Now that they had an enemy in their sights, they could single in on a plan.
Alexander finally had a visual of one of the men following the sweet girl beside him.
He could feel the fear coming off of her and knew that this man in particular had been following her for some time.
"How long has he, well, have any of them been after you" Alexander asked as he turned to face her.
"Well, as far as I know, since around the time I turned sixteen" she responded while lifting her shoulders in defeat.
Both of the men with her started shaking their heads in anger.
Neither of them could imagine what a girl so young could have possibly done to have that man coming after her.
"I can't imagine how hard that could have been for you" Julius said before he could stop himself.
"It's fine" she blurted, "Nothing I can change now. Besides, I'm one hell of a fighter and escape artist if I do say so myself. If that man couldn't get me after all this time, I must be doing something right" so boasted.
Julius was startled by her reaction to him and didn't know what to say, so he chose not to say anything.
Alexander was impressed and didn't give her a chance to pull away that time as he grabbed her shoulder and pulled her in for a warm hug to remind her that she wasn't alone anymore.
He knew that only time would help her trust him after remembering everything she had revealed to them.
When they realized they had taken their eyes off the man for a bit too long, they went to find him again, but he was gone.
How could they be so careless?
What if he saw them, or worse, heard them?
Could he have found them so easily?
Different possibilities started running through everyone's minds until the sounds of someone clearing their throat could be heard.
Trying to ease the tension, "Let's not overthink it. If he had found us, he would be at the door by now. More or less. He is probably just walking around the town. Maybe he is actually taking a break like he said he was" Alexander said to lighten the mood, not believing his own words.
"Yeah, right" Julius went to say before serious eyes met his, "You think he would be at our door if he's on vacation" quickly switching his words, "That oaf is strolling around town in leisure clothes. He isn't concerned about us. Just to be safe, we aren't putting our defenses down. All eyes will be on him no matter what. He won't get close to us, you, or this apartment. Scouts honor" he proclaimed.
Ayla's eyes lit up, "Wait a minute. You two were Boy Scouts. That makes so much sense. I can see it now. That's how you managed everything so easily between the woods and the cave" she chuckled.
Both men started shaking their heads, "Don't get me wrong, I was absolutely a scout, but that isn't how I learned to survive in the woods like that" he stated, "I chose to stay for long periods of time and train myself on how to survive off the land. Nature is important, and we need to be less dependent on what the towns and cities provide for us. What we have is not guaranteed. At any point in time, it could all be taken away from us" he answered honestly.
"Same here" Julius chimed in, "I did it too. We chose to do it as a way of training ourselves" he boasted.
'Maybe these two are different' she thought to herself.
"I don't know what to think about the two of you. I have seen many kinds of people, but none who come across as selfless as you appear. I guess I have to keep my eyes open as well as my mind" she smiled.
Down below on the streets, Dominic was trying to ease his mind while taking in the sights again.
It was different this time.
The last time he ventured through, it was dark and lively.
Loud music was swarming him, with people zooming around everywhere.
He felt like he had stepped into some kind of zoo.
This time, as he walked the strips of stores, it was calmer and almost relaxing.
The dynamic of people had changed, with the majority being closer to his inner age.
On the outside, he was a handsome man who appeared to be in his mid-thirties, but in reality, he was probably closer to fifty.
Age wasn't something they counted in their community, the werewolf one that is, as something of importance.
The things they celebrated were new life, fated mate unity, and death, for the most part.
With high-ranking officials, unity in general was celebrated in general because it was supposed to be for the good of the pack, but only the unity of fated mates was sacred.
Celebrations for unity seemed nonexistent for the last eighteen years or more for several reasons.
The biggest reason was that they had no children of significance to unify in ceremonies of finding their fated mates.
Sure, there were small parties or celebrations, but they didn't think it right when half of every pack appeared to be mourning the loss of their children.
When the children were stolen, no more were born.
It was like time paused, and everything stood still.
All the werewolves were hoping and praying to the moon goddess to bring them home before their kind perished completely.
That being said, they didn't celebrate much of anything, but birthdays were never celebrated.
Time and birthdays were human traditions.
Dominic took the time instead to train hard and take care of his body.
All he was concerned with was making a day of birth for someone, not counting them.
Plus, as long as he took care of himself and his wolf, his wolf took care of him in return.
His wolf's life added a little youth to him, so he seemed a bit younger than he actually was, but not much.
He felt like this was a much better way of living.
The old grump didn't care how old he was, anyway.
All that mattered to him was getting their children back and uniting all the families that lost loved ones.
He missed seeing the smiles and feeling the emotions that went along with the unity ceremonies.
It wasn't just the ones that united that felt it; everyone could feel the heightened bliss for weeks.
More than that, he was tired of feeling the hole in his chest where part of his pack was missing.
When he heard his Alpha and Luna mention they were running out of time, he felt the push to move quickly.
There was no telling what that meant, and he didn't want to find out.
Before Dominic knew it, he was making his way back to his suite, but he didn't make it before he bumped into an unexpected person.
"I didn't intend to see you anytime soon" he gleamed.
"I wouldn't think you intended to see me at all" Julius said.
Dominic lifted one side of lips, as if trying not to smile, "Smug, aren't we. What brings you over here" he asked.
"Just on my way to work. Didn't know you were staying in the area" he lied, "How long do you think you and your men will be here so I can warn my bartenders and bouncers to be on alert" he said, managing to muster a small chuckle.
This told Dominic that he knew the men didn't belong, and that he was aware of their presence.
More than that, it notified him that they were being watched without him being aware of it.
