Chapter four

"Where is she?" A huge burly man asked, sauntering into what looked like a large hall at first glance, escorted by even burlim menen. The wide room, which served as the meeting room for the Gemini pack, would have looked like every other conference room complete with long tables and chairs for pack members, if not for the elevated throne-like chair that sat at the furthest end of the hall and its distance from other tables and chairs.

The burly man took his position on this chair and his guards took their position beside him.

Eight bandaged men sat before him, twitching nervously as he stared at them.

"You guys look horrible. Were you taken unawares by a group of rogues?" He asked, peering at them with eyes that seemed to search their souls.

Some of them gulped, wishing they'd been attacked by a group of rogues.

The man growled. Its sound resounded around the hall sending shivers down their spines. Most of them wish they'd disappear.

"Alpha Ja..cob…" One man started, stuttering.

"We...we ha..d her but she.."

He fell silent, unable to complete his sentence.

"We were attacked and so she escaped." A firmer voice spoke up.

"Ahh, I see." Alpha Jed said, relaxing on his throne.

"You came back to tend to your injuries before continuing your search. That's smart."

The men did not attempt to reply.

"Knowing Laura and her tantrums, it's best to capture her when you have energy. How far could she have gone?" He asked, stroking his chin.

"Probably not far enough" He muttered to himself.

"So how many rogues attacked you?"

One of the men whimpered.

"We.. we.. caught her and was about to bring her home when.." The firm voice tried explaining.

"Adam, that's not the answer to my question. How many rogues attacked you?"

"None." The man called Adam replied somberly.

Alpha Jed burst into laughter.

"Who then attacked you?" He asked seriously.

Adam gulped.

"A man." One of the men managed to say.

Alpha Jed laughed again, wiping tears from his eyes.

"You've gotta be kidding me," He said in between laughs.

"Boys this is no time for jokes. Where's Laura?" He asked menacingly.

When no one answered, he growled, the veins on his face bulging as he gripped his chair.

"A man appeared from nowhere and rescued her." One of the men replied.

“Who was he and where was he from, besides, what was his business with her?” Alpha Jed bellowed.

“We have no idea.” The man answered.

He laughed.

“Adam? Do you want me to believe that man came out of nowhere and single-handedly beat all eight of you? Is that what you are trying to tell me?” Alpha Jed said calmly, causing the men to tremble uncontrollably.

“I wouldn’t dare lie to you Alpha Jed,” Adam replied.

“You’d better not, how can a man beat you all up. Especially you, I thought you were stronger and fit to lead Adam.” Alpha Jed said.

“I don’t know how…" Adam started to say.

"Aren't you ashamed? An unknown man beats you up and instead you track him. You shamelessly come to report to me?"

"Get out before my desire to rip your throats overpowers my sanity." He whispered.

The men scrambled away.

"Adam?"

Adam, a man with sandy blond hair and cold blue eyes, stopped and faced his alpha.

"Steven?"

Another man with a lean frame, auburn hair, and dark beady eyes swerved.

Both seemingly suffered fewer injuries than the rest. Adam, who was muscular, had a swollen face, busted lips, and a bandaged shoulder. Steven's arms were bandaged and his face was swollen.

"You have two days. Find her."

"Yes, Alpha." They bowed in unison and left.

“We have just two days to find Laura.” Adam addressed his men outside the meeting room.

Steven shifted uncomfortably beside him.

"Let's get out of here before news of our failure spreads. The last thing we need right now is Jerry breathing down our necks." He said bitterly.

“We should go back to where we encountered that mysterious man and try to find traces of them, maybe we’d find out where they went.” Levi; one of the men suggested.

“I agree with Levi, we have no choice.” Francis; another man added.

“Fine let's move out, we don’t have much time,” Adam ordered. Despite their injuries, they all stood up and journeyed to the spot where they encountered Drew.

They arrived there at sunset and began pacing around looking for signs or tracks that led to Laura. Each of them sniffed and checked for tracks but found none. It seemed like the scent had disappeared. After hours of fruitless search, they decided to stop and rest.

"I'm hungry," Steven grumbled.

"Yeah we've not had anything to eat in a long time, that's why we're not healing fast enough," Levi added.

Adam nodded. He too was tired and hungry. Just then a thought entered his head.

"Like us, Laura's rescuer must have been tired. I'm sure he couldn't carry her back to where he came from. They must have rested somewhere in the forest.

We've got to find that spot. So we'll split up and hunt after we've changed"

"Ah, I see where this is going," Francis commented.

They all shifted and dashed out in different directions in search of their meal and Laura's scent.

“Any luck finding her?” Adam asked after they'd reconvened before dawn.

“Nope, no traces of her or the man, it’s like they both vanished into thin air,” Levi replied.

Xander, one of the men groaned.

"We have less than a day before our time expires. I don’t want to face Alpha's wrath. That little bitch is to blame. I would strangle her and tear her limb by limb when we found her.” He promised angrily.

“Save all that pent-up anger for when we catch her, for now, we have little time, let’s find her first, let’s all try scouting the area again,” Adam suggested and they all agreed.

Having not found any traces of them, they returned to the pack dejected.

They filed into the training area where Alpha Jed supervised his men as they sparred with each other. He was standing alone this time around, guiding a teenage boy as he tried to wrestle a man larger than him.

"I don't sense Laura amongst you." He said without turning around.

“My alpha..” Adam began. “We’ve...”

"Stop," Jed commanded. "Enough with the silly excuses." He stopped what he was doing and faced them.

Murmurs arose within the training ground.

"Leave this place and never return. From now on, you are no longer members of this pack." He said looking each man in the eyes.

Silence fell around the training ground, as everyone paused and stared at the Alpha and the eight men. The eight of them were stunned for seconds before the enormity of their punishment dawned on them. They fell to their knees pleading for a second chance.

"Get out, before I send my Lycans to get rid of you." He said dismissively and commenced the training.

The two burly men on hearing Lycans appeared from within the training arena, where they'd been training other pack members, and began walking purposely towards them. Eyes wide, the eight men scattered in different directions as they fled for their dear lives.

Jed sensed them flee, he would have destroyed their bonds to the pack immediately to complete their banishment, but he didn't.

Firstly, he still needed to get into their heads to pull out information about the mysterious man. He was intrigued by their story and he wanted to find out more than ever about the man that had dared to challenge his authority.

And secondly, because he knew that they'd be humiliated and enraged. A group of enraged new rogues had nothing to lose. They would become more focused on finding Laura and the mysterious new wolf and even more capable of destroying him.

So he'd let nature take its course and monitor them from the pack bonds. He would also do something else as a precaution. His plan may be foolproof, but he didn't trust those idiots to come through before they went out of control. He needed a plan B.

"Let's take a break." He announced, his eyes changing to gold as his mind linked someone.

As soon as he and the Lycans left the arena. Murmurs rose as people began discussing the exchange they'd just witnessed.