Chapter Five

"Sir, we've looked everywhere and there's still no trace of the Alpha," Ivan, one of Adrian's most trusted men, reported and Adrian let out a frustrated sigh. 

"He has to be here somewhere Ivan. He couldn't have just disappeared off the face of the earth. Search for anything and everything that could lead us to him and report back to me immediately you find anything. Is that understood?" Adrian instructed and Ivan nodded positively with a small bow before moving towards the rest of the men and relaying Beta's instruction. 

Adrian's eyes scanned around the forest as he wondered where in the world Ryan could be. He already tried reaching him through mindlink but seeing how he couldn't get across to his friend, he already guessed that his friend could be seriously injured or maybe too weak. 

"I've found something!" A voice yelled from behind Adrian and he quickly ran towards the direction of the voice. 

"This is blood," Adrian muttered as he saw the bloodstained cloth. He gently collects it and briefly sniffs it before turning to face Ivan who had a confused look on his face. 

"Is there perhaps a nearby river or any nearby source of water?" he asked. 

"There is a lake around here Sir. It's only ten minutes away from here," Richard, the patrol guard in charge of the forest area informed.

"Why are you just mentioning that?" Ivan hissed back at him and Richard quickly apologised.

"Can you lead the way?" Adrian asked. 

"Come with me Sir," Richard replied, leading Adrian and the rest of his men to the lakeside. 

"This is the place sir. It's the only available place where water can be found around here," Richard said as soon as they arrived by the lakeside. 

"How many of your men were on patrol two nights ago?" Adrian asked, catching off guard briefly. 

"S...Sir, unfortunately, there were only two of them on duty that night," Richard replied and Adrian frowned. 

"Just two men? I thought I made my instructions clear when I said that you should make sure there were more than enough men guarding the area especially for that night? What part of my instruction wasn't clear enough?" he asked furiously through gritted teeth. 

"Forgive me sir but I also don't know what happened. Most of my men had suddenly gotten sick two nights ago and they weren't able to stand guard. Even the men on duty weren't exactly well trained men but I had no other choice but to send them to stand guard cause there were no available options," Richard explained and Adrian's frown deepened. 

"Shouldn't you have immediately sent a message to the headquarters for backup? What if the rogues had intended to enter the town and your stupidity gave way for it?" Adrian hissed. 

"I...I apologise sir, it'll never happen again," Richard said. 

"Trust me, I know it won't. Ivan, I want you to shift and trace the smell of this cloth. I have a feeling he's not too far from here," Adrian instructed. 

"Do you perhaps think he could have been captured by them?" Ivan asked and Adrian scoffed. 

"You and I know very well that Ryan isn't exactly someone a group of mere rogues can capture, except maybe, they have a death wish. I suspect he's either injured or extremely tired and that is why he isn't able to reach out to us," Adrian replied, confident that his friend couldn't have been captured, at least not in this life. 

"I'll go check around," Ivan said and just when he was about to pull his clothes to shift, Adrian stopped him.

"Hold on a second Ivan," he instructed, staring back at the tree behind him.

"Is there something wrong Sir?" Ivan asked. 

"Someone's watching us," Adrian replied and Ivan immediately turned around to inspect where Adrian had his eyes on. 

"Get whoever it is and bring them here but be discreet so they don't get away," Adrian ordered and Ivan bowed slightly before turning towards the intruder's direction.

"You may leave now Richard, my men and I will take it from here. By the way, don't you think you won't be punished for neglecting your duty? I'll take care of that as soon as I'm done here," Adrian said and Richard nodded slightly before walking away. 

Isabel tried as best as she could to control her heavy breathing but the fear in her didn't let her. She knew there was a high chance that she'd get caught since she wasn't exactly hiding in the best place but she still hoped that the leaves would be enough to hide her. 

"Just come out already and don't attempt to waste my time" Ivan's voice warned and Isabel sucked in a deep breath, contemplating on whether or not to surrender herself or stick to her hiding place.

"You do realise I can see you, right? Just come out already and I promise I won't hurt you," he added, staring behind the tree to figure out what whoever it was looked like. 

Isabel let out a shaky breath before slowly stepping away from the tree. She shyly looked up at the tall figure of the man in front of her and when she noticed the small smile on his face, she relaxed.

"You're not going to hurt me, right? I promise I didn't do anything bad. I really just wanted to get some water I swear," she explained desperately and Ivan rolled his eyes slightly.

"You don't have to explain yourself to me miss, just come with me please," he replied and Isabel's breath seized. 

"I...should come with you? But I really didn't do anything wrong. I have no reason to follow you," she defended and Ivan could slowly feel himself running out of patience. He wasn't exactly the most patient person in the world and the fact that he was trying not to be violent on her was really taking a toll on him. 

"It won't take long, miss. Just come with me and we'll get this over with as soon as possible," he assured and Isabel frowned. 

