“No… I don’t like it at all…” Alex muttered the next morning after I told him about the money I could earn.

“It’s all right,” I told him soothingly. “Simon said I only need to go get the package and take it to his friends.”

“We don’t know them… What if it’s something illegal? What if it’s something dangerous!” he said, getting more and more distressed.

“But they promised twenty bucks,” I said, pleading for him to understand. “I can buy that big bottle of salve with that! It’ll last for two weeks! And I can buy us food too!”

Alex shook his head and grabbed me by my wrists. “I don’t like them… Please…”

My alpha got distressed at the sound of his pleas… It wanted to soothe and protect our little brother, but it was also very scared… It didn’t understand that everything was fine, and we were all right, because it never felt safe in this place.

“Alex… I have to do it,” I said quietly, trying to calm both him and my alpha. “Your condition is so much worse. I have to do something. I hate to see you in agony all the time… Trust me. It’s fine. It’s an easy job. Once I get the money, I’ll go buy everything we need to treat your wounds, and we’ll ask the gym if they’ll let us use their showers again. You’ll feel so much better after that. Don’t you want that?”

“Who says they’ll give you the money?” he asked, letting go of me in defeat.

“I… I trust him,” I said, though… I had my fears… “What else can I do? If he doesn’t pay me, then it’s just a lesson learned, and I stay the fuck away from them and tell everyone they’re scammers, okay? I just want to give them a chance. Maybe they’re not lying. Maybe I can keep earning money, so we won’t ever run out of salve and food and water.”

He stared at me for a moment longer, then absentmindedly started scratching his fingers. I stopped him gently and smiled.

“Let’s give them a shot, okay?” I asked.

And finally, he nodded. “I guess…”

“If they’re lying, well… I’m wasting maybe an hour of my life, that’s all,” I said reassuringly. “I can live with that.”

He was calming down now. “Right… Right…”

I hugged him gently. “And if they’re not lying, I’ll come back with salve and food. But you stay here, okay? Stay quiet. And do not scratch anything, okay?”

He nodded and retreated back into his bed.

“Good boy,” I said softly and gave him an apple I’d been hiding under my pillow. “Here. Eat this and take a nap, okay?”

“What about you?” he asked.

“I already ate while you slept,” I lied.

“Oh, okay…” he said and accepted the apple. “Be careful.”

“I will. I’ll be back in a few hours,” I said and crawled out of our hiding place.

My alpha had calmed down a little, but now it was getting distressed again since we were leaving Alex behind. I spent a moment trying to convince it that everything was all right, but it didn’t quite believe me.

And I had the feeling that soon, it would get even worse…

I’d promised to meet the three alphas from last night first thing in the morning, so I headed to where I’d seen their hut. I’d now learned their names, too. Simon, Cornell, and Patric. Simon was the one with the money and the shiny promises I really hoped he would keep.

Honestly, I thought they’d still be fast asleep with how much they’d drank last night, but I was surprised to find Simon cleaning his boots in front of his hut, all dressed and ready to go.

“There you are!” he said with a smile that looked a little creepy on his skull-like face.

I took a better look at him. He had short, lifeless, dirty-blond hair, brown eyes with red hue, pale skin with old scars and yellow bruises here and there on his arms, and his six foot three frame was just as skinny as mine. He sure was awfully thin for a person who had a huge roll of cash in his pocket… I tried not to see it as a red flag… Maybe he was new to this business as well?

I sighed a little as I approached him. I was getting good at convincing myself to ignore the red flags, huh…? Alex was probably right… I probably shouldn’t have anything to do with these guys…

And I was right about my alpha. It didn’t like this stranger at all, so it retreated deeper into the darkness, but it didn’t leave me alone completely. It was just… We had trust issues. It felt safer watching things in the dark.

“Ready to go?” Simon asked and started pulling his boots on.

“Is it just the two of us?” I asked, feeling a little nervous now.

