Back at Moonlight Shifters, the celebration carried on without Alexander and Stella, who had slipped away, while Luna Alina made it clear she wasn't about to let the fleeing wolves get too far ahead of her team.
With the two newcomers now tucked away in their new rooms, she was free to speak to Orion and Shaw freely and discreetly as they looked over the overly spirited pack members.
"Find them tonight, and figure out how they slipped past the borders. They must have, since no one can locate them within the territory. Alexander thinks Titan took the girl home, and he might have, if you and my son are right about how he was acting. She's quite the prize. He's a clever wolf, and bringing her home to his Luna would be a treasure worth the effort, so I wouldn't put it past him."
Her voice stayed barely above a whisper as she spoke, a pleasant expression on her face while her gaze shifted smoothly from one part of the group below to another and back again.
Luna was a master at hiding the appearance of any problem, trying to rear its ugly head.
After showing his brother and Stella to their rooms, Orion stood beside Shaw for his mother's planning session, glancing at him before speaking his mind.
He wasn't entirely convinced he could trust his newly discovered brother just yet, but he wasn't trying to turn Shaw against him any more than he already was.
"What about Alexander's claim that he was with Ayla himself? Does that change anything? What if he's just trying to protect her?"
Luna paused for a moment while Shaw tried to hide his smirk.
"She's a stunning wolf. If Titan's really fallen for her, just like your brother wants us to believe, he'll follow wherever she leads. We've got to be smart about this. I know even you covet her for yourself, Shaw, so don't act like you're innocent. Two teams, then."
She glanced over at the head guard.
"Take whoever you need, just not Shaw," she said, shooting him a quick glance.
He wore a bewildered expression.
"Why are you leaving me out? I've done nothing but follow every order you and Orion have given me."
"It's nothing personal, Shaw. If you had the chance, you'd run off with Ayla just like Titan. I can't lose another one of you. You're not truly loyal to this pack, same as him. I can't risk it. You're staying here to help me watch over Alexander and the new girl."
He turned toward the crowd, hoping she wouldn't notice the tear welling in his eye or the faint trace of anger simmering inside him.
Luna Alina turned her attention back to speaking with her head guard.
"Keep it low-key and contained. I don't want a conflict with Crescent Moon over this, if you catch my drift, and nothing about her should get out. Not a word about what you're doing to anyone, ever. Make sure the whole team is fully up to speed on the plan."
Orion was about to head out with the team when his mother stopped him.
"Not you, son. If you go with them, it'll be obvious something's up, especially to your brother. If you're right and he's still helping her, I don't want them getting any kind of hint. I'm not sure how he would, but you need to stay so he doesn't catch on to what we're doing. I'd hate for them to get any kind of warning."
He nodded and turned to watch the crowd, which was now beginning to thin out with Shaw.
With a plan in motion, the guards disappeared.
Down in the dungeon, the head guard called a special meeting, and after bringing everyone up to speed, the special teams wolves began deciding who would go where before setting out on their mission.
Once everything was planned out, they set off, following Luna's orders, telling no one about their mission or even that they were leaving.
That meant slipping out through a hidden entrance at the back of the mountain pack house, known to only a few and built for that very purpose, as they scurried in wolf form through the narrow tunnels.
Only Luna Alina, Future Alpha Orion, and the select members of the special team knew about it.
That's how secret it was, and how well they kept it hidden.
It lay, much like the mountain's own back, blending in as if it were never there, right on the edge of the boundary, making it easy to slip in and out unnoticed when necessary.
For moments like this, a stealth mission for their Luna, it was perfect.
What they hadn't expected was Alexander gazing out of the large moonlit glass in the room his brother had placed him in when they slipped through.
He sat, watching the moonbeams cast their light through the trees, wishing he could shift into his wolf form, run among the shadows, and be with his friends.
He didn't regret staying; he just wished he could see how his friends were doing.
Just to make sure they were okay.
They weighed heavily on his mind when he caught sight of movement along the jagged edges of the mountain, and then ten wolves burst through the trees, as if the Moon Goddess was granting him a wish in her own mysterious way.
Even though he hadn't been told anything, he knew exactly what was happening and who they were.
He needed the Moon Goddess to bless him with one more miracle.
"Oh, Julius, Phoenix, Raphael, Ayla... anyone. I have no idea where you are, how far you've gotten, or where you're headed, but they're coming. I don't know what their plan is. I wish you could hear me, really hear me, to know that ten guards just slipped out of the pack after you."
If the Goddess could perform miracles, this was the moment he was hoping she'd come through for him.
He didn't mind who listened to his thoughts, as long as someone was there to hear them.
They were out there, racing through the woods, and he couldn't even let them know the hunt had begun.
They weren't just casually chasing them; they were charging ahead with a purpose.
Alexander watched closely as the ten wolves broke into two packs, one with six and the other with four.
