A/N

Thank you so so much for the well wishes and prayers for my mum. This one is for you.

I'm taking pictures in my mind / So I can save them for a rainy day

Stay beautiful

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"Ah, of course, whenever there's Evan Albright, there's always his loyal protector Griffin too," greeted Ryker with a light, friendly tone. He appeared to be familiar with both wolves. "I need to speak with your Alpha."

Griffin, a man of tanned skin and dark curly hair, scorned. "Yeah, right? Our alpha doesn't meet just anyone. Wait for the next pack leaders' meeting to meet him."

"I'm afraid we don't have the luxury of time." Ryker let go of my hand and shoved his hands inside the pocket of his black leather jacket, but he still kept me close. "More like your mate Eros does not."

At the mention of Eros' name, both members of the Erebus growled. Clearly, they were aware of Eros' disappearance, so at least Adelina hadn't messed with their heads. I couldn't tell what Evan was saying considering he was in his wolf form, but even with his growl, Griffin's words were audible. "What did you do to him?! We've been looking for him. I don't care if they consider it as an act of war or breaking a hundred-year-old treaty, but if you or your pack members did anything to him, I'll tear you apart." Even with his growl, Griffin's words were audible in his wolf form.

"It's not us. We did nothing to him," I quickly said before Griffin decided that the best course of action was to turn into a giant wolf and eat us whole. "But a sorceress did."

"Witch? Who? What nonsense is this? No witch dares to mess with us! They know we will bring havoc right at their front door." Griffin narrowed his eyes, then his head tilted towards Evan as if he was listening, and it took me a split second to realize that they were communicating through the mind link. "How did you know?" asked Griffin after a while. "If a witch truly did something to Eros, why would she tell you?" Then his frown slowly dissipated as he came up with a new theory. "Right. Maybe you asked them to do that. After all, your pack is the filthy scum who offered protection for the Eastern witches."

His logic actually made perfect sense. "Let's just say that I'm good at persuading people." I wanted to keep the whole thing about Alana a secret. It was nobody's business what happened in the North. "Ryker — Alpha Ryker," I quickly corrected, "and I had something to confirm with the sorceress. I know something was wrong with Eros, so I asked her."

"You've met Eros?" Griffin's face was filled with disbelief. "Where? We've scoured every place and we couldn't find him."

"In the Center. District 8," I answered. Chills went down my spine as my mind recalled how Eros had been that day. "He was acting weird."

Griffin and Evan momentarily glanced at each other before focusing their eyes back on me. "Weird how?"

I must admit, being stared at by a giant wolf was a bit strange. Getting over my nervousness, I swallowed hard. Even now, it's not easy to say. I'd known Eros for over ten years. Even though I knew it was not his own doing, it still hurt when he'd stared at me with a blank look that one would use on a stranger — with zero remembrance — and said that he didn't know me. "He doesn't recognize me."

"Are you one of the girls he had one nightstand with?" Griffin laughed mockingly. "Why should he—" Griffin turned to Evan, his eyes widened. His head whipped back to me and the shock was apparent on his face. "You're that girl. The one Eros was sent to watch and protect."

The wolf transformed into a naked human, and before my eyes traveled to his package, I averted my eyes away. Gosh, all of these testosterones. Perhaps being a werewolf required them to go through extensive training.

"Our Alpha wants to meet you," said naked Evan.

I looked up at the sky. It wasn't going to rain anytime soon, but the weather was quite predictable here in England, even when it seemed unpredictable. It always rained. "Can you put some clothes on first?" As I felt the warmth on my cheeks, I angled my head down to look at Ryker. Rather than looking at the sky, he wanted me to pay attention to him. "What?"

"Just look at me while Evan is getting his pants," he whispered. I could feel his warm breath along with the cool night air breeze on my lips as I looked up at him.

"Why?"

"Not really a fan of you checking another man's abs," said Ryker with a tone of wonder, as if he himself couldn't believe he said that. "Hm, that was odd."

My face twisted into a frown. "What was?"

"I'm usually fine with that. Al—my female friends checked other guys out and I had no problem with that." His eyes narrowed. "What is it with you that makes me—"

"Come on," said Evan, his voice modulated and quite a distinction compared to his mate Griffin's. He was leading the way while Griffin was walking behind Ryker and me. "My mates are already here to replace me and Griffin."

Ryker rolled his eyes. "There must be a compliment there somewhere."

"Just in case you decide to do anything, Alpha," said Evan. "I'm sure you understand. We've welcomed you here, after all, which is quite rare. No other wolves outside our own pack members may walk on this ground."

Well, except me. Eros had let me walk this exact path — although I wouldn't tell them that just in case it would cause an unnecessary dispute, and sure enough, they brought us to a treehouse where Eros and I had used to talk about my parents and the truth.

There was no word to describe Alpha Leonidas Aglieri but, at the same time, there were too many words that could be used to describe him. The first word I would use was tough. With his piercing eyes, posture, and muscles, he looked like a warrior of some sort. Given that his father was a Sicilian mafioso, I had expected him to have the appearance of a gang leader. After Eros had told me about Alpha Leonidas's dad, I Googled him. Pietro Aglieri was known as 'u Signurinu' or 'The Little Gentleman' for his relatively sophisticated education and refined manners. Looking at Alpha Leonidas, it seemed that so was he. It was shown in the way he behaved and in his manner of speaking. "Fleur Ashcroft, the daughter of Thanos Ashcroft. We finally met again," greeted Alpha Leonidas in a thick Italian accent. "You probably don't remember me. I am your father's oldest friend. Leonidas Aglieri."

"I don't, but Eros talked about you." I bit my bottom lip and hoped that it was not a bad idea to tell him this, especially since we needed him to be on our side so that he would let us get Young Seb.

"Eros Adler," his voice filled with grief. He looked up and moved his eyes to Evan. The younger man nodded and then left. "We have been looking for him for days now and from what I gather from Griffin and Evan, a witch did something to him, yes?"

"Yes," Ryker answered. "She hexed him."

"Alpha Ryker." Alpha Leonidas gave him a nod of acknowledgment. His eyes shifted towards the door and that's when he noticed a man who bore a strong resemblance to Eros, but was much older. With no one telling me who this man was, I could tell that he was Beta Adler, Eros's father.

Beta Adler regarded us with suspicion. "I don't believe them, Alpha," he stated even though he knew he could mind-link his opinion and keep it private from us. That was a deliberate action on his part. "They could be lying. Young Seb could have something they want or they want to make him their next victim after Eros. That is if Eros was truly gone. We all know how unreachable he can be especially when he's on a mission."

"No. I love Eros. He's my best friend," I protested before Beta Adler sputtered another nonsense. "You have no idea how important he is to me. It scared me when he told me that he didn't know me and that his name was Ares and not Eros. That's his wolf, right? So I know something terrible and possibly magical might have happened to him."

Alpha Leonidas seemed to tell Beta Adler something, because the next thing I knew, Eros's dad was shaking his head. "No. It can't be. Mad Wolf is a rare, mythical disease. No one has it anymore."

"It is possible," said Alpha Leonidas to him, enough to silence his Beta's protest, and then he turned his gaze to me. "Tell me more about what you are going to do to get Eros back and how Young Seb could be of help."

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