"How do you expect me to believe that Mister? I know you're not alone and there's a high chance you could hurt me," she hissed and that was as far as Ivan could go with her. 

"I will be hurting you in the next five seconds if you don't start walking," he warned, getting sick and tired of the back and forth. 

"So what if I refuse? Will you kill me? Don't you even think you can scare me with your words Sir. I won't allow you to bully me," she fired back and Ivan, without bothering to reply to her, walked swiftly towards her and caught her off guard before picking her up in his hands and throwing her over his shoulder. 

"What the hell you idiot? Let go of me!" Isabel yelled angrily, struggling to get herself out of his grip but to no avail. 

"Let go of me! I didn't do anything wrong! This is kidnapping in case you're not aware sir and you'll be greatly punished if you're caught so you better let me go while I'm still being nice," she threatened and Ivan chuckled under his breath. 

"Somebody help me! I'm being kidnapped by some man over here! Help me! Help me! Help! Somebody help me!" Isabel screamed on top of her lungs, hoping and praying that someone else would hear her voice. 

"For fuck's sake lady, stop shouting already," Ivan hissed angrily as his eardrums ached. 

"This bastard is kidnapping me! Somebody help me! HELP ME!" Isabel increased the pitch of her voice, irritating Ivan even more. 

"Sir, over here," Ivan said, dropping Isabel on the ground as hard as he could. Isabel let out a painful hiss as her body hit the ground pretty hard causing her sides to ache. 

"Was she the one yelling?" Adrian asked, running his eyes over her with curiosity but Isabel chimed in before he could reply. 

"Well, of course it was me! Why wouldn't I yell when this ugly, disgusting weirdo had the fucking audacity to hold me against my will and bring me here even when I already told him I didn't do anything wrong," she hissed and Adrian let out a short laugh but is quick to stop when he noticed the look on Ivan's face. 

"I instructed him to bring you here miss, so do not blame him for carrying out orders," Adrian replied and Isabel rolled her eyes. 

"And who the hell are you to instruct that I be taken against my will? Wait a second, don't tell me you're some kind of pervert? How can such a good looking face turn out to be so disgusting? Who the fuck raised you?" she snapped and Adrian could not help but break into guffaws. 

"It's not funny you idiot!" she yelled angrily, getting irritated by his laughter. 

"I think there's a misunderstanding here and it's probably because I haven't introduced myself yet. It's nice to meet you miss, I'm Beta Adrian and I have a few questions I want to ask you, I promise I won't take up much of your time," Adrian introduced and Isabel's jaw dropped.

"Wait, wait, hold on a second, you're the Beta? Like the real actual Beta? Like the original Beta of this pack and not a lie pretending to be him?" she asked, squinting her eyes suspiciously. 

"I don't care whether or not you believe me, but I must ask you a few questions," Adrian replied and Isabel sighed. 

"I thought they said he was ugly or something like that? I really need to stop taking rumours seriously at this point," she muttered to herself although Adrian could hear her and he mentally chuckled at her silliness. 

"Help me up then," she demanded and Adrian quickly nodded for Ivan to help her up but Isabel's sudden scream took them by surprise. 

"Absolutely not happening, you weirdo! If you touch me one more time, I'll kick you so hard in between your legs, you will never function ever again," she warned sternly and both Adrian and Ivan were not expecting her to threaten him. 

"You help me up," she demanded from a taken aback Adrian who decided against going against her. 

"Good. Now, with all due respect Beta, how may I help you?" she asked as soon as she got back up on her feet. 

"I'm looking for a man and I want to know if you've seen him. He's about my age, a little taller than I am and there's a high chance that he's also injured. Does that fit the description of anyone you could have possibly come across?" he asked and Isabel frowned. She already guessed that the person in question was most probably Ryan. 

"Is he a criminal or something like that?" she asked carefully so she could decide whether or not to mislead them or tell the truth about Ryan. 

"No, he isn't a criminal," Adrian replied and Isabel furrowed her brows. 

"For some reason I do not trust you Sir. Why would a Beta be looking for a random man if not to capture him?" she asked and Adrian sighed in frustration. She was definitely a difficult one. 

"Just answer the question. Have you or have you not seen a man that fits the description?" he asked impatiently. 

"Give you a reason to trust you and I'll tell you what I know. If not, you can forget about it," she snapped back and both Adrian and Ivan had definitely had enough. 

"Listen carefully to me little miss, I am not in the mood for this and trust me, I am the last person you want to have this back and forth with right now. Lead me to where he is or I swear, I'll snap your neck in half and break every single bone in your body. Now, make up your mind cause I'm losing my patience," Adrian threatened and Isabel could tell he wasn't joking at all. 

"C...come with me," she stuttered, leading the way towards the house where Ryan and Amelia were. 

"That is the place," Isabel muttered as soon as they could all spot the old house from afar. 

