"Yes".
Dominic was worried, but he wouldn't let it show.
"I have no clue who either of you are, let alone your father. If I don't even know who your father is, then as far as I'm concerned, we don't have anything else to discuss".
Shaw started laughing.
"I wouldn't be so quick to brush this meeting off if I were you. That little bartender puppy over there might suffer if you do. If not him, maybe this one right here helping us. They both look easy to take down".
His words were enough to insinuate to 'human' or wolf victim, it didn't matter; he wouldn't be denied.
Dominic was getting angry now, and he knew that Phoenix was right there with him.
How could he get rid of these two without giving Rahael or Julius away?
"Look, just tell me what you're after. I don't want any problems. There is no need to bring other people into this. If you mess with them, then my plans will be ruined".
The men looked intrigued.
"Plans. I thought you were taking personal time" Shaw said, not surprised.
Dominic knew that he had to say something.
"Do you tell people what you have planned when you are trying something on a mission? I don't think so. I'm trying to see how humans work. I want to see why I keep missing the girl".
They didn't buy it.
"She's here, and we know it. You don't have to lie. Several people saw you and our general walking with her tonight. My father will absolutely love to hear that General Mason was walking with her instead of chasing her" Ralph laughed.
It clicked for Dominic.
"Alpha Ulfric is your father" he said, pointing to Ralph, then turned to Shaw, "and your father is a Lieutenant from the other Fang pack. That's why he lets you scout".
Smiles came across Shaw and Ralph's faces as he finally realized who they were.
"Very good. Now that you know who we are, you can stop playing games. My father wants the girl. She is important, and time is running out. Where is she"?
Dominic shook his head.
"Your guess is as good as mine. She saw you two, said come and get me, and then disappeared. With her skills, there is no telling where she is. I guess she assumed you heard her".
The smug smile on the old man's face didn't go unnoticed.
Ralph didn't like this answer.
"She doesn't know who she is or what she is. That means she doesn't know how to recognize us. You are lying".
Dominic laughed.
"NO, I'm not. She actually yelled, 'Come and get me' and left. She was able to sense me. Good luck. That one escaped me for years".
As he finished, he stood up and went back to the shadows out of sight.
The two men couldn't believe it.
They thought they had the General by his claws, but he seemed to slip right away as if they had nothing.
Were they wrong?
"You, bartender, what's your name" Shaw asked.
Raphael didn't know if they knew the names of his men or not.
They knew that Phoenix was potentially a wolf and his insides man, but not him.
"Raph, sir" he said.
Shaw started shaking his head.
"No, his name is Ralph, what is your name? It's like he doesn't understand English. Maybe he doesn't".
"Raph, sir", he repeated, finding humor and annoyance in the situation.
"Forget it. We aren't getting anything out of him. Stupid humans".
Ralph looked at Shaw as if he had an idea.
"Well, if she left, maybe we can find her scent or follow her".
The two of them left in an attempt to find her.
Raphael started shaking his head.
"Those two are freaking dense. They are the ones taking over the Deep Fang and Sharp Fang packs hierarchy. Ha, Ralph thinks Ayla is his sister or something, ha".
He was laughing as he finished.
Phoenix interrupted his laughter.
"I didn't get that he was looking for a sister from him. It was more like he was following orders to find his assigned match. Something tells me this isn't over".
Julius heard and joined in.
"Does he really think that Ayla would have anything to do with him. He is horrible. That man has no personality or brain. He is arrogant, and he appears to lack all skills. Plus, his physique is lacking big time. She wouldn't look his direction for a second".
Just like typical guys, they all started looking at themselves after his words.
Phoenix started laughing, "I have more of a chance than that dweeb".
It was weird for them to think of Ayla as anyone other than Alexander's, but for a moment, they were.
Julius shook it off.
"What does it mean that Alpha Ulfric's son personally just came for her"?
Since Dominic wasn't there to answer, Phoenix stepped in.
"Probably nothing. More than likely, those two are really close. What I'm more curious about is what he will report. How quickly will whatever he does report get back to Alpha Theo"?
Julius let out a sigh.
"We've made a mess, haven't we? So much for a good first night. Maybe that's just the new normal, wolves crashing in here nightly for whatever reason".
