50. weak, spaghetti-alike human hands.

"Hello?" Usually, he didn't answer calls in such a tense manner, yet given how late it was, the caller didn't leave him an option to act differently. Of course, at this time, nobody could think of having a friendly conversation, so there must be something wrong.

"Hey, buddy, how's life?" Eros chuckled, standing next to Zoey's lifeless body, feeling no remorse at all.

"Damn, man, I thought something grand happened. You're not one to call this late. Or should I say this early?" The other man let out a deep breath, feeling somehow relieved, after hearing his best friend's amused tone of voice.

"Actually, something did happen," Eros replied coldly, still managing to sound as casual as ever.

"Something like you need to deal with some problems, or you’ve already dealt with them?"
Eros could hear his best friend getting out of the bed and getting dressed. Zander was the only wolf Eros could genuinely trust. They have been inseparable since the age of five when they met on their first training. He is a simple but very loyal man. While most pack members either made fun of Eros or feared him, Zander was always around, sometimes even standing up for his friend. Not many people knew about his true identity or bloodline, his best friend knew and kept it secret for years, even during arguments or fights, especially at a young, near shift age, whenever it came to she-wolves.

"More like something in the lines of- I've already dealt with the problem, but after the whole issue was solved, another problem occurred," Eros laughed nervously. He had no intention of worrying Zander, especially so early.

"Shit, how big of a bag do I have to take with me? I can be at your house in fifteen minutes," Zander kept cursing under his breath, trying to pull his pants up, squeezing his phone between his face and shoulder, and think of where he put the garbage bags.

"Medium. I'm at my apartment, though. Eve didn't seem comfortable in the house, so I decided to bring her here and move in for a little while. That way, I can keep an eye on her. Speaking of Eve, that's another problem, but we'll talk about that when you get here." Eros approached the fridge, looking for some food before he had to leave the comfort of his apartment. His plan was easy. First, he gets rid of the body. After that, he's heading out to bring his mate back home. Any other shifter would run, looking for their mate, without thinking about the consequences- that wasn't Eros. He knew that if Eve were in any sort of danger, he would feel it. Most likely, she went to her parent's house, and after an hour or two, he would find her sleeping in her old bedroom.

"In that case, I can be there in five. One last thing, though- did you harm your mate? Dude, I love you like a brother. You're my brother, from another mother, but if you did- I'll hurt you. Really, really bad. You know how important mates are, we don't play with them. We love, respect and protect them," Zander was tense, yet a hint of fear was audible in his voice.
He knew that Eros would never hurt his mate; unfortunately, Zander didn't hold as much trust in Ares, by now, fearing the worst.

"Don't you ever even think there is a possibility of me hurting my mate. Get your ass here, before I go out to get you," Eros snarled and ended the call. He needed a little time to calm himself down. Ares wasn't any help, either.

"You're just going to fucking stand there as if nothing happened? The mutt just assumed that we hurt Eve! If you're not going to torture the bitch until it bleeds, then I will. The fucking nerve. Let. Me. Get. Him," with each word, Ares sounded more dangerous.
The beast never tended to take werewolves kindly; he was not one of them, after all. Ares never loved being around anyone but Eve. And now, he was overtaken by bloodthirst, ignoring the brotherly relationship Eros had with the male.

"Calm down; he didn't mean that. You know Zander. He was showing that he's worried about Eve's well-being, we should be proud," Eros snapped back at his beast. If Zander arrived while Ares was outraged, it wouldn’t end well. First, he has to deal with his beast, which was just another unnecessary problem in his way.
"I swear to Goddess if this shit repeats, and if that mutt has any ideas about OUR Eve, I will kill him with your fucking weak, spaghetti-like human hands," Ares growled and blocked Eros, leaving the argument he had started himself.

"And I'd probably let you," Eros whispered. Eros made himself a cup of coffee to calm his raging nerves. Every thirty seconds, he took a look at his watch, wondering why his friend was taking so long. Each minute felt like five; he couldn't wait to get Eve back and hold her as she sleeps. Sharply, five minutes later, someone knocked on his door. Eros rushed to open it, Zander was holding an enormous trash bag in one hand and two cups of takeaway coffee in the other.

"Sorry, I couldn't find the medium bags, so I had to take a large. And I got us some coffee on the way, as an apology," he smiled nervously.

