The lingering metallic smell in his nostrils sent Julius's imagination racing as he neared their building.
As Julius hurried frantically down the apartment building's halls, hoping the situation wasn't as bad as he feared, other, more intense emotions and events were unfolding right under his nose.
Alexander had just reached the depths of the woods, the dried blood stubbornly clinging to his skin, as if trying to free itself.
Each branch that struck his face seemed to tug at it, pulling against him with every step forward.
He barely noticed the sting as each blow landed on his face, one after another.
Somehow, it dulled the sharper ache of losing Ayla, if only a little.
Alexander thought back to what had happened just a short while ago that had brought him to this moment.
It had been a long time since he'd been knocked out like that.
He never expected to be betrayed or attacked in his own office, so he wasn't paying as much attention as he should, his focus locked on the monitor in front of him.
The last thing he recalled was staring at the computer screen with Ayla, watching the two men approach Phoenix, and then nothing.
Just sudden pain and darkness.
Alexander wasn't sure how long he'd been out, but it couldn't have been more than a moment, because the two men who had just entered the bar were now heading out when he came to.
All he knew was that Ayla was gone, and he had to find her.
Fast.
When he opened his eyes, the room was empty, just him and his bloody head.
She was gone.
Surely, she hadn't done this to him, right?
Ayla wouldn't have knocked him out just to run away.
She wasn't that cruel.
Was she?
Was he simply blinded by his longing to be with her and her beauty?
No, she couldn't have struck him because she was right beside him when it happened.
Relying on his instincts, he took a deep sniff, hoping to catch any hint that might tell him something.
His lungs filled, and his nostrils caught a whiff of something that shouldn't have been there.
If she had no scent, then what was he picking up?
Only he and Ayla were supposed to be in the room.
They'd been led halfway down the hallway before being left to find their own way to the office.
Without hesitation, he slipped out the back door, chasing whatever scent had caught his attention.
It drew him into the woods, deeper and darker with every step.
He didn't know exactly where he was headed, but he hoped it would lead him to Ayla.
The moon's pull was strong within him, and when he glanced up, he saw it was full, or nearly so.
There were always three days surrounding the full moon, but which one did they fall on that night?
Was it the actual full moon deadline itself that she had been taken on?
To his surprise, his wolf was eager to break free and take control, so it had to be the Wolf Moon.
He felt a sudden surge of strength and speed as he raced toward his beacon, his Ayla.
Maybe his wolf could reach her more easily and quickly than he ever could.
Without hesitation, he trusted his instincts.
Alexander leapt forward mid-run, and in an instant, his wolf emerged, perfect as always.
The transition was seamless, not a single stride lost.
His wolf was more than happy to help with the search as the blood gradually stopped oozing onto his fur-covered face, just below the small tuft of hair atop his head.
With a low growl of acceptance, he pushed himself to run faster than ever, chasing the scent that filled his nostrils.
It was as if his wolf eyes could actually see the invisible trail left behind by his quarry.
...
Back in town, Julius dashed through the apartment, still gripped by panic.
The man who had once been the planner, the organizer, the calm and rational voice, now knew his worst fears were true.
They were gone.
Everyone was gone.
Alexander and Ayla were nowhere in sight, and he could tell something was wrong with Alexander.
It had to be one of the men he'd let into the building who turned against them.
The truth was just starting to hit him.
Ayla had been right, and she'd paid the price for her deception.
He knew he'd never live it down, but first, he had to find her, both of them.
Without hesitation, he dashed out of the building and straight into the forest.
Julius felt certain the woods were where he needed to be, and he was determined to reach them as quickly as possible.
There was a pull he couldn't explain, a feeling he couldn't shake that drove him into the woods, running.
When he glanced up and saw the moon, a sudden certainty struck him about what had happened and who had taken her, though he kept his suspicions to himself until his friends were by his side.
Julius had no idea where to start searching, but he knew one of the wolves from their team would be near or heading toward her, so he concentrated on them, hoping to catch a trace of someone.
Hoping to catch any trace of their thoughts, he prayed to the Moon Goddess that someone, anyone, was nearby.
That's when it hit him: Dominic was still missing.
In fact, everyone except Phoenix and Raphael was unaccounted for.
Pushing deeper into the woods, he shifted and started running as quickly as he could, where his wolf led him, desperate to find one of them.
Anyone!
In the forest, with Julius lagging slightly behind, Alexander was taken by surprise.
It was as if Ayla stood right beside him, her words, "They won't come and get me, they won't know where", echoing in his mind.
Was Ayla in wolf form?
Why would she choose that form?
There was no way she knew he was as well, if that's what she'd been thinking, because he wasn't supposed to hear that; she hadn't been calling to him with those words.
All he could do was tell her she was wrong and assure her he was on his way, or at least trying to be.
"Where are you? Help me find you. I'm on my way," Alexander thought, hoping she could somehow hear him.
He tried his best to block out what he heard and focus on finding her.
"I don't know. It's so dark. He blindfolded me, so I couldn't see. When I shifted, he threw me in a cage," Ayla's thoughts echoed in his mind.
"He," Alexander wondered, "who is he, Ayla? Who took you?"
