In the darkness, Dominic could make out three sets of wolf eyes staring back at him from down the hall, two pairs gleaming silver and one glowing gold.
Suddenly, he realized he wouldn't be hiding Deva, Lucas, and himself from just ordinary orphans.
It wasn't just them, though.
Deva was fixing on them with her own pair of golden eyes, and that's when he realized four of those orphans were exactly what he'd suspected, wolves, just like his son Alexander, along with Rhae, Stella, and Ayla.
The prized Ayla was quickly becoming more of a curse for Dominic than he had ever anticipated.
Dominic wondered how much of the rumor about her was true as he turned to look at Deva, her amber eyes glowing back at him and sparking his curiosity about her next move and just how much she really knew.
"Turn the lights back on, NOW!" he barked at Lucas.
His current second-in-command wasn't sure what was happening until he glanced at Deva while following Dominic's instructions.
It was obvious they were outnumbered, and Dominic was already putting together a new plan.
They couldn't outrun them or mask their scent if they knew who they were.
"How did you know Lucas and I already knew each other?" the old wolf asked Deva.
"You have similar looks, mannerisms, even the same scent, and, well, we saw where he went after leaving me. It wasn't hard to figure out."
Dominic inhaled deeply, gathering his thoughts.
"You two hang tight for a minute. I'm going to see if I can talk to Rollo and the other orphans."
Deva let out a quiet snicker to herself.
The old man sighed and rolled his eyes as he stepped out of the office and strolled down the hall.
"Gentlemen, glad you finally stopped by. It's been a few days. But this isn't what we agreed on. Is it because Alexander and Julius are heading home?"
He figured pretending he had no clue why they were there might give him an edge and help him pick up some information.
Rollo narrowed his eyes at the man approaching.
"You know that's not why we're here. Where is she?"
Suddenly, he wondered how they had figured out she was there.
"She's been spending some time with Lucas, you know, one of my sons from back home. He came to the club a few nights ago, hung out with her, and they seemed to really connect. How did you find out she came to see him tonight?"
Rollo, feeling aggressive and overly protective, wasn't pleased with that response.
"Cut the bullshit. You took her, they saw you. Why?"
"Well, yes and no. I was curious why you two weren't following the rules, and then I discovered something. However, the two in the back might want to step out of this conversation. It's about that secret I tried to share with you before, plus a little extra. You and the two directly behind you will definitely want to hear this."
The two smallest men in the group appeared worried.
Rollo felt more curious than concerned as he glanced back at his men.
"Chris, Jay, go. We have it handled."
"Are you seriously going to take his word for it? What if he's just trying to bring it down to a number he can control?"
"Leave. Now. Just stay outside the building. We will call you if we need you."
They weren't thrilled with Rollo's decision, but they left, staying close to the building's front door.
"Now, why did you take Deva? What is the big secret?"
Dominic smiled.
"This mostly involves Ayla, Alexander, and Julius. If you haven't noticed, they share something in common with all of you. You're all orphans with the same story, no history. Right?"
"Yeah. There are a few of us. Your point?"
"You have more than that in common. I searched for Julius for a long time, and the biggest secret I hold is that he's my son."
Rollo's face made it clear he didn't buy a word of it.
"It's fine, you don't have to believe me. Just ask him when he gets back. The one thing we all share lies deep within us, which is why I asked your friends to step outside. Lucas, bring her into the hallway. I know she can hear me in there, but bring her out here anyway."
He waited until both of them were behind him, in view of the men who came for her.
"A gesture of trust, so you can see she's okay. I'm going to reveal what resides in each of you, all four. Just try not to freak out. I promise, you're all like us."
Without any hesitation, Dominic shifted.
The three men nearly leapt out of their skin, while Deva simply glanced at Lucas.
"So, you do that too, and so do all of us?"
Lucas nodded and said, "Yes, ma'am. That's why you can smell us. I hope you like the scent you noticed."
She nodded her head up and down, ignoring his comments altogether.
"What made him think we were like that? Was there something that gave it away?"
Lucas turned around and switched the lights off again.