"You know what to do Ivan," Adrian said and Ivan immediately sprinted towards the house, leaving Isabel and Adrian behind. 

"Walk quickly miss," Adrian instructed as he increased his speed towards the house. 

A sudden knock on the door took Amelia by surprise and when she carefully opened the door, a strange male barged in immediately without bothering to introduce himself. 

"Who are you?" Amelia asked but Ivan didn't bother to reply. 

"Is there a man here?" he asked and Amelia frowned. 

"You are pretty audacious, I can see. Who are you and what are you looking for?" she demanded and Ivan knew better than to reply to her so he simply ignored her and barged into the inner room, closely followed by an outraged Amelia. 

"Sir," Ivan yelled slightly, running towards where Ryan was seated with his back resting on the wall. 

"Ivan? How did you find this place?" Ryan asked, wondering how they had found him so quickly. 

"You know this guy Ryan?" Amelia asked and Ivan frowned. 

"Show some respect, miss! How dare you call the Alpha by his name?" Ivan snapped at Amelia who was immediately gobsmacked. She thought for a second that she could have heard wrong but when Ryan didn't seem to flinch, she knew she had heard right. Ryan was indeed the Alpha. 

"Relax your tone with her Ivan, she saved my life," Ryan warned, staring back at Amelia who still couldn't believe what she just heard. 

"Give us a minute Ivan," Ryan demanded but before he could leave, Adrian barged in. 

"I just knew it, you idiot!" Adrian snapped as soon as he walked in and Ryan let out a frustrated sigh, knowing very well that Adrian was more than prepared to nag at him for the rest of his life. 

"I told you not to go all by yourself, did I not? This is what happens when you don't listen to me," he hissed and Ryan pouted. 

"I'm sorry mom, I should have listened to you," he drawled sarcastically, earning a mock annoyed frown from Adrian. 

"You are forbidden from going anywhere without me, is that understood?" Adrian instructed and Ryan simply nodded, not bothering to argue with his very controlling friend. 

"Excuse my interruption Ryan, but is this evil bastard really the Beta?" Isabel asked from nowhere, taking Ryan by surprise. 

"Evil bastard? You mean Adrian? What did he do?" Ryan asked, wondering why anyone would even consider calling Adrian evil. 

"She's audacious, isn't she?" Adrian said with a chuckle and Ryan nodded in agreement. 

"You have no idea how badly both he and this ugly idiot treated me. I was only trying to protect you in case you were a criminal and the next thing I know, he threatened to kill me. You should have witnessed it Amelia," Isabel sulked, turning to face her friend but to her surprise, Amelia's face was fixated on Ryan's and she didn't look too pleased. 

"Hey, idiots, come with me," Isabel instructed, referring to both Ivan and Adrian and they both frowned at her but followed behind her when Ryan signalled them to. 

"Hey, are you mad?" Ryan muttered as soon as they were out of sight. 

"Should I be?" Amelia replied and he sighed.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier. I was really going to tell you before they found me but I just didn't think they would find me this quickly," he explained honestly and Amelia sighed. 

"I'm not mad, I'm just surprised I guess," she said, trying not to show her discomfort but Ryan could already sense it. 

"You hate it, don't you?" he asked, not exactly surprised that she didn't seem too thrilled about who he was. He knew rumours about him had circulated and this was why he had been reluctant to tell her the truth. 

"It's who you are, Alpha Ryan and that isn't something I can either control or change," she replied and Ryan knew this was his cue to leave. The Amelia he had joked with a few hours earlier and the one in front of him now weren't exactly the same people and he could already tell that she was distancing herself. 

"I'll instruct Ivan to guide you and Isabel home safely. Thank you for everything Amelia, I really appreciate it and I'll never forget it," Ryan muttered a reply, trying to mask his disappointment. 

"Adrian!" Ryan called and almost as if he had been waiting desperately, Adrian immediately barged in. 

"It's time to go Sir," he said and Ryan nodded in agreement.

"Tell me you at least thought to bring some clothes with you," Ryan said. 

"Everything's prepared sir," Adrian replied and Amelia quickly walked out when she noticed the look on their faces. 

"Is Ryan really the Alpha?" Isabel asked as soon as Amelia approached her and she nodded positively. 

"What's gonna happen to you two now?" Isabel asked in a hush tone so Ivan doesn't eavesdrop on their conversation. 

"We'll talk about it later Isabel. Let's just get ready to go home," Amelia replied and Isabel knew better to push for answers. 

"Wait, are we leaving first?" Isabel asked when Amelia started to pack her bags. 

"Yes, we are Isabel. We have to get home before it's dark," Amelia replied and Isabel sighed in disappointment. 

"Tell the Alpha that we can manage on our own so he doesn't have to send you to take care of us and also, tell him to take care of his injury so it doesn't get infected, if that happens, it won't end well. Have a good day," Amelia said to Ivan before walking out of the house with Isabel following closely behind her.