Chapter 52 The Main Ingredient: Half-breeds

*Andrew*

I was in the basement, bottling up the last batch of elixir when my phone started ringing. It was Jonathan. The Christmas Ball was right around the corner and the Elder was part of the event's committee. It was safe to assume she wouldn't require the estate until after the event. So why would Jonathan be calling? I take off my gloves and swipe my phone to receive the call while rubbing my forehead. The Elder and her butler from The Hamptons Allen estate are a headache.

"Good noon, Jonathan. How can I be of service?" I hated being so prim and proper all the time, but if I changed my behavior, I would be found out. I had a good thing going here. I didn't want any more problems.

"The Elder and I with several guests will be arriving at the mansion later. Please make sure the mansion is ready. Alpha Ethan Crowne and his friends will be staying with us." Alpha Ethan Crowne from the Sacred Moon Pack whose face was always splashed on the society pages of newspapers, digital or print, will be coming to the mansion? He must have a business deal with the Elder.

"I will make sure the mansion will be ready upon your arrival, Jonathan." I needed to make sure there was no trace of "humans" in any part of the mansion.

"Thank you. The Elder also wants a formal dinner for tonight for our guests. It will be a full table." Twenty people will be arriving? Goodness. Alpha Ethan Crowne has a large entourage with him.

"I will tend to the details of the dinner myself. Is there anything else you need me to do?" I disliked surprises and last minute requests.

"Ah, I almost forgot. The Elder requests you take out some bottles of red wine from the wine cellar. That's all for now." The wine cellar used to be here under this very mansion, but I had it moved to the basement of the guesthouse. I'll just have to stock the wine refrigerator in the kitchen so I won't have to go back to the guesthouse. Obviously, Alpha Ethan Crowne's entourage will be staying there. I didn't want to have to mingle with the help.

"I'll make sure the wine refrigerator is stocked then. Good day, Jonathan." I hang up and throw my phone on the table. This is just perfect. The Elder is arriving on such short notice and she's bringing wolves with her. Production will have to be postponed for the time being. Anyway, I had enough to keep the rogues in New York happy and enough to distribute to the midwest and Pacific coast. I just wished One and his men would conserve their elixir. Only a small amount is neccessary to mask a wolf's scent. However, since One and his men were 'regular users', they have acquired a certain tolerance. Just last month, I received the disturbing news from One himself who complained about the quality of my elixir. Unfortunately, it was difficult for me to acquire the large number of human children for the production of my elixir. I had to use teens and mostly young adults to supplement the production of the 'no-scent elixir' and I needed so many of them that abducting them has now become a chore.

I leave the basement through the elevator and lock the door securely using my security code so I could prepare the mansion. I had to check every nook and cranny to make sure there were no traces of anything human anywhere, even their scent. To acquire human children, I used this property as a 'bed and breakfast' for families with small children knowing full well how other first class establishments dislike having children around. I welcomed it, offering a luxurious five star stay. I had my distributors pass out flyers to parents with small children and booking was mainly done through a phone call via my secretary named Violet. She would tell them they needn't pay and would only need to pay once they check out. One and the rogues of New York also contributed by offering tourists, who wandered into their casino, a complimentary stay. They would sweeten the deal by offering a 'family discount' if they would bring children with them.

Once the children were in my possession, I would either wipe the memories of the parents if they were too old and leave them somewhere, or kill them, if they were still young. The human's young skin was my most needed ingredient to create the elixir. They all needed to die so I could skin them.

One of my talents was cleanliness. I flick my fingers in each room to make sure everything was clean. I head outside and work my magic to make sure the grounds were well-kept. Everything had to be perfect, down to the red roses sitting in the vase on the grand staircase landing. I had to impress the Elder's guests. Maybe I could make Alpha Ethan Crowne an offer he could not refuse when the day ends.

If Alpha Ethan Crowne was a goody two-shoes and alerts the authorities well, I could always use my gift of hypnosis and command him to kill himself then point my fingers to good ol' Aunt Minerva. The Elder assumed I didn't know we were related, but I knew everything. How she would whisper the name of my dead father at night and cry herself to sleep. How she kept all the photos of her dead sister hidden. I always wondered how I came to her care, why she sent me away to boarding school at my young age in Asia, why I was never allowed to go out and play with the other kids. When I was a young teenager, I discovered I had powers so, I joined a secret society of mages to learn more. That's when I found out about my biological parents. My colleagues pointed at my amber eyes and told me to follow the pack whose name paid tribute to my eye color. When all the information I had gathered led to Aunt Minerva, I collected a hair sample from her for DNA testing. I and Aunt Minerva shared twenty-five percent of the same DNA, good enough for an aunt and nephew relationship.

Yes, I knew my father was an Alpha, yet I could never go and be part of that pack. The Amber Eyed Wolves were the ones who assisted the Council of Wolves in imprisoning and killing my fellow mages. I needed to stay as far away from them as possible.

It was after 1PM when the five cars entered through the gates of the estate. I peered through the windows as they all got out from their cars, their mouths open in awe. Yes, this estate was magnificent. When the Elder purchased the property many years ago, it was deemed foreclosed. I told her I would stay here and renovate it for her. She was skeptical at first, but when she saw some of the changes during the first few months, she allowed me free reign to do whatever I wanted. Look at it now. It was a mansion fit for a king.

I rushed to the black double doors to welcome them and when I opened the doors of the mansion, the wind came in bringing in that sweet, sweet scent of a half-breed which I thought I would never ever have the privilege again of smelling. They were a rare kind, worth more than gold and diamonds. AN ABSOLUTE TREASURE!

