Element

Element XXVIII

Zayne's POV
After dinner, I had to clear my head before we met back in the Alpha's office.
Nothing was going right and everyone thought they knew best how to handle this rouge problem. If it wasn't for Alora suggesting we take a break, I probably would have lost it in there.
Stepping up to the edge of the forest, I took a deep breath and let the fresh scent of pine enter my senses. The smell of the woods always calmed me.
Lifting up the hem of my shirt, I was about to take it off when I heard something approach me from behind. Turning my head just enough to see, I caught the flash of blonde hair and knew instantly who it was.
"What do you want Cole? If you've come here to talk more about the rouges than I suggest you wait until we start the meeting again." Turning back around, I grabbed my shirt again and proceeded to take it off and roll it into a ball.
"I'm not here to talk about the rouges. I'm here to talk about Alora and Helen."
At the mention of Helen's name, my back immediately stiffened and I turned to face Cole.
Instantly my mind filled with images of Helen. Her long curly brown hair dancing in the wind. The musical sound of her laugh when Michael or Alora told her something funny. Her green eyes that seemed to penetrate any darkness. Her scent, the smell of rain and pomegranates, that followed her every time she entered the room. Honestly, I was transfixed by her.
"What about them Cole?" I asked trying to stay on topic.
"They're not back yet. I'm worried Zayne." He said tucking his hands into his front pockets.
"There's nothing to be concerned about. They went to the store...you know how women are." Scratching the back of my neck, I thought about the awkward conversation before they left for the store and immediately my face turned red.
"I know that but I also know it has almost been three hours since they left." He said taking a step closer.
"Listen Cole, I know it seems weird but they are girls, they could have gotten distracted and went shopping or something. I wouldn't put too much thought into it." Knowing Alora, there's no way she could pass up shopping if there was a deal going on. They are probably fine.
"I don't think that's it. I tried calling Helen at least a dozen times and no answer. Something's not right, I can feel it." Trying not to get upset at the mention of Cole calling Helen. I took a deep breath and began to rationalize it all.
"Honestly Cole, I think you're working yourself up for no reason. They have no reason not to come back and besides, they are not stupid girls. They know better than to go and do something dangerous without letting their Alpha know." Shrugging, I knew I was probably right. There is no way Alora would put her newly shifted cousin in danger and they were both probably at the mall right now eating FroYo or something while gossiping about boys or whatever.
"Zayne I don't think that's rig..." Holding up my hand, I cut him off mid sentence.
"Cole, nothing is wrong. Just back off and they will be home soon. I only have an hour before we are to meet again and I would like to spend that hour cooling off. Now if you will excuse me." Turning my back to him. I entered the woods and kept walking until the trees consumed me. Stripping off the rest of my clothes. I shifted and took a deep breath.
"SOMETHING IS WRONG AND I CAN FEEL IT. I DONT WANT YOU TO REGRET THIS ZAYNE!" Yelling to be heard, I turned my head to where Cole was previously standing and saw his form retreating back to the pack house.
Thinking about his words, the hair on my spine stood on end and I could not shake the chill that suddenly consumed me.
Letting out a growl, I took off into the forest trying to outrun the way I felt.
There was no way Alora would do something without my permission. Besides, like I said earlier, she is not a stupid girl. She was smart and concentrated. Sure, she was a little too eccentric but that's what made her so powerful. She was a good friend and a perfect Beta. She has never jeopardized my trust in her and if she said she was going to the store, I had no reason not to believe her.
Picking up my pace, I continued to run for the sunset ahead of me. The Red Moon pack had a huge territory and it felt good to just run.
After a few more miles I came to a complete stop. Taking a deep breath, I watched the sun completely disappear.
Turning around, I dropped my head and picked up my trail again to get back to the pack house. The girls should be back now so we can get the meeting started.
Just thinking about the girls makes Helen pop into my mind. Just the thought of her and my heart begins to race; the muscles in my stomach clench and pure joy radiates throughout my entire body.
I crave to see her but I know I can't. She is too young and innocent. Someone as delicate as her does not belong in a world of rouges and evil.
She was supposed to be human.
Rejecting her was the hardest thing I have ever done. It was clear she had no idea what we were so thankfully she was not as hurt as I was.
God I wish it didn't have to be this way! I just want to hold her and be with her. The first time I looked into those green eyes, I knew she was mine.
But she can't be. I can't spend my whole life babysitting her. It is clear that she is too young and the goddess making her the Knight must have been a mistake.
She can't even use her elements let alone try to lead us Elementals. We still have two more Elementals to find before the Dark Knight does and there is no way she would know how to locate them.
Shaking my head, I quickly became overwhelmed with the pressure I had on my shoulders. It was all too much and I felt like it was the only one equipped to carry this burden.
The closer I drew to the house, the more stress and anxiety began to build. I felt off and unbalanced and I needed to calm myself if I wanted to shift back.
Finding my clothes where I left them, I took a deep breath and concentrated on my human form. Normally shifting took no thought at all but because of how panicked I felt, my wolf naturally felt defensive and he wanted control.