"I warned you not to trust them. I said it was a trap, but no one ever listens," she thought to herself.
He wasn't sure if that was meant for him or her.
"Who are 'them,' Ayla? Who took you?" Alexander wondered.
Suddenly, a single thought, a single word, echoed in her mind for him to hear, over and over.
"Mason!"
Alexander felt his heart plummet.
Mason had never been easy to trust, but could he really have taken her right under their noses?
Julius let them into the building, saying it was fine for him to join the team and live with them, but he allowed it and agreed.
He had only himself to blame for being so caught up in Ayla that he failed to notice what was going on.
Now, she was on the way to Goddess knows where.
Suddenly, Alexander caught a sound.
"I have to find them," could be heard in his mind.
He recognized that voice, which meant he had to be somewhere nearby.
Just like Ayla.
"Julius?"
Julius's relief was obvious through his thoughts.
"Great! You're alive. Please tell me Ayla's with you, I can't find her."
The desperation in his mind was clear as the lone wolf followed the path his instincts set.
Their bond was stronger than any among the stray wolves from the new group, allowing them to connect across greater distances.
It had Julius silently thanking the Moon Goddess for allowing them to grow up as brothers, even though he didn't truly know who she was.
"Yeah, I can't find her either," Alexander thought, making sure he could hear.
A wave of shame and fear washed over them both as the realization sank in.
Both men were abruptly interrupted.
"If you could just remember that I can hear you for as long as I want, that would be great."
Julius's emotions were surging once more.
"Ayla, you're okay," he thought.
"HA! Don't get too excited. I'm not exactly what you'd call OKAY. You'll have to come and get me."
Julius looked visibly puzzled as he continued pushing forward, unsure of his destination.
Even though she was talking to him, she kept her distance, so he quickened his pace as much as he could to reach both her and Alexander.
"What does that mean? I feel like I'm missing something. Mind filling me in?"
Ayla didn't want to make him too upset, seeing as he was starting to feel like a trusted friend, almost family-like, but she wanted him to know who took her.
"How about you ask Mason when you find him, yeah?"
He was instantly able to put it together.
"I am so sorry, Ayla. I am making it my personal mission to find you."
They heard Dominic's gruff voice chime in.
"Me too, Ayla. I know you're deep in the forest now. Alexander and Julius are somewhere here as well, and so am I It won't be long before we have you back. You're not alone in this anymore. I should have known better than to trust him. I did know better."
If she were able to smile, she would have.
Ayla felt like everything was going to be okay.
Dominic's words seemed to land perfectly, just as he had intended them.
All she needed was a little patience.
That didn't mean that if she got the chance, she wouldn't rip Mason's jugular out.
Her wolf nearly purred at the thought of sinking her fangs into that jerk's neck, savoring the rush of warm red liquid as the pulsing slowly faded away.
The night seemed to drag on endlessly as Mason pushed himself through the woods.
He was obviously struggling, and carrying Ayla made every step that much harder.
Deep down, she knew exactly where they were taking her, as the moon glanced at her with each upward sway.
She tried her hardest to keep the fear from slipping in.
Mason had mentioned more than once that he had until the Wolf Moon to catch her and deliver her to Alpha Ulfric.
Feeling the way she did beneath its silvery glow, she was fairly certain this was the moon he meant.
Ayla was on her way to the Deep Fang Pack.
She felt it deep in her heart, and her wolf felt it too.
Hours seemed to drag by as she was jostled around inside the crate, and she was sure they were far from home by now.
Her perception of time had been completely shattered once the cage door had been slammed shut on her, and she started to feel like a piece of popcorn jumping around in the dark.
She could slowly feel Alexander's presence drawing nearer.
As his essence approached, a sense of calm began to wash over her; at least, she thought she could sense him.
She could just feel they were gaining on them, like some instinct kicking in.
If they were closing the gap, maybe her time with this monster was almost over.
All she needed was a way to slow Mason down, just enough to give the trio a fighting chance.
As she bounced around inside the unsteady crate that was being carried, she did her best to come up with some kind of solution.
She had to do something before she ended up in a situation that she knew she couldn't get out of, wolf territory.
The only thing Ayla knew for sure was that she was going to have to find relief for her headache when she got free from all the bouncing around.
If she got free.
At least now, she knew that the men, especially Julius, had made it his mission to save her, so she had to figure something out to give them a fighting chance.
"GGGGGGGRRRRRRRR"!
Mason didn't feel like hearing it.
He knew she could be a handful from the stories about her days spent running from just about everyone, but he still wasn't sure how much, and he wasn't ready to find out.
"Quiet, you. I've done my homework. They told me everything I needed to know about you!"
Ayla never liked being told what to do, and coming from him, she liked it even less.
"RRRRFFFFFFF. GGGGRRRRR!"
Mason realized telling her to be quiet again wouldn't work if it hadn't the first time, so he decided to try a different approach.
His voice was dark and unforgiving as it seeped through his lips.
"If you don't get quiet, I'll send my men after Alexander."
He had no idea the young wolf was on its way to her, backed by help, but she knew.
"GGGRRRRRRR!"
Mason was starting to get annoyed, and that was exactly what she'd been aiming for.