Going hunting himself

Where could she be - Mandie thought.

Nessa was not the type to stay out for so long. 

"Have you seen her since then?" Alpha Zane asked again, his hand dropping from Mandie's jaw. 

"I... I haven't Alpha" Mandi answered in a pained tone, lowering her gaze to the floor. 

And swiftly, Zane pusher her off as he stood up, took his shirt from the bed and walked towards the door. 

"Get out of my room, Mandie" he stated brusquely as he finally left. 

Pain and incensement filled Mandie's heart immediately as soon as he said those words to her. 

*Get out of my room* 

Damn it!! Why the hell should this happen? Why now?? Just when she was so close to getting the Alpha - again?

She stood up from the floor and fisted her hands. Her furs were trying to come out of her skin, but she fought them back and tried keeping a cool on her temper. Why did he have to think about Nessa at a time like this? Why now?

And where in the name of the moon goddess was she in the first place?

***********************

Wondering who Alpha Zane was? 

He was the all Famous Alpha - Alpha of the Litha Moon Pack. 

Tho, they were so many Alphas, but with Zane, it was always different. He was known all across the seven months as the most powerful, the most cruel and most ruthless. Enemies has tried taking him down, but it just wasn't working out. 

They set him up so many times in an attempt to take him down and due to an unfortunate circumstance, the moon goddess placed a curse on his pack - that none of the she-wolves would be able to reproduce. As a result, Zane couldn't have an heir by mating with a she wolf from his pack. But that wasn't a really big problem for him as he could simply get a lady from elsewhere and make her carry his child. 

He rarely went out, because if he did, enemies were sure to attack him. They all envied him so much and wanted to take him down by every means possible. Over the years, he's fought and killed a lot of them and earned a lot of fear and respect as a result of it, but recently, a new Alpha had resurfaced and has proven to be more obstinate than the others. 

Alpha Jasper.

He's been launching a lot of attacks against Zane, challenging him repeatedly and obviously trying to goad him into a war. Zane has been trying for so long to wave him off, but not anymore as he was finally going to launch his own attack against him in a very short time from now. 

No matter how hard they try, he was always going to remain the most powerful amongst them - more reasons he needed the Hunter's daughter. 

*

Alpha Zane was still walking and headed outside when one of his messengers ran towards him, breathing real hard. 

"Alpha!" He called, bowing as soon as he got to where he was. 

"It's Nessa...."

Zane's brows furrowed in confusion. Nessa?

He increased his pace, following the messenger behind and finally getting out, he found one of his pack members carrying Nessa over his shoulders, running hastily to a safe place. 

Her long hair fell straight as her head was bent over; she was bleeding. 

The boy ran carefully with her and placed her down on a pavement when he found one. 

"What happened to her?" Zane asked as he got close, taking a look at the bleeding spot. It was close to her ribs. 

"We found her this way, Alpha - outside the mountains. It's obvious she was attacked". 

Zane was in dismay as he dropped to a crouch beside her body and touched her sweety forehead. Her eyes were closed, but her head moved sideways with her hands indicating she was in pains. Some traces of fur were still on her skin which indicated she'd shifted before or during the attack. 

"Nessa" he called calmly, his hand still on her forehead. 

She shook her head restlessly and slowly, expressing her pains.  

"You're gonna be fine; you'll be fine.

"Take her to the room" he said to one of the boys beside him and with immediate effect, he carried up and took her to the room. 

*

*

Nessa was rushed into the room and laid carefully on the bed. She was still bleeding so bad and looked really unconscious, her condition seemed to be getting worst. 

"Get Manchalla!" Zane ordered and two boys rushed out of the room immediately, while he sat on the edge of the bed, his hand holding Nessa's. 

What could've happened to her? Who could've done this? 

Only one name rang repeatedly in his head - Alpha Asher. 

Could Asher be responsible for this? 

His eyes found the bleeding spot again and stared at it with scrutiny. He noticed she was shot. And there was a different color of blood beneath the normal blood. It was darker. 

