The last few days, Ayla had no idea what she was really doing anymore, let alone the rest of the group.
If what she had just heard was true, she only knew one thing for certain.
They needed to get out of there faster than they thought.
Ayla was not marrying Alexander.
Luna Alina and Orion had made it their intention, from what she had gathered, and she had just ended things with him.
Titan could feel the panic in Ayla rising through their bite bond and knew that he needed to help her before she reacted and made things worse.
The last thing either of them wanted to do was give the leaders of the pack any more information than they needed to in that moment.
Knowing that leaving suddenly would only cause issues, he discreetly grabbed her hand under the table and rubbed his thumb calmly in circles undetected by their company.
After a few seconds, he had managed to calm Ayla enough for her to be able to speak reasonably.
"I'll think about some possible leads and see what I can find out for you. Shall we eat?"
Ayla sat silently eating while the others had casual conversations about meaningless nothings until all the courses had been served.
While the food was served, Ayla couldn't help but think to herself, what was the point of multiple courses when it was all essentially raw meat was beyond Ayla, but she sat and ate with them anyway.
Now that the food was all done, they could take their leave and go back to their quarters appointed to them.
The first thing on their list was to talk to Alexander about the most recent developments.
As in, she was not going to marry him if he did, in fact, turn out to be Orion's long-lost brother.
Not happening.
Marriage wasn't a contract of obligation, and she would only do it if he was her fated mate, which clearly, he wasn't.
Right?
Sure, they had a pull toward each other, and an invisible string of sorts, but something was missing.
The mate call didn't seem to be there, and after running into Titan, Ayla realized that.
When Titan and Ayla made it back to the house, they found that Rhae and Stella had left to explore that town with two guards that how now been replaced with two new ones.
Two guards that Orion himself had pulled to keep an eye on the newcomers.
They didn't seem as friendly as the ones that had been there before, but there was something familiar about them to Ayla as they greeted her.
Ayla couldn't put her finger on it, but there was something about their smell that she had encountered before.
Once they were inside, she turned to Titan, "Were they in the woods, at the camp last night with us? They seem familiar for some reason."
Titan furrowed his eyebrows, "I don't believe so. I don't know all the ones that were there, but they are normally at the pack house. Those two don't normally leave the territory borders. You shouldn't recognize their scent unless..."
Both of them realized where she knew the scent from at the same time.
"It's a good thing you don't have a smell to you. They would have picked it up instantly and detained you on the spot. I suspect that's why Orion placed them here. That may be why he was so chipper at lunch."
Alexander cleared his throat while Julius looked at them.
Titan explained, "The two guards outside are from the dungeons, I believe. I think Orion is trying to see if he can prove Ayla broke in and rescued, well..." he pointed to Julius in case they had ears on them.
Julius nodded in understanding.
Ayla decided to change the subject to one she desired to talk about even less.
"So, we have some news. The Luna and Orion are also looking for someone else. The Luna's missing son. They want him to ultimately marry me. Not happening by the way. Putting that out there before I continue. How anyone would think I would ever consider marrying anyone but my fated mate is mad."
She looked Alexander square in the eyes.
"Why are you looking at me that way. I didn't do anything. I would never make you do anything you don't want to do."
"Glad you think that way. Funny thing. As they started to describe the missing boy, he started to seem familiar. They described him as someone who looks like Orion, but younger, and well, like you. He is your age, and oddly enough, has your name."
Alexander started laughing as if they were joking.
Julius looked at his best friend, his chosen brother.
"It can't be. You could and would have a higher ranking than me though, brother. That would be pretty awesome. Wait, can I still call you that if you have a real brother? You would actually have one!"
Alexander shoved him, "Of course you can. There is no way that I am the one they are looking for. Besides, I would never want to be part of this pack. They seem like snakes more than wolves. On top of that, being a part of that family. I made my own way. I'm an Alpha in my own right, not an Alpha's brother in waiting."
Ayla took a deep breath before speaking, "Just remember that you promised not to agree to their wishes. I won't be caged, ever."
Alexander thought about it for a second.
"I agree to let fate make our decisions for us. I won't force you into anything. Plus, if they don't know it's me, they can't make you do anything. We could leave now, and they would never know."
Titan spoke up before he could plan any further.
"Ayla is in a bit of a situation with them. As long as she plays along with their wishes, she is okay. They will try to trap her to get their way. If you go and meet with them and see if you are their missing Alexander, then it goes to show she is trying. If not, they will just keep trying to hunt her down and trap her. This could be one less pack after her."
Ayla looked at him with mixed emotions.
She wasn't used to someone speaking up for her, but he was right.
He said everything she was thinking and feeling.
Alexander needed to go and meet them to save her, but he didn't have to stay with them.
All he had to do was meet with them to prove whether he was their son and brother or not.
After a moment of thought, he agreed to meet them.
It was with one condition, though: Phoenix had to come along.
Now that the conditions were set, and Titan reached out to them, the four of them were off to the packhouse to meet with Luna Alina and Orion.
That left Raphael to protect Julius in case anyone decided to come sniffing while the house appeared empty.
They just got Julius back; the last thing they wanted was to lose him again.
Once they entered through the front door of the great pack house of the Moonlight Shifters, they started to understand the name.
There were spots carved out of the mountain, filled with glass that depicted different shapes of the moon.
Not small pieces either.
During the day, sunlight beamed through bright, lighting up the whole space, leaving different imprints of the moon throughout the space.
Ayla could only imagine how beautiful it was at night, with the moonbeams dancing over everything.
The wooden furniture had such intricate details and moon etchings placed in all of them.
