As Julius was frantically making his way down the halls of the apartment building, hoping things weren't as dire as he dreaded, other, more intense emotions and happenings were occurring just under his nose.
Alexander was just getting to the depths of the woods, the dried blood trying to wipe itself away, clinging to his skin with a strength of its own, pulling against his face with each passing branch that smacked against him.
He didn't care about the pain as each one smacked his face, over and over.
In a way, it made the pain of Ayla being taken away from him just a little less.
Alexander was thinking back to what had occurred just a short while prior that led him to that moment.
It had been a while since he had been knocked out like that.
He wasn't expecting to be betrayed or attacked, so he wasn't paying attention.
The last thing he remembered was looking at the computer screen with Ayla, and then nothing.
Sudden pain and Darkness.
Alexander wasn't sure how long he was out, but it couldn't have been long because the two men who had just walked into the bar were now walking away from the bar when he came to.
All he knew for certain was that Ayla was gone, and he needed to find her.
Quickly.
There was no one in the room with him when he opened his eyes.
She was gone.
Surely, she didn't do this to him, right?
Ayla wouldn't have knocked him out in order to flee from him; she wasn't that cruel.
Was she?
Or was he just blinded by his desire to be with her and her beauty?
No, she couldn't have hit him; she was beside him when it happened.
Using his instincts to guide him, he took a huge sniff.
His lungs filled, and his nostrils appeared to catch a scent that wasn't supposed to be there.
If she didn't have a scent, then what could he smell?
Only he and Ayla should have been in the room.
They were only guided halfway down the hallway and left to get themselves to the office.
Without a second thought, he was out the back door and following whatever his nostrils had picked up.
It led him straight to the woods and toward their deep, dark depths.
He wasn't sure where he was going, but he hoped it was to Ayla.
The moon's pull was strong in him as he looked up and realized it was full, or at least extremely close to it.
There were always the three days of the full moon, but which day were they in?
Was it THE full moon?
To his surprise, his wolf was itching to get out and take over.
Feeling as if maybe he had a boost in his strength and speed as he ran toward his beacon.
Maybe his wolf would be able to get to her better and faster than he could.
Without a second thought, he followed his instincts.
Alexander gave a sort of leap as he kept running, and his wolf appeared, as flawless as ever.
There was not a single step missed as he transitioned.
His wolf was more than happy to assist him in the search as the blood slowly stopped its slow oozing onto his face, covered in fur, and the slight tuft of hair on the top of his head.
...
Back in town, Julius was running through the apartment, still in full panic.
The man who was once the planner, organizer, rational, and calm, was now realizing his fears were confirmed.
They weren't there.
No one was there.
Both Alexander and Ayla were nowhere to be found.
One of the men he had welcomed into their building had to have turned on them.
The realization was sinking in.
Ayla was right, and she had paid the price for the deception.
He was never going to live it down, but first he had to find her, both of them.
Instantly, he bolted out of the building, heading straight to the forest.
Julius was ready to face the woods.
He was determined to get to them as fast as he could.
It was then that he had a strong idea of what had occurred and who had taken her, but he didn't want to make any accusations until he had his friends in his paws.
Julius had no clue where to look, but he knew that one of the wolves from the team they had put together would be close or on the way to her, so he focused on them to see if he could pick up on anyone.
Wishing to hear any of their thoughts, he prayed to the Moon Goddess that someone, anyone, was close.
That's when he realized Dominic was still missing, too.
Actually, everyone but Phoenix and Raphael was unaccounted for at that point in time.
When he was in the woods a few feet deep, he shifted and ran as fast as he could, hoping to find one of them quickly.
Anyone!
In the forest, now with Julius trailing a little way behind him, Alexander was suddenly startled.
As if Ayla was standing right next to him, he heard, "They won't come and get me" echo in his mind.
Was Ayla in wolf form?
Why would she be in that form?
There was no way she knew he was, too, if that was the thought she had been having, because he wasn't meant to hear that; she wasn't calling to him with that line.
All he could do was let her know that she was wrong and that he was on the way, or he was trying to be.
"Where are you? I'm coming for you" Alexander thought back, wishing for her to be able to hear him.
He was doing his best to ignore what he heard and just find her.
"I don't know. It's dark. He blindfolded me so I couldn't see. When I shifted, he locked me in a cage" he heard Ayla thinking.
"He, who is he" Alexander thought.
"I told you not to trust them" she thought to herself.
He wasn't sure if that was meant for him or herself.
"Who are 'them'? Ayla. Who took you" Alexander thought.
