Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6.

"I would like to know how our girls ended up being kidnapped by the way. Can anyone tell me what happened?" Vishal asked after they were done with all of their planning. 

"The girls had been on an hiking trip with some girls from a neighbouring pack, I mean Crimson Rose pack. Nobody knew what had happened the night before, all they knew was that all the girls had been kidnapped from the place they had set up camp for the night.

There were ten girls in total including their instructors, a total of fourteen women were kidnapped that night. When morning broke and the girls didn't arrive when they were supposed to, we sent a message to the Alpha of the pack. 

He was also baffled since those from his pack were yet to arrive. We didn't bother to waste time. We formed a search party and sent them to the place where they were supposed to go for hiking. 

The search party included myself and the Gamma from our pack while Crimson Rose also sent their Beta and Jake, the Alpha's grown up son. We did a thorough search and found the site where they had camped for the night. 

Their beds and utensils were found and some left over foods from the night's meal was found in one of the tents. I felt the colour looked a little off so I had it packed for further investigations. 

We were about to leave when Jake saw a bracelet in the sand. He picked it up and when we inspected it, we saw an inscription inside it. The inscription was written in an ancient language but at the end, there were engraved images of a howling wolf and a black moon. 

We brought it back with us along with the discoloured food. We were about to take a bypass into the Crimson Rose territory when we smelt blood. We all spread out and saw a woman gasping for breath. 

There was blood all over her with a six inches silver dagger buried in her belly. It looked like she was escaping from something or someone. While we were trying to see if we could do anything to save her, she began mumbling something. 

I had to strain my ears to listen to her. She told us that she was the cook who had gone with the girls and had prepared dinner for everyone of them. 

She further revealed that one of the instructors of the hiking program from Crimson Rose had been bought over by the Black Moon pack. She explained how she had caught her as she poured something into the pot of food she had prepared. 

She immediately ran in order to inform the other instructors on what was going on but before she could take a step further, she was attacked by a man who gagged her and threw her into the bush after tying up her hands and legs. 

From where she was being held in the bush, she saw the instructor as she dished out the food for the girls and other instructors. A few hours later, the men from the Black Moon pack went in and took everyone of them captive. 

The woman said what baffled her was that they was none of them who could fight back or even shift into their wolves. That was when I suspected that Wolfsbane was probably added to their food. 

The woman breathed her last after this revelation. Luckily for us, it was only I and our Gamma who was with the woman. We decided to keep what we've learnt to ourselves since we couldn't really trust Crimson Rose pack since one of their own had betrayed the group. 

We called out for them and claimed we had stumbled upon the woman's body. Their Beta confirmed it and claimed she was from their pack. Her body was packed and they took it home with them. 

True to my suspicions, the food contained a large dose of Wolfsbane. That was probably why none of those women and girls could shift or react. They were already weak. 

We shared the results of our findings with Crimson Rose pack but withheld the other information that we got from the cook."

The Beta informed him. 

"When did this happen?" Vishal asked coldly. Everyone noticed the drop in the temperature of the room. 

"Yesterday." The Gamma answered. 

The room was silent for a while with everyone engrossed in their own thoughts. When the silence was about to be become awkward, the eldest Armeni stood up and ushered everyone of them out of the room. 

Vishal was about to breath in relief when his father's voice sounded in his head. 

"Wait for me. We have to talk. Your mother would join us soon."

He whirled around and as if on cue, his mother's voice sounded in the hallway. She was making small talk with the Beta and Gamma. 

She came into the room smiling brightly. If Vishal didn't know better, he would feel like she wanted to blind him. He knew she and his father were up to something and he was sure that whatever it was, it wasn't going to end nicely. 

He had taken a glance at the watch on his wrists and it had told him he had forty minutes until noon. He sat heavily into the chair opposite his father and his mother sat beside him. 

"Son..." His father began hoarsely. "You aren't getting any younger. I wonder why you are yet to find a wife. As far as I know, you are one of the most eligible bachelors in the state, so I don't think finding one who should be your mate would be difficult unless you don't want to look in the right direction."

Vishal was stumped. He hadn't expected that. He had thought it had to do with the company or they wanted him to help one of their friends who was in trouble. But about taking a mate, he hadn't expected it and so, he was at a loss of what to say. 

"Um... I'll think about it. I've been too busy these days to look around but now that you've mentioned it, I'd look around." He replied with a lame excuse. 

The words were barely out of his mouth when his mother jumped in. 

"See, Vikram. I told you. You should have allowed him get married before burdening him with a lot of responsibilities." She retorted in a dramatic way. She felt angry at her husband. 

"Don't worry darling. I'd look out for you. I would pick a very lovely bride for you. Oh, I think the daughter of the Alpha of Green Horn is a great beauty. She's also well educated, don't you think so?"

She said, turning to her son with great excitement on her face. She looked at him with all the love she could muster in the world. Whenever she looked at him, she usually felt guilty. She knew what he had passed through while growing up and receiving training under his grandfather. 

She felt she had been too selfish. She had traded her son's happiness and lovely childhood in order to be loved by her father in law. She chuckled sadly with bitterness that the man still didn't love her. He still treated her like a plague in spite of all she had done to make him accept her. 

Her other children had lovely childhoods and now, they turned out differently from Vishal. Although he was very responsible and matured, she felt he had grown up too fast. He hadn't experienced the joy of being a child. 

Vishal was inwardly horrified but he didn't show it. His poker face remained as it was but the side of his mouth twitched a bit. For some reason he can't explain, he felt reluctant to heed his parent's request. 

His mind went to the little vixen that was waiting for him on his bed and he knew he couldn't wait any longer. He had to get home, this bedroom, to that pinky fold that was beckoning him. 

He made his decision. 

"Mom, I think you should hold on for now. You know I love doing things my way. Let me search for myself. If I can't find any, then I would let you know."

He told his mother. He quickly jumped on his feet and bid his parents a hurried goodbye before either of them would say anything else. 

When his mother raised her eyebrows in question, he simply tapped the watch on his wrist and rushed out of the door. 

He called his bodyguards on his way down and by the time he got to the living room of the packhouse, the car was ready and running. He waved goodbye to some pack members he net on his way out and jumped into the car. 

By now, it was twenty minutes before noon. He knew he would have to rush through the traffic since he hated getting to wherever he was headed to late.