87. The Lucid Dream

In the middle of the night, Alpha Callum was still wide awake, sipping his wine, staring at the star-filled sky on the horizon. Sadness and longing were deeply etched in his eyes. Beta Amir arrived at the balcony and settled on an empty chair. "Alpha, it's already 12:00 midnight, time to sleep," he told his grieving boss. Alpha Callum shook his head. "I'm not sleepy yet. You go ahead to your room and sleep," he answered dejectedly, feeling empty inside. "You've been sleeping late at night since Luna Clarice's disappearance. Drinking alcohol every day is not good for your health," Beta Amir reminded him as he began yawning. Alpha Callum sighed heavily. "I know what I'm doing. I just drink enough to numb the pain, not to make me sick to death," he replied in a dispirited tone. "I'm sorry, Alpha. There is still no news of Luna Clarice's body washing up on shore. I'm sorry to say this... every day while we are waiting for good news, the longer we wait... the more I think we will never see her again," Beta Amir said sadly. Alpha Callum took a deep breath. "You got a point. I will stop the search at some point, but not now. I'm still hoping we will eventually find her body one of these days." "Um, the odd thing is your son Caden. He kept telling us that his mommy would come home soon. I find it a bit weird," Beta Amir said, scratching his head in bewilderment. "My son was just trying to comfort himself with the idea that his mother was still alive. I can't blame my son. He is still young, he can't fully grasp the concept of death. When he grows older, he will understand better," Alpha Callum said morosely. "OK. By the way, the people we were assigned to watch over Luna Aurelia and Kaspar, didn't see anything out of the ordinary with those people. We initially suspected them of orchestrating Luna Clarice's disappearance. Unfortunately, we don't have solid evidence to tie them down in your wife's case. Do we still continue to put them under surveillance?" Beta Amir asked. "Yes. Continue assigning people to monitor them, only stop until I say so," Alpha Callum responded with a growl, suppressing a cough about to come out of his mouth. "Copy, Alpha." Beta Amir feared that his sudden intrusion might have irritated his boss. "I think I need to sleep now. I'm very sleepy, my eyelids are dropping," he said, rising to his feet, ready to leave. "Go ahead, see you in the morning," Alpha Callum replied calmly with a nod of his head. He took a sip from his wine glass and continued staring at the dark sky above, wondering a million times what had happened to Clarice the moment he left her side to get their coffee from the restaurant. He can't forget that scenario out of his head. When he left Clarice, she was alone in that area. No other people were there? Or maybe there are? But they are not in close proximity to her. It's that specific moment, during his absence, that triggers Clarice's disappearance, as if destiny had waited for him to leave so it could snatch his wife and make him suffer for eternity. Is this his punishment for killing too many wolves in the past? All in the name of peace? Sigh. If only he hadn't left his wife behind and brought her along with him to buy their coffee, she would never have disappeared and fall into the water. It's all his fault! If only he had known what was going to happen next, he might have prevented his wife's disappearance. He closed his eyes as waves of sorrow hammered his heart, causing tears to sprang from his eyes. He took a deep breath and sipped the remaining liquid in his wine glass. Time to stop drinking and go to bed. He needs to sleep for the night because tomorrow he will wake up to carry on with his duties and face the reality that his beloved wife is already gone. He may never see her again alive in this lifetime. The disturbing thought deeply saddened him, and he fought the urge not to cry. Men don't cry! Dammit! He fought the urge not to throw the wine glass at the wall out of anger and despair. He left the balcony and entered the master bedroom. He didn't bother putting on his pajamas, he just turned off the light and climbed onto the bed. He closed his eyes, his heart drowning in sorrow. A few minutes later, he drifted into a deep slumber. While he was sleeping, he was dreaming of his wife. The dream unfolded slowly like a movie scene in his consciousness. The door to the room opened and Clarice entered and walked to bed. She put her hands on her husband's head and massaged his scalp lovingly. "Husband, how's life after my disappearance?" she asked. Alpha Callum opened his eyes and looked into his wife's eyes. "Terrible! Please come back to me. I need you badly. I miss you so badly. My life is empty. Please come back to me," he begged in a tone filled with longing and desperation. A tear fell from Clarice's eyes. Her heart broke into a million pieces after hearing her husband's desperate plea. She shook her head and said, "Destiny is cruel to both of us. I might not be able to come back to your side anymore. You have to move on with your life and forget about me. Continue living for our son and for the people who need your guidance. If one day you meet another woman that makes your heart beat again, then go ahead, you can marry her. Please don't wait for me anymore because I'm already dead," she said sorrowfully. Tears of sadness flooded her face. "No! I won't marry another woman! I only want you. Our son needs you. Please come back to us!" Alpha Callum said, hugging his wife desperately, afraid of letting her go. The couple hugged each other, locked in a tight embrace, not wanting to let go of each other. Suddenly, a shadow in human form appeared in the middle of the room and said, "Clarice dear, time is up! We have to continue our journey. It's now time for you to say goodbye to your husband." Alpha Callum looked at the shadow floating in the corner of the room. "What is that?" he asked. "The shadow is my benefactor, who owns my life now. She is the reason I can no longer return to your side. She is the angel of death who comes to bring my soul to heaven. It's now time to say goodbye, husband. I love you so much. See you in the afterlife," Clarice said in a dispirited tone. She slowly disengaged from his embrace and reluctantly left the bed. Alpha Callum was about to move to stop his wife from leaving him, but he couldn't move his body. He can only stare in despair and hopelessness when his wife joins the shadow. "Take care of our son, tell him I love him so much. Mommy can no longer take care of him, and it breaks my heart." Clarice erupted in tears, her body trembling as agony and sorrow squeezed her heart painfully. Extremely annoyed that he couldn't do anything to stop his wife from being taken away by the angel of death, Alpha Callum shouted at the top of his lungs to stop all things from happening, but no sound came out of his mouth. "Goodbye husband, I love you so much." Clarice planted the last kiss on her husband's lips as her silhouette faded fast from his vision. The moment she completely disappeared from his sight, that was also the moment he was able to move his body. He broke down and cried like a child after realizing that the angel of death had finally taken his wife's soul to the netherworld. "Come back! Don't leave me alone!" Alpha Callum cried helplessly in a hoarse voice. His wife, leaving him again for the last time, shattered his heart, subjecting his soul to lifetime suffering. Then he stirred in his sleep and finally woke up from his slumber. He heard the loud sound of a knock on his door. He glanced at the door, his mind in complete disarray. He was rubbing his eyes vigorously, trying to get rid of the fog lingering on his brain. "Who is it?" He quickly rose from the bed and walked to the door and opened it. Beta Amir was standing outside the doorway. "Alpha, sorry to disturb your sleep, I received bad news from one of the guards guarding Viviana on her beach house property..." "What kind of bad news?" Alpha Callum asked, alarmed. Instantly, a flash of worry appeared in his eyes. He was worried about his young daughter's well-being. "Did something happen to my daughter?" he asked anxiously. "No, the baby is fine. Both mother and daughter are fine. The house was devoured by flames and firefighters just arrived and are currently trying to salvage the burning house," Beta Amir explained in a hurry. Alpha Callum was relieved. No time to waste. His young daughter needed him. "I'm glad they were fine. Let's teleport there now!" he said in a tense tone. "Copy, Alpha!" Beta Amir replied. A few moments later the men disappeared from the mansion, on their way to Viviana's burning beach house property.