Chapter Twenty

"I can't believe we didn't find him" Rex said as he was walking back into the mansion with Chris and Even.

"But then, is he really in the forest?" Even asked. They all shared a look before they entered the house. They went straight to the leaving room when they heard the voices of Jack and Marie.

Reaching the leaving room, Rex sat while Chris and Even stood. Marie and Jack gave Rex, Chris and Even's attention. "So, how did it go?" Jack asked. Marie who was standing took a sit beside her husband, holding his hand.

Chris sighed before coming out, "There was Tristan's scent roaming around but we didn't find him. We tried using his scent but, it left us midway. It was like he vanished with his scent in the middle of the forest" Marie held herself together. She wasn't going to break down now. Not when her son was still in danger and needed her. Jack looked at Marie and smiled. He was glad Marie was playing strong and not breaking down.

James joined them, standing at the dining as he listened.

"What about the stranger's scent?" Marie asked. Rex, Even and Chris shared a look, "That's the problem, there was not even a faint scent of an unfamiliar scent"

"But that can't be" Marie yelled and ran her hand through her hair. All this was so frustrating. A Tristan who vanished in the middle of the forest with his scent and a supposed stranger he went after who's scent wasn't even faint in the forest. What the heck was going on? Who was stranger and what did he want?

"So what now?" Jack asked, "I told Sebastian, Zane and Corey to look into it if a strange was allowed in town today" Jack nodded, understanding before asking about his other son. "Where's lvan and how's he doing?"

"We heard his howls in the forest while we were searching. He was also searching, calling out for Tristan"

"I see" 

"My poor son" Marie said, barely controlling her tears as she squeezed Jack's hand tighter. It hurt like a bitch but Jack wasn't going to complain. Not only because Marie needed the comfort but also because he was an alpha and he could stand any pain, as long as it wasn't from losing his mate, he could stand it. He didn't know what lvan was going through because he had never lost his mate before but he knew it might hurt a lot. He could feel it in lvan's scent and on his face. "Well, he said he would be here before 7" Jack said.

Chris looked on his phone for time, "Is 6:55, they should be arriving soon" The all shared a sad look.

     

         ****🐺****

All the membxers were gathered in the alpha's mansion. They were all in the living room, murmuring and mumbling. Even Debby, Minna, Sandy and James were present. The only person who wasn't present was Alan and lvan who was yet to be home.

"What is going? Why did the alpha call?" A man said in the crowd. "Is the alpha finally going to introduce his mate to us?" John asked. The same five companions who were with him when insulted and humiliated Tristan when he was on his walk with Rex, Colten and Roy were standing beside him, murmuring within themselves.

Hearing what John said, Colten and Roy both rolled their eyes in annoyance. They really didn't like that shameless man.

"The alpha found his mate?" The man who asked the first question asked again. John rolled his eyes and glared at Colten's direction. "And I still don't understand why that guy is here" he pointed at Colten. All eyes went on Colten then back at John. "He is not a pack member right?" Minna and Sandy quietly left the living room, heading for the upstairs

"If I may ask Mr Secks, is everyone in this room a wolf?" Rex asked in a calm but angry tone. John turned his gaze to Rex, glaring at him. He really hated the little bitch who thought he was better than anyone when he was just a weak, freak omega. "It doesn't matter" John hissed out.

"No, it does. We have humans here too so what's so wrong with having a dragon here? He's not attacking anyone is he?"

"Shut up!! You don't know what his kind did to our kind!!!" John said angrily. "Okay, Am out of here" Colten said and left before Chris could tell him to not listen to John and that he should stay. Chris looked at Colten's back as he was walking up the stairs with a sad expression. He really didn't like it when Colten was insulted or humiliated. Colten had been his only friend for years until he met Lvan and Even. He loved and cared about him a lot. And anyway who made him feel sad or unwanted would face him and his wolf.

He turned to glare at John. "I would very much like it if you refrained from insulting my son" Marie said, looking at John with fierce eyes. John suddenly felt cold throughout his body when he met Marie's eyes and witnessed those murderous eyes. If Marie's eyes could kill, he was positive he was already dead.

