Chapter 5

ALPHA XAVIER

The ride back to Wolfshade from Thornridge was the longest ride in my life, simply because I was not certain about what I felt for Isabel. Regardless of what I felt for her, she needed to be found and it was best I concentrated on finding her as I rode back to Wolfshade.

I was counting on her being very smart and intelligent, since her father was Alpha Dario. So, she would try and avoid any route that would lead to Wolfshade and its surrounding. I quickly turned off the main road when that thought occured to me.

"That road doesn't lead to Wolfshade, Alpha Xavier." Suain, one of my girls stated, but they all turned and followed me.

"This road does lead to Wolfshade, but it's a longer route. I think I can understand the logic behind taking this route. If I were trying to get away from Alpha Xavier, I'd most likely take the least expected route." Kira replied and I smiled satisfactorily.

"Be that as it may, this route could be filled with bandits and brigands." Suain murmured, she was the only one who usually advocates for caution in all things.

"Is that fear I sense in your voice, Suain?" IIeyan accused her and I saw Suain stiffen a bit. Somehow, the girls have a game between themselves, one where they try to outsmart and outmaneuver each other. It's always been a joy to know that each believes that I would most likely marry the one who comes out on top.

"No, IIeyan. It doesn't hurt to be careful. We may have been given the gifts of immortality, but even werewolves die when they are killed." She piqued back a bit more aggressively.

"Suain is right, it would be a grave mistake to assume an air of invincibility. This road is dangerous and the first person you see is mostly going to kill you." I announced and that brought silence on all of them. "Keep close and be alert."

Before nightfall, I had taken them through the heights of Meredo, where we encountered a large gathering of several groups of travelers and vagabonds, then the Plains of Al'zareka, before I decided to camp at the mystical forest of Dragona.

The legend of the forest was that it was alive and could speak to the desires of any who ventures into it. When we broke camp the next morning, everyone seemed deep in thought, especially Theodrin, who seemed wide-eyed. Theodrin had a reputation of getting under peoples skin and making them uncomfortable, but even she seemed tongue-tied. Whatever the forest revealed, it was not good.

We continued on to Wolfshade in silence, stopping to camp for the day when nightfall approached. On a few occasions, we had almost had skirmishes with some human bandits, who thought they could steal from us, judging from the fact that it was an all female traveling group with just one male, but thought twice when they found out that we were stronger even though we had more females in our group.

"Do you think she'll be found?" Marita, my head girl, asked when we returned back to my pack territory. It had taken a few days to get here after the mating ceremony.

"They better find her, not that it matters since Dario was in a precarious situation, however, I suspect that he'll want her back sooner or later." I dismounted from my horse and headed inside, not slowing down as I spoke.

She jumped down from her mount quickly, handing her horse to one of the stable men. "What if the Zuzkies decide to attack you?"

I abruptly stopped and turned to Marita, "You let me worry about the Zuzkies, get words to everyone, Isabel needs to be found. They must not return without her, I don't really care how they do it."

I strode off angrily, I could see the fear and uneasiness within everyone. Nobody really understands why Isabel was important. She had been able to stir something in me, something I never knew was there, something I'd never acknowledge but be that as it may, all that changed when I found out she was Dario's daughter. Why did she have to be Dario's daughter? Why did the moon goddess decide to mess with me this way?

"Where are you headed?" Marita called after me.

I stopped and turned to face her. "I'm going to see Sue." I strode off again, I shouldn't be angry, yet I was angry and I couldn't understand why I was angry. I was a bit rattled and didn't know why I was. I also knew I was not being fair to Marita, she has stood by me through thick and thin. She was one person I knew would never betray me. She'd die before she thinks of betraying me.

I got to Sue's grave and sat there, deeply disturbed. Sue held a special place in my heart as my first mate, the first one I truly ever loved. She embodied a whirlwind of emotions, serving as both a source of delight and a formidable distraction. She inspired me with her creativity, acting as my muse, and stood by my side as my closest confidante. However, she also became my downfall, a force that challenged me and tested my resolve. Yet, paradoxically, she was also my greatest source of strength, guiding me through life's trials and tribulations. Sue's multifaceted presence in my life had shaped my experiences, leaving an indelible mark on my journey of growth and self-discovery. She was everything to me until she was kidnapped.

She had gone into the woods to bathe in the stream's refreshing embrace during the cool of the day, she embarked on a journey from which she never returned. Despite exhaustive searches and efforts to locate her, our endeavors proved futile, as if she had vanished into thin air, leaving no trace of her existence behind. It was as though she had been swallowed by the wilderness, absorbed into its depths without a trace. The void left by her absence echoed with unanswered questions and unfathomable mysteries, casting a shadow over our hearts and minds. Her disappearance remained an enigma, a haunting reminder of the fragility of life and the mysteries that lie hidden within the natural world. Yet, I knew something was wrong even though I didn't know it then.

