"Where's Aria?" Alfa asked Kimberly as he entered the pack house.
He had specifically told her to stay with her at all times, be it when she was sleeping, or bathing. He told her not to let her go out of her sight.
"Pretend she's a two year old who loves getting into trouble." These were his specific words.
Kimberly was near the door, talking to a she wolf, and Alfa couldn't see his mate.
"She's in her room, resting."
Hearing those words, Alfa and Ronald looked at each other, then at Kimberly. They both were thinking the same thing.
Alfa looked back at Ronald, his eyes doing the talking, and Ronald nodded, knowing what his Alpha wanted to say, without any words or mindlink.
"Aria? Aria?" Alfa called out as he ran upstairs, taking two steps at a time.
Everyone froze. They looked at their Alpha as if he had gone crazy. Kimberly, sensing something is wrong, ran behind him.
He burst through the door and stood frozen. Just then, Kimberly also reached the door and, to her horror, found the room empty.
From the bedroom door, Alfa could see the balcony, and he could see the bedsheet tied to the railing.
He ran to the balcony to scan the area, and her scent was weak. She had been gone for some time.
"I...I... I," Kimberly began saying, but one look from Alfa, and she lowered her eyes.
She knew what she had done... she had violated an Alpha's direct order regarding his mate on his very own territory.
"We'll talk later," he said to Kimberly as his eyes glowed. Then, he walked out of the room.
"Ronald, what did you find?" Alfa asked his beta. Through the mindlink, Ronald had said he had to get to the forest immediately.
"She's Macy," the beta said, gesturing towards an omega. "She saw something."
He then turned to Macy and said, "Tell the Alpha what you told me!"
"Alpha, I... I was working outside, and I saw someone run into the forest, barefoot, wearing only a pink dress, cursing you," Macy said, looking at the ground like she was about to get buried alive.
"Thank you, now go," Alfa said, and Macy ran like she was being chased by hell hounds.
"She ran off. Again. What about the border patrols? Did they see anything?" Alfa asked.
"No. None of them saw her."
This wasn't the reply he wanted. How can this be? There was no way she could get out of the territory without being detected. Does that mean she's still here?
"Throw the garbage outside! Idiots, I tell you. They grow on trees!" They heard the chef scolding a new kitchen help.
"Mason, keep it down, will you?" Ronald said angrily.
"Oh, Goddess!" Alfa said, realization hitting him hard. "Ronald, Aria used the dumpsite to get out undetected!"
"Oh no. We don't have patrols there," Ronald added.
"You know, it's so ironic that once, Aria suggested to have that dump cleared. Had I listened to her, she'd still have been here."
"She would be headed for the Moonstone territory. We have to talk with Alpha Rodriguez!" Ronald suggested, bringing his Alpha's attention back to the reality they were living.
"I have to get there, as fast as I can, as he doesn't use a damn phone!" Alfa said.
"I'll get the men ready... " "No Ron, I have to go alone. I'm going to ask for help, not start a war!"
"Alfa, let me come."
"No, Ron. Look after the pack while I'm gone," Alfa said, as he turned around to go get the car.
*****
"You're early!" Rodriguez said to Arya as she slowly entered the Moonstone territory.
Arya didn't know what to say. Early? What did he even mean? Was Alpha Rodriguez expecting Arya to eventually show up to his pack grounds to beg him to let her in?
In that case, he would have said you're late. Not early!
Seeing the confusion on her face, Rodriguez stopped in front of her and asked, "Arya, what's wrong? You seen disturbed. Did Alfa find out about our plan?"
Plan? What plan? And even bigger than these questions were, did Arya come here before? If so, what did they talk about?
Arya had two options; play along and try to get him to tell her their plan, or ask him directly what he meant, and tell him this was the first time she came here.
Both had their own set of risks; first option, what if Rodriguez asked her something she had to know, and she couldn't answer?
Second option, what if Rodriguez kicks her out, or worse, kills her?
"Arya, you with me?"
'Arya.' Rodriguez was calling her by her first name! Were they this close?
"Don't tell me you're backing out. Because if that's the case, I'll have your head before Kane's," the rogue Alpha said angrily.
"Look, I don't remember anything about meeting you or making plans, but it seems like we're on the same page. To kill Kane," Arya chose the second option.
"Follow me!" Saying this, Rodriguez turned and walked in front, with Arya following close behind.
They entered a lavish looking sitting area, with a beautiful fountain in the middle, and a beautiful aquarium in one corner.
Someone brought them juice, and Rodriguez gestured her to sit.
They sat on a chair and sipped on their drink.
"You had told me this would happen. That you wouldn't remember coming here at all, but you will definitely come for the same purpose, going into the cave and killing Kane!" Rodriguez said after they had settled down.
Arya stared at him. She was stunned. "What did we talk about?" She finally asked.
"What's the rush. We can talk over lunch. And I have a strong feeling that an unwanted guest will be arriving soon," the rogue Alpha said, taking the final sip of his fruit juice.
"What do you mean?"
Before Arya got her answer, one of the rogues came and said, "Alpha, he's here. All alone, no weapons."
"Show time!" Said Rodriguez, standing up.
Arya also stood up and tried to follow but was stopped by him. "Stay here, and do not make your presence known. Donna will take care of you."
The woman, who served them the juice, came back and took Arya to a room.
"What is this place?" Arya asked, looking at the wonderful room. It came with every modern technology, like smart television and speech controlled lights and curtains.
This was in no way a rogue pack. This was the most modern place she had ever been to.
"This is your room. You stayed here for two weeks when you last visited," Donna replied.
So she was here during the blackout.