“Yeah,” he said and stood. “Come. Let’s not keep him waiting.”

He started heading to the exit. I hesitated for a brief second before I hurried after him. I had so many bad feelings about this now… But twenty bucks… If he really was speaking the truth… I just hoped he wasn’t getting me kidnapped or anything…

That thought nearly forced me to stop, but I kept following him.

Because if there was even a small chance I could get that salve, I had to take it. At my darkest moments, I had considered stealing it, but the lady at the closest pharmacy was always so nice to us, always gave us snack bars and water and sometimes even free bandages and medicine. I didn’t want to repay her by stealing from her or any other pharmacy… And I could buy us food… And if Simon liked my help, maybe he would keep paying me for these things, and I’d always have money at hand…

I had to follow him… I had to take this risk… For my little brother… Maybe this way, I could finally take care of him like a big brother should…

Simon and I didn’t talk much as we walked through the light rain in the gray, cold weather. His step was much bigger than mine, so I really had to walk fast to keep up with him. It didn’t help that I’d only had water and half an apple as food for two days now, but I ignored my heavy feet and nauseated feeling in my guts. Thankfully, it wasn’t a long walk, only three or four blocks.

Then we entered a small pizzeria that barely looked operational after the storms. The windows were still boarded shut, and the inside of the place smelled like a wet dog, but I guess they were desperate to make money, like everyone else in this lord forsaken city. No one could afford to stay closed for too long.

Simon put his hand in front of me almost as soon as we’d stepped in. He said nothing as we waited, but only a moment later, a short older man with a beer belly waved at us behind the counter and gestured for us to take a seat at one of the tables, then disappeared somewhere to the back. Again, we had to wait, but soon the man returned and sat down with a basket full of breadsticks.

“Morning,” the man said, looking tired, but he gave us a smile. “Wasn’t sure if you were going to show up today.”

“Why would you think that?” Simon asked with a frown.

“Thought the storm washed you away,” the man said with a grin, then turned to me. “Who’s this?”

“This is Josh. He wants to earn a few bucks,” Simon explained.

My alpha didn’t like any of this… Not at all…

“Josh, huh. I’m Lorenzo,” he said and offered his hand. I shook it timidly. “So you want to be a runner, huh?”

I glanced at Simon.

“Runner, as in a delivery boy,” he explained.

“Oh. Yeah,” I said and turned back to Lorenzo.

He measured me from head to toe, and didn’t look too impressed. He then pushed the basket closer to me.

“Have some. You look hungry,” he said, then turned to Simon. “Couldn’t find anyone… bigger? You know it’s bad for business if the runner gets blown away by the wind? What am I going to tell my clients? To check the treetops for their parcels?”

There was a hint of laughter in his eyes the entire time he spoke, so I dared to chuckle a little as I grabbed the biggest breadstick.

“I can make it,” I promised. “I’ll just hold on to something when it gets windy.”

Lorenzo snorted in amusement, then sighed. “Fine, fine… I’ll give you a chance to prove yourself.”

I nodded, feeling a little nervous again, but I focused on the breadstick. It tasted so good… And it was clear it just came out of the oven! Man… I wished Alex could have some… Maybe if I ate half of it and hid the rest in my pocket?

“So you know what to do?” Lorenzo asked.

“I’m supposed to deliver something to someone,” I said.

“That’s right,” he said, grabbed a breadstick, and pointed at me with it. “A friend of mine is coming up the river with a boat. You know where the fuel dock is?”

“I… Don’t think so…”

“I’ll draw a map for you,” Lorenzo said. “He’ll be waiting for you by the dock. He’s got something for me, so when you give him the package, don’t forget to take the goods from him. Then you bring that back here, and I’ll give you your money. Got it?”

“Yeah… Yes,” I said with a hasty nod. 

“Good. And whatever you do, do not open anything, don’t let anyone else get the goods from you, and if someone catches you, do not tell anyone where you got them from. Got it?”

I nodded again.

