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The council of Twelve assembled in the meeting Hall.

Alphose and Adanel had called them after the call the Alpha King got.

Wolfaraine has not said anything since he took that call, which greatly worried Alphose.

Alphose asked him for the location he was given, but he said nothing—just stared ahead into space, his eyes filled with fury, his fist clenching and unclenching.

In the meeting, they came up with the suggestion to trail the Alpha King while he goes to meet these humans. Every Alpha was in support of the decision. They went to fight alongside their king.

But the Alpha King did not say anything.

Thirty minutes later, the council Alphas went back to their clans to assemble their Sentinels. Adanel has also left to the Werewolf clan to assemble the Werewolf Sentinels together.

Although Alphose longed to get back to his clan to talk to his warriors and also console Kassandra, who had been crying non-stop since the Rahinna Queen went missing the day before, he chose to stay behind after the others left.

Instead, he asked Degar for the favor of bringing his Cougar Sentinels to him after the leopard Alpha is done addressing his own sentinels.

Degar agreed wholeheartedly before leaving.

Standing in the middle of the Meeting Hall alone with the Alpha King, at last, Alphose whirled around to face him, "Don't do it."

No response from Wolfaraine.

"I know what is going through your head. Please, don't do it." Alphose's tone was laced with desperation.

"It's a trap. You will be ambushed, Alpha King. You are the one they want. All this..." he waved his hands around, "...was just a ploy to get to you. Do not go to meet them alone."

"I will not risk the life of my people. My sentinels. My Alphas." Wolfaraine stated, at last his voice filled with finality. Conviction.

Alphose palmed his head, shifting restlessly. "I knew it. I knew that was what you wanted to do. Please don't do it. You don't have to do this, we will happily die to protect you and your mate."

"I know you all will, Alphose. I know. That is why it's my duty to protect all of you, so you don't ever have to make decisions like that."

"These men are prepared for you!" Alphose was almost shouting.

He marched to the front of Wolfaraine's throne-chair, stopping there to look into those stubborn blue eyes, "They have a changeling working for them!

A psychopath! An alpha that has been in this council for decades, who knows every weakness we have as changelings and has probably shared it with these monsters! You will be captured and killed!"

"I do not fear death, Alphose. I will die, but I can promise you that I will take as many heads with me as possible, including Onaries's." He said, calmly .

"Oh, for heaven's sake! Do you think Ismena will be happy to know that you gave up your life saving hers!?"

"In this case? I don't need her happy, I just need her alive." He stated vehemently.

Alphose paced, fuming and helpless at the same time. He hated this.

Why does this have to happen? Wolfaraine had finally found happiness and peace—feelings that eluded him since he was tortured by those monsters when he was fifteen. Why does this have to happen, dammit!?

Alphose stopped pacing and faced him again, "You are our leader. You do not have an heir yet. Do you really want that half-witted Cronus to lead our people?"

Wolfaraine rose from his chair. He began walking towards the door, "I was never destined to have an heir, Alphose.

Before, it was my desire not to have one, and now it's fate's desire 'cause my mate is incapable of having one.

We all know a day like this might come. Cronus might not be too great, but he will lead Naturiah well. "

"Lead Naturiah well, my ass. You do not really believe that, do you?"

Wolfaraine stopped and faced his friend. Alphose's worry for him was visible in the big male's features.

Wolfaraine placed a hand on his shoulder, "I understand that you are worried about me.

But Ismena has been at the mercy of these monsters for almost twenty-four hours, and twenty-four hours is a damn long time to be with them.

If I keep thinking about what they might be putting her through, I will go insane.

A part of me does want to get captured so they can lead me to Ismena.

I need to do this, but I will not risk my people's lives.

I am the one they want, and I am the one they can get. I will be fine, Alphose. "

"But—"

"Stay here."

Alphose wanted to protest, he wanted to ignore Wolfaraine and march with him on that battlefield, but in the end, he listened. He stayed, watching the Alpha King as he walked towards the entrance door of the Tower in his black and gold, majestically designed robe.

At the door, Wolfaraine turned and gave him the slightest reassuring smile, "Besides, I am not fifteen anymore. Wolfaraine Daminor Throne is not easy to kill."

