Being a leader wasn't simple. Along with the responsibilities, it came with many cruel restrictions. One such restriction was to never lose your composure in front of the pack. It was always expected from a leader to remain calm and strong even when every part of their being crumbled.

Beta knelt beside Alpha Aarjav and helped him stand up with the help of Gamma. Before they could move, they were interrupted by Luna's mind-link asking them to return quickly to Yara's home. The warriors had already informed her about the rogues inquiring about Alpha Jaipal.

"I will take him to his room. You go and inform Luna," Beta said to Gamma before taking Alpha away. Nodding, Gamma walked towards Yara's home while sighing in distress.

The door was already open when Gamma reached the house. Upon entering, he saw Luna pacing across the room while Nihal and Hritika were huddled together with pale faces. Nihal's legs kept bouncing while Hritika closed and opened her fists in continuation. Vivaan and Rehyaa stood nearby with tensed faces while Juhi and Yara were hovering over Nihal and Hritika, trying to provide the little support they could.

"Luna," Gamma called out which made Luna come to an abrupt stop.

"What is going on? How are these rogues related to Alpha Jaipal? And where the hell is your Alpha?" Luna asked in quick succession.

"These...," Gamma stopped to look at the humans before continuing again, "These rogues were the same rogues who were hired to blackmail Alpha Aarjav."

His words broke the little composure, Hritika was trying to maintain. She marched towards the Gamma and asked about the whereabouts of those rogues.

"They are in our care. We have manipulated them and now the other rogues who were involved would be joining them soon. We will punish them as soon as we manage to capture all of them." Gamma spoke in a reassuring tone.

"I will punish them myself. Just take me to the place where they are being kept." Hritika roared.

"Come to your senses. You are blinded with anger," Luna interjected.

"You weren't the one who lost her parents because of a blackmail that wasn't even related to them," Hritika back answered, ready to fight anyone who came into her way.

Vivaan took a step forward to intervene as Hritika was going too far but stopped when Luna shook her head.

"None of us can compare to your pain Hritika, nor are we claiming to, but making a haste decision would only help other rogues and Alpha Jaipal to flee away." Luna reprimanded her in a motherly voice.

"Okay. I will wait for all of them to come and then kill them all," Hritika announced while nodding to herself.

"Do you think it is that easy?" Gamma roared, causing Hritika to take a step back.

"No matter how evil your opponent is, you won't feel satisfaction for more than a day. Even if they deserve it, the scenario will haunt you for your life. Don't ruin your life for these bastards. I promise that they are going to face something far worse than death. They will be tortured to such an extent that they would beg us to kill them. All this will happen but you are not going to get involved."

Thinking that Hritika still didn't understand after his long speech, Gamma added the last words hoping that it would do the deed. "Trust me, I am talking from personal experience."

Nihal stood up to take Hritika in a sidehug. Rubbing her arm, he pleaded with his eyes to let this go, to let these werewolves handle the punishment.

"Will you also torture your previous Alpha?" Hritika asked the question that would be the deciding factor.

"If we find him- Yes," Gamma answered solemnly.

"What do you mean by this?" Hritika trailed off, managing to speak in a normal tone even though her insides were bursting into volcanoes.

"Gamma?" Luna probed when they didn't receive any answer from him.

Gamma rubbed his forehead, knowing that diaster was near. The moment he answered, his life was over.

"Umm...actually...," he stammered. This continued for few more times, before Hritika let out a huge sigh.

"You haven't found him." she concluded in a disappointed tone, having lost all her will.

"We will find him soon." Gamma spoke optimistically.

"Are the rogues aware of his location?" Nihal asked, though it didn't seem like he had any hopes for positive answer.

"Nope, it seems like they are of the assumption that Alpha Jaipal still lives here," Gamma replied in a resigned tone.

"Great, just great." Hritika threw her hands up in the air and stomped towards her room, shutting the door loudly in the process.

Gamma looked at Luna with a pitiful face, asking what was his fault in this situation. Luna Mahira shook her head and asked the question that was troubling her for awhile but wasn't able to ask in the commotion.

"Where is Aarjav?"

Gamma bowed his head and in his silence, Luna got her answer.

"Nihal, I promise we will not let you down. Proper punishment will be given," Luna vowed.

Nihal nodded as her sincerity was visible and then left to join Hritika. Yara was going to follow him but Juhi stopped her.

"Give them some space. They need each other right now," she advised.

Although, it went against her heart, she complied. One by one, the elders took their leave. Vivaan and Rehyaa too came forward.

"Mind-link me if you need anything. I will come in a jiffy," he said and left after patting her shoulder lightly.

Rehyaa just gave her a small smile, not knowing what to say as the whole situation was unknown to her. The few snippets she heard from everyone's conversation was enough for her to know that something drastic had happened but what; that she was unaware of. Understanding the sensitivity of the situation, she kept quiet instead of voicing out her confusion.

Yara closed the door and slid down on the floor. Pulling her knees up, she rested her head on the door and closed her eyes. Hritika and Nihal needed each other right now and she couldn't take that away from them but her heart wasn't able to stay still, wanting to stay by her mate's side and comfort him.

While Yara forced herself to stay away, Nihal and Hritika cried in each other's arms. The anguish of all these years hitting them on their faces. Hritika didn't know how many hours had gone by, when her eyes opened. They both had fallen asleep while crying their hearts out. She carefully moved, trying to get down from the bed without waking him up.

Coming out of the room, she found Yara sleeping on the passage, outside their door, just like she had slept outside their room in the pack house on the first day Nihal found out about them being mates. A smile perched upon Hritika's otherwise teary face, looking at Yara's love and affection for her brother. Hritika gently shook Yara and gestured her to join Nihal on the bed when she woke up.

All the disorientation Yara had felt vanished when her mind registered what Hritika was insinuating.

Hritika chuckled looking at Yara's alarmed face and spoke in the softest voice she had ever used.

"It's okay. He won't mind. By now, I am sure he trusts you enough." She spoke, encouraging Yara.

Even if she was in pain, Hritika hadn't missed Yara's longing. She had meant to call Yara inside soon but before she could do so, sleep had taken over. Hritika knew she did the right thing by sending Yara inside as she saw Nihal instinctively come closer to Yara, seeking her comfort in his sleepiness. She silently closed the door after giving a last look to the couple.