“Good. Eat up. You have an hour before my friend arrives,” Lorenzo said, and stood.

I waited until he’d disappeared to the back again, then turned to Simon.

“How far is that dock?” I asked quietly.

“Twenty minutes or so,” he said with a shrug.

“So… Why do they need… runners… for such a short distance?” I asked carefully.

He glanced at me, then laughed a little, but never replied to me.

Because whatever was in those packages, they were illegal.

I ate three whole breadsticks before Lorenzo came back. He had the package with him in a white plastic bag. It wasn’t a big box, thankfully. It looked pretty light, too.

“Listen up, kid. If you get this job done without any hiccups, I have more work for you. The pay is shit, but the job is fast and easy. And if you lose this… Well… I will find you,” he said, giving me a friendly smile.

But it wasn’t friendly at all…

“I won’t lose it,” I promised.

“Good. Now. The map is in the bag. My friend has a green boat, called the Giggler. The guy smells like an ashtray. You won’t miss him. Give this to him, take whatever he has for me, and you come straight back here, got it? And not a word about this to anyone, yeah?”

“Understood,” I said.

“That’s a good kid. Get going,” he said and pushed the bag to me.

I stood up and gave one last glance at the breadsticks. I didn’t get to take any for Alex… But if this guy here paid me like he promised, I’d get Alex something good from the store.

“Don’t embarrass me now,” Simon said sternly.

“I won’t,” I said, took the bag, bid my farewell, and left the pizzeria.

And as soon as I stood outside, my nerves almost failed me. The bag was really light, so at least it wasn’t a gun or explosives, but that meant it was probably drugs. I carefully shook it a little, but it wasn’t making any sounds. Not pills, I guess.

I shook myself out of it and started marching toward the river. It didn’t matter what was in it, as long as I’d get my twenty bucks.

I grabbed the piece of paper from the bag to check the map, and my mood dropped even lower when I saw the scribbles on it. I couldn’t really understand it, but there were a few landmarks, like a round parking garage building, that I recognized. So, I headed to that place first. I mean, if I just followed the river, I’d end up at the fuel dock, right?

That wasn’t even my biggest concern… I suddenly felt like I was being followed. My alpha had kept a close eye on our surroundings, and it hadn’t noticed anything or anyone suspicious, but still… I felt like there were people watching me from every window and behind every corner. There was no one, of course. It was just my nerves trying to get me in trouble…

It was still raining, so I quickly got wet, but the steady drumming also drowned out any possible footsteps, so I wanted to keep peering over my shoulder. I trusted my alpha could detect it if someone was following me, but the rain dulled its senses. I tried to convince myself that no one would find me suspicious. I was just a kid with a white plastic bag making my way through the streets. Nothing suspicious about that.

But then… an old, small blue car drove past me. That alone wasn’t odd, and I forgot it almost right away, but five minutes later, when I rounded the corner and finally saw the round parking garage up ahead, I could’ve sworn it was that same car that was parked by the street close by. The engine was off, but the driver was still in it. My stomach felt heavy as I memorized the register plate, but I tried to convince myself that the guy had just tried to find an empty parking space.

Even though there was plenty of room to park…

I slowed down my step and kept a very close eye on the driver as I approached the car. He was… He was speaking on the phone… Maybe… Maybe he was just lost. Maybe he was picking up someone or trying to find a store.

Yeah… Yeah… That had to be it.

I walked past the car, and nothing happened. He was somewhere in his twenties, wearing normal clothes, and he was focused on his phone. He didn’t look at me even once, so I let out a deep breath and hurried my step as soon as I’d walked past the car. I did, however, jump a little when I spotted any kind of darker car after that.

But I made it to the garage. I peered at the map, but the river was already there, behind a row of buildings. Another five minutes later, I reached it, and started following it upstream. I saw boats and a few small buildings up ahead, so I headed toward them. Once I got there, it was easy to spot the fuel dock – and the green boat next to it.

So far, so good…