51. Our dear Alpha.

Lord Balthazar steadily approached Eros and the dead woman's mother. A mischievous grin plastered all over his face, which meant there was nothing but trouble to come. Bettany looked at him wide-eyed, as her wolf forced her down to her knees. She was so shocked; she wouldn't catch up on her inner beasts whining and begging to submit. This man was not her Alpha, the stubborn human side of her didn't want to bow in front of a stranger. The more animalistic side knew that the stranger was a lot more potent than their Alpha, bearing its neck, despite the human who tried to fight it.

"Interesting, I see your wolf has recognized superiority, yet you keep fighting it. Young lady, are you willing to join your daughter's journey?" Balthazar stood next to Eros, looking down at the, now shivering, female.

"The fuck are you talking about, sicko?" Bettany lost almost all fear as soon as Balthazar mentioned her dead daughter.

"Nothing much, just being the gentleman that I am, and offering you to join your daughter in that bag. Surely, a low-rank wolf, such as yourself, should know the importance of keeping your mouth shut when your life depended on it. Let me introduce myself," Balthazar tried to keep his voice polite, and actions professional, yet the woman didn't make it easy. Instead of letting him talk, Bettany forced her body up and tried to attack him. She extended her claws in anger, hoping that her attack would leave scars for the rest of his lifetime. She didn't reach him. Balthazar grabbed her neck and smashed her back against the door, holding her up and nearly breaking the wooden door down. Hazed by anger, she wouldn't stop fighting against him, kicking her legs in the air.

"Where was I? Oh, yes- let me introduce myself. My name is Balthazar; I am the last, living Lord of the forbidden lands. This young man, standing next to me, is the next heir for the throne, meaning- your next King. Now, I shall release you, and you'll be a good little bitch and drop on your knees, begging for his forgiveness," his eyes changed color to deep black, canines extended, showing off his unnatural face. Bettany's eyes widened as the realization hit her hard- the man holding her throat wasn't a werewolf. The aura of extreme power surrounded him, nearly making her whine in fear.

"He killed my child. How am I supposed to react?" She still tried to justify her actions and words.


"And your child tried to harm your Queen. How is he supposed to react? All I'm saying is that your King had the right to kill whoever tried to harm his Queen. Even more- whoever tries to justify her actions, goes against the well-being of the Royal family. Now, I'll ask for the last time- are you ready to join your child?" Truth to be told- Balthazar wasn't planning to listen to whatever answer the woman gave. His only intentions were to kill her before the bitch opened her mouth or even understood what was happening. He opened his mouth, ready to rip her throat out, but just before he did- Eros landed a hand on his shoulder and held him back.

"That’s enough, Lord Balthazar. We are not here to harm the innocent. I've given my explanations, I've made sure that the body is left with the parents and now, we shall take our leave. Bettany, you're getting off with a warning, I understand the reason for your anger and actions. Yet, at this point, I've done everything by law, my actions have been fair, and truthfully, your daughter knew the risks when she came up with this idea. Now, excuse us, we shall let you bid your goodbyes to your child, and send the needed paperwork to your Alpha. You have thirty days to demand proof, which will be provided, taking in the fact that my bar and apartment have enough cameras installed. I'm sorry for your loss." Eros turned away and left without looking back. He wasn't sorry, the words were chosen to calm down the woman, nothing more. Zoey saw this coming; sooner or later, she would have died- especially after thinking that she could mess with Eve. Eros approached the truck, his best friend stood by it, shock visible on his face.

"King, huh?" Zander almost choked on thin air.

"Can we not? I haven't even thought of it yet, and I have much more important matters to deal with now. Have you tried to mind-link Xavier?"

"Yeah, you're right, we still have to find your mate. I tried, but it seems like he has blocked everyone out, even the lead warriors or next in command can't reach him," his best friend seemed tense. Everyone knew that the Alpha was the only wolf in the pack who had no right to ignore mind-links. As a leader, he needed to stay available 24/7, knowing that the pack might be under attack at any time of the day or night.

"That sounds weird. Maybe he's holding an important meeting, probably with the elders. Have you tried getting a hold of my mother?" Eros felt odd, knowing that Eve was gone, and the Alpha wasn't available made him suspicious.

"Same thing. Some other pack members told me that your mother has been silent for a couple of hours, yet Alpha hasn't been available for the last hour. Dude, I have no idea what's happening, but I don't like this. Your human might be in danger, especially if someone found out that she's Queen to be," Zander covered his face with his palms, letting out a deep sigh.
Both men were distressed, ready to run wild and start the search.

