Nolan

Staring blankly in the empty parking lot, Nolan felt lost. He couldn't understand why Elara had to leave so quickly. He wasn't an expert in magic but he knew someone summoned her by sending that portal, and it was someone she knew very well since she blindly jumped into it.

"Hey, Nolan! Come on man! The party is on fire!" Sean called to him from the school entrance.

Nolan shrugged and followed him inside, moving between dancing bodies all around. The teachers supposed to chaperone were either asleep or flirting. Students were having the time of their lives, feeling the freedom to party like there was no tomorrow.

"Nolan? Where is Elara?"

Looking back he saw Laura, Sophie, and Nora looking at him questionably. "She had to leave." He said before sitting down and running a hand through his already messed up hair.

"Leave where? Is she okay?"

"I don't know, it was all so... odd. She promised me we'd talk tomorrow, everything is supposed to work out but... I have a bad feeling. It's like, I know she's hiding something." His frown deepened as he suddenly felt his heart beating faster. "Something is not right!"

"Who did she leave with?" Sophie asked seeming as worried as he was.

Nolan looked around making sure no one could hear him, "There was a portal... she stepped into it."

"A portal?" Laura gasped "And was she pulled into it?"

"No, she stepped in willingly."

"That's weird. She never said anything about... Oh!" Laura looked at Sophie who was still clueless. "It's past midnight. It's her birthday."

"Oh!"

"Stop with the Oh's! Where is she?" Nora impatiently.

"I suppose she's home,"  Sophie answered quickly.

"Yeah... She should be. We'll go see her tomorrow." Laura added. They shared a look and bid Nolan and Nora good night before leaving.

"I have a feeling they are hiding something."

"I'm pretty sure they are, Nora. I can feel it in my bones. Elara is unhappy."

"Come on, let's go home. we'll go check on her tomorrow."

The sun was shining brightly in the sky, the birds were flapping their wings without a care in the world. Butterflies were flying from flower to flower in the meadow. Everything was peaceful but Nolan's heart. He barely slept last night feeling ill at ease. The bad feeling never left him and it worried him more and more with every passing second. He tried calling Elara when he woke up but was sent to voicemail. He sent her a few messages but never got any answer.

In order to get rid of this negativity, Nolan went out on the field to train. He spent two hours in the training court and ran around the whole pack's perimeter but still didn't find peace of mind. Or heart.

"Alpha Nolan, I got what you asked me for."

"I'm not Alpha yet, Marcus." He faced his friend and smiled at him. "What did you find?"

"The Tiassili witch that was killed was Elara's aunt, Mandy. Her mother's sister."

"Who killed her?"

"Lucas Bell."

Nolan's eyes widened as he looked at Marcus, "Why would he kill his sister-in-law?"

"Apparently, he lost it. He heard her telling Jenna, Elara's mom, to leave him. He was always drunk and he kept hurting his wife. He was drunk that day as well and shifted into his wolf. Lucas bit Mandy in the neck piercing her veins. She lost a lot of blood and passed away."

"What did the council do about it?"

"They kicked him out of the pack and banned him from our lands. He had a house here, the one your dad removed the other day. He left it and went to live with his father, Daniel Bell. It wasn't long after that his wife passed away in a car accident, and he left a year later. No one has heard of him since."

Nolan nodded getting up on his feet "Thank you, Marcus, really. I owe you one."

He jogged back to the packhouse and climbed the stairs two at a time until he reached his floor. He went into his bedroom and took a quick shower. After throwing on whatever clothes he reached first, Nolan grabbed his keys and made his way out of the house before anyone could stop him. He drove to Elara's house and found the girls gathered outside with Daniel Bell who looked distraught. Something isn't right.

Nolan joined them "Hi girls, Mr. Bell."

"Alph... Um, Nolan."

"Hi, Nolan." Sophie and Laura said in unison.

"What's going on? Where is Elara?"

"We don't know. She's not home, and she left a note."

Daniel Bell handed the note he found in his bedroom to Nolan who read it with his brows furrowed deeply. It wasn't logic. Elara would never leave for a vacation before graduation.

"Where could she go? Does she have any relatives?"

"It's not her handwriting," Sophie informed him. "Someone else wrote this, so Elara didn't go willingly."

Nolan looked at Laura, "You're a witch, can't you trace it?"

"You're a witch too? I mean..."

Laura looked amused "who else is a witch Mr. Bell?"

"Your... um... your mother?"

Laura laughed nodding "Yes, I'm a witch. And so is Elara. Her powers woken inside of her after she was bit by Sean."

"Sean? You mean..." Daniel Bell looked at Nolan furiously "Your beta did this?"

"Yes, I'm afraid he did but he was punished really."

"So you girls know about werewolves? About the Tiassili?"

Sophie nodded "We don't know much but we know that Elara tried to learn more about the Tiassili witches and we're worried it might have something to do with her disappearance."

"What else are you hiding?"

Nolan took a deep breath, "I'm Elara's mate."