He cleared his throat awkwardly and looked away. "Please everyone, keep quiet" Even said to the people who were murmuring and mumbling.

Glaring at John, Chris asked, "Is everyone here?" 

"Yes!" Someone shouted among the crowd. "I'm here" lvan said as he walked towards Chris, Even and Sebastian who were standing facing the crowd with their backs to the TV. Lvan stood in front of Chris, Even and Sebastian.

He was late because he had to dressed up after turning into his human form. His old cloths got torn when he changed into his wolf form in the forest when he was searching for Tristan.

The guy looked horrible. He looked a mess. He looked exhausted, his hair was all messy and even thought he was wearing clean cloths, which was a black T-shirt and jeans with slippers, he still looked dirty. His face had traces of dirt so was his hands and feets. He smelled like the forest which wasn't exactly a bad scent.

Lvan was too busy worrying about Tristan and impatient to go down stairs for the meeting which would help in finding Tristan, that when he went into the bedroom to change, he didn't think of cleaning his face, hands, feet's or maybe his whole body.

"I called you here because I need your help" lvan said, staring at the people who looked determined to help their alpha in every way they could except John who had a frown on his face.

          ****🐺*****

Colten was walking down the hallway to his room, thinking about what that geezer said. Minna came out of Alan's room with Sandy. Colten stopped in his tracks to ask them how Alan was doing. The kid cared and loved Tristan after all. Minna and Sandy stopped before Colten. They bowed slightly.

"Oh, Minna, Sandy, how's Alan?" Minna and Sandy looked at each other. Sighing, Sandy said, "He won't eat anything" Colten nodded. "I'll go see him. Please call me after the meeting"

"Yes sir" Minna and Sandy both said together and bowed again before leaving. Colten sighed and left for Alan's room.

          ***🐺***

"What do you need help with alpha?" A woman asked. "My mate went missing this morning in the forest, I need help. We will be forming a search party to look for him in the forest. I want volunteers. This is not compulsory" lvan explained. The people looked at each other, murmuring. John's (Or Old man Secks) frown deepened.

"Why should we do that?!" Everyone's attention went to John. Lvan looked at the old man, glaring at him. "As I said before John, this is not compulsory. I'm not forcing you"

"Still why should we help you? Just what do we know about your supposed mate, huh?! What do we get from helping?!! Nothing! Right?" John asked the people around but they all gave him glares. He didn't understand why they had that look. Everything he said was true, so why? Why were they giving him that look?.

"Would you say the same if it was your mate that was missing?" A woman voiced out. John turned to look at the woman. "What?"

"You're really cruel Mr Secks. After everything the alpha did for us, this is his thanks?!!" The woman yelled at Mr Secks. Lvan and his family and friends were surprised. Not only was the woman fighting for them but the other pack members looked like they agreed with him. They all looked like they agreed except John and his old six companions.

           ****🐺****

Colten opened the door to Alan's room and entered. Alan sat up on the bed, looking at him. "Did you find Tristan?" Alan asked. Colten felt bad for his inability to find Tristan. He walked towards the bed and sat facing Alan.

"I'm sorry Alan, we still haven't found him" Colten watched as Alan's expression turned even more sad as he looked down. "I see"

"But don't worry!, we will find him" Colten assured him. Alan nodded his head, scooted forward and hugged Colten. Colten wrapped his hands around Alan, caressing his back in the process.

            ****🐺****

"I never liked you, you know Mr Secks?" The woman continued.

"What?!!"

"Always thinking like you are better than others"

"You....." John didn't get to finish his sentence when the woman turned to look at lvan. "Alpha, I believe we have all agreed to help you" the others nodded their heads with smiles on their faces. "When we find her this time, introduce her to the pack" the woman said, forgetting lvan said before that his mate was a he. Lvan let out an awkward laughter before saying, "Is actually a he" the packs faces took a 100° turn. They all looked so shocked including John and his friends. The woman cleared his throat before saying, "We don't choose our mates and it does matter if is a he or she as long as you and Alan are happy"

A genuine smile spread on lvan's lips for the first time since Tristan went missing. "I am happy and so is Alan. And also" Lvan scratched his head, "He's omega" the people started mumbling again.

