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"This man, this Anaconda, have you given him a rundown of what we are dealing with here?" Beloca arched his brows, "Does he know that these people are not humans but very powerful animals?"

"Yes, he knows." Adeladin smiled, "He can take on them. The best step to all of these is to upgrade our weapons."

"You know I did that last time, or have you forgotten? We used Rhodium! It's a metallic element they have a weakness for. We made bullets with them. Bullets!" He emphasized, his rage towards the changelings showing, "But what happened? That animal managed to kill every last one of our men!"

"Calm down, doctor. This time around, we make more bullets. They might have more weaknesses apart from Rhodium, so, we find them. The plan now is to look for something that can cause them real harm and create a formula with it, mixed with Rhodium. We can make weapons with the result; Arrows, guns, Spears, etc. You can make injectable drugs too. That is called being fully prepared, Beloca."

Beloca was really loving this idea. He was liking it a whole lot . A smile formed on his lips for the first time in a long time.

Adeladin seconded the smile. "Do you know what happens when you attack fully prepared? You. Win. The. War."

A bright light suddenly came through the window, lighting up Ismena's closed eyes.

She stirred awake, opening her eyes only to quickly close them back as the light threatened to blind her. Opening it again in a slit, she sat up and stressed her body languidly.

"Look who's finally awake! Good morning, My lady." Mirian's bright voice filled the air.

Ismena stared at the older woman through half-lidded eyes, "Good morning, Mirian."

"The light's too bright for your sleepy eyes? I'm sorry about that, My lady." She quickly closed the curtains.

Ismena nodded, opening her eyes fully. She looked around, "What time is it?"

"It's noon, My lady. The Alpha King already went back to the Elephant Clan to continue the hunt for that damned serial killer."

At the mention of his name, the memories of last night flooded her.

Was it real? Or it was just a dream? Or worse, a figment of her imagination?

But then, the images were way too vivid to be a dream. She raised her nightie and found the slight redness on her hips from where he'd grabbed her too hard.

A smile widened her cheekbones. No, it was no dream. It was real, alright. She rose from the bed and prepared to take a shower. That undeniable soreness and tingling of some places in her body as she moved around made her smile widen further.

The memory of how vulnerable he'd been—how badly he was probably hurting—dampened her good mood. If only he would talk to her, she lamented. He needed to talk to someone.

Cheer up, Ismena. Remember the special memories you made last night, with Nalaila.

That brightened her mood again.

She sang as she showered. Too happy to care that she was singing off-tune—and in a very sore voice at that.

"Someone must be in a very good mood today. In such a happy mood that she's shaking the walls of this great Tower with her voice!" Mirian shouted amusingly from the bedroom.

"Someone sure is!" Ismena shouted right back.

"I am happy to hear that, My lady." And she was. These past few days it's been bleak and sad around here, Mirian was very happy to see a change.

In the bathroom, Ismena kept singing, doing her happy hip dances.

Now, all she needs to do is find a way to get Wolfaraine to try taking his sister out for a walk again as soon as possible.

It'll be a little difficult because the second time she'd confronted Alphose, he'd mentioned that Wolfaraine might not be trying again for 'weeks' because he wanted to give Nalaila more time. He is hoping that she'll change her mind then.

Ismena was hopeful that Nalaila will go out with him if he tries again, and the earlier, the better.

She just has to find a way to convince him to try again as soon as possible, without getting him suspicious.

"So, what do you think about Ayeia soup?" Alphose asked with a smile on his face.