"It's alright, man; I get your concern. I'm glad you're here, come in," Eros stepped aside from the door and opened it wider. The next moment both men were stood next to Zoey's body and looked down at her.

"I never liked her," Zander announced. "She was annoying, clingy, and pretty much a whore. I wouldn't want to be her mate, not after finding out that the whole pack had her in their bed," he added.
Zander was not someone to normally judge others' actions, yet when it came to Zoey, he truly hated the woman. Everyone has rights to their body, rights to choose, and rights to take risks, but this woman went beyond any limits when it came to sleeping with men.

"I'm surprised you didn't question why I killed her, especially at this hour," Eros laughed, unsure of what he should think about his friends' careless behaviour.

"What did she do?" Zander turned around to face Eros.

"Why do you assume that she did something? What if I killed her just because I wanted to? For fun, you know?" Eros scratched the back of his neck as he spoke.
The sight of both men, standing side by side, was pretty funny. Both were tall and buff, handsome, and had some brotherly similarities. What made it look funny was the difference in their heights. Eros had to look down, to face his best friend.

"Because that isn't you. You do not kill for fun, my friend. If you do, there always are reasons, and now, I'm pretty sure the reason is grand enough to be held with law. We all knew how Zoey was," Zander shrugged his shoulders, turning his attention back to the lifeless body.

"I can justify my actions by law. She tried to mess with my mate. She lied and kept trying to prove that I've chosen her over Eve. I would never cheat on my soulmate. In short, Zoey's actions made Eve leave, and that's another issue. I'll have to find her after we drop the body at the family house. Since this is, technically, a legal issue, we have to get the body to her parents, hence why I needed that bag you're holding," Eros tried his best to cover the most necessary details. Zander just nodded, and leaned down, picking up the woman's body and slowly placing it in the bag.

"I understand, man; I'd do the same if someone messes with my mate. Honestly, I'm surprised how calm you are at this point. I'd lose my mind if shit like this happened to me. Even more, your mate is a human, a little detail which puts her under more danger. We all know how jealous or butt hurt she-wolves act, nobody will blame you." Zander was worried about Eros. Not so much about the fact that his best friend killed her, more about him being separated from his mate. Most wolves went crazy if their mates weren't around for most of the day. Sometimes, it was enough to be apart for a couple of hours to lose their mind.

"Let's just get her there. I don't want to waste more time. I'll probably have to explain myself to her parents also," Eros leaned against the wall, already reluctant to get there and listen to her mother's complaints about how beautiful her baby was. She was not pleasant at all. They took the body and carried it out, dropping the body in the trunk of his car like a sack of potatoes. For the majority of the drive, both men sat silent, deep in thoughts.

"Any idea where Eve might be?" Zander suddenly asked, trying to ease the apparent tension.

"Yeah, the only place she could go is her parent's house. I've been there a couple of times, pretty sure she's safe and asleep. On a positive note, I didn't feel distressed even for a second, so I'm sure she's safe."

"I see. I was getting a little worried about you there. You were acting weirdly calm, but now I know why. I'm glad she's safe. You'll have to introduce us someday, I'm sure mother will want to meet your mate too, she's looking at you as her own son, you know," Zander smiled as he thought of how much love and support his mother had given to his best friend. She was the reason why they truly felt like brothers.

After the small talk, both men fell back into silence, enjoying how comfortable they felt. Neither felt bad for the body in the trunk, nor would they ever. She had that coming the moment she decided to mess with Eve. When they reached their goal, Zander sat in the car, knowing that this was a matter he shouldn't be involved in. Eros kept knocking on the door until a very pissed off woman appeared in the doorway. At first, she seemed angry, but after seeing who her sudden guest was, she smiled.

"Eros, it has been a while," she tried to hug him. He stepped back and nodded his head, avoiding any physical contact with the woman.

"It really has been quite a while, Bettany. I'm not here to chat, though, I'm here to give you your daughter's body," his facial expression didn't change, yet the woman's turned from happiness to shock.

"You're joking?" she gasped.

"No, I’m not. I'm following the protocol, giving her back, instead of throwing her in the forests. Your daughter violated the law, trying to intervene herself between my mate and me. I'm sure you are aware of what our laws say," Eros kept talking, keeping his hands in the pockets of his pants.

"You little shit, I'll kill you," Bettany snarled.

"There, there, I'm sure this is no way you dare talk to your King."