Minutes after Wolfaraine left, Degar ran into the Tower and headed towards Alphose, who was still standing where he was, "I got your message. You should have tried everything you could to stop him from leaving alone, dammit!"

"I did. You should know the Alpha King by now. When he makes up his mind, trying to change it is like trying to get hell to freeze over. We don't have any other choice now, but to do what you suggested earlier on."

Together they matched out of the tower and headed toward the lone-house in the woods. "He is not the one who can help us now. The Alpha King did not want to get him involved since the man is still recuperating, but we do not have another choice." Degar said.

Alphose nodded, "You are right. Let's just hope that Alfred can help in any way. "

"Her body rejected the damn drug. She has been convulsing for hours." Dr. Beloca snapped, glaring at his colleague.

Dr. Gideon's lips pursed together, staring at the prison cell. Their subject was puking all over the place. Again.

"Obviously, MD4 does not agree with her. Maybe you should try the Zerolyte?" Dr. Gideon suggested.

"Can't. Zerolyte is supposed to work with MD4.

" Dr. Beloca glanced at his wristwatch impatiently, "I have to wait for at least three more hours before we try ClomidSH.

We injected her three hours ago, but she didn't keep it down long enough for the damn thing to actually settle in before her body rejected it. This is frustrating, really."

Dr. Gideon narrowed his head thoughtfully, "Did you check her for pregnancy when she was first brought in?"

Dr. Beloca waved him off, "Those animals can smell pregnancy. They said she wasn't pregnant, and I believe them." He paused, "Besides if she was, she'll not only be puking, but she'll be bleeding all over the place when that MD4 was injected in her."

"That makes sense. Anyway, let's give her time to settle before you use ClomidSH, or we risk killing off our test subject. Where is everyone? This place was almost empty when I arrived an hour ago."

"Adeladin took his men to go capture Number 6 from the hideout.

I have no idea where Anaconda went off to, but Cronus went with them to capture Number 6.

He said that even with the dangerous Leaf we made into bullets, our men still needed his help in capturing their leader.

They give overestimated credit to that leader of theirs. " Dr. Beloca replied cynically.

Dr. Gideon smirked, "From what I heard, I don't think it's overestimated at all.

Thousands of our men have died at his hands.

If I remember correctly, that's the same man that caught bullets with his hands and killed our men with their own bullets.

The same man who killed off all our senior colleagues when he was only fifteen and burnt our biggest lab to the ground.

The same man who killed your last apprentice, Simon Blackwell, and sent you a message to stay away from a messenger whose arms he ripped off. "

Dr. Beloca glared at him. "Don't remind me. I will make him pay for that. I will make him pay for everything he did to me."

Wolfaraine smelled humans the moment he walked into the rundown-looking house. Their scent was everywhere, but he could not see any of them.

He'd known from the moment he got that call that this would be an ambush, but he was at least hoping that they would honor their words when they told him they would bring out his mate in exchange for him. There was no scent of Ismena anywhere.

"Aah, he really came alone." An unfamiliar voice boomed, filled with mockery. "Your kind was right. You are really a man of your word."

The owner of the voice was in hiding, but Wolfaraine looked in the general direction the voice came from when he responded, "And I see humans do not have any honor. I was told that my mate would be here in exchange for me."

"You are stupid to actually believe that we ever intended to give 'your mate' back to you." The voice laughed.

The wolf snarled inside him, but the male forced his anger aside. "I see." He said cooly.

"You are going back with us." The voice said smugly .

"You have to come and get me then. I am standing alone in the middle of this room, without any weapon. But be warned; a lot of you will die before you 'capture' me."

The voice laughed again, "Someone is thinking too highly of himself. Alright then! Get him, boys!!"

The bullets came from all around him. Wolfaraine was fast, dodging every single one of them. He rolled until he reached the wall at the left side of the empty room. Then, he stood and half-shifted to his wolf form.

He braced himself there, twisting his body from yet another bullet. His hand snatched the one that came directly for his face, pushed it toward his nose, and inhaled deeply. They were made with Rhodium.

With a savage snarl, he caught the ones he couldn't twist away from, throwing them right back to the exact place they came from. He heard grunts and harsh groans, followed by the hard thud of a body hitting the ground.