Thinking about my family and friends, peace overcame me and I was able to shift effortlessly.
Finally back in human form, I threw my clothes on and walked towards the back door of the pack house.
My wolf still felt restless but there was no obvious reason why. The sooner we got this meeting over with the sooner he would calm down and I would feel normal again. It was always the not knowing that made him upset.
Grabbing an apple off the counter, I walked through the living room and headed down the hall for the Alpha's office. It was obvious that everyone was already there and I was last to arrive.
Walking in, I saw Michael and his mate Marissa, a few pack warriors, and Alpha Darnell sitting at his desk.
"Sorry I'm late. The run lasted longer than I expected." Nodding my head in respect, I shut the office door and stood against the far wall like I did earlier. Scanning the room again, I noticed Alora and Helen still weren't here and my eyebrows raised in curiosity.
"Alright, we can get started as soon as your Beta and the Knight arrive. When can we expect them Alpha?" Alpha Darnell asked staring at me.
Tilting my head to the side, I had no idea how to answer that question.
"Honestly, I have no idea. I thought they would have been back hours ago." Feeling stupid, I could not believe how idiotic that answer was.
"What do you mean they're not back yet? Don't you know where they are." Crossing his arms, I could hear the anger start to leech its way into Michael's voice. Immediately my wolf became defensive. He didn't appreciate Michael's tone and honestly I didn't either.
"They said they just had to run an errand. They are big girls and I didn't see the need to keep tabs on them at all times." I said pushing myself off the wall.
"Are you kidding me? You're telling me that you sent two teenage wolves out on their own in an unknown territory with a pack of rouges on the loose. Do I even have to mention how one of them is the Knight wolf who only shifted a week ago for the first time? You must be as dumb as you look!" Raising his voice fully, my wolf began to growl at the threat Michael was becoming.
"Don't you dare raise your voice at me mutt. I trust Alora with my life and I trust her with Helen. How dare you..."
Stepping closer to him, I was about to rip into him when a loud whistle cut through the room.
Grabbing my ears, I looked up to see Marissa with two fingers in her mouth.
"Boys, knock it off now!" Crossing her arms, she stepped between the two of us successfully ending the fight that was about to begin.
"Everyone needs to just take a deep breath and we will start from the beginning. Now Zayne, what do you know about where the girls went?" Turning towards me, Marissa nodded her head for me to begin speaking.
"All I know is that Alora and Helen said they were headed to the store to pick up some things."
"And what time did they leave?" Scrunching her brow, you could see the time line she was plotting in her head.
"I'd have to say around six I think." Shoving my hands in my pockets, I was trying to think back to the conversation to remember as much detail as possible.
"Actually, I was more like seven. I remember because I had just beat one of the pack warriors in Call of Duty for the third time in the row and my stomach began to grumble so I went into the kitchen to find some food. I came out at the end of Alora's explanation on why they were leaving." Leaning forward on the couch, you could sense the anxiety coming off of Cole in waves.
"Okay, so the girls left at about seven so that means they have been gone for little more than five hours. Alpha Darnell, have you heard anything from your warriors surrounding the perimeter about the girls coming or going from the property?" Marissa asked while facing the Alpha's desk.
"Unfortunately my men only saw the girls leaving in one of the cars. They never saw them return." He said rubbing his temples in frustration.
"Alright. We need to find the girls and fast. Zayne, have you tried mind linking Alora yet?"
"That's what I've been trying to do this whole time. Her mind is blocked and I can't reach her." Turning around to face the window, I looked past the curtain and into the forest. From inside, it looked dark and cold. Full of scary things that could go bump in the night.
"Has anyone tried calling their phones? Maybe they went out to dinner and just forgot to let us know." With Marissa still speaking, I couldn't help but to think how lucky Michael was to have such a strong and intelligent mate. She was incredibly calm under pressure and I couldn't help but to feel jealous because I didn't have that.
"I have, multiple times. I've been trying all afternoon and when I couldn't reach them, I went to Zayne." Cole said as he began to pace.
"Wait, you're saying that you mentioned this to Zayne earlier and he did nothing? What kind of Alpha are you to ignore something as serious as missing pack members?" Spitting with distaste, I whirled around to stare Michael down. His eyes were turning black letting me know his wolf was taking over.
Before I had the chance to speak, Marissa jumped in front of Michael again tearing his eyes away from me.
"Michael, I need you to calm down. Zayne only knew as much as we did and you cannot get mad at him. We all have a lot going on right now and as far as he knew, the girls were just going shopping." Grabbing his face, Michael stared into her eyes until the anger seemed to dissipate.
"You're right. Zayne I apologize. You knew as much as we did and as far as we know, there could be nothing wrong. However, it is really late and we need to find them before anyone else does."
Nodding my head at Michael's apology, I quickly glanced at Marissa to show my gratitude for calming Michael down. Goddess knows how hard it is the handle an angry shifter and Michael seemed to be quite the hothead.
