Noah paced along the sidewalk, aware of Mark and Benjamin's eyes on him. They were afraid he would barge into the club. They had the right to, Noah thought. If Harvey wasn't back in a few minutes, he was going in there, consequences be damned.

After Lillian went down the sub-basement, they all improvised a quick plan to get inside the club without drawing attention.

Noah was sick with worry. The reasonable side of him knew that going in there alone would amount to nothing. But his wolf was far from reason at the moment. All he knew was that his mate was surrounded by enemies. And if those bastards knew with whom she was working, they would slit her throat.

Now, Benjamin, Mark, Noah and the four warriors were stationed a small distance away from the club. The surrounding area was filled with deserted buildings, warehouses and industrial structures. The street lights were few and far between, offering plenty of shadows to hide in.

Rain drizzled down, the droplets doing nothing to cool Noah's temper. Harvey had told them to wait and not to move in without him. Noah clenched and unclenched his hands. Where was Harvey?

"Any news on Harvey?" Noah asked.

"Not yet," Benjamin replied.

Noah resumed his pacing. Amanda and a couple of vampires they'd called from out of town stayed behind in the house. She was still in contact with Lillian. Benjamin checked with her on the phone every few minutes since Noah kept growling at her.

Right then, Benjamin put his fingers over the wireless earphone in his ear. His brows furrowed and his lips pressed into a tight line. Noah's blood ran cold. "What is it?"

Benjamin looked at Noah, his face caught in a horrified expression. Noah was in the other alpha's face in a second, repeating his question through a growl. "What.is.it?"

"Harvey," Benjamin said too quickly. "Harvey is coming."

Before Noah could call his friend on his bullshit, a vehicle sped down the street and stopped right next to them. Harvey walked out, followed by a man Noah had not expected to see.

"Is that Arthur?" Mark murmured in shock.

The man walking beside Harvey wore a simple white t-shirt, cargo pants and boots. His dark hair was pushed back from his face, his trimmed beard longer than the last time Noah had seen him, six months ago. His skin was a healthy golden shade born from being under the sun, and his features were sharp and handsome. His towering height and impressive build put the three alphas to shame.

His smell wasn't that of a vampire, but it wasn't that of a human either. Noah knew that Arthur cloaked his aura and scent in a way. Six months ago, he'd fought beside the man and had witnessed moments when Arthur's cloak slipped. Arthur was nothing as mundane as a vampire. He was something else. Darker, stronger, something more than a mere vampire. He was one of the Five, an original immortal who ruled over the vampire population.

Next to Harvey, impeccably dressed in a three piece suit, Arthur should've been unremarkable. But overlooking Arthur was like ignoring a roaring dragon, impossible and foolish.

Arthur's black gaze caught each one of the wolves in the eyes. The impact was disconcerting, just as Noah remembered. And although the vampire's gaze didn't linger, Noah felt stripped to the bone.

Benjamin, Mark and their warriors froze. Predators who were aware they were no longer at the top of the food chain. Wolves who realized they might turn into prey.

Arthur's magic was a powerful vacuum, threatening to consume anything it came in contact with.

"Noah. A pleasure to see you again so soon." Arthur's voice dropped the temperature of the air. The wolves next to Noah turned impossibly rigid. Only a being of Arthur's age would refer to six months as soon.

Noah nodded. Harvey made hasty introductions, then skipped straight to the point. "I've briefed Arthur on everything so far. He was already in the state on other business."

Noah was more than glad to have Arthur by their side tonight. Harvey looked at Arthur. The vampire lord shook his head. "It's your lead."

Harvey glanced upward when rain gained in intensity. He ran a hand through his hair and looked at Noah. "Noah, why don't you wait-"

"No," Noah growled out.

"I thought so. Just don't do anything foolish," Harvey said. "Alright, then. So according to what we saw on the feed from Lillian's cameras, we know that we will not face much trouble in the club itself. But we need to get downstairs."

"There are a lot of vampires there," Mark said. "Witches, too, but more vampires, according to Lillian."

"Don't worry about them," Arthur said, his voice a calm, smooth baritone that did everything but calm Noah's wolf.

"Okay, then," Benjamin said, his eyes flickering to Arthur every two seconds. "We should get going."

They walked to the club, led by Arthur and Harvey. The vampires apparently had no issue trusting the wolves with their backs. Either that, or they didn't see them as a threat. Considering Arthur could flatten them all like pancakes with a flick of his fingers, it was probably the latter.

Noah fell into step beside Benjamin. "Tell me."

Benjamin sighed. "They caught her. But they don't know she's working with us, yet. So she should be safe."

Noah cursed, shoving both hands through his hair. The boulder sitting on his chest got heavier, and fear like he'd never known gripped his heart. If anything happened to her...

Minutes later, loud voices and a faint echo of music reached Noah's ears. They stopped in an alley across the street from the colorfully lit club's entrance.

"Now what?" Benjamin said, but Arthur was already striding across the street, his steps leisurely.

