"Contract? What contract?" Ralph asked.
Now that he knew what he was, he was calmer. But he still had other questions, like, why were other werewolves constantly trying to kill him anytime he transformed?
"This contract," Kale said while flicking his finger at the round wooden table between them.
A stack of golden papers appeared on the wooden surface of the table, casting a warm glow and emanating an ethereal feeling.
Ralph looked at the papers, once again surprised by the mysterious powers of these people. He wondered where the papers came from.
"Read it," Kael said, gesturing toward the papers.
Zion and Ben took their hands off Ralphâs shoulder, allowing Ralph to easily reach out to grab a contract paper.
He began to read the contents, picking up the second one and the third, and the fourth.
The details were clear to him, it was just like the contract Kael had with Marcus. There was almost no change.
The only difference was that this contract was specific about the type of laws they were to be dealing with.
"Why should I sign this?" Ralph asked.
"Why shouldnât you?" Kael said, "This contract makes you the acting leader of the wolf caste in my kingdom. This role comes with a lot of authority and resources.
You would need some training.
You get access to a perk of my powers and I gain access to yours.
And most of all, Iâll get rid of that limiter you currently have inside you. Thatâs probably the cause of those werewolves always attacking you..."
Kael paused, waiting for Ralph.
Ralph was silent. Of all the things Kael said, only his last sentence resonated with him deeply. To remove the curse that caused the werewolves around him to develop strong desires to kill him.
It would be wonderful.
"Do you know what info for a living here?" Ralph asked.
Kael raised an eyebrow, "Yeah, youâre like a mercenary or an assassin right? I know."
"Iâm a hunter, a hired hunter. What I do is not exactly morally just or upright," Ralph said.
Kael chuckled, his broad shoulders moving up and down in such with his laughter.
"So what? I personally donât know how to differentiate between what is good and bad anymore, if Iâm being honest with you.
You still have your conscience and moral compass, and youâre aware that what youâre doing is bad.
But you still do it, not because you enjoy it. But because you must survive.
Hunting is the only thing youâre good at, especially hunting humans. That your talent is considered bad is not your fault.
Itâs just an issue of circumstances.
Two classmates who are friends are not friends because they want to, but because they happen to go to the same school.
Youâre just like that. The right talent, in the wrong place.
You have so much potential Ralph. With my guidance and leadership, you wonât need to worry about whether youâre doing the right or wrong thing.
Youâll only need to focus on the prey, and make sure you complete the hunt," Kael said.
Ralphâs eyes gleamed with interest, he liked the sound of that.
Just then, the ding sound of the elevator reached the sensitive ears of all those inside the penthouse.
"Bibi, youâre here, just in time!" Kael called out without turning to look at the newcomer.
Ralph gazed at the fabulous entity that just walked in and stood quietly behind Kael and Priya.
Commander Bibi stood straight with his big hands by his side. He was like a towering mountain, even bigger than Kael.
"Ralph, this is Commander Bibi, current leader of the wolf caste. Bibi, this is Ralph, the Primordial Wolf." Kael did the formalities before moving on.
Bibi gave Ralph a nod and a stern gaze, Ralph simply shifted his vision to avoid direct eye contact.
"Ralph, as soon as you sign the contract, Commander Bibi here will relinquish his current status as a caste leader for you.
He will become your personal advisor and mentor, showing you the dos and donâts of our kingdom," Kael said.
"Thatâs if I sign it right?" Ralph asked, for some reason.
The atmosphere inside the penthouse instantly became stiff and it felt like the temperature was fluctuating between hot and cold.
Ralph felt two strong palms on his shoulders again. Zion and Ben had taken hold, just in case.
Kael and Priya didnât have any visible reaction but Bibi frowned and narrowed his eyes.
He was about to say something but Kael raised his hand to stop him.
"Youâre not signing it?" Kael asked, his voice tainted with unspeakable coldness and brutality.
"I donât think I have a choice," Ralph said after some thought.
"Smart answer," Kael said and the atmosphere returned to normal.