"It doesn't matter" the woman voiced out again and lvan smiled at her. He had seen the woman a few times at pack meeting but he had never seen her speak out loud. Right then, he decided he liked the woman.

"Please command us!!" Someone shouted in the crowd. Noises filled the room again as the people started talking. John gave his friends a sign and they turned to leave. No one pay them attention as they left. Everyone was busy thinking of where to begin with the search of finding Tristan.

"Okay, we will form teams. Team A, B, C and so on. Please, if you get tired and you want to stop please do. Your healths are important to me. And also we all need the rest we can get in case we don't find him tonight"

"Don't worry about us alpha" a woman shouted.

"Yes. Don't worry, we will find your mate" a man shouted.

Lvan smiled. Now, he was actually starting to believe they had a chance of finding his mate. 'Wait for me Tristan' he said in his mind.

          ***🐺***

Everyone was getting ready to leave as they chose whom they wanted on their teams. Marie and Jack decided to join the team as they supplied the people who didn't have torchlights. Lvan was with Roy, Chris, Even, Sebastian, Rex, Zane and Corey.

"So, did you find something about the stranger?" Sebastian shook his head.

"No, the person who was on duty this morning left town" he (Sebastian) answered 

"Shit!" Lvan hissed out. He took a breathed, "Okay, Bring him with you when he comes back. Right now, we have to leave for the search" they all nodded. "I'll go call Colten"

"Oh no sir, I'll go call him. He told me to call him when the meeting is over" Minna who was passing by stopped to tell Chris. Chris shook his head. "No, thanks but I have to do this" Chris said and walking away, heading for the stairs. "He's in Alan's room!" Minna shouted. Chris nodded as he turned and gave Minna a smile.

He had to do this. He had to be the one to call Colten so he would also get a chance to speak with Colten. His friend has been of held to both him and the pack. He didn't deserve that rude behavior John showed him earlier. He felt guilty.

Chris knocked on Alan's door, "Please come in" Colten answered. Chris opened the door and entered. Colten who was seated beside a sleeping Alan turned to look at him after he tucked Alan in. Colten got up and gave Chris a smile.

"Is the meeting over?" Chris slowly nodded. He had known Colten for a long time and he could tell when something serious was troubling Colten. Did he take what John said serious? Is that what was troubling him?

"C....."

"Let's go Chris, we need to find Tristan" Colten said he walked past Chris, leaving his hand hanging in the air. It was clear, Colten was avoiding him. Was he angry at Chris? Sighing, Chris went and placed a kiss on Alan's forehead before leaving the room.

         ***🐺****

Chris came down stairs and saw Colten standing with Roy, Sebastian, Zane, Corey and Rex. It seemed everyone else had left the room for the search of Tristan. It was also clear lvan and Even had left for the search too. Chris came down from the last stair and stood beside Colten who pay him no attention.

"Col...."

"Rex, I will go with you" Colten said and cut him from finishing his sentence. Roy, Rex, Sebastian, Zane and Corey might have noticed the weird air and awkwardness because they looked away, pretending not to have seen what was obvious to them. Rex cleared his throat to answer in an awkward tone. "Ah, I see. Okay"

Colten gave Rex a smile, "Okay, let's go now" Colten said and took off, heading for the front door. They watched as he left and afterwards, they all turned to look at Chris. "Did you guys have a fight?" Sebastian asked Chris. Chris sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "I don't even know what's wrong"

         ****🐺******

Debby, Minna, Sandy and James were seated on the kitchen stools in the kitchen. Each of them had glasses of juice in front of them as they worried about Tristan. Since Tristan went missing, the light in the house had dimmed and gotten empty. Before Tristan came, the mansion wasn't filled with that much light, empties or happiness, that's after the former alpha Jack Ash resigned as alpha of the pack and left the mansion and town with his wife Marie Ash. It got even worst when Mavis left the house with no reason. Even if she had a reason, they knew it wasn't a good reason. The house was just starting to brighten more but it brightened even more when Tristan came.

