KABANATA 28

Alpas sat down sleepily after feeling the warmth of sunlight that was streaming through the window. Naka-awang ang mga kurtina at ang natural na ilaw ay ang dahilan kung bakit nagliliwanag ang kwarto nila ngayon.

Iminulat ng todo ni Alpas ang kaniyang mga mata at napansin niyang wala siyang katabi.

Biglang pumasok sa kaniyang isipan na ngayon ang araw na aalis sila Ethan kasama ang mga bampira upang harapin ang sinasabi nilang secret organization.

Kamabog ng malakas ang kaniyang dibdib at nagising ang buong diwa nito.

Wala silang kasiguraduhan kung anong mangyayari.

“Bakit hindi niya ako ginising?” tanong ni Alpas sa kaniyang sarili.

Pumunta siya sa kanilang banyo para maghilamos at mag-ayos. Pagkatapos ay kaagad itong pumunta sa ground floor. At halatang-halata ang pagmamadali sa bawat hakbang niya.

“Sir,” bati agad ni Carlos nang makita niyang pababa sa hagdan si Alpas.

“Naka-alis na sila?” tanong ni Alpas kahit alam na niya ang sagot.

Tumango lamang si Carlos at bumagsak ang mga balikat nito. Bakas sa kaniyang mukha ang matinding pag-aalala.

Napansin ni Alpas ang marka sa leeg nito. He was stunned to know that Prince have marked him already.

“Kinakabahan ako, sir,” marahang sinabi ni Carlos.

“Everything will be alright, right?” dagdag nito habang tinatapunan ng tingin si Alpas, as of seeking for comfort and assurance. Prince and him have already bonded and he can't afford to lose him.

Hindi naka-imik si Alpas dahil punong-puno rin siya ng pag-aalala.

Carlos didn't like the silence. The silence since Prince and the others left the pack house and the silence that Alpas was giving him.

He tried to calm himself but he bursted into tears. Napa-upo siya sofa at tinakpan ang kaniyang mukha gamit ang dalawa niyang palad. Kanina pa niya iniinda ang kaniyang bigat na nararamdaman pero biglang bumuhos iyon sa harapan ni Alpas.

Nanginginig ng bahagya ang mga kamay ni Alpas ngunit tinibayan niya ang kaniyang loob at lumapit kay Carlos para yakapin ito ng mahigpit.

“Sir... Prince and I... we just got together, he'll be fine, right?” nanghihinang sabi ni Carlos.

“They will be fine. I believe that they'll go back here, unscathed,” sabi ni Alpas. He doesn't know if he's assuring Carlos or himself.

All he knew is that, he can't crumble because everyone needs his strength. He’s the Luna who's in charge while the Alpha, the Beta, the Gamma, and the pack warriors weren't home.

Nagpalipas siya ng ilang minuto bago niya hinagod ng marahan ang likuran ni Carlos at nagsalita,

“Tahan na, Carlos. Let's go to the safe hall first.”

Dahan-dahang kumawala si Carlos sa yakap ni Alpas at pinunsan ang kaniyang mga luha.

Alpas led him to the hall where the pups and those elders were temporarily resting.

Everybody feels safe whenever they have the members of the pack by their side.

A couple of elders were huddled close together with their eyes closed.

Children were playing and running around the huge hall.

There's a huge difference between the atmosphere of the elders and the children. Solemnity and lively, it was in sharp contrast but those two can be felt inside the safe hall.

“Luna...” a soft voice said.

Alpas looked down and he saw Calix and anxiousness was evident if he looked closely in his eyes. Calix expression is very different compare to with the lively atmosphere of the other children. Matamlay ito na nakatitig kay Alpas.

“Hello, Calix.” He crouched down to reach Calix’s level.

“W-where’s Alpha?” tanong nito.

Napatigil si Alpas sa kaniyang narinig. Usually, kapag kasama ni Alpas at Ethan si Calix, hindi ito masyadong umiimik at halos si Ethan lang ang kumakausap sa kaniya. Napalapit na siguro sa kaniya ang bata kaya’t hinahanap niya ito.

“I don't know either. But he'll be back in no time,” he said. Again, he's assuring Calix and himself.

Ipinalupot ni Calix ang mga braso niya sa leeg ni Alpas. Alpas hugged him back and he took a deep breath.

He thought, “Please, come back home...”

-

The sky turned dark but there wasn't any stars present, maybe dark clouds were covering them. Only the bright moon shines but from time to time, it was being covered by the clouds as well. But the darkness wasn't a problem for the creatures who have night visions.

Somewhere in the midst of the largest forest in their city, a group of vampires and werewolves were gathered together, as if waiting for something.

“How can you trust those blood sucking creatures so easily?” Prince’s voice entered Ethan's mind through their mind link.

Napabaling sa kaniyang direksyon si Ethan. “How many times did you ask me that?”

“How sure are you that they didn't cooperate with the secret organization to eliminate us?” tinapunan ulit siya ng tanong ni Prince.

“They were attacked. Just like us,” kalmadong sagot ni Ethan at sumandal sa puno habang pumipikit.

“Are you sure that they were really attacked? Papaano kung mga bampira pala ang tunay na may-ari ng secret organization?” Prince asked again while scanning the vampires near them suspiciously.