Ralph assessed the paper again, reading the contents which were in a strange language, yet he could understand them.
"Has anyone signed this contract besides me?" Ralph asked.
"Yes," That was all Kael said. If Ralph wanted to know more, he would have to sign.
Normally, even with most of what Kael said, Ralph wouldnât buy it or be coerced into signing the contract.
But three things stood out very clearly at the moment. The first was that these people were strong, very strong.
The second was that Kael had the power to fix his curse and make him better than what he was now.
The third was that Kael was asking him to embrace his true nature and identity, irrespective of morals.
Kael was offering a guiding hand, it was his decision to be guided or not.
"I accept," Ralph said.
Instantly, identity marks appeared on the required places before the golden papers dissolved into countless moats of golden light.
The smile on Kaelâs face widened to the point it looked scary. Why wouldnât it?
Kael had successfully tamed or put two Primordials under his control. Who else could perform such a thing?
Apart from the fact that this was an extremely rare event in the universe, it also signalled Kaelâs rise in strength.
"Oh, whatâs this?" Jocelyn asked, staring at the yellow screen in front of her.
Not just her, Ben, Zion, and Bibi could also see the screen.
"Itâs glitching, Your Majesty," Commander Bibi pointed out calmly. The screen in his vision was constantly flickering in and out of existence.
It was like the new wolf system was not able to connect perfectly with its host Primordial.
"I know," Kael said, then sat up straight. He looked at Ralph who was a bit distracted by the glitching semi-transparent screen in front of his eyes.
Without any warning, Kael stretched out his hand at Ralph and snapped his fingers.
For Ralph, the whole world suddenly went dark.
His consciousness faded in and out and his body spasmed.
"Come out!" Kael said, manifesting the limit seal extraction rune from his fingers. Tiny times flowed out of his palm and knuckles to form the tiny magic circle.
As the small magic circle turned slowly, Ralph felt the tug of an invisible force.
It wasnât painful, but it also wasnât pleasant.
An ethereal bead flew out of Ralphâs chest and fell into Kaelâs outstretched palm. The removal of this limit seal had taken a considerable amount of his magic energy, which was expected.
It was the same for Isaiah, now he knew that this was a universal thing.
"Argh!" Ralph exclaimed. His chest rose and fell to the rhythm of the wolf music playing in his ear.
Zion frowned, feeling Ralph tremble when that bead flew out of his chest.
*Growl!*
Ralph growled fiercely at Kael, his mind was starting to get clouded as his body underwent massive transformations.
Seeing the changing Ralph, Kael wasnât surprised, he had somewhat expected this.
Ralphâs bones shifted and restructured, reorganizing themselves to fit his new physiology.
Grey fur began sprouting from his skin and the sound of bones cracking could be heard very clearly.
Multiple binding runes lit up on Ralphâs body and fired their binding magic at the changeling. Alas, it didnât work to stop it from happening.
Ralph still felt all the pain involved in the transformation. He felt the way his muscles were being torn apart and his bones were being broken again and again.
Then added to that was the pain from the binding runes. It was maddening. He was undergoing a transformation even he couldnât stop and these binding runes were restricting him.
Ralphâs head twisted and the bones realigned themselves to form the head of a massive wolf.
His whole body was changing to match this process. A long fluffy grey grey-furred tail sprouted behind him.
Ralph couldnât remain seated anymore, his glowing yellow eyes settled on Kael and determined that this was his new target to be hunted down.
Resisting the hold of Ben and Zion, Ralph actually launched himself at Kael.
*BOOM!*
Commander Bibi made a cold, calculated move, taking a powerful step to the side and instantly appearing in front of Kael.
The ground exploded and tile pieces flew everywhere due to Bibiâs terrifying speed and force.
By the time the others could do anything, Ralph had his neck clamped in Bibiâs powerful grasp.
Commander Bibi held the half-wolf wolf half-man up, letting his transforming feet dangle above the ground.
Bibiâs expression was chilling, "First lesson..."