia acts carefree, but she’s under a lot of pressure.”
“She made a bet with her father. No award, and she’s off to Manhattan for finance, which she hates. For
someone who values freedom that much, that’s misery.”
I looked at my hands–scarred, callused from years of training. Then I cut him off.
“Sorry. I don’t get it. And I don’t care.”
The guilt vanished. Replaced by impatience. Then something colder.
His Alpha aura crashed down, suffocating.
“Either you take us up that mountain or else…”