Nihal looked towards Hritika, only to find her deep in thought. He nudged her shoulder with his to bring her back into the world.

"What are you thinking about so seriously?" He asked with a slight smile.

She shook her head and just whispered, "Nothing."

"Come on, don't be like that. What is it?" Nihal prodded.

"Let it be Nihal. You are already in pain and it's not the time for useless assumptions of mine," Hritika tried to wave off the question but Nihal's one stern look was enough for her to spill the beans.

"Everything happening here is too weird. Like you saw that guy turning into a wolf and that lady talking about some Alpha command. Did you see Uncle? I mean it has been nineteen years, it should have been hard for us to recognize him but he looks exactly the same. Sure he has aged a little but it's definitely not enough for nineteen years," Hritika vented out.

Nihal pulled her in a hug with the hope that it would calm her down. Her questions were on point but finding their answers would mean spending more time with the man he didn't even want to face.

"Let's just go back to our home and forget all this," Nihal concluded.

He took a deep breath trying to gather as much courage as he could before going outside. Hritika squeezed his hand in assurance and they went out, holding each other's hand.

Nihal rolled his eyes seeing his father and his other son verbally fighting.

"Why can't they take this fight somewhere else? They are blocking our only way out," Hritika grumbled.

Before they could understand what was happening, the hotel room's door was broken and around 15-20 people stumbled inside the room.

"Alpha, is everything okay? Last we heard was Luna's cry for our future Alpha. Not receiving any command from you all, we got worried," one of the warriors asked, his face full of tension.

Many warriors and a few Alphas from nearby packs had arrived.

"Don't worry Alpha Aarjav, we won't let these fraudsters live. And don't worry, humans won't find out about our existence as we have evacuated the whole town making an excuse that wild animals have been sighted nearby," Alpha of Lunar pack explained.

Before Alpha Aarjav got the chance to reply, Alpha of Lunar pack and Alpha of Midnight pack shifted into their wolves and ran towards Nihal and Hritika to attack them.

Both the cousins screamed with terror. Their eyes widened as the huge wolves with open jaws came towards them.

Nihal immediately cocooned Hritika, hoping to take most of the impact. Life flashed before their eyes as the wolves jumped onto them. But those wolves were pushed sideways at the end moment.

Every wolf present in that room was shocked when they saw Alpha Aarjav shift in mid air, attacking his own allies.

All the three Alphas went crashing into the wall because of the strong impact.

The paintings that were hanging on the wall fell onto their heads, increasing their injury.

At the same moment, Hritika went unconscious in Nihal's arms. Nihal kneeled down carefully, and patted Hritika's cheek to wake her up. He too was shaken up from the events but Hritika was his main priority now.

"Hritika, Hritika, please wake up," Nihal rubbed her palms, patted her cheeks, did everything he could think of while tears streamed down his face.

Hritika's eyes fluttered open. she blinked a few times before coming to full consciousness. 

Nihal cried, but this time in relief. While his attention was solely on his cousin, Alphas were having a screaming match.

"What's wrong with you, Alpha Aarjav? How can you hurt us to protect those fraudsters?" Midnight pack's Alpha screamed, feeling utterly betrayed.

"They are not enemies," Alpha Aarjav spoke in a calm tone, aggravating the enraged Alphas even more.

"Not enemies? Then do tell me, why were the back ups called? And why the hell does he smell like you?" The enraged Alpha asked, spitting out blood from his mouth.

"Let's discuss this after you all are patched up," Luna Mahira rolled her eyes at these Alphas.

Three of them were bleeding yet instead of getting first-aid, they were arguing and others were silently enjoying the show.

"No. Unless we know the reason behind your mate's sudden change of heart, no one would move from their place," Lunar pack's Alpha spoke with stubbornness .

Luna looked at the warriors and with the little tilt of her head, they left the room.

"Alpha is telling the truth. They are not enemies," Luna said, siding with Alpha, keeping aside her anger and pain for later.

"Then what about the familiar scent? Is that a coincidence or are you hiding something?" Alpha of the Moonshine pack asked with folded arms, finally moving away from the wall, from where he was silently watching everything.

"Alpha please tell us the truth or else we would have no choice but to think that you are involved with the enemies," Alpha of Lunar pack gave the ultimatum with a heavy heart.

After all, they weren't just neighbouring packs but have been friends for a long time. Having no other option, Alpha Aarjav told them the truth.

"He is not an enemy. The reason he has my scent is because he is my son. Before you ask any more questions, yes he is a human. He was born before I met my mate."

While Alphas were shocked, Nihal chuckled slowly.

"Your questions were on point, Hritika. Him claiming that I am human gives away that they are not. Looks like fate has given me a slight hint. No wonder I hated wild animals and forests so much," Nihal spoke to Hritika with a sarcastic laugh.

Hritika covered her face, groaning lightly.

"I just hope that this is just a long nightmare and everything will be alright when I wake up," her muffled voice came out as she spoke under her palms.

"I hope that your hope comes true," Nihal muttered wishfully.