"Now, Alpha Darnell, this is your pack and your pack land. You know this area better than anyone; what do you suggest we do?" Shifting her attention to the pack Alpha, Marissa awaited his response as the Alpha took some time to answer.
"I think it would be best if we split up to look for them. Marissa and Michael will take two of my pack warriors and you will search the shopping district in town. Not much is open at this late hour but you never know. Zayne and Cole, you will also take two warriors with you and head downtown to check out the night clubs. It is already one in the morning so they might be trying to have some last minute fun before all hell breaks loose. I will take a pack of our best trackers and we will search the surrounding forest. I want absolutely no one to go near the Rouge's camp without my say so. The last thing I need is for the rouges to know that we are on to them. We can still salvage what you all came here to do but that won't be possible if the rouges know. Is everyone clear?"
We all nodded our head in unison. Normally an Alpha had no influence on other Alphas however, when a command is given on their territory in regards to pack protection, Alphas must obey. In this case, Alpha Darnell ordered us to stay away from the rouges so there is no way we can disobey him.
"Good, now the Warriors and Trackers have been notified and they are waiting outside. I suggest we get a move on." With that, everyone began to stir and the hunt for Alora and Helen was on.
. . . . .
"We're they in there?" Pushing of the SUV, I took a step towards Cole to meet him halfway.
"No they weren't. Bouncer said he hasn't seen them all night. I went in to check but they weren't in there. What do we do now? It's already three and that was the last club."
Running my hands through my hair, I was so worried that it was becoming difficult to not let my wolf out.
"I don't know. Michael and Marissa are already back at the pack house and there's no where else to look. Maybe Alpha Darnell found something and will have news for us when we get back. That's the most we can hope for now. Let's just go."
Jumping into the drivers seat, I felt like this was all pointless. If we haven't heard from them all night and we couldn't even locate their car, than things were much more serious than they appeared.
Stepping on the gas, my only prayer was that the goddess protected them and they were already there.
Slamming my hand against the steering wheel, I couldn't help but to let out a frustrated sigh. This was so screwed up.
"Dude, they're going to be fine." I heard Cole say from the passenger seat.
Looking in the rear view mirror, I saw the two pack warriors staring out the side windows.
"It better be. This is all my fault." I said under my breathe.
"How is this your fault? You didn't know they were going to just run off like they did. You couldn't have stopped them anyway."
Feeling frustrated, I couldn't quite put the words together to try to explain to Cole. I was their Alpha and their safety should have been my first priority. However, it wasn't. I have been so distracted since finding out Helen was the Knight wolf and my mate that I have only thought of myself. I have been trying so hard to run from her and my feelings that I didn't even realize she was running too. Now both girls are missing and there's only one real place left to look.
As I looked down at the car radio, I noticed the clock on the dash board began to blur. Closing my eyes for a second, I opened them only for it to get worse. Shaking my head, I must be more tired than I thought.
Gripping the steering wheel tighter, the road ahead began to blur and disappear and I knew something wasn't right. Before I had the chance to say anything, a searing pain ripped through my head and immediately my hands flew to my temples. Letting out a scream, I heard Cole next to me do the same thing as he fell forward in his seat. Slamming on the brakes, a warrior jumped in between the seats grabbing the wheel. When the car came to a stop, I saw her throw the gear shift into park and I tumbled out of the car.
Laying on the wet asphalt, the pain in my head only intensified. It felt like someone took a hammer and cracked open my skull to get a look at my brain. Slowly, I dragged my fingers down my face. It hurt so much and I just wanted it to end.
"Alpha Zayne are you all right? Alpha can you hear me?" I heard the same pack warrior who grabbed the wheel put her hands on my back but she felt so far away.
Flipping over, my vision began to go dark and the pain got worse.
"We need to get them back to the pack house now!" I heard the warrior yell.
"Help me lift him John." Feeling hands slide under my back, I got one more look at the full moon before everything went black.
. . . . .
Darkness...
All I could see is darkness.
Where am I?
Lying still, I thought back.
I was with Alora and we were running.
Why were we running?
Rouges. Rouges were after us...but why?
We found a man. He was chained to the wall.
Slowly, the memories began to trickle in as I found myself waking from my sleep.
Alora and I had snuck out and invaded the rouges camp as they slept. I remember finding a man is a room full of salt. A young boy helped us escape as the rouges chased us. Alora and the boys escaped but did I?
Gently, I moved my fingers and felt them rub against what felt like sheets. I was in a bed covered in blankets.
I tried to open my eyes again but I just couldn't. I was so tired and my body just wanted to rest.
As I tried to move some more, I could feel myself being pulled back under. I wanted to wake up but I couldn't. I tried to fight the darkness as it seeped in to consume me but It was no use.
I don't know where I am but I know I am alive...
A/N
Let me know what you guys think is coming next! If you can guess right, or close to right, a character will be named after you so let me hear your theories!!! However, if no one guesses close to it, whoever has the funniest joke will be the winner!!!
It has been way to long but I finally uploaded! It's short I know but I broke my computer so I had to type it out on my phone.

Remember, COMMENT, VOTE, FOLLOW
-R