"I think we had a great first night" Raphael said, always seeming to be positive.
He was looking across the bar and saw the same two ladies that he and Phoenix had entertained a few times before walking in.
Both Phoenix and Raphael let out a knowing grin.
Realizing that they lived in a tight security building, the smiles vanished.
"You can take them home with you. It's not like it's the first time with them. Just make sure you watch your surroundings along the way. Apparently, we are being watched. You also have to keep an eye on them inside the building".
Julius wasn't stupid, and he was very observant.
There was no way he was going to tell them they couldn't bring their lady friends over; that wouldn't be fair.
Phoenix and Raphael were smiling again.
"Thank you, for everything! You really are a good person. There is only one person who has ever been this good to us, and that's your father. He's a good man. So are you".
Julius could tell they meant it.
"Yeah, yeah, sweet talk me all you want. You still have to finish your shift" he said, smiling.
Now that he thought about it, he hadn't seen Mason come back to his shift.
Dominic had gone back to being invisible like he was supposed to, but was he still there?
He told the guys he needed to go check a few things, so they needed to handle the bar, and he would be back.
To his surprise, Dominic wasn't able to be found on the club floor.
At some point, he should have come across him.
That made him wonder if he had gone to check on Ayla, Alexander, and Mason.
Clearly, they had cameras, so they knew what was happening at the bar.
That being said, they would have known the guys had left.
Why hadn't they returned to the dance floor?
Something wasn't feeling right as Julius made his way down the hall.
His wolf was squirming inside him in an unfamiliar way.
The first thing he noticed was that their office door was open and the observation screens were still visible.
That wasn't something Alexander would do.
They always made sure to put those down so that they could remain a secret protection for them.
He went in and looked around.
There wasn't a sign of any struggle.
What happened?
Where was everyone?
He tapped the top of the screen, and it lowered itself.
Julius started to wonder if the two bouncers had decided to take Alexander and Ayla back to the apartment.
With wolves popping up left and right, maybe they decided it was safer to go home.
Since Ayla was able to enjoy herself for once, it made sense.
Would both of them have to take the couple back to the apartment, though?
They were capable of taking themselves there alone; they've proved that.
If Ayla was worried, the two of them would have snuck out alone.
Something wasn't adding up.
That's when he noticed it.
The rug was turned up just a bit at one corner.
More than that, there was a faint smell of blood coming from it.
Whose was it?
Now, Julius was frantically trying to figure out what to do.
Someone was injured in his office, and four people were missing.
To top it off, this was all his fault.
Ayla said not to trust everyone.
Because of him, something potentially happened to her.
Alexander was missing, too.
Ayla said to "Come and get me' like it was a challenge.
Well, he was going on a mission to find his missing friends.
Julius had to find them.
He was going to go and get them.
Whether it was Dominic, Mason, or someone else, someone was going to be giving him Ayla back.
Before he knew it, he was running out the back door.
He didn't care what was happening around him.
There was only one thing on his mind.
His first mission.
The faint trace of blood in his nostrils made him not want to let his mind wander into what might have happened scenarios.
Alexander and Ayla were missing.
It was probably his fault too, and he knew it.
Deep down, he could hear Ayla telling him that she was right all along, and she hoped he would get the chance for her to say it to his face.
What made it worse was that he was supposed to protect Ayla, and now, she was missing.
They told her they would protect her, and it took less than one day for them to fail as a team.
Was that why Orion wasn't with Shaw?
Were they just a distraction?
Was she right all along?
Had the men he brought in set everything up to trap her?
Ayla managed to run from these men for years, and in such a short time with him, she was captured.
How long had it really been?
Thinking back, the best he could do while he ran, he realized she had been in their home a mere six nights.
That was all it took for him to fail.
It felt like she had always been with them at that point, so he was having trouble remembering just how long she had been there.
That was blood he smelled, though, he was sure of it, but whose?
What if they had seriously injured her or Alxander?
With that thought, he pushed himself to run faster.
Julius didn't want to think about which of the men betrayed them.
Honestly, he had no clue who any of the men were, not really.
Dominic probably wasn't even his father.
He felt so stupid.
Betrayed.
Trying to keep his head up, he ran to their apartment to see if they were there.
Maybe he was wrong, and they just went home knowing there was danger at the club again.