The line of humans was still long, and a few immortals lingered near the club's entrance. The bouncer had just ushered a human couple into the club when he glanced Arthur's way. He did a double take, his eyes widening. The immortals waiting to be ushered inside the club, too, looked at Arthur. Then they fled.

Noah sensed a flicker of Arthur's magic, and the bouncer froze, his eyes skittering in panic.

"Let's go," Harvey said. They followed Arthur, who'd stopped and was whispering something in the bouncer's ear.

The humans waiting in line grew confused, when Noah and the wolves followed the vampires inside. The bouncer blocked the entrance and said in a wooden voice. "It's closed for the night."

They went inside to the sound of protesting humans.

Noah's eardrums hurt when they were finally in the club. Half dressed men and women, mostly humans, doing less dancing and more grinding. The scent of alcohol, sweat and smoke made Noah's nose curl in disgust.

They went unnoticed in the dim lighting and among the messy crowd.

The vampire who guarded the underground entrance froze when they walked in. Noah knew the exact moment he spotted Arthur. Fear stank the air and darkened the vampire's eyes. Arthur didn't do anything, simply pointed to the man and then the ground. The order was clear. Stay put. The vampire stood taller, like a soldier at attention, and gave one nod.

They went down the stairs.

"If it was this easy, we should've called Arthur earlier," Benjamin whispered in a voice only a wolf's hearing should pick up.

Arthur a few steps down, replied. "I am surprised you didn't call in your favor, Noah."

Benjamin almost tripped. He gave Noah a wide-eyed look. Noah shrugged.

"The favor was paid the moment Elle refused to trade my life," Noah said, referring to the way Arthur's mate, Elle, had caved in to their enemies' demands when they threatened to kill Noah.

Arthur reached the door at the bottom and looked over his shoulder at Noah darkly. "She will disagree, as much as I hate to admit it."

Arthur went inside.

"Is Arthur jealous? Or am I just imagining things?" Benjamin mind-linked Noah.

Noah didn't respond. They followed Arthur and Harvey into the luxurious room with the fighting ring.

Noah scanned the room for the sub-basement door. Arthur strolled in and looked around as if seeing a show.

A trickle of darkness and powerful magic locked Noah in place. He looked at Arthur, the man who'd just let the world sense a drop of his real power.

The immortals nearby froze and looked at the source of power that suddenly suffocated the room, and the motion rippled through the room.

Silence fell like a heavy blanket, as one head after the other turned toward Arthur. The stench of terror overpowered the smell of blood and alcohol and lust.

"This is nice," Arthur said, looking around. His voice, though quiet and calm, carried through the room. "Why was I not invited? Harvey, were you?"

"No, Sire," Harvey replied. One of the vampires gathered his courage and detached himself from the crowd.

"Hmm, our invitations must have been lost in the mail," Arthur mumbled, taking a glass off a table and giving it a sniff.

Noah crept alongside the wall to the door, followed by the wolves. Everyone else was focused on the nuclear bomb that had just dropped in their midst.

"Sire," the new vampire bowed, voice catching absolute terror. "The -"

"Where's Galvin?" Arthur interrupted the quivering man, his tone conversational.

As if summoned, Galvin himself walked out of the door beside Noah. He didn't even look their way. Noah caught the door before it swung shut and slipped inside, followed by Benjamin, Mark and the warriors.

The last thing he heard before the door closed was Galvin's words.

"Sire, an honor to have you here. I was counting on sending you an invitation soon."

So he decided to weasel his way out of this one. Good luck with that, asshole.

They padded down the stairs. The familiar scent of fire and spring, overlaid by heavy perfume, lingered in the staircase and brought a spearing ache to Noah's chest.

Loud footsteps, growing closer. Noah paused, looking over his shoulder at the others. They exchanged nods, then crouched in readiness to attack, blending in with the shadows of the staircase.

Noah scented the three vampires before they appeared, and knew one of them was injured by the strong metallic scent of blood.

Benjamin and Noah leaped down the stairs before the vampires could make a move. Vampires were faster than wolves. But wolves had a stronger sense of smell. The best way to win against a vampire was to take him by surprise.

Noah's claws sliced one of the vampires' neck. Cold blood sprayed across Noah's face and painted the wall. The vampire gurgled, drowning in his own blood, but his claws still managed to graze Noah's chest.

Noah ignored the sting and kneed the vampire in the stomach. Ribs cracked. When the blood sucker doubled over, Noah gripped his hair and shoulder and broke his neck with an echoing snap. Mark and Benjamin took care of the other two.

"This one is as good as dead," Benjamin said, toeing the limp body of the vampire whose back bled like a waterfall. "Someone missed his heart by a breath."

One of the warriors went ahead and peeked from cell to cell. The others searched the unconscious vampires' clothes for keys.

"Got something," the female warrior said, holding up a ring of keys. Noah let them fiddle with the locks and raised his nose in the air, tracking the one scent he was concerned about.

"Damn it, just break the damn locks." He heard Mark say a second before a loud bang shook the walls.

