CHAPTER FORTY FIVE

“I don’t know if that is a good thing or a bad one” he said to Damian
“That totally depends on you. I really don’t like my fine being wasted and that is exactly what you’re doing” Damian said to him
“Mind their manners. What is your condition?” Sally asked, eager to hear it and find a way around it
“You let me join your little crusade and we find Phillip together” he said
“Hell no! We don’t need you or your help. Heck! How do we even know that we can trust you?” Alex asked him
“Because I know that Annabelle doesn’t remember you. I know she is dying and only Damian’s venom can heal her but it can also kill her. I know you are cheating on Arielle with Betty and you met Betty weeks ago! I know Odette is involved in all of this and so is Isabelle. I have information and you don’t. It’s a win-win if you asked me” he said
“I still don’t trust you. What is going on with you? How do you know so much about us? Who sent you?” Alex asked, all at the same time
“Are you mad because I know about your little affair with Betty? Don’t be. You don’t have to feel guilty for it. Your girlfriend is very shady too. She is not who you think she is and you should get rid of her as soon as possible. You have always known that Phillip has always been one step ahead of you. Have you ever wondered how or why?” He said
“Your accusations are grave. I don’t think you know the altitude of what you’re saying” Damian said
“I am not drunk or crazy. I know exactly what I am saying. If you think I am lying, confront her with this!” he said as he dug his hands into his left pocket and fished out a necklace

Alex looked at it and collected it.

“This is the first necklace I got her when we started dating. She said she misplaced it at a shopping complex. She felt so bad that I had to get her another one. How did you get this?” Alex asked
“I stole it, from Phillip. Apparently, your girlfriend has something for older men and she has been sleeping with Damian’s supposed father. You should act quickly because she is awake and she probably has a knife to Annabelle’s neck but I don’t think she is that stupid. She should be long gone by now” he said to Alex

Without thinking twice, Alex sped up to his room and found out that he was right, Arielle was gone. He went to Anna’s room and she was there, sleeping soundly. He sped back to the living room. He looked at Raphael. There was something about him that he couldn’t place his hands on. Why did he want to join them so bad? Why was he so updated about what was going on with them and how was he so updated if he didn’t have any direct link to Phillip? How did he know so much about Anna? So many questions

“Now that you know I’m right, do we have a deal?” Raphael said
“No, we don’t. We have to find Arielle” Alex said, turning his back to Phillip
“You can’t. One thing about Phillip is that he protects his own. You can’t find him except he wants to be found” Raphael said
“Why do you want to join us? I must have skipped that part when you said it” Sally asked
“You didn’t skip the part. He never said anything about the reason to why he wants to join us” Justin said
“Can we not talk about that just yet? I mean, why ruin the surprise? I understand of you want time to decide on what you want. I have all the time in the world but I don’t think you do” Raphael said
Sally turned to them
“He is right. Anna is dying gradually and if he has some sort of solution for this, I suggest we hear him out and offer him a deal. Besides, we do need some extra hands in finding Phillip and he knows way too much about this” she said
“And why do you think he is not working for Phillip and he is here in orders? What if he was sent here to spy on us?” Alex whispered
“C’mon, I’m a wolf. You know I can hear you right?” Raphael said
“Alright. We’d give you what you want. Accommodation and we would carry you along with everything that goes on with Phillip but you have to prove yourself to us. You have to show us that you are worthy to be with us. We have to trust you. How are you going to do that?” Damian asked
“With time. First things first, the witch you sent for would tell you this. You have to go back to where Anna was kept and find an object relating to the magic that was used. A knife, maybe. She can’t undo the spell without it” Raphael said
“Why not wait for the witch to tell this to us herself?” Alex said, still having a difficult time trusting Raphael
“As I said, I have all the time in the world. One more thing, before I forget. You can’t give her Damian’s venom without first restoring her memories or else it would be permanent so you have to get your witch first then head back to wherever your twisted father kept her so you can find whatever dagger or knife he used on her and whatever dark sorcery he conjured and coated the knife with for her to lift the curse but understand that she doesn’t have time. I would move in tomorrow. Than you for your time” he said to then and he turned to leave. He paused and pulled his shirt up to his neck when Damian stopped him
“Hold on a second. That scar is one that I have seen before” Damian said as Raphael stopped
“I doubt if you know anything about it” Raphael said
“My father use to brand the children of his victims whenever he kills their parents and make them watch. He would always say that whenever they saw the scar, they would remember him. Why exactly are you so interested in joining this little crusade of ours?” Damian asked him again

He turned back to look at Damian

“You just said the reason yourself” he said as he turned away and headed for the door, slamming it shut after him.

Damian turned to the rest of them

“Did Phillip really do that?” Alex asked
“Yeah, he did. I found out when I was fourteen and he would have done the same thing to you if you didn’t run off early enough. My father is a psychopath. His attitude is way more mental than physical. His drastic reactions isn’t something anybody should joke about. Phillip is someone that wants you to feel the pains of his actions for a s long as possible, all eternity if that is possible. He wouldn’t stop and he wouldn’t quit until he has engraved that painful memory in your mind. That is what he does to everybody he crosses path with” Damian said
“That is more than enough reason to want to hunt him down and kill him. I wouldn’t be asking to join a group if I was the one in Raphael’s shoes” Justin said
“I guess he just wants to do things the right way. I don’t know but I still don’t trust him. I mean, how does he know so much about us? About Anna?” Alex asked
“I have no idea but from what it looks like, I think he has spent his entire life gathering up his facts and he has don’t a good job with it so far. He said he had eyes and ears all over the place and he did tell us the truth about Arielle which I still find so hard to believe. I think he does have his facts but there is still something he is keeping from us. I don’t know how much damage Phillip did but there is another reason to why he wants to join us so bad. He literally doesn’t need us to find Phillip” Alex said
“What if he doesn’t want to find Phillip. He said Phillip can’t be found except he wants to be found. I don’t think he wants to find Phillip. Even if he wants to find him, he doesn’t have plans of finding him directly. I think he has another way. I think we should bring him in” Justin said
“I don’t think I want to bring him in. We can barely trust who we have in our lives right now. I don’t think I want any other stranger or anybody betraying us. I would take a couple of guards we would look for Arielle. She would have some sort of information about Phillip’s whereabouts. We can her to talk to us. I can reach her and reason with her. She didn’t hurt any of us while she was here” Alex said