A few seconds later, their wolf-like eyes began to glow once more.
"That's what gave it away. Werewolves have unique eyes, and our wolves let us see in the dark. So, when we killed the lights, all of your eyes started to glow."
That's when it hit Dominic, the deadline tied to the Wolf Moon.
It was triggering all the cursed pups' inner wolves.
But why?
The two men with Rollo, along with Rollo and Deva, began looking at one another and truly seeing each other for the first time.
Deva paused, processing their words for the first time.
"Alexander, Julius, and Ayla are like this, too. That's what you said. They left. Where did they go?"
Dominic didn't want to share too much, but he also didn't want it to look like he was hiding something.
"They went to the pack to deal with something Julius got involved in, and Stella and Rhae went along. They should be heading back now. There's a lot you're not aware of, and until you learn more, it's safer to stay nearby. I can help you, and if you want, we can figure out where you're from."
Afterward, the group talked over the revelations and agreed to accept help from Dominic and Lucas.
They didn't trust the old wolf, or Lucas for that matter, not yet, anyway, but he seemed to have the answers they needed, and they were desperate to get them.
That made both men happy, though Lucas was just a bit more pleased than his former General.
By accepting his help, Deva gave him the chance to spend more time with her and, just maybe, get a little closer to her.
With everything finally back on track in Scarlet Crest, Dominic hoped all was well in the forest.
What Dominic didn't realize was that a small pack of wolves was already on the prowl for the very orphans he had been talking about that night.
Even though they had no idea where to search for the wolves that had slipped away right under their noses, they were doing their best to track them down.
They had already found the spot where the group had rested, eaten, and then been shoved into the Forbidden Area by the witch.
As they sniffed around, they caught the scents of Phoenix, Raphael, Rhae, Julius, and Titan and blood, lots of blood.
Their scent hung in the air, drifting around the carcasses before fading away, as if they had simply vanished into thin air aside from the trail that led to the water hole.
The special team even managed to track Titan's essence and Ayla's blood trail to the water, then to where the cave swallowed Ayla and the trail of blood.
But once the blood was gone, every sign of Ayla vanished as well.
Somehow, when the witch shoved them into the thicket in a panic, she managed to hide both their scent and their trail.
All signs of them disappeared along with the fog that trailed behind.
Afterward, the special team of wolves dashed along the edge of the Burgundy Thicket, keeping pace with the ocean's edge, hoping to spot any trace of the runaway group.
With no clear sense of which way they had gone, it was the only thing that seemed to make sense to them.
Their only worry was not getting any word from the other half of the group.
They kept running through the night while the group slept, feeling peaceful and safe in Titan's pack house, or so they thought.
As the Moonlight Shifters kept running in pursuit of Ayla, Dominic received an alert that someone was at the front step of the building.
Not sure who'd be dropping by at that hour, he pulled up the feed from the front door monitor.
To his surprise, he spotted the familiar cloak lurking in the shadows.
After making sure Lucas was still asleep in his room, he quietly slipped out the front door and ushered the woman into the hallway to talk.
"Good to see you, Dominic. You've aged a bit since we last met. Nice scar."
Her voice was gentle and angelic, instantly carrying him back to nearly twenty years ago as she slipped the cloak from her head.
"It's great to see you, Sylvie. Honestly, you haven't aged a bit. But something tells me this isn't just a friendly visit. You did say you wouldn't reach out unless it was important."
Sylvie lowered her head before speaking again.
"I'd hoped this day would never come. He's in danger. So are they all. She's mated now. Ayla has found her fated mate, and the witches know. They know exactly where she is, and he's with them."
Dominic couldn't quite grasp what she was trying to say.
"What do you mean? I know there hasn't been a fated mate match since… well, really, since the curse. Why would the witches care if wolves found their mates?"
Sylvie shot him a look and arched her eyebrow, telling him to think it over without saying a thing.
"Oh… they have to bless the bond. It's Ayla. Damn. They're on their way to make sure they're truly fated mates so they can bless them. She's one of the wolves they cursed. Oh no, Raphael is with them. I need to go. Where are they?"
