Running as fast as my feet could carry me, I looked over my shoulder from time to time to check whether anyone noticed my absence and was now chasing after me. I heaved a sigh when I saw no one. This time when I moved forward, I increased my speed to get off this place faster. Nothing is holding me back now. Even in my drugged state, my mind remained lucid. I have to grab this chance to flee while the focus of the camp’s attention centers on the fight between Alaric and Ben. If I did not escape now, it would be hard to find another opportunity like this again in the future. I don’t know how long I had been running, but the heat and the adrenaline rush got to me. My chest feels like it is near to bursting. I could feel myself on the brink of collapsing, so I called out for my wolf. “Maya, are you there?” My wolf answered in the affirmative, and we shifted. “We have to cover our tracks, or Alaric will find us.” I reminded her. Our eyes began to wander to our surroundi

ALARIC’S POV “A formal complaint has been lodged against us by the Red Stone Pack for attacking them the other day.” Anton, our pack’s secretary, informed us as he handed each of us a copy of the complaint. I read through it and scoffed. My men looked at me, waiting for a response. At that same time, Ben entered the hall where we usually conducted our pack’s business and chose to sit down on a chair away from me. His action caused confusion in the group. As my second-hand man, Ben usually sits beside me. He also looked a little miffed, which tells me that he was still hung up about the argument we had before coming here. “I told you, it was not one of our best moves. They knew it was us. This is their way of retaliation. Our years of hard work would be for naught.” Steven, an elderly member of the group and one of my advisers, said. “We wore masks. How come they recognized us?” Anton inquired. “I don’t know, but I fear that it is only just a matter of time before the

Alaric’s POVI opened the mind link and called Ben, who sensed my urgency outright. “What is wrong?” Ben asked through the mind link. “It’s Erin. She passed out. Please, fetch the doctor and escort him to my room.” I instructed while holding her inert body in my arms. I hefted her in my arms and carried her bridal style to my bed, where I laid her to rest. That is when I noticed the dark circles around her eyes. It had become quite noticeable now that my eyes were focused on her. I was about to lift my hand to touch it when the door to my room opened abruptly, and I retracted my hand away. “What happened to the patient?” Dr. Martin walked hurriedly to the bed, pulling out things from the black bag she placed on the bedside table while Ben and I looked on. “I don’t know,” I told her, running a hand to my messy hair. “She passed out while we were talking.” I watched as Dr. Martin attended to her. “She has a weak pulse.” She said after checking Erin.“Is that the reason

Alaric’s POV“You won’t believe what happened?” Ben reported when I emerged from my room. I frowned at him. Ben pulled himself up from his squatting position on the floor. By the looks of it, he had been waiting for a long time outside my door. “What are you doing here this early?” I asked. It’s a few hours before daybreak. I woke up early out of habit and decided to make a little run before breakfast. I was surprised Ben was up and moving about this time. Ben usually sleeps in after a night patrol.Ben was bubbling in excitement - very uncharacteristic of him. I darted a look to the door beside mine and found it closed. “Where’s Erin?” “She’s still asleep,” Ben answered offhandedly. I raised my eyebrows. So this is not about Erin.To humor him, I crossed my arms over my chest, leaned on the open doorway, and gave Ben my undivided attention. “Okay. What happened? You look like a dancing firecracker!” I commented. The excitement that never left his face doubled at my ques

Alaric’s POV Have you ever tasted fear? Have you ever felt a wrenching pain in your gut like it was being sliced open by a sharp knife? That is the best description I could come up with to explain what I am feeling right now. I felt an unexplainable, excruciating pain in the pit of my stomach, coursing through my chest. The worst thing is: I knew why it was happening. I brought this on myself, and I could blame anyone but myself. Erin is missing. I do not want to think the worst. The most probable explanation for this is that Erin escaped when the fight escalated. She took the pack's distracted state to get away. But the worst scenario could be that: Erin was abducted right under our noses. My fist clenched while I faced Beth. “Are you sure she ran away?” I asked in a dangerously steely voice. I could not rule out the possibility that Erin's Alpha father took advantage of the chaos earlier to take Erin away. It was highly likely since I let it out of the bag that