CHAPTER FOUR

Third-person POV

As Cole, being led by the guard, walked into the dungeon, he thought of this as nothing but another trespass made by a spy who would claim to be innocent.

When he was shown the cell Aria was put in, he found her in a corner of the cell, looking like a lost sheep. A female omega, a rare thing in history, he was shocked, but only for a while.

When he locked eyes with her, he immediately felt a strong urge to protect her. The one that a friend or an older sibling has towards a very close friend or a younger sibling. Wondering why he felt this way over an omega, he linked minds with Alpha Lucas.

"Pleasure to meet you. I'm Cole." He said.

Aria, staring at the muscular blonde-haired, golden-eyed mid-tall man, gathered the little strength she had left in her. "I really didn't know that I had trespassed." She said. "This is a misunderstanding."

Looking at her, the honesty in her eyes and the way she said that she didn't intentionally trespass made her more intrigued.

Cole mind link Alpha Lucas about this new special arrival but was told to take care of it.

"I really didn't trespass intentionally, I was just walking and bumped into warriors. You have to believe me."

Bending to meet her on the floor where she sat, Cole looked her directly in the eyes. Why do I feel like I want to protect her? He asked himself.

Seeing that she was barefooted with a sprain on her ankle with a discolored red, he suddenly felt anger building inside of him. He felt like ripping anyone who had ever hurt this girl to shreds.

"What's my problem?" He asked himself, snapping out of his thoughts.

"Most of the people that we catch red handed always claim the exact same thing you are claiming right now." He said rising back up to his full height. "But guess what?" he continues, "they all turn out to be spies wanting to steal information." He concluded

"Look at me then." She said catching Cole off guard. "Do I look like a spy?" Aria asked, choking up tears.

Trying to rise, she fell back down thanks to the severe pain in her ankle. "Is this how spies look? As battered as I look? Tell me." She asked, staring straight into Cole's eyes.

Cole, at this point, felt like hugging her, telling her that all was going to be alright and that he would protect her forever. Mind linking Alpha Lucas again, he received the same response to handle it himself.

"I'm not a spy. I'm really not a spy." Aria said, looking up at Cole with teary eyes. Cole just couldn't take it anymore. Turning to the guard that brought him to the cell, he said, "I'll go get the Alpha. Until I arrive, keep a close eye on her." He gave Aria a final look and left while the guard bowed.

Aria couldn't believe that she was mistaken for a spy. Her a spy? That was not even among the possibilities of what she could be.

*****

As Cole left the dungeon to get Alpha Lucas, he couldn't help but think about that girl. He hadn't even gotten her name. Why did he feel the urge to protect her? Why did he feel like beating anyone who hurt her enough to leave her with a sprained ankle and a bare foot?

"Did I hit my head somewhere without knowing, or did something happen to me that I might have forgotten about?" He whispered. She's just a stranger like the other ones, so what's so special about her?

As he neared Lucas' office, he understood why Lucas felt reluctant to come when he had called him through mind-linking. Lucas was known as the Alpha who only gets involved with prisoners when they are seen or perceived as far too dangerous.

But this girl was neither seen nor perceived as dangerous. She was just...just what? He questioned himself. What was she?

He couldn't think of any word to describe her, she was just... different. She was weird. She felt unique. She looked like she had been through a lot. What could her story possibly be? Cole thought as he made his way to call Alpha Lucas.

"Why am I attracted to her? Why do I feel angry that she's hurt?" This is so unlike me. He said to himself, Prisoners are nothing but spies trying to get information on the secret of the Moonlight Pack's power and fame. He said looking for an escape route from what he was facing.

But there was just something about her that he couldn't wrap his finger around. Which was why he needed Alpha Lucas to see this.

Knocking on the door to Lucas office twice, Cole walked in. Lucas was sitting at his desk, flipping a pen in his hands, looking at his best friend and beta, Cole Brown.

"Why were you disturbing me over something we both know you can handle perfectly?" He asked, dropping the pen on the table in front of him.

"This is not just anything, it's something huge, Lucas."

Picking up the pen he had dropped, Alpha Lucas picked up some papers and began to go through them, completely ignoring Cole.

"You have to see this, Lucas." Cole said, moving over to Lucas' right-hand side.

"Is whatever it is dangerous or something close to dangerous?" Lucas asked Cole.

"No..."

"Then take care of it. It's so unlike you to disturb me over a prisoner."

"I know it is, which is why you really need to see her."

"It's a she?" Lucas was surprised, dropping the pen on his table and looking at Cole.

"Yes. She's a female omega."

"A female omega? Fascinating. You take care of her. She's a prisoner, a spy." Lucas said, picking his pen back up.

"She's not ordinary." Cole said taking the pen and papers from his best friend.

"She's not an ordinary spy."

"No. That's not what I mean.'

"Then what do you mean, Cole? I'm working right now. Can't you see? And you of all people know how important this I'm doing is." Lucas said, rising from his seat.

"She's different." Cole continued. "And..."

"And what?"

"I believed her when she said she wasn't a spy."

Anyone present could see that this had gotten Alpha Lucas interested, as his face lit up with curiosity and excitement.

"Someone that you actually believe? I'd love to see for myself." Alpha Lucas said.

"She looks like she's lost. Like she has been abandoned," Cole told Alpha Lucas as they walked to the dungeon.

"I see." Alpha Lucas said. "That person you believe in, I really want to see."

"And I also felt something." Cole continued

"Something like what?"

"The urge to protect her, just like an elder sibling toward their younger sibling or a friend towards a very close friend."

"Interesting. So you've gotten yourself a new friend."

"Is that all you can say? Alpha Lucas?"

"Yes, beta Cole, it's all I can say."

"She really looks like she's been through a lot. She..." Cole stopped talking as Lucas stopped in his tracks.

What was that? Lucas asked himself. Did my wolf...

"What's wrong, Lucas?"

"Nothing's wrong. Let's keep going." Lucas said still wondering why his wolf suddenly awoke.

As Lucas and Cole neared the Dungeon, his wolf started feeling restless and impatient, prompting him to move faster.

Why? He was confused. Why would his wolf suddenly come awake at a time like this? He pondered as he walked closer to the dungeon with Cole.

As he moved closer, his wolf became aggressive and began to push his feet to move faster. It became frantic, as if it had found something it had eagerly been looking for.

As Lucas moved nearer, he got hit with a scent he never thought he would come across in his life. A scent he had given up on finding. A scent he never thought he'd be able to find after an endless search of futile findings.

Could it be coming from the dungeon? It is impossible! He thought, not able to believe it.

He had been to this dungeon a sufficient number of times in the past and left just as he had come.

He had never perceived this sweet scent of flowers in their full bloom, warmed by the sun. This only caused his wolf to be more aggressive. It kept pushing Lucas towards the dungeon, trying to get him to move faster. When the guard at the entrance of the dungeon opened the door, Lucas could hardly believe it.

As Cole led Lucas into the cell, Lucas' wolf was almost uncontrollable. In the cell, Cole pointed at Aria, sitting in the corner, looking so small. As his eye settled on Aria, a call for his mate came out of him.

"MATE"