"Where I told them not to go. Luckily, it turns out to be one of the safest places for them right now. Crescent Moon Pack. Go, now. Don't get involved, just keep him safe. You promised. I've done all I can."
With that, she slipped out, pulling the cloak over her head, and vanished in a shimmer.
Dominic had to think fast, since his concern wasn't only for Ayla and Raphael.
The former general feared the witches might discover his son.
Either Sylvie missed seeing Julius, or Dominic just couldn't shake the feeling that something had gone wrong and they hadn't managed to get him.
Another thing was that he couldn't figure out how they had ended up in Crescent Moon territory.
He didn't want to go on the mission alone, not with the others still just figuring out who they were, but was it safe for them to go through the forest so soon?
That's when he made up his mind and went straight to Lucas's room.
"Get up, now. We have to go. Find Deva, tell her to gather the others, and meet us. We need to get to the Crescent Moon Pack immediately."
Lucas took a moment to wake up, but the instant Deva's name came up, he was on his feet and out the door to grab the orphans.
He wasted no time explaining the situation to them, sharing the few details he had and could, along with the risks that came with the mission they'd face if they chose to join him.
Within an hour, the six of them were in the woods, making their way toward Ayla and the rest.
If there was one thing you could say about the orphans, it was that they were loyal to a fault, whether it made sense or not.
The Moon Goddess blessed them as they ran, for they were on the mountainside of the thicket, while the Moonlight Shifters stayed on the ocean side.
They had no time to spare if they hoped to catch up to the witches, so they dashed off, running as hard and fast as they could toward their destination.
The next morning at the Crescent Moon Pack, sunlight streamed through the glass panes that filled the large openings, holding them securely in place.
Ayla stretched, leaning back against the strong man who had held her through the night.
The events of the previous night seemed almost unreal.
She smiled softly as she rested her cheek against his chest.
It was real, and she was lying in his bed, running her fingers over the lines of his biceps, as his scent surrounded her, as she took it all in.
"Good morning, stubborn," he murmured, running his fingers through her hair.
She let out a small chuckle.
"Do you remember what my name is while I am here?"
His hand froze mid-stroke.
"What do you mean? You can't leave."
He sat up, locking eyes with her.
"Ayla, you're my mate. Leaving would literally tear us apart from the inside. I belong here, and so do you."
Ayla was looking at him as if he had laid the ultimate trap.
"You only bit me to trap me here."
Titan found himself puzzled by her reaction.
"I would never do that. How could you think so? I didn't mean to bite you... It just happened in the heat of the moment when my wolf took over. I'm sorry; I truly didn't mean to. Honestly, I did want to, but I never intended to without your consent, and definitely not to trap you."
Ayla trusted him, sensing the truth in his emotions, yet she couldn't shake the feeling of being trapped.
"That still doesn't change the fact that I can't stay here. I don't know a thing about this place."
"I can show you, but please don't think of it as a trap. There was no way I could have known you were my mate. I just had a feeling. The connection was so strong. I truly am sorry for biting you without your consent, but I'm not sorry that you're my mate. Please give us a chance, give me a chance."
Ayla wasn't sure what to do.
The bond urged her to stay and listen, but her gut told her to run.
None of that mattered right then, because there was nothing she could do about it anyway.
"What was my name again while I'm here? Ayla is still a hunted wolf, whether I'm your mate or not."
"Raya, my precious Raya," he murmured, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead.
"Stay here and rest while I fetch you some clothes and check on the others. I'll have food brought in and the bath filled if you'd like."
"That sounds perfect, thanks. Remind them that my name is Raya here."
"She waited until he left the room, took a deep breath, then strolled over to the mirror and glanced at her collarbone."
As she traced her finger over her new mark, she couldn't deny its beauty, but her thoughts began to race.
Ayla knew she needed to come up with a plan, feeling deep in her gut that something was off.
She wasn't sure if it was with Titan or something entirely different.
The cursed wolf sensed something dark and sinister stirring deep inside her.
She just couldn't quite put her claw on it.