Hritika and Joy finally reached the boundary of the pack where Nihal, Alpha Aarjav and Luna Mahira were waiting for them.

Hritika carefully got down and thanked Joy, her voice hoarse from all that screaming.

As soon as Hritika got off, Joy went behind a tree to shift and wear clothes.

Hritika joined the other three, looking towards the spread of wilderness. She bit her lip worriedly, upon not noticing any building or house. As far as her eyesight went there were only trees, with the exception of few men that were patrolling.

"We will have to walk a bit further to reach the pack house. I thought you two would be more comfortable walking, hence decided to stop as soon as we reached the pack boundary," Alpha Aarjav explained the unasked question.

The men who were patrolling bowed as they saw Vivaan join the others. They had already given their respects to Alpha and Luna when they had arrived.

"How many times should I tell you to not bow in front of me?" Vivaan asked with a small smile, but his eyes lacked the amusement and cheerfulness this time.

"We cannot just not bow. You are our future Alp...." the guard stumbled over his words, closing his eyes in mortification.

A heavy silence fell upon everybody as they realized that the chances of Vivaan becoming the future Alpha were slim.

Muttering an apology, the guards went back to their post.

Vivaan cleared his throat to get rid of the embarrassment.

"Let's go," Luna Mahira simply stated and started walking. She had mastered the art of hiding her feelings a long ago.

"What about our essentials? We don't have anything with us right now," Nihal queried. He had his fingers crossed with a hope that they would let them go back to the city for bringing their belongings. Hritika and Nihal could easily escape and hide from these werewolves once they reached the city.

"Whatever luggage you had in the hotel has been brought here. You can ask any trustworthy person to bring back all other things from your home to the town. We would collect it from the town then," Alpha Aarjav answered, breaking Nihal's hope.

Letting out a sad chuckle, Hritika commented, "Are you really going to keep us on house arrest or let's say pack arrest? Seriously, why can't you understand that we have our whole life there. Living in middle of forests is not meant for us."

"We are not exactly happy to have you here. How about you choose the other option? You won't have to live in the forest and our lives would be back on track," Vivaan suggested with saracasm.

"What is the other option?" Hritika questioned with suspicion.

"Death. Once you die, you won't have to live here. Best option, right?" Vivaan questioned with a smirk.

"It was my mistake to expect something from you. I should have learned from our first encounter," Hritika said, looking at him with an angry frown.

"Sore loser." Vivaan taunted.

They would have continued bickering but as the pack house came into view, Hritika's attention was diverted.

Pack house was still far away but it was visible because of his massiveness. The quiet forest ended and life came into view.

Few buildings, shops and many small houses came into their view. There architecture was different yet stylish. Everything looked eco-friendly. One thing Nihal noticed was lack of vehicles. He was confused at first but then remembered the wolf ride. They didn't need vehicles.

All the pack members stopped what they were doing and bowed at the Alpha family.

"Pack resented Alpha so much when we left for the council, what happened to them now?" Vivaan mind-linked Luna, confused by their behaviour.

"On our way back, I informed Beta of the council's ruling and the reason behind Alpha's actions who in turn informed the pack,"  Luna replied.

Usually such matters where kept between the higher ups but the situation called upon this decision. For the pack members to still respect their Alpha, they needed to know his reasons. A pack who resented their leader would never blossom.

They all stopped at entrance of the pack house where Beta, Gamma and Yara were waiting for their arrival.

Alpha introduced them to Nihal and Hritika, explaining their roles and position, although no one was interested in knowing each other.

"And last but not the least, this is Yara. Vivaan had selected her as a future Beta. I hope you would consider her for the same position, in case you become an Alpha, Nihal," Alpha Aarjav said in hopes that at least Yara's future could be saved.

"Woah! You have your own girlfriend as a second in command," Hritika commented with raised eyebrows.

"GIRLFRIEND?" Shouts erupted in shock.

"It's not like that...." Yara tried to explain but her words were drowned by someone's mocking voice.

"Of course. Now I understand why our pack suddenly had a female Beta. So our dear Yara used this card to get a higher position. It's not really surprising, I mean how else a girl can earn this position. Loving someone other than your mate, must run in Vivaan's blood. Like father- Like son," Rahul mocked.

His smirk didn't last long as he suddenly howled in pain.

To everyone's surprise, it was Hritika who had kneed him.

"I would strangle you with my silver chain if I hear you talking shit about girls and their capabilities. I don't know much about her but I am sure that she is far more capable than you." Hritika threatened, clutching his collar.

Before Rahul could shift and hurt Hritika, Nihal took her away from him.

"It's a misunderstanding. When we first clashed with Hritika, she had heard the rustling of our wolves. To prevent the exposure of our kind, we lied to her," Vivaan explained.

The current Beta visibly calmed down after hearing Vivaan's explanation. Though he knew his daughter was waiting for her rightful mate, he had believed the human's word.

Vivaan and Yara were really close from childhood, so close that Alpha Aarjav and Beta were sure that Vivaan and Yara would turn out to be mates when they turned sixteen. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case making Beta worried about what would Yara's mate think of her friendship with Vivaan.

Well, that was the problem for the other day. Right now, Beta just hoped that it was really a misunderstanding and Vivaan was not lying. Yara's worried and anxious face was not at all helping in this situation.