"Wait, Mr. Bell! Do you know about werewolves? You know Sean is his beta, you almost called him alpha... you're a werewolf!" Laura looked at him accusingly.

"We don't have time for this young girl! We need to find Elara."

"You lost Elara?" They all turned toward the voice and saw a man standing a few feet away from them. He looked familiar but only Daniel Bell recognized him.

"Lucas..." Daniel glared at him "What in the world are you doing here? You're banned from these lands!"

"I came here to take my daughter! She's in danger. The Tiassili will come for her, she's eighteen now. They'll want to take her and train her making her one of them!"

The girls looked at each other and then at Nolan who was staring at Lucas threateningly. They all fell into an awkward silence. Lucas closed the distance between them feeling irritated.

"Where is she?" He asked them through gritted teeth.

"They already got her," Sophie spoke through tears.

"All you had to do was protect her dad! All you had to do was to keep her with you and keep her alive! And now she's gone because of you!" Lucas was enraged; his body shaking so hard Nolan knew his wolf would surface any minute.

He grabbed him by the collar and pinned him to a tree. Having alpha blood in his veins, Nolan was much stronger than any other wolf. He growled at him intimidating Lucas and his wolf.

"Don't blame him for your mistakes Lucas Bell! He did nothing but protect her and raise her while you were God knows were getting drunk!" He threw him to the ground breathing hard and trying hard to control himself. He saw the fear in Lucas's eyes and sighed with degust. Nolan ran a hand through his hair pacing the lawn nervously. They had to find a way to get her back but he was no fool. The Tiassili witches, one of the most powerful witch tribes in the world, were the best at hiding themselves.

He knew it wasn't going to be an easy job to get her back but he'd do everything in his power to do so. Turning back, his piercing grey eyes locked with Laura's. She would be of great help to him in his quest to get back his mate. One of the witches that worked with his pack told him about Laura's powers. She wasn't a Tiassili witch, but she was powerful nonetheless.

"Can you do a locating spell?"

"Nolan... We're talking about the Tiassili coven here."

"Do you know how or not?"

"I tried already Nolan, we couldn't find her, she's cloaked. We'll have to think of something else."

Nolan groaned in anger punching his fist in the tree trunk and letting out an animalistic growl. He felt helpless and clueless. Feelings he hated to have. As the future alpha of his pack he always liked to find solutions on his own, without turning to his father for help. He did it as training. But with Elara gone and in the hands of the Tiassili witches, he thought he might have no choice in the matter.

"Nolan, you need to calm down," Laura whispered taking a step back.

"I'm calm!" he glared at Elara's father shaking his head "You should leave unless you want to find yourself in a dungeon!"

"I won't! I need to find my daughter."

"Lucas, leave." Daniel Bell looked exhausted and worry was evident on his face. Nolan had seen him the day before, but now he seemed even older.

"Dad..."

"I said leave. We'll look for her ourselves and I'll let you know when we find her."

Lucas lowered his head but did as his father asked and left. Daniel rubbed his grey beard before gesturing to the house.

"Let's get inside and see what we can do."

Once inside they all sat down except for Nolan who paced the living room back and forth. "What if... What if I gather the pack's best trackers and get them here, they'll pick up their scent and follow them."

"As much as a good idea it is, it won't work." Sophie sighed crossing her legs. "I went upstairs to her room; they used teleportation to take her. So I'm afraid you can't follow their scent."

"Alright, we know where they are located right? We can send out search parties and we'll find them. It will take time but we will."

"And then what? Attack?" Daniel shook his head "It would be taking your pack to slaughter. The Tiassili witches use dark magic, they kill people to survive. They kill for power. They would never let your pack members live."

"Even if we take the killing part out, we can't find them. There are only rumors of where they are and they are good at hiding." Laura looked at Nolan "you could pass by their village and not see it or feel it."

"So what do you suggest Laura? You're a witch. Why don't you find a way to get her back since all my ideas are worthless?"

"I'm a witch, yes, but I'm not that powerful Nolan! I'm new to all this!"

Nolan's groan was followed by a hard punch that almost broke the wall. He took a deep breath and without saying anything else left the room. He slammed the front door and sat on the steps trying to even his breathing. He could feel his wolf ready to take over and that was the last thing he wanted to happen.

He was on their pack's territory but there were still humans in the neighborhood so he had to be careful. Resting his elbows on his knees Nolan covered his face with his hands trying to mind link Elara but he couldn't even reach her. It felt like her mind was completely shut.

"Nolan?" Sophie sat down next to him and let out an exasperated sigh. "Are you okay?"

Nolan looked up at her and shook his head. "I always felt so powerful and proud with the strength I have. I always could find solutions to everything... but today... today I feel like the most vulnerable person in the world. I feel helpless Sophie... I feel..." he let out a sigh and looked away "I feel like I failed her. I was supposed to protect her and I lost her."

"It's not your fault Nolan, no one knew this was going to happen and I bet she didn't know either."

"I can't lose her. I won't lose her."