Suddenly, one thought, one word sounded in her head.
"Mason"!
Alexander's heart sank.
Mason was always hard to trust, but did he really steal her from under their noses?
Julius let them into the building, but he allowed it.
He said that it was okay to have him on the team, to live with them.
It was his fault that he was so wrapped up in Ayla that he couldn't see what was happening.
Now, she was on the way to Goddess knows where.
Suddenly, Alexander heard something.
"I have to find them".
He knew that voice, and that meant he had to be somewhere within a certain distance.
Just like Ayla.
"Julius"?
The joy in Julius's thoughts was clear.
"Great! You're alive. Please tell me Ayla is with you. I can't find her".
The desperation in his thoughts was palpable as the lone wolf ran in the direction his wolf took him.
They had a bond stronger than any of the unaccounted wolves from the new group, so they could reach each other at further distances, which had Julius thanking the Moon Goddess without knowing who she really even was.
"Yeah. I can't find her either" Alexander thought for them to hear.
He was flooded with shame and fear as the thoughts hit him.
Both men were suddenly interrupted.
"If you guys could please remember that I can hear you as long as I wish to, that would be great".
Julius rollercoaster of emotions was picking up all over again.
"Ayla. You're okay" Julius thought.
"HA! Don't be too happy. I'm not what you would call, OKAY. You have to come and get me".
Julius was clearly confused.
Even though she was talking to him, she wasn't getting closer, so he was picking up the speed as best he could to get to both her and Alexander.
"What does that mean? I'm missing something. Care to fill me in"?
Ayla didn't want to make him too upset, seeing as he was starting to feel like a trusted friend, almost family-like, but she wanted him to know who took her.
"How about you ask Mason when you find him".
He was instantly able to put it together.
"I am so sorry, Ayla, I am making it my personal mission to find you".
They heard Dominic's rough voice join in.
"Me too, Ayla. I know you're deep in the forest at this point. Alexander and Julius are somewhere in here too, and so am I. Before too long, we will have you back. You're not in this alone anymore".
If she were able to smile, she would have.
Ayla felt like everything was going to be okay.
Dominic's words just seemed to land the right way as he thought them.
She just needed to have patience.
That didn't mean that if she got the chance, she wouldn't rip Mason's jugular out.
Her wolf almost purred inside at the idea of sinking her fangs into that jerk's neck and feeling the warm red liquid fill her mouth as the pulsing came to a stop.
It felt like the night was taking forever, though, as Mason ran through the woods the best he could.
He was clearly struggling.
Carrying Ayla along the way was no simple task.
Deep down, she knew exactly where she was being taken.
She was doing her best not to let fear creep its way in.
Mason had said several times before that he had until the full moon to capture her and take her to Alpha Ulfric.
Ayla was on the way to the Deep Fang Pack.
She knew it deep in her heart, her wolf knew it.
Hours felt like they had passed, shoved in the crate being shuffled around, and she felt they had to be a long way away from home at that point.
Her perception of time had been completely shattered once the cage door had been slammed shut on her, and she started to feel like a piece of popcorn jumping around in the dark.
Slowly, she could feel the presence of Alexander getting closer.
With his essence coming toward her, she began to feel calmer.
At least she thought she could sense him.
Was that the invisible string that Dominic had mentioned to her?
It was like she could tell he was gaining on them, just because of how she felt.
If he was closing the gap, then the others were too.
All she had to do was find a way to slow Mason down, just a little bit, so the trio had a chance.
As she bounced around inside the unsteady crate that was being carried, she did her best to come up with some kind of solution.
She had to do something before she ended up in a situation that she knew she couldn't get out of.
The only thing Ayla knew for sure was that she was going to have to find relief for her headache when she got free.
If she got free.
At least now, she knew that the men, especially Julius, had made it his mission to save her, so she had to figure something out.
"GGGGGGGRRRRRRRR"!
Mason didn't feel like hearing it.
He knew she could be a handful after hearing the others talking about her days running from literally everyone, but he wasn't quite sure how much yet, and he wasn't ready to find out.
"Quiet, you".
Ayla didn't like being told what to do.
Coming from him, she liked it a lot less.
"RRRRFFFFFFF. GGGGRRRRR"!
Mason knew telling her to be quiet again wouldn't work if it didn't the first time, so he went a different route.
His voice was dark and unforgiving as it seeped through his lips.
"If you don't get quiet, I'll send my men after Alexander".
He wasn't aware that the young wolf was coming for her, with help, but she knew.
"GGGRRRRRRR"!
Mason was getting aggravated.
That was just what she was hoping for!