"Who did this to you?" He asked whisperingly to her, wishing she could just say something, but she couldn't and not long after, Manchalla came in.

He was one of the elders of the pack with some little knowledge of herbal treatments. And he'd been helping out in healing some of the pack members who'd been attacked. 

"She's losing too much blood, Manchalla. You need to act quick"Zane said as he left the bed, creating space for Manchalla to take over. 

The Old man - who was one of the oldest in the pack - kept his eyes dimmed as he went closer to the bed and sat on the edge, looking at Nessa's wound. 

"This looks like an arrow shot" he said, confirming Zane's thought and Zane said nothing since it was something he already knew. 

"It was poisoned...." He added, drawing his words. 

"Is it wolfsbane?" Zane asked, his thumb touching his lips. 

Manchalla was silent for a while as he observed the wound properly. His mother was a very powerful witch, and tho,he wasn't a wizard, he had so many knowledge of their activities and how to use a lot of herbs. Many people considered him a wizard, anyways. And he was also one of the closest people to Zane.

"It's something worst than wolfsbane" Manchalla replied, touching the darker blood with the tip of his finger and staring at it in the dim light from the window. 

Something worst than wolfsbane? Zane thought. What could be worst than wolfsbane?

For centuries, the wolfsbane has been the Hunter's favorite weapon, and the jackals' greatest enemy. It weakens the wolves when used on them and can kill the weaker ones, especially when it's not swiftly treated. 

There has been no wolf - poison greater than the wolfsbane. So, what was Manchalla talking about? What else could be worst?

"You need to make yourself more understable, Manchalla" Zane said. "What could be worst than wolfsbane?" 

"I have no idea, can't figure it out for now" Manchalla answered dazily, taking more of the blood at the tip of his fingers. 

"Whatever it is", he continued. "it's something new, something we're not expecting. This didn't come from a rival pack; it's not from a wolf, and not from a hunter. I smell danger, Alpha". 

Zane was muddled. Not from a wolf; not from a hunter. It wasn't Asher like he was expecting? Then, who could it be?

"Can you heal her?" He asked, deciding to go to the most important for now...

"I'll try my best; run some tests on the blood and try to know what poison it is exactly. But for how, we have to keep our fingers crossed and pray to the moon goddess to sustain her. I beg to take my leave and proceed to work at once. I'll be back with some leaves to clean up the wound area". He stood up, bowed a little and left. 

Alpha Zane remained standing there for a long time, just staring into Nessa's face. 

*Something worst than Zane*

*It's not from a wolf,not from a hunter*

*I smell danger, Alpha*. 

Manchalla's words replayed in his head. What could this be? 

His hand was in his jaw as he thought about it. Being an Alpha, he could've easily dived his claws into her neck bone and gain access to her memories to see and know what happened, but with how weak she was, that method would definitely kill her. So, the only option was to hope she comes awake and explain what the heck had happened out there. 

"Is there anything I can do to help, Alpha?" His beta asked as he came closer to him. 

He'd been standing at the door the whole time.

Zane was silent for a while, just having his thumb rolling on his lips. 

"If you were being hunted", he suddenly began. 

"You had no home, had no family to go to; you're tired and hungry, and you were getting late. What's the first place that would come to your mind to go to?"

His beta - Adrian - was a little surprised at the question but fiend take much time to think about it. 

"Well...if I was hungry, the first place I'd go to is a place where I can get food. A restaurant" he replied and a cranky smile crept into Zane's lips. 

"Just as I thought". He smirked. "That's exactly where the Hunter's daughter will be". 

He started walking towards the door, while a confused Adrian turned to look at him. 

"Alpha?"

"I'm going to hunt her myself. Tired of entrusting vital issues to the rest of you" Zane answered non challantly. 

What?? He was going out?? 

"Al.... Alpha, should I come along, or with the boys?" He asked from behind and Zane whipped his head back to look at him and said:

"I'm going alone".