Large cushions to make them comfortable.
Candles everywhere, making it look archaic.
She was mesmerized, and she wasn't the only one.
Alexander was wonderstruck as they walked through the great hall and down into the mountain to the room where the Luna and future Alpha were waiting.
His nerves were climbing through him like ants trying to escape a mound.
Was he potentially about to meet his long-lost family?
For so long, he thought that they had abandoned him and wanted nothing to do with him.
If this were his mother and brother, then that was the complete opposite.
They were willing and did kidnap people just to find a way to get information about him.
Finally, they were at the door that caused his heart to want to seize and his stomach to want to flip.
Ayla walked to his side and grabbed his hand, "It will be okay. You aren't here alone. You have Phoenix, and I'm here too. I know you don't trust Titan. I respect that, but he won't let anything happen to you either."
Alexander nodded his head and grabbed the doorknob to let the group in.
Inside, there was a medium-sized round wooden table that was built for royalty.
Not too fancy, but not for your average person.
At the far side sat a woman of true beauty in Alexander's eyes.
If he and Orion were brothers, then they had to have resembled their father for the most part, but they had their mother's eyes.
Next to him, Orion.
He didn't have a strong opinion of him at the moment, after everything he had done, but would that change?
The others waited to follow Alexander's lead.
Once he walked in, the group followed, letting him sit closest to the Luna, then they stacked themselves in the seats as they came to them.
Without hesitation, he began to speak, "I heard that you are searching for a son. If Ayla tells me correctly, his name is Alexander."
The Luna nodded her head, "You heard correctly."
He started talking again, "Do you have any experience with the curse, or know anyone who has broken the curse?"
Orion stepped in, "One person is known to have broken the curse and found his family. We can't seem to locate him at the moment to ask him the specifics."
He was looking at Ayla when he finished speaking.
"Pity. Who would that be? I thought a prisoner was on the loose?"
Luna cut her eyes at her son, "Now is not the time for a war of wills. Do not try to fight her now. She is doing what you wanted. Is she not?"
Orion looked at Ayla as if he wanted to fillet her alive, "Yes, mother."
Luna Alina went back to addressing Alexander, "Do you know how he broke the curse, how it worked?"
Alexander gave the nod that said yes, but no.
"It isn't an exact science. I know what happened. I'm willing to see if it will work the same way again. To test a theory that a very smart man had."
As the words left Alexander's lips, Ayla's eyes found him, and a smile fell to her lips.
Ayla was happy that he didn't slip there, but that he also spoke so highly of Dominic.
He was also keeping the illusion that Dominic was dead going.
She was proud of him, and it was flowing through her to Titan.
Even though he could feel it, Titan wasn't sure why Ayla was so proud of him, but there was something there, and he wanted to know what it was.
The Luna nodded her head for him to continue.
"You said you were looking for a boy of a certain age and description. Well, there is a boy who fits that description. An orphan. He was placed at an orphanage in Scarlet Crest as an infant. No information was given about him. That orphan is me. I didn't even know I was a wolf until recently. Before you make any declaration, because it's important, probably the most critical. I have one more piece of information. Look at me while I say it. My name is Alexander."
It was like a light turned on in both the Lunas' and Orion's eyes.
They saw Alexander for the first time since he had come into their territory.
Dominic was right.
The curse blocks the familial wolves from recognizing their own kind until they hear them say their name.
Until the family found them, no one would realize who they were.
Whatever was blocking his scent was fully lifted, too, because he now smelled just like the rest of the pack, fully.
Ayla covered her nose, "Dude, you stink now. I mean, not stink, but I can definitely find you easily if I need to."
The two strangers in the room had forgotten that she was there.
"Thank you," they both said at the same time.
Orion added more, though.
"I knew the rumors were true. I knew you could find the missing wolves and return them to us."
Ayla's eyes grew wide as she grabbed Titan's hand under the table and squeezed it.
She knew what was coming, "Please, if you are truly thankful, don't start that rumor. He happened to be my friend and was traveling with me. I don't know many wolves. If you start that rumor, I'll be hunted for the rest of my life."
Luna stopped her, "Dear Ayla. I'm so sorry. It isn't a rumor. It's part of the curse. You are the special one who can save them all. For some reason, they chose you. How many wolves do you think you really have around you at all times?" she said with a wink.
She thought about it.
The orphans.
There were hundreds of orphans, but they weren't all wolves.
How many of them were, though?
Ayla had always kept to herself and watched everyone.
Was that her role?
To protect them all and see them get home.
Was Alexander and Julius just the beginning of it?
She was full on panicking inside now, and Titan was sensing it, "If you guys don't mind, the two of us are going to let you do some catching up. Phoenix can stay in case you need him, but we are going to see some more of the town."
Titan called to Phoenix, wishing he could hear him, hoping he could, "We really need to leave. They know she is the one now. She is in more danger than ever before here. If you can hear me, get up and excuse yourself."
Talking in human form wasn't easy, not between different packs, and it took a lot of focus and strength.
Titan, being a beta, helped, but he still wasn't sure if he was successful or not.
Alexander would be safe because he was family, but the others needed to leave asap.
If he didn't get through to him, he would find a way.
With a few seconds passing, Phoenix stood and asked Alexander if he wanted him to stay or if it would be okay for him to go and check in with Raphael.
Relief flooded Titan's system, and Ayla knew that he had asked him to leave with them.
She knew he had a plan or was working on one and that they would be leaving soon.
Very soon.
The only thing she didn't know was whether that would include Alexander or not.
More so, would the girls be coming with them?