Chapter 72: The Mark of the Beloved
[Donald’s Perspective]
“No, it’s not the same as what we use,” Benjamin said.
“Your Majesty, Lycan King, please take a closer look. Most syringes are one-way. They’re either drawn or injected, and they go out the way they come in. But this syringe has specially been made with double tubes. I don’t know the reason for doing that. But what is certain is that after such a syringe is used, there will more or less be some residue in the bottle that contained the drug. If you give me that bottle, I’m confident that I can find a clue from it.”
“You mean there’s a drug bottle?” Elliot asked.
“Of course there will be a bottle,” Benjamin said.
“But our people searched a few times and didn’t find anything that looked like a drug bottle. I’d been wondering if he used one of those pre-filled syringes?” Elliot asked with a frown.
Pre-filled syringes were one of the equipment commonly used by our assault team.
It was more convenient to use than an ordinary extractor syringe. It could steal a few crucial seconds in a crisis. That sometimes affected the success or failure of an entire operation.
“A pre-filled syringe won’t look like this. I can confirm that he was injected by an extractor syringe.”
Benjamin turned his gaze to me.
“I trust your judgment,” I said.
If we could confirm that the other party relied on drugs to obtain special abilities, it might not be a bad thing for us. At the very least, it could prove that their own abilities were not that strong. If we could also find a way to counteract this drug, the other party would become vulnerable in the face of our absolute strength.
“Elliot, widen the search area and look carefully for possible reagent bottles. Everyone who participated in the operation that night has to search carefully. Don’t miss a single person,” I ordered.
“Everyone?” Elliot looked hesitant.
“Everyone,” I said firmly.
Elliot should have understood what I meant. This included Angel. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust her. It was that no one should be the exception.
After dealing with the morning’s matters, Elliot came to report that Alpha Armstrong wanted to hold a meeting with the entire pack in the afternoon and wanted me to attend. Armstrong had already communicated with me about this last night, and I also thought that it was necessary to unite the people at such a juncture.
I asked Elliot about the drug bottle again. He said he hadn’t found any other clues.
“Have you checked everyone as well?”
“I’ve checked,” Elliot said with a wry smile. “Angel was furious about it.”
“Ignore her.” I waved my hand casually.
Although we had no clue what was going on here, fortunately, things were going smoothly on Benjamin’s side. He said that the unconscious person was recovering quickly and might wake up tomorrow.
There was something else on my mind.
When I first met Margaret, I’d toyed with the idea of sending her back to where I ruled to ensure her safety. But she hadn’t been willing at the time. Now that the situation was getting more and more critical, I didn’t want her to stay all the more. However, it was obvious from her attitude that she was determined to stay. It gave me a headache.
I didn’t want to force her to do things, but I couldn’t really ignore her safety.
How should I handle the matter? I thought.
Mark!
The idea popped into my head. When it came to werewolves, the mate and the mark tended to follow each other like shadows. If the mate was a gift from the moon goddess to bring you together, the mark was one of the most important rituals.
It was a bit like a marriage certificate in human society, only, instead of proving a marriage through a thin scrap of paper, we marked each other with our bodies. Unlike a mate, who was bestowed by the moon goddess, a mark was something you voluntarily chose to give to your beloved.
Most people would choose to mark each other at their wedding. This would represent both the form and the physical union. It was a symbol that the couple would grow in perfection.
However, in addition to its formal significance, the mark would bring about a lot of physical involvement. Because most werewolves marked themselves, the aura between the mates would fuse and become one.
This might not be obvious to both parties involved, but to others, they could clearly sense the scent of the other person on both parties after the mark. It was also a covert sign that they rejected other people’s attempts to hit on them and make overtures. And as the relationship between the two parties deepened, the bond between the two would continue to strengthen through the mark.