"Trust me, those two won't be misbehaving again. That would be if I can even manage to get them out of the room and away from their current companions" he said as he shook his head, "Anyway, if you think they will be a problem, I can ask them not to go back".
"It's fine, you seem to be able to keep them in line fairly well. I assume you would be with them if they come. Hope you enjoy your day, Mr..." he said, leaving it open for him to say something to identify himself.
Unsure as to whether to give his first name or keep it professional, he paused for a second.
Should he even introduce himself?
This kid seemed to know too much already.
"Just Dominic, no need for the mister. You don't owe me any pleasantries" he stated as he put his hand forward.
Julius wasn't sure what this 'Dominic' was up to, but he put his hand up too and shook it, so he wasn't being rude.
He was completely unaware that the man in front of him was attempting to intimidate him with his firm, super-strong werewolf grip.
The young man was completely unfazed.
Dominic refused to react while Julius was present, but now he knew something fishy was happening.
"I can't remember if I officially introduced myself, but my name is Julius" he said as he lowered his hand.
"I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that. What did you say your name was" the General said as the color was draining from his face.
"JULIUS" he said as he thought the man was being rude at first.
Dominic didn't say anything; he just stood there.
"Are you okay" he asked, wondering if the man needed medical attention now.
"No, I mean yes, I'm fine. I know you were on your way to work. It's okay. You need to go. I can find you some other time. Thank you for stopping and talking to me" he said as he made it clear he wished to head to his room.
Julius wasn't sure what had just happened, but he knew both of the men talking had just gotten answers of some kind.
His only question now was who got the better ones.
Immediately, he made his way as far from the hotel as he could, making sure he wasn't followed.
The first thing he did after that was text his best friend 'SOS'.
After a not-so-short discussion, that was one of the things they came up with that they decided would mean they had Ayla sensitive information and wanted to talk about it.
It didn't take long at all for Alexander to call him back, while on speaker phone for Ayla to hear right beside him.
"I want to cut to the chase a bit. The big guy's name is Dominic. That's all he would give me name-wise. He is staying at the hotel with two others. It's my impression that it's the other two from the club, but they are otherwise tied up with, well, he gave the impression that some women have their attention currently, if you catch my drift".
"That's good, though" Alexander encouraged him.
Julius kept talking, "Yeah, we don't really seem to have to worry about anyone but him, for the most part, right. Well, here's the thing. Something is weird about him. He KNOWS he can keep them in line, no ifs, ands, or buts. It's like they HAVE to listen to him. I've never seen anything like it. Then, when I went to leave, he wanted to shake my hand, so I did. It was like he was aggravated that he couldn't crush my hand. I don't know. Then, I realized I didn't give my name back, so I told him my name as I was getting ready to leave, and the man full-on freaks out".
Neither Ayla nor Alexander knew how to make sense of what he said.
"What do you mean by 'The man full-on freaked out' when you told him your name" Ayla asked curiously.
"I mean, he lost all his color and looked like he was about to pass out. He couldn't get into his room fast enough. I don't know what happened. For all I know, it wasn't that, and he saw something around me that I didn't see. It was just strange" he shook his head like he wasn't on the phone as he finished.
Ayla lay back on the couch and grabbed Alexander's hand, "I am more confused now than when we started. This man is ferocious and relentless, yet he cowers at a name. It doesn't make sense, not after all the years he spent chasing me. Maybe Julius is connected to someone we don't know about, and this man just realized he crossed a line".
Alexander nodded his head in agreement.
"Well, I just wanted to give you both the information while it was fresh, because we all know you lose detail with time. With all of that being delivered, I'm going to head to work" he said as he hung up and started making his way to the club.
Ayla wasn't sure of much, but she knew this was a mess that she didn't want to deal with currently as she buried her head in Alexander's chest.
Meanwhile, Dominic nearly collapsed on his bed just a few blocks away.
How could he be so close and so far at the same time?
Witches were cruel, downright evil at times, yes, but that was more than he could imagine.
What he just uncovered was the worst thing he could have ever seen firsthand.
He knew for a fact that the young man who had stood before him had absolutely no knowledge of being a wolf, but he was.
That young man was a werewolf walking among humans, living like one, and was completely oblivious.
Julius was cursed, and he knew it for a fact, because he was living through that same curse.
It was more than just Ayla being a cursed werewolf; multiple werewolves were living with the curse.
How could Alpha Theo and Luna Theresa not tell him that?
If he had known that major fact, he could have possibly found a way to find all of the wolf children more quickly, efficiently.
For the life of him, he couldn't figure out why his Alpha would keep such a secret from him and the rest of the pack.
Hell, why would he not tell anyone about it?
The whole werewolf community deserved to know that they didn't have their children because their children didn't know they were werewolves and couldn't recognize a werewolf when they saw one.
Until now, everything he had to go on was rumor or suspicion.
Now, he had actually had an encounter with one of the missing children, and he didn't know what to do.
How can you bring a family member, pack member, or fellow werewolf home if they didn't know they were a werewolf?
This was more than a mission brought down from his Alpha.
He had been working on this for too long to fail now.
Failure was not an option, not when the finish line was so close.
The goal from day one was to bring his son home, and just minutes ago, he was standing steps before him.
His son was no longer a baby, but a man.
A strong, respectable man, who was in his grasp, literally, and there wasn't anything he could do because not only did he not know that he was a werewolf, but he also didn't know that it was his father who was holding his hand.
One thing made him feel a little better.
There was a chance that he wasn't alone in the world.
Maybe he and Ayla had found each other, and the two of them were finding a way to withstand this world together, united.