"Calm down, I need her as much as you do, but we can't take any rushed decisions. This might be a trap, and if we are stupid enough to fall for it, we won't be able to help Eve," Ares warned Eros, at this point, fighting his instincts to run and destroy everything in his way.

"You're right, we need a plan," Eros instantly agreed. For once, his beast was thinking more logically than he was.

"Ares come up with an idea?" Zander questioned his friend.

"Huh, what do you mean?" Eros shook his head, trying to make his beast's voice less audible.

"Your eyes, they change a lot more than mine do when I speak to my wolf. Werewolves can hide having an inner dialogue with their beasts, but you can't. I guess with the power- you get some not so nice things, aside from the power itself," Zander tried to lift his mood, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Ladies," Balthazar approached them, a wide grin on his lips.

"Lord Balthazar, meet my best friend, Zander. Zander, this man, apparently, is my grandfather in many generations. The Lord of the forbidden lands," Eros completely ignored Balthazar's greeting. Zander bowed deeply, showing off his respect to his superior, without doubting the truth in his best friend's words.

"It's always nice to meet such respectful, young men. My grandson has great taste in friends, indeed. Now, what are we up to, boys?" Balthazar acted unusually comfortable, a complete opposite to his usual, tense self.

"Eve's missing, we're trying to come up with a plan where to search for her. Ares just suggested we should be careful, if anyone found out about my possible role in the Royal family, this might be a trap," Eros spoke hectically, walking back and forth, growing more worried.

"Ares is right. Has any of you tried to contact the Alpha or Luna?" Balthazar questioned, raising his pointer finger to his lips.

"I did, both of them have blocked everyone out, and judging by other pack members- Luna has been unavailable for hours, while Alpha has been absent for about an hour only," Zander replied, leaning against the front of the truck.

"That's suspicious, indeed. Where was the last place you saw Eve?" Balthazar turned his attention to Eros, doing his best to sound calm. In all honesty, Balthazar was growing worried. Even though he hadn’t known Eve for long, he and his mate had developed a liking towards her. She was a simple and kind girl, helping out everyone in her path, always making sure to be polite. If anything happened to her, Eros wouldn't get over it, nor would Balthazar's mate. Wherever the young woman was, they had to find her and fast.

"When did the heat start, and how consistent has been so far?" Out of nowhere, Balthazar added questions for Eros.

"With all due respect, Lord, I don't think this is a matter of importance now," Eros looked up at the sky, letting a deep sigh of frustration leave his parted lips.

"It is my boy. If the next wave hits before we find her- I would be bold enough to assume that you'll kill about half of the pack members. Whenever your mind gets hazed by the heated lust, you'll see everyone as a threat. In your beast's eyes, everyone will be an enemy, hiding your mate," Balthazar explained his deepest concern, praying to the Moon Goddess for mercy over the peaceful pack.

"Shit. In that case, we have about ten hours to find her, if not less. I'm not sure."

"From my point of view, this situation looks horrible. I know, for sure, nobody will hold this big guy down if he goes on a rampage," Zander gestured towards Eros.

"We can't waste any time. Where did you see Eve before she disappeared?"

"In our apartment," Eros replied bluntly.

"Just explain what happened, my boy. No judgment here," Balthazar placed his hand on his shoulder and smiled reassuringly.

"Okay, Eve was getting ready to take a shower when the doorbell rang. I told her to go and that I would see who's there. While she was in the shower, I tried to get rid of Zoey, as politely as possible. Kept repeating that I found my mate, and she should go. Well, as soon as she heard Eve calling for me, Zoey jumped onto me, and when my mate stepped into the kitchen, I stood there like an idiot, with Zoey clenched on my torso. I tried to explain to her that it wasn't what it looked like, but Zoey interrupted me and started talking about some made-up bullshit. Eve thinks that I was supposed to choose Zoey and that I don't want her. It's fucking bullshit. I couldn't even try and explain myself as she excused herself and left. Pretty sure you can guess what happened next. I was still trying to get rid of Zoey; she wouldn't listen, kept pushing herself onto me, and confessed her intentions in hurting Eve. So, I let Ares kill her. That's about it," Eros didn't even take in a breath, as he spoke, trying to explain everything quickly.

"Any idea where she could be?" Balthazar nodded his head, questioning Eros again.

"I thought she might be at her parent's house, other than that- no ideas," Eros shrugged his shoulders, admitting the partial defeat. He didn't know Eve well enough, yet that was the last straw he could grab.

"No, my mate went to meet her parents an hour ago, she isn't there," Balthazar announced.

"Shit," Eros hissed in anger, smashing his fist against the truck.

"What are we going to do now?" Finally, Zander spoke, hoping that the Lord had a plan on his own.

"We shall pay a visit to our dear Alpha."