Aragorn and his targets

Alpha Zayne Steele

Third Person's POV.

While Zayne, the caring Alpha he is, tries to soothe the woman, his Beta emerges on the staircase with a wolf. It was the man of the house. He is also bleeding from a deep gash on his forehead.

The woman hastily lets go of Zayne and launches at him, and the man wraps her in his arms and holds her tightly as she shakes uncontrollably. He slightly bows his head "Alpha," he says.

Zayne nodded.

"They took my baby girl. There were five of them. I managed to kill two and hurt one of them pretty badly, then one ran off with my baby girl."

He coughed up blood, then looked at Zayne, and Zayne understood clearly.

He got bitten.

"I am done for," he says, lifting his arm to show Alpha Zayne his bite. "Please find my daughter—please bring her home to her mother." He turns to his wife and says, "this is my wife, Analise." I am...

Alpha Zayne cuts him off, "I know who you are, Jerome. You are a survivor from the Indigoes Crescent Moon Pack".

It was not a huge community, and they were effortlessly overrun in one of these attacks. Sadly, Jerome survived his old pack to come and die here. Alpha Zayne thought bitterly, but at least he had a life with his family for many years.

It was here he met his wife. She was a survivor from one of our missions instead of an overrun community.

She was amongst those waiting to be experimented on.

That didn't do much to quell the raging beast within Zayne, though.

At this point, Zayne is fuming at the bit. "What in the world did I just walk in on?" Zayne asks, looking at Analise.

Jerome looked at his wife for an answer.

Do creatures have the know-how now to seek medical attention? To hold someone under duress and have them treat them? Kidnapping a child? What the actual f**k?

F**k, Zayne raked his fingers through his hair as he waited for an answer.

Mekhi looks on, curious as ever...

Jerome gently coaxes his wife, soothing her simultaneously, letting her know that it's ok now and they are safe. She can tell Alpha Zayne what she experienced in the kitchen.

Jerome insists on urging her, too, because any information could be vital for the war that has already reached our doorsteps.

This was the second round of this for Jerome. The second time these retched creatures wreaked havoc on his life. So he pleads with Analise, please he begs her to tell us what happened.

Though Jerome was coaxing his wife to confess what happened because it was crucial information, he was also doing it because he had a vested interest.

He desperately wanted to know what happened to his wife when he was knocked out and could not help her or their daughter.

He, the man of the house, the wolf who promised to take care of his family, protect them, to shield them, was unable to do any of those things he had promised.

And what made it worse for Jerome was that it was at the time when they needed him the most. He was unable to defend them or keep them safe from harm.

A wave of guilt and shame crashed over Jerome, hitting him like a mac truck, but instead of apologizing and breaking down about his failures, making this moment about him, he just continued to soothe and urge his wife.

This was important.

Alpha Zayne was very understanding and wanted to give Jerome and his wife a moment while Jerome gently soothed her. He doesn't miss a beat, as time is of the essence.

Zayne mind-linked the team that continued moving forward, the ones that veered off left, and the others that veered off right. He told them about the missing girl, giving only the little he knew.

She was about six. The team that went left continued as they needed to eliminate the threat. They were still tracking what they believed to be at least three creatures.

The team that went right just finished taking out the targets they came upon, a total of five creatures. Ready for the next task, they took off in hot pursuit of the missing girl.

The team that continued straight stuck with their plan as they tracked a creature or two, heading straight for civilization, which we could not allow.

Alpha Zayne, in full Alpha mode, called in reinforcements and ordered all able-bodied men to spread out and encircle the perimeter, working their way in giving that final comb-through when.....

Analise finally spoke. Alpha Zayne was at the end, so he cut the link and listened.

And she tells them everything.

Alpha Zayne nodded, and that's when he sprang into action, not wasting another second. He got more intel on the daughter, her description, everything, and they also showed him a picture.

With complete details now available, he mind-linked everyone he called out and gave them the details of the girl, including her name, "Anna."

Looking over at the couple before leaving their home, Alpha Zayne also mind-linked his Delta to have him get some medical attention for his wife. She was only human, after all, and the head wound would need to be looked at urgently.

Also, to contact the witch, "tell her what happened, get her here safely, and have her make extras of that potion, as I feel this will be a long night."

As much as it pains him to say it, Alpha Zayne knew he had to be realistic.

Zayne and Mekhi then made their way back to the front lines. If the creatures did a grab-and-go, they would be heading back out. If not well, they would soon run into one of the teams. Either way, Zayne was not taking any chances.

As they made the trek, Alpha Zayne got updates from his teams and discovered dozens of these creatures had been killed thus far.

There have been many losses for us all tonight, and now a girl is missing. Goddess, we have to find that girl.

As Mekhi and Alpha Zayne cautiously moved, they heard a soft scuffle ahead. Alpha Zayne motioned to halt, and he listened closely. Sounds like slurping, snarling, flesh ripping. Alpha Zayne shut his eyes tight at the thought of what it could be.

Nevertheless, he glances at Mekhi and motions for them to continue when he observes that Mekhi looks pale. Zayne wonders if Mekhi had the same thought he had.

Not too far up ahead, just behind a massive tree in a small opening on the forest floor, Mekhi and Alpha Zayne saw about a little less than a dozen creatures spread out, so caught up and in a trance as they feasted on some of the fallen wolves.

Needless to say, Alpha Zayne was entirely and utterly enraged.

Aragorn came forward in less than a second as they merged together again, and they let out one of the most guttural growls that reverberated through the forest. Sending shockwaves in its path, and then he charged.

Mekhi just stood watching Zayne's back, he stood back, letting him have his time killing these creatures savagely, as he knew Zayne could more than handle a measly eight or nine of them, and besides, there were no humans around wielding that deadly weapon.

Also, he knows how to avoid getting between Aragorn and his target. If he needed any assistance, then and only then.

The creatures froze briefly like they weren't expecting to be interrupted, which fired Zayne up even more. Claws like fingers and nails extended, and he attacked the closest one on his left with brutal force and precision.

Alpha Zayne bent forward and dug his claws into the creature's icky scalp, then clasped his other claw-like hand under the creature's chin, getting a good grip on its jaw, and Zayne pulled his hands apart, with so much power separating the creature's head from his body, by his jaw.

The creature's screech was cut off. Alpha Zayne eyed his next target and charged...