And now that he was missing, every corner in the house had darkened and emptied. They really hoped Tristan would be found soon because they couldn't bear being in this empty and dark house darkness.

"Ahah, maybe I should have joined the search" Sandy said. They all turned to look at her, looking like they couldn't believe she just said that.

"You? What would you do?" Minna said. "Is a good idea you didn't join them, you would have been just a burden" James said before taking his juice and having a sip. "Wow, I can't you just said that!!" Sandy said, glaring at James. James placed his glass down.

"Can they really find him tonight? The forest is big you know?" Minna asked in a worried tone.

"I hope they find him and whoever he went after" Debby said in with a disgusting tone and look. They shared a look.

             ***🐺***

Lvan was with Even as a team in their search. They were both holding their torchlights. Lvan looked so worried and miserable. Even wanted to help him in every way he could but he also know nothing could make lvan better unless they found Tristan. Sighing, he suggested, "Lvan, how about we turn into our wolf form? You know our senses are sharper in wolf forms"

Lvan shook his head, "No. Not now. Let's just look around for a while before. My wolf wants to do the search himself. If I let him, I might lose myself" Even nodded, understanding. That couldn't happen. The pack needed lvan and so did his family.

"Okay, let's do as you say" Even said. Still looking around, lvan noticed this was the place where Tristan went missing. This was where they were before Tristan turned and went after the stranger to protect him. He stopped in his tracks, using the torch to look around as he followed with his eyes. He had been there like a thousands times today and he always stopped to check around in case he missed something or something had appeared after he left.

"This is the place" lvan said without giving Even a glance. Busy searching for a clue or anything useful. "This is where you were before Tristan went missing?" Even asked. "Exactly"

"Tristan turned here?" Even asked again which made lvan roll his eyes. He felt like a broken machine. He had been saying the same thing over and over again. Damnnit!! Where the fuck was Tristan?!!

"Lvan" lvan stopped in his actions and turned to face Even who stood staring at him with a sad look. "Don't worry Lvan, we will fine him"

Tears streamed down Lvan's eyes. Realising, he immediately looked away and wiped his tears with his hand. "That kid is so dead when I find him" lvan sniffed, "I didn't even get to tell him that I was sorry for being so stubborn over him working. I—" lvan wiped his eyes and sniffed again before continuing, "I didn't even get to tell him that I loved him" lvan looked back at Even who had a sad look, "I really love him Even. I know it hasn't even been a month but I love him, I do"

"Then tell him yourself. Let's find him and tell him, okay?" Even said with a determining look. Lvan looked at Even with widened eyes before nodding. Even gave him a smile in return.

            ********🐺*********

Rex and Colten were walking through the woods as a team with their torchlights. The mood was so quiet and awkward. Rex would have raised a topic but he knew Colten even be interested. He looked like he was lost in his thoughts.

Wait, maybe there's a topic he would be interested in and not just Colten but him too. He wanted to know Chris and Colten's relationship. They looked close but not as close as lovers. Damn!, he was so curious to know and he was going to take a step.

"Hey Colten, are you and Chris fighting?" Colten stopped in his tracks making Rex also stop. They turned to face each other. "Why do you say that? We're not fighting" 'You wouldn't believe it if you witnessed your attitude towards him earlier' Rex said in his mind, not a convince a bit that they weren't fighting.

"Is this about old Secks?" Colten sighed and ran his hand through his hair, "Is not. And I told you we aren't fighting" 'But you were definitely ignoring him earlier' Rex said in his mind again. And he was also definitely avoiding considering he ended up being here with him instead of Chris.

Rex had noticed that, whenever there was a job which Colten was involved, he always worked with Chris. They would both also stick around each other like new born chicks. They were actually a nice team together.