"I see you are back here again," A beautiful lady came out from the cemetery grounds carrying a bouquet of flowers.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" I kept looking at her ageless face, she was beautiful beyond description. She paid me no mind but went ahead to place the flowers at different tombstones.

She smiled at me when she came back, in a manner that calmed both me and my wolf. "I am Eira, my mother is the keeper here. I am only here to help tend to those who have no one to tend to them. I've noticed you come here a lot. You sit all by yourself but you talk like you are in a conversation with someone." She sat beside me without waiting for me to offer. She must have some guts. "And usually, you do something strange or remarkable after each of your visits." She added rather softly.

I smiled, having not really given it a thought, "So you've been stalking me?" I gave her a forced smile.

"Stalking?" She turned to look at me softly, her eyes had a calming effect on me. "That's rather a harsh way to put it. You are our Alpha, you are everybody's business and everyone is in your business." She said matter-of-factly.

I suddenly had the feeling like I could trust her, I didn't know why but I i felt so. "It was a wicked way to kill anyone, let alone a woman." She spoke as if she could sense my emotions.

"Yeah," I nodded my head gently. They had tortured her to death and sent me a letter and different paintings of her while she was being tortured. When I inspected her body when they sent her back to me, I found deep cuts and burns that were like what was on the painting. She had different parts of her body miamed and mutilated.

The silence between us stretched on for a while. I wanted to share my burden but I didn't know what to say. "Are you sure it's Alpha Dario that's responsible?" She said after what seemed like forever.

I turned and raised an eyebrow, "how?" I managed to get out.

"Don't look so surprised, you are pretty much a celebrity around here, so everyone knows more about you than you've ever known. It's an open secret that you've married Alpha Dario's daughter, but I hope you do realize that she's innocent and there's every possibility that Alpha Dario may not be responsible for Sue's death."

This topic has been one I've dreaded and everyone in my pack has also avoided, yet this beautiful female who calls herself Eira seems not to care. "All the evidence points to the fact that someone from Dario's pack had done it." I decided to engage here, it somehow suddenly felt right to talk to her. "The circumstances around the time of her murder and the subsequent events that played out would suggest that even if they are not responsible, they profited from her death!!!"

I didn't know I had been yelling and crying until she laid her soft hands on mine. "I understand, but even if you are right and they are, should Alpha Dario's daughter pay for the sins of her father?"

"Yes!!!"

She didn't give any indication that she had heard me, she kept looking at the grave. "Yet, you have doubts." She said softly and her lips curled into a smile. "And I think I know why, you love this new wife of yours, yet you deny it and would rather prefer revenge." She got up and laid her flowers at Sue's grave. "You know they say revenge hurts you as much as it hurts the other person."

I kept looking at her as she walked off, she had opened a subject I didn't want to ever revisit but then almost immediately, the images of Sue flashed before my eyes and the feelings I felt when her corpse first arrived came afresh.

"I couldn't help but overhear what that friend of yours had to say." I heard Marita's voice behind me after what seemed like forever.

"And?" I asked through clenched teeth.

She slowly came and sat down beside me and we both stared at Sue's grave. "And I think she's right, you've known me since I was a girl and you know I'd ride to battle if you give me the word, so believe me when I tell you that revenge will not help you."

"Is that what you think?" I snarled,

But she was unfazed by it, "Isabel is stupidly in love with you and she only ran after I told her that you meant to exact your revenge for Sue's death. She's innocent and loves you."

I turned swiftly to her, "yet you say you would never betray me, did you never paused to consider that she could be in on this with her father? I'm disappointed in you, leave me."

I was really disappointed, how could she share my plans with Isabel, if Isabel knows, then it was safe to assume that Alpha Dario does too. "Leave me!!!" I yelled.

She got up and left me, "She's returned. Alaric and Renata found her. She went east, the others have returned too." She called out and was gone. It was even more suspicious now that she's here, it means Dario now has a mole in my pack.

"Revenge hurts you as much as it hurts the other person. What a stupid statement." I got up with a new purpose, Dario will regret coming after me, I knew that much but I was suddenly unsure how to go about it.

I've always believed that it's only weak men that hurt females, do I want to be like Dario? I loved Isabel before I ever found out she was Dario's daughter, why should that feeling change now that I know she's Dario's daughter? I had so many questions but no answers.