He narrowed his eyes to be sure he was seeing them clearly.
Four of them appeared to head toward the other mountain packs, and he paused to think about it.
Did they doubt his cover story, or were they just trying to catch him in a lie?
Suddenly, Alexander started to feel uneasy about his own safety.
Would they really harm their own family, their own flesh and blood?
His mother had only sent four members of her team toward Titan's pack to look for the group, which suggested she didn't truly believe they had gone that way.
The other six turned and wandered off together, heading toward what seemed like nowhere, just trees upon trees until the forest finally gave way to the ocean.
Could that be where they really went?
Alexander hadn't seen them go, so he had no idea what their plan was or where they'd run off to.
Had they found out where they actually went?
If they had known where the group went, all the wolves would have headed in the same direction, right?
Alexander had no idea where his friends were.
At first, they all agreed it was safer that way, but now he was starting to rethink that choice.
With the group lounging in the woods like sitting ducks, it was clear they needed to get moving.
It wasn't the moment to gather strength, not with the Moonlight Shifters' borders so close.
By then, they had been in the same spot for far too long.
Back at the campsite, they decided to keep a low profile and avoid doing anything that might draw attention.
That meant no fires or anything similar, and keeping noise to a minimum.
Ayla taking on a bear didn't help matters, but her ego got the better of her.
The smell of blood lingering in the air was a big draw for many creatures roaming the woods, not just the special teams now in the forest with them.
Luckily, Ayla and Titan would be rejoining the others soon, ready to set off toward a new destination once more.
At that moment, an intense feeling of danger gripped the others, leaving them no choice but to run.
They needed to hide, and quickly.
Not long after, Titan and Ayla headed to where the others had been resting to grab a few minutes of downtime themselves before setting out for another pack run.
As they got closer to the site, they realized that everyone was gone.
What was also missing was any hint of an enemy or danger, no sound, no movement, not a single sign of life.
A sense of danger crept in as they stood at the edge of the small area once inhabited by the others, stronger than ever before.
Something, or someone, was clearly there, but who, or what, could it be?
Now that the two were in stealth mode, slipping around the campsite in search of their friends, it was obvious something had happened, though they weren't sure what just yet.
Ayla tried to break away from Titan to search for the others, but he wasn't going for it.
Then she remembered what he'd told her when he found her earlier.
This wasn't the moment for her to head out on solo missions, bite or no bite.
Especially not with danger so close at hand.
Titan's instincts to protect her were strong, even stronger than Alexander's had been.
Ayla just wanted to track down her friends and make sure they were all right.
She really didn't mind what happened to her, as long as they stayed safe and free.
That was what concerned Titan the most.
Looking around the spot where the others had just been, they felt a wave of confusion wash over them.
There was no trace of them, or of any other wolves or creatures around.
"Where is everyone?" she wondered, silently hoping Titan could hear her.
"No idea, Ayla, none at all. But we'll find them," he reassured her in thought, giving her shoulder a firm squeeze.
Worried, she glanced back at Titan, searching for some clue on what to do next.
That's when she noticed it, something shifted in the distance.
Not sure what had caught her attention, she gave Titan a nod.
Sensing something in the distance, they quietly circled around to find out what was prowling near their campsite.
The last thing they wanted was to get caught while the others were missing.
They moved slowly along the outskirts, and when they reached the spot where she had seen movement, there was nothing to be found.
No trail to follow, no scent to catch, nothing at all.
Ayla and Titan exchanged a puzzled glance.
Nothing seemed to make any sense.
The group had left, and Ayla was at a loss.
They could feel that something was off, a sense of danger in the air, and nothing seemed quite right.
Ayla remembered having a similar feeling once before, but that was on the first day of the mission.
When the witches were toying with them.
She shook her head, pushing the thought away, knowing they were deep in pack territory at the time.
Witches wouldn't dare set foot in those lands.
They had to decide what to do, and fast.
That time, Titan spotted something shifting in the distance.
This time, he was just a little farther into the forest, heading toward his pack.
He couldn't quite tell what or who it was yet, but there was a familiar feeling about it that his wolf recognized.
Not knowing why, he gave Ayla a nod to follow him.
He gave her a nod, and she followed him, trusting his instincts toward whatever it was he had spotted.
Titan and Ayla made their way toward a thicker part of the forest.
The forbidden portion that Titan had pointed out when they first arrived to rest.
It was a place often avoided by wolves, witches, and other creatures during their travels.
Most people feared it, yet something about it drew them in for reasons they couldn't explain.
Ayla had a nagging feeling in her gut that it might be a trap.
After years of stumbling into traps, it only seemed natural to suspect this could be one too.
Yet, they kept getting glimpses of what appeared to be someone who was headed straight for the forbidden portion of the forest.
It felt like it was drawing them closer, like it was a game.