"Damn it, Mark," Benjamin said. "You might as well tell the world we're down here."

"You think anyone cares about us right now? Arthur is probably beheading people left and right up there," Mark said. Another loud bang and a crash.

Noah came to a stop. Lillian's scent faded into a door unlike the others. It was larger, and looked much sturdier. The disgusting scent of body waste, old blood and despair reeked through the door.

"Lillian?" he called.

"Noah?"

His heart jumped. But his relief was short-lived when a growl followed Lillian's voice.

"Shh, it's okay," Lillian murmured inside. "He's here to help us get out, alright?"

Noah tried ramming the door with his shoulder, but it was too robust. It was probably made to withstand shapeshifter strength.

"Noah, here!" Benjamin threw him the ring of keys since Mark was knocking doors down left and right, making enough noise to wake the dead. "Arthur's got everything under control up there, and help is coming."

Noah caught the keys, then started trying one after the other while speaking to Lillian. "Lillian, are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine," she replied. "Just hurry up, it stinks in here."

A whimper, then Lillian started cooing and shushing again. "I'm sorry, it's okay, shh..."

Noah was half crazy when the lock finally turned on the right key. He pushed the door open and froze at the sight.

The room was dark, what little light spilled in from the hallway behind Noah reflected off almost two dozen eyes glowing amber. Growls sounded off around the room. Noah let his wolf push forward as much as he could while keeping his skin. His dominance shoved outward in a drowning wave, leaving no doubt to the wolves in the room who was in charge.

The growls quieted down. A few whimpers escaped, but no one made a move. Lillian was right beside the door. He crouched down in front of her, blocking the doorway with his body. A small female laid with her head in Lillian's lap, clinging to her like a life raft.

The smell stung Noah's nose. He wondered how the wolves in the cell could bear it. Scanning Lillian from head to toe, he growled at the dried blood on her face and the marks around her neck and wrists.

Blue eyes met his, the color pure and alive, so wrong in this place that reeked of death.

"You're okay," he said, gently pushing strands of hair off her face.

"I am but..." She looked at the female on her lap, at the wolves in human form all around them, distress and sympathy clear on every line of her face.

One of Benjamin's warriors joined them then. They'd found most of the lost girls. They were alive, but their systems were so contaminated with silver they needed immediate care.

Lillian refused to leave until help arrived, and it didn't help Noah's wolf that some of the wolves inside seemed to have grown attached to her in the slip of time she'd been here. Noah gave the wolves a warning look. Most of them didn't meet his eyes, and those who did quickly looked away. He stepped outside with the warrior, keeping Lillian in his line of sight.

"Arthur has called for help. His vampires are pouring in and the club is shutting down."

"The humans?" Noah asked.

"All of them are out."

"The immortals?"

"Arthur is one scary bastard," the warrior said, then paused and looked down the hallway toward the stairs, as if Arthur could hear him. "Anyway, most of them don't want to get on his bad side, so they're complying for now."

It only took an hour or so for help to arrive. A few dozen vampires living in the state and who were directly under Arthur's rule traveled down to the club.

The immortal patrons and club staff were all escorted out to a discreet location for investigation. When a few of them thought they could make a run for it, Arthur made an example of them. That made the others much more willing to follow orders.

The kidnapped female wolves were then all transported to Benjamin's territory since it was the closest. The doctor there would do his best to keep them stable until their packs came to retrieve them.

Noah stayed close to Lillian during it all. The wolves in the cell were calmer now. All of them had been given large doses of silver by their captors to keep them from linking or going wolf. Needle marks marred their bodies, and their skin had gained a grayish hue due to the prolonged exposure to silver. Who knows what other effects it may have on them?

"Transportation is waiting outside," Noah told Lillian. "Let's get them out of here."

"Where are you going to take them?" Lillian asked, patting the head of the small female leaning on her. The wolves were inching closer to her, as if seeking safety in her presence, as if her light would banish the darkness.

"I don't think any of them belong to a pack, otherwise we would've heard of such mass disappearances. So they're probably lone wolves."

"They don't have packs," Lillian murmured. Big blue eyes filled with anguish looked up at him. "They'll be all alone?"

Usually, there were hospitals for immortals who didn't belong to packs or covens. But from the look in Lillian's eyes, he knew she wasn't going to simply leave them, she as good as adopted some of the wolves flocking around her.

Her throat bobbed with a hard swallow, and those impossible eyes shimmered with sadness. She blinked at him, and he knew he was going to do her bidding.

Ah, damn it. The pack infirmary could hold in a couple dozen wolves.

Noah nodded. "We'll take them with us until they feel better."

Lillian's eyes lit up. A smile brightened her face. She murmured something to the female leaning on her shoulder.

Minutes later, when vampires came to escort the wolves outside, some of the prisoners broke into hysterics, their fear pungent, spurring the others into growls and whines.

"They're afraid of vampires," Lillian said, smoothing her hand down a wolf's hair. "They