With Scarlet Crest quiet and the town fast asleep, Dominic found it easy to finally wrap up his work, leave the office, and call it a night himself.
Still, his mind was buzzing with unease after the encounter with Rollo.
He couldn't shake the worry, not with so many questions swirling in his head about who Alexander had left to help him, and Ayla and the group being so far away in the woods, but he tried his best.
He kept wondering why, out of all his employees and friends, he had chosen Deva and Rollo to help, but he knew he wouldn't get that answer anytime soon.
If he had known what was really going on in the woods with Ayla at that moment, he probably wouldn't have even tried to rest.
His number one rule was to always stick together, no matter what.
Still, Ayla was out in the woods, away from the group, sleeping as she let a stranger keep watch over her.
Dominic had made it clear over and over again: never split up.
As long as they stuck together as a pack, they had a real shot at making it.
Well, that, and avoid witches and lone wolves, which Ayla seemed to have been unable to do entirely.
Then came the others, sprinting through the darkness as fast as they could toward Ayla, with only the Moon Goddess knowing what was chasing them.
It wasn't that the creature was still nearby, since they had managed to put plenty of distance between themselves and the sound they'd heard.
The noise itself spooked them, so they took off running, not quite sure if it was actually following.
They neither knew nor cared to find out what exactly had discovered them at their last campsite.
What made it worse was knowing there were creatures out there, and Ayla was on her own, breaking the cardinal rule Dominic had drilled into them.
They were finally closing the space between them and her, pushing harder and moving faster to catch up.
It was imperative to find her and be together again, and now the baby wolves understood why.
After hours of running, the wind shifted just so, sweeping past his flaring nostrils, and Phoenix caught it.
At first, it was barely there, but his wolf picked up on it.
His wolf was on edge, sending a prickling sensation up the back of his neck.
Titan, Phoenix's wolf, caught the scent of another dominant wolf, and a wave of fear washed over him.
Ayla wasn't the type to back down, and he knew it, just like the rest of the group did.
"Do you smell that, Raphael?"
He ensured that their conversation remained just between the two of them.
"Yeah, the others are new, so they might not catch on to everything. He marked the spot, though. Just take the lead and guide us there. Hopefully, she still has her spark; otherwise, Alexander's going to break."
The group sensed something was going on when Phoenix pushed to the front and took charge, but no one said a word.
Phoenix was the best tracker in the Silver Moon pack, though he never bragged about it.
He usually preferred to sit back and simply exist unless called upon.
Not this time.
This time, it looked like Ayla might really be in trouble, and he wasn't willing to risk it.
Raphael could tell that with every step he took, the scents around him would only grow stronger.
Sooner or later, the other wolves would catch on to what was going on, but he'd handle it when the time came.
For now, he just wanted to get as close to the situation as he could before things completely spiraled out of control.
That's when he caught a whiff of something else, and the sparks of chaos were ready to ignite as Phoenix glanced back at him for just a moment.
Just as they were nearing the scene of the attack, Alexander caught wind of what had happened, his snout lifting higher in the air.
"Is that blood? Do you smell it? That's blood, isn't it? It's Ayla's, right? That's why you went to the front, because you caught the scent earlier."
Phoenix and Raphael shared a quick glance before Raphael took the lead in handling the group, all of them moving without pause toward the metallic scent drifting from across a tree.
"It's blood, but we don't know whose. There's another male wolf's scent, too. Stay calm and alert, and keep moving. It's not much, and the trail is faint, but there's a stronger concentration drifting in from ahead."
Alexander wasn't thrilled by what he heard, but he valued the honesty.
Ayla ended up alone in the woods with a male wolf, and there was blood scattered in several spots.
Without hesitation, he wished she had taken down the other wolf.
Then she'd be safe, and the blood would make sense.
Alexander hated that he was pushing that way of thinking onto his beloved Ayla, but he was.
He knew how fierce she could be, and under the witch's spell, that might have been exactly what happened when he crossed her path.
Right now, the top priority was finding her, no matter what had gone down, and helping her work through whatever situation she was in.
She had to still be under the curse, sprinting in fear from the witches, with no one in sight to come to her aid, to be that far.
As the pack drew nearer, Titan's senses quickly caught their presence.
The hair on the back of his neck stood up as he sensed a threat approaching his area.
"Ayla! Ayla! Wake up. Someone's coming. We have to move. It isn't safe. Wake up."
Ayla snapped to attention without a moment's pause.
She knew Titan was a powerful wolf with flawless instincts.
If he picked up on something, then it definitely wasn't a mistake.
Without hesitation, she shifted into her wolf form and followed him, the two of them fleeing the shelter they had used the night before.
"Moonlight Shifters. Let's move fast. I'll be safe there… I think."
"What brings you there?" Titan asked as he walked ahead.
"I have a friend who needs me, and I was assured it would be safe for me to go there and try to talk with him."
"I get it. I promise I'll stick by your side while you're there. Moonlight Shifters, it is. Your other friends, the ones you're traveling with, will probably meet you there, right?"
Ayla paused for a moment before replying, "What danger did you notice when you woke me?"
Titan blurted out without thinking, "There's a male wolf around here. At least one. I caught his scent. Why?"
It was clear Ayla's mind was brimming with thoughts, yet she hesitated to share them with Titan, her steps gradually slowing.
"What's keeping you from speaking your mind?"
Ayla paused for a moment, letting her thoughts settle for a few more seconds before she replied.
"How can we be sure you actually sensed a threat? What if it was just someone from my group?"
Titan was now the one easing the pace just a bit more.
He knew it could very well be a wolf from her group, and that was the last thing he wanted.
This prized wolf was so close to being reunited with her friends, but if he tried to interfere now, she'd bolt and never glance back.