That area would be too densely packed with thorny brush to track or follow anyone effectively, so even if they were tailing someone, how long could they really keep it up?
Why the forbidden thicket?
They trailed the mysterious figure as closely as possible until they found themselves completely lost.
After winding around corner after corner through bush and brush, they finally came to a halt.
Before them stood a cloaked figure, only a little taller than Ayla.
Titan spoke like he was chatting with an old friend as he saw who was before them.
"I'm surprised to see you here..."
A familiar voice, one Ayla couldn't quite match to a face, spoke from beneath the cloak.
She frantically searched her memories, trying to figure out if she was safe from the person standing before her.
"Not now. I don't want anyone to know I was here or that I helped. The people you're traveling with are just ahead, and there's a pack of wolves not far behind. Stick to the Burgundy thickets. I'll keep the witches occupied. Hurry, and don't go to either of your homes, Titan. They're watching both, looking for her and the rest of you. I have to go."
Ayla couldn't help herself, speaking before the cloaked woman could turn to disappear.
"I know you don't I, but I…"
"No. You don't. Safe travels. You never saw me."
Ayla narrowed her eyes, wishing she could see past the cloak.
She recognized the voice, but she needed to catch even a faint scent from the woman who seemed to be helping them.
Somehow, she managed to hide it all from her without a trace.
She knew one thing for certain: she was a witch.
As suddenly as she had appeared, the mysterious figure vanished without a trace.
Shimmering as it slips away through the thicket.
"Who was she, Titan? Why is she helping us?"
"She's an old friend I've known my whole life. She's always made a point to stay close to us, and that's all I can share for now. If we want her continued help, that's all you need to know."
Ayla hated being kept in the dark.
In the past, that's what got her into trouble.
"I know you're not a fan of secrets, but this truly has nothing to do with you. It's her story to share when she's ready, and it impacts a lot of people. It just doesn't really affect you."
"You keep saying 'not really,' which means it does have something to do with me. We'll talk when we get out of these woods. I'm not going to push it now, but once we're free from all this, you and I are sitting down for a conversation."
Titan knew she wouldn't drop it, but was relieved she wasn't pressing the matter just then, since the Forbidden Thicket had ears, the whole forest did for that matter.
"Alright, we'll talk once we've gotten through all of this. For now, let's go find the others. I'm sure they're worried about you."
Ayla nodded, and they set off in the direction the Titans' witch guide pointed them toward.
It didn't take them long to reach the spot where she had hidden Raphael, Rhae, Phoenix, and Julius.
Relief was written all over their faces as the pair finally showed up, with Rhae not hesitating to run toward Ayla and hug her.
"Finally!" Phoenix exclaimed, nearly choking her as he dashed over to wrap his arms around Ayla's neck, squeezing the life out of her.
"I thought you'd been taken again. You really do have a habit of running off, and it's not like you haven't been kidnapped before. I'm putting a microchip in you, I swear."
Phoenix never bothered to filter his thoughts, and it showed right then.
Ayla was simply grateful to have people who truly seemed to care about her.
She was starting to warm up to the idea of having a family.
The others responded to Phoenix's welcome back with a nod, a smirk, and a quiet giggle.
Raphael asked casually, "Did anyone happen to notice who brought us here or why?"
Titan and Ayla exchanged a glance, and she motioned with her hands for him to take the lead.
"Well, she's sort of the forest's guardian, you could say, a friend, in a way. She sensed Orion's team getting close and wanted to help me, or us. Technically, she's not supposed to interfere, so we should probably stop talking about it."
Phoenix and Rhae reacted the same way, but Rhae said, "A witch helped wolves? That never happens. Why would she do that?"
Titan lowered his head before saying, "She has her reasons. Just know his team is nearby. We were told to avoid my pack and Scarlet Crest, and to stay in the Burgundy thickets for a while. They won't expect us to come through here, and if they try to follow, they'll have a hard time tracking us. Honestly, it's a solid plan."
Raphael eyed him warily.
"Why should we trust anything a witch says? Especially after our trip to the Moonlight Shifters. Besides, following your suggestion will only make our trip back longer."
Titan gave his head a shake.
"You're concerned about travel time when we haven't even chosen a destination?"
Phoenix glanced at Raphael.
Phoenix realized it was time to come up with a plan.
"What do you propose then?"
"Do what you want, but I'm not in the mood to deal with Orion's men. I just want to make sure Ayla stays safe. That lady has never led me wrong. You can come with me or take your chances, your call. I'm heading down the thicket for now, and we'll figure things out as we go. Standing still isn't an option."
After he finished speaking, he began walking down the trail, shifting as it narrowed.
Ayla didn't know what to do, but the bond pulling her to follow him began to fade as he disappeared through the narrow paths of the thickets.
If she didn't get moving soon, she'd lose her chance to find him, so it was time to make a decision.