A half breed is the main and most precious ingredient of the 'no-scent' elixir. No mage in his right mind would ever give up anything so precious, even if you promised him all the riches in the world. The last time I had seen a half-breed was almost twenty years ago when the Council of Wolves moved in and raided every mage around the world. My lover and mate, Pierre, was one of the last mages they had killed, along with our half-breed captive. We had thought they would never find us, since only one other person knew of our business, however we were betrayed. One night, while we cuddled in each other's arms after making love, the wolves came. He distracted them so I could escape.

"Andrew, my love, they have the house surrounded. Leave through the hidden passage in the basement. Go now!" We heard growling outside our door and a constant banging. They were trying to break down our door.

"Come with me. We can escape together, Pierre, like we always planned. We can start anew." I begged him. I couldn't imagine my life without him. He was my world.

"Andrew, you are destined for great things. You are still young while I grow old. Maybe the Council of Wolves will take pity on an old mage like me. I will distract them so you can escape. Think of me when you look up to the moon. I will forever be with you. Go, my love. Know that I love you." He gave me one final kiss and pushed me towards the basement. I heard him growl, shifting into his wolf, as I hurried down the stairs to the basement and escaped through the underground tunnel that led to the sewers. The next day, I heard Pierre as well as our half-breed captive were executed by the Council. The one who betrayed us was sentenced to life imprisonment. The Council may have spared him his life, but life imprisonment was just as harsh as a death sentence.

One half-breed could provide me millions of tiny bottles of elixir for a lifetime and the problem of the acquired tolerance among the rogues would be solved. I would just need to take off some of the half-breed's skin and the skin would just heal right back because he was a wolf. All I had to do was keep the half breed locked up in a silver cell and keep it alive. I would no longer need to abduct humans for the rest of my life.

I will live to be a very rich and powerful mage. Maybe powerful enough to overthrow the Council of Wolves who had imprisoned, if not killed, my fellow mages of our secret society. I will avenge Pierre and make sure the Council of Wolves would pay for their treachery.

I walked out of the mansion and introduced myself, inhaling the sweet scent once more. I searched for its source, my eyes meeting the green eyes of a young woman. As I rushed down the steps to help the Elder, I found another source, the small boy. Today was my lucky day. Not only did I meet one half-breed, there were two of them and both of them very young. I already saw the dollar signs in my head.

I couldn't wait. I needed them. I would discard the rest of the elixirs and produce a new batch by tonight. I would charge double, even triple for a bottle and I would no longer hear complaints from One regarding my elixir's quality.

I scanned through the hidden cameras in each of the rooms. They were all settling down, unpacking. Alpha Ethan went to the bathroom. He will probably take some time inside. Time to use my gift of hypnosis on his companions. I started with the older wolves. I knocked on their doors and told them drinks and snacks were at the view deck. "Drinks and snacks at view deck," they said in a trance and one by one, they walked down the stairs to the view deck.

I softly knocked on the door of the she-wolf with the half-breed son. She opened the door and greeted me. I stared into her eyes and said, "Sit on your bed and stare at the wall."

"Sit on the bed and stare at the wall." She repeated and sat on the bed and started staring at the wall. I entered the room and called out to the boy. I stared into his beautiful brown eyes.

"Are you hungry? There are snacks in the basement. Come on. Let's go get snacks in the basement."

"Snacks at the basement," he repeated. He then jumped off the bed and placed his hand in mine. I closed the door to their room leaving his mother to stare at the wall. Time to get the young woman. I knocked on her door.

"Hi! Andrew right? My name is Diana. Seems you have Harley with you. Is it time for happy hour?" Her eyes were staring down at the boy. I needed eye contact to hypnotize her.

"Ah, yes, Diana. We were just about to get snacks."

"Yes, Diana. Snacks at the basement," the little boy named Harley muttered.

"Snacks at the basement? Where's your mom?" Diana asked. She still wasn't looking at me.

"She is downstairs waiting for us. Come on. You must be hungry," I say to her. If she does not follow, I would just have to sedate her. I pull out the syringe from my pocket.

"No, I'm actually not hungry. I had-..." She suddenly looks up at my eyes, hers scrutinizing mine.

"We will go to the basement for snacks." I tell her.

"Base-...We will go to the basement for snacks," she repeated. Ah, finally.

"Follow me." I lead them downstairs, through the laundry room where a hidden door leads to the basement. I type in my security code so we could enter the elevator. I had converted the basement to a huge laboratory with an office and a small prison area. Once we had entered the laboratory, I lead them into my office. I tell them to sit on the sofa and stay there. I will leave them here for the time being so I could deal with their companions. I lock the door behind me and use the elevator back to the ground floor. Now, I only need to get Alpha Ethan and his men to the view deck and then I will order them to jump off the view deck to the ocean below. Aunt Minerva will be pleased when I inform her they all left. She was complaining about them when I assisted her to her room. It was a good plan, something very simple, but I assumed effective.

However, my gift did not work on Alpha Ethan Crowne. I had the syringe ready to sedate him, but he was quick. He hit me at the side of my neck and I blacked out.

Now, he was looking at me like he wanted to kill me. Why was he so concerned with the half-breeds?

"If you're still here, it means they are here, hidden somewhere. If you want to live, tell me where my mate and my cousin are."

I think I have made a grave mistake assuming the half-breeds were of no importance to him.