“Prince, I get that you don't trust them. But what you just asked, the answer is obvious. Don't you remember when we were attacked by the organization back then? They were humans.”

“Still! I don't trust them. Look at their red eyes, so annoying.”

Napa-iling na lamang si Ethan. He temporarily shut their mind link and almost immediately, he felt a glare. He didn't need to open his eyes to know that it was from Prince.

After shutting of their mind link, Alpas appeared inside his head. And that reminded him na after he marked Alpas, hindi pa pala niya nasubok kung gumagana kay Alpas ang mind link.

The mind link works only around 0 to 1000 meters far between the two or more communicators. And he's too far from Alpas to try it right now. Nagpakawala na lamang siya ng buntong-hininga dahil bigla niya itong na-miss.

He mentally noted that he will try if the mind link works even though Alpas is human. Though he didn't get his hopes high, a smile crept its way upon his lips. Na-i-imagine niya ang na-e-excite na mukha ni Alpas kung sakali mang gumana ang mind link sa kaniya.

Then, a voice interrupted his thoughts,

“Tsk. What's with the smile?”

It was Prince who moved beside him after a few seconds of shutting their mind link.

Hindi na lamang sumagot si Ethan at umiling.

“Can we really trust them?” tanong ulit ni Prince.

Ethan let out an inaudible sigh. Kilala ni Ethan ang kaniyang pinsan. Kapag pa-ulit ulit ang tanong nito, he's actually anxious. Prince is trying to distract himself from anxiousness by unconsciously asking repetitive questions.

Ethan was about to reassure him but someone beat him to it.

“Rest assured, we don't like that organization as much as you do. They already caused a lot of major mess. We need to catch them real good this time,” saad ng isang malalim na boses. “You can trust us, kiddo,” dagdag pa nito.

Imbis na mapanatag si Prince, naiinis pa ito dahil sa kaniyang narinig. “Who are you calling kiddo?!”

Dehano, the one who just spoke and the current leader of the vampires, let out a laugh. Dahilan para lalong mainis si Prince.

“Prince,” Ethan warned. Inunat niya ang kaniyang braso sa harapan ni Prince para pigilan siya kung sakali mang susugurin nito si Dehano.

“Tsk. Fucking blood sucking creature,” bulong ni Prince.

“I’m way too old compare to you, little beta. You're still a kid. I’m your grandpa,” biro ni Dehano.

“Aba't!” the title ‘little beta’ didn't suit well with Prince—actually, everything that came out of Dehano’s mouth didn't suit well with him at all.

Ethan held Prince firmly in his place and he warned Dehano with his eyes.

Iinisin din sana ni Dehano si Ethan kaso biglang dumating si Thiago.

“Pa,” Ethan greeted him.

Tumango si Thiago sa kaniyang direksyon bago humarap kay Dehano. “Stop teasing them,” sabi nito.

Tinaas ni Dehano ang kaniyang dalawang kamay habang nakangiti ng nakakaloko.

“Aight, no teasing,” sabi nito habang tumataas-baba ang kaniyang mga kilay.

“You’re old but still childish,” sabi ni Thiago.

Nabura ang ngiti sa mga labi ni Dehano at humaba ang nguso nito. “Am I?”

Natawa si Prince sa kaniyang nasaksihan. “You are!” sagot nito.

Dehano glared at him but Prince didn't sense any threat at all. It was just like a playful glare that's why Prince rolled his eyes.

“Tama na yan,” maotoridad na saad ni Thiago.

With that, all of them shut their mouths. And almost immediately, the atmosphere turned solemn and serious.

“He’s so calm,” pambabasag ni Dehano sa katahimikan habang tumitingin sa lalakeng nakatali sa isang malaking puno.

They caught a guy from a secret organization. Beating him up real good, threatening him, and many other things—they tried everything but he still won't speak. Gano'n siya ka-loyal. But Dehano and Ethan discovered that tracking devices were installed in every things that he was using.  Nag-assume rin sila na pati sa loob ng katawan nito ay may tracking device rin. Kaya’t napagdesisyunan nila na dalhin ito sa tagong lugar at maghihintay sila hangga’t nahanap ng organisasyon ang lugar nila.

Malayo sila sa kinaroroonan ng lalaki at nakatago silang lahat. But with their enhanced senses, they can still see the guy and can hear him breathing.

They're waiting for a couple of hours already but no one came. But the plan was to stay in the forest until someone from the secret organization arrived. They were trying to lure them.

If group of them will come, they will attack.  Lahat ng ipapadala ng organization ay itutumba nila hanggang sa ma-alerto sila. But they're already suspecting that the other party were already alerted considering the fact that their missing member is somewhere in the midst of nowhere.

Ethan was about to take a deep breath but they heard rustles.

Finally. Footsteps.

Then it was followed by the voice of Zylan, his gamma, in his head, “Alpha, seven people were approaching the direction of the captive.”

ㅡ to be continued.

A/N: Hello! Kamusta ang lahat? I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter and thank you for reading it. I’m having trouble in writing and it's scary. Experiencing writer's block is really scary. I wanted to write but I don't have any ideas. But these past few days, I have been pulling myself back in the zone, and trying to be back on track. Though the fire of my passion is small, at least it's still there! I hope I can keep it burning. So stay tuned~ Have a happy holidays! Sending hugs on your way. <3