With only a few options left, Titan chose to play dumb.
"That's a good question. Since you don't have a scent, I didn't consider that wolf might be one of your friends. What do you want to do?"
He had finally brought them to a halt.
On his own, he managed to gain the upper hand without ever truly letting go of any of his power.
Ayla was so accustomed to running that it was her immediate reaction in this moment, and Titan noticed it instantly.
Deep down, he wished that was exactly what she would decide.
After all she'd been through in the woods, she knew there was only a slim chance it was her group.
The longer they lingered in one place, the closer their pursuer crept.
The thought of Mason kidnapping her flashed through her mind, and she nearly bolted, but then the hope that Alexander and the others had finally caught up to her took over.
"What if we tracked the scent and kept an eye on whoever was nearby? Is there a way for you to get close to them with me without being noticed? I can handle it. Is that something you can do?"
Now, she was throwing insults at him just as much as she was daring him.
Was he capable?
Titan was the champion of his pack.
"Of course I can. Come on, let's see who's in these woods chasing you. They're clearly not after me, if they know what's good for them, that is."
"Still as cocky as ever, I see."
"Still Stubborn I see."
Ayla didn't hesitate to trail after Titan as he caught the scent and made his way through the woods.
It didn't take long for the sound of paws thudding against the ground to reach their ears.
Ayla and Titan shifted into human form to make it harder for anyone to catch their scent and track them.
As soon as they did, Titan chose to do something he had sworn he wouldn't unless she asked him to again.
He did it to protect her, so she couldn't really stay too mad at him.
As the sound drew nearer and the scent grew stronger, he seized Ayla's arm and shoved her behind a tree with such force that it knocked the breath from her lungs.
In a different sense, it carried a deeper meaning.
If she were with her group, he wanted to be sure his scent lingered on her so the others would catch it when they found her.
As quickly as he acted, he shifted one hand from her arm to cover her mouth, silencing her, while shielding her body with his own.
With his hand clamped over her mouth, her first instinct was to bite, but she understood he was only trying to keep her safe from danger.
That didn't stop her from slipping into his thoughts with a lingering question that had haunted her since the moment he woke her.
All she could do was hope it was her group closing in, but she already felt it was, as her question slowly took shape in his mind.
"How did you know my name?"
His eyes widened, the color draining slightly from his cheeks.
"It wasn't hard to figure out. I just wanted you to tell me so I could be certain who you were. I'm not a threat."
Ayla met his gaze, searching for any trace of a lie as he let his hand drop.
Less than a minute later, a pack of five wolves came charging through.
They were out on a mission.
The five wolves were on the hunt, but what exactly were they after?
Titan turned his head, his eyes blazing with a fire invisible to Ayla with his head turned.
He couldn't tell which of the three men it was, but one of them carried the same scent that had lingered on Ayla when he first met her.
In that moment, he was flooded with protectiveness, jealousy, and anger.
All he needed was to figure out where to place all those feelings.
As he and Ayla watched the pack of wolves run past them, it sank in who had just crossed their path.
The five of them never noticed the pair concealed behind the tree, but the lost wolf's heart swelled instantly as she stood there, pressed against its rough bark.
"STOP!" she yelled from behind Titan's shield.
All five of them skidded to a sudden stop, dust swirling around as they quickly turned to see where her voice had come from.
They all started glancing around, which only made things worse for Titan, who had now realized he'd have to face the other males in the group.
Competing for Ayla's attention and affection.
A smirk spread across his face as they all glanced around, unable to spot her, still tucked behind him, while she wriggled to break free.
She finally eased herself out from behind him just enough for them to catch sight of her.
"You can release me now. They're my friends, and if you really want a chance to come with us, I recommend you let me go."
Titan didn't appreciate her tone or the way she hinted that she could control him.
For the moment, he played along with her.
He was more curious about who was with her and what they might let slip.
Surely, it had to be more than what she had.
"Ayla, oh my Goddess! Dominic would've had our hides if we hadn't found you. How on earth did you get this far?" Raphael exclaimed as he ran up and pulled her into a huge hug.
Phoenix was his usual self, chuckling as he said, "I knew these guys were worried for nothing. It's you, after all. Nothing can take you down. Invincible, I swear. I mean, you've put up with us for how many years?"
"But the blood? We all smelled it. Was it yours, Ayla?" Rhea asked, trying to get a better look at her friend.
"I'm fine, I promise. Like Phoenix said, invincible. You know me. Barely a scar," she said, raising her arm to reveal the faded lines.
Alexander's reaction was the one that took Ayla by surprise.
He didn't rush over to hug her or even say a word, which was the reaction that Titan was searching for.
He kept his attention on the man standing right beside her, while the others looked thrilled to have finally found her.
Titan glanced at his new partner in crime, ensuring his voice was low enough when he spoke to make it seem like a secret.
"Nice to officially meet you. I enjoyed keeping you safe while they were distracted."
Ayla was at a loss for words as he leaned in for a side note.
"I understand. Why didn't you want to share your name? If I were in your place, I wouldn't tell anyone mine either. But I've never gone after you, and I never planned on it."
"I know you haven't," Ayla whispered, "I would have recognized you if you had. When I saw a face I didn't know, I knew you hadn't hunted me yet. Not until you did yesterday, anyway."
Alexander lingered nearby, watching the two of them as they chatted.
Phoenix and Raphael had never seen him that quiet before.
Finally, Phoenix couldn't take the awkward silence any longer.
"Bro, are you okay? You were so focused on finding her, and now you haven't said a single word, let alone given her a hug. What's going on with you?"
Five simple words suddenly drew the entire group's attention to the man standing beside Ayla.
"Who the fuck is he?"
The entire area now carried an unmistakable air of danger.