But.... This time, it seemed Colten was avoiding Chris. Rex had noticed they spent less time together since Colten arrived. Since he arrived with Roy, he had been spending more time with him and less time with Chris. Made him wonder what was going on with Colten.

"What's your relationship anyway" Colten's eyebrows drew together in a question. "Huh? What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean. Are you guys lovers or something?" Colten's eyes widened in shock and Rex knew he had hit the right nail. A smile spread on his lips.

Colten cleared his throat and looked away, "Nothing like that" Colten said and continued walking. Rex rushed up side him. "Then?" Rex asked.

Colten sighed before saying, "We're just friends. That's it" Colten's tone sounded sad when he made the last statement. Rex couldn't help but feel sorry for him. He looked at Colten. 'You're in love with him' was what he wanted to say but he couldn't bring himself to say it.

"So, where's Roy? He's your best buddy right?" Colten sighed. He got a text from Roy saying he was with Chris, Sebastian, Corey and Zane when he and Rex left for the forest before Roy and the others.

"He's with Chris, Sebastian, Zane and Corey" Rex nodded before saying, "I see" silence was starting to blow again but Rex immediately took action. "So what's the deal with you and Roy?"

"He's not gay Rex" Colten said, shaking his head. Rex nodded and once again, silence took over. This time, Rex couldn't stop it.

           ******🐺*****

Chris was with Roy, Sebastian, Zane and Corey as a team. He was so worried about Colten. He couldn't help it considering what happened earlier with John. But then, Colten's angry, avoidance and ignoring attitude towards him wasn't just today. It started since he came to town with Roy but it wasn't that obvious or bad like tonight.

It felt like Colten had expose and was releasing everything out but Chris wish Colten would just tell him what was wrong. What he did wrong so he could apologize. He didn't like it when Colten ignored him, avoided him or could angry with him. Yes! No matter what, he would do everything to make it right between the two of them. Colten had been his friend for years. He couldn't bear to lose him.

"Tell me something Chris" Sebastian said, bringing him out of his thoughts. Chris looked at Sebastian with his eyebrows arched. "What?!" Chris asked. Finally realising why they were in the forest this late at night with torches, he cleared his throat and asked, "You do know we're not here to chat right?"

"Yeah sure, says the guy who was lost in his thoughts a moment ago" Chris cleared his throat and looked away as guilty hit him hard. He shouldn't be worrying about his problems when Tristan could be in danger. Yes. He should fix his mind on finding Tristan. And after, he could think about his problems with Colten.

"You're right, am sorry" Zane and Corey smiled. "Is this about Colten? Are you guys fighting?" Zane asked. Since Chris came into the pack, after Lvan, Even and Rex, he could say Sebastian, Zane and Corey were the next people he trusted and called friend in this pack. Lvan, Even, Rex, Sebastian, Zane and Corey were his friends in the pack but they couldn't be compared to Colten and they couldn't replace him either.

Every one of these people had a place in his heart and mind.

He didn't know that much about Roy because the guy never stayed for too long. He didn't know things like, what he liked and disliked but he did know a few things which made him trust him and counted him as one of his friends.

"No, we're not fighting. I don't know" he answered.

"The guy is definitely avoiding you" Zane said, "And ignoring you" Corey added. Chris sighed and ran his hand through his hair. They were right and he knew it. His wolf knew it and he was bugging him to go look for Colten and talk with him.

This was how his wolf always was. His wolf considered his friends every important and Colten was more than a friend to him. Colten was his....

Chris's eyes widened when he couldn't find the word to describe what Colten was to him. What was he? A friend? A very important friend who was more like a brother?

"Do you know something Roy?" Corey asked, bringing Chris out of his thoughts as he looked at Roy. Noticing all the eyes on him, Roy sighed before saying, "I don't know anything" 

Roy knew everything. No one told him, he just found out himself. And he wasn't going to say anything as it wasn't in his place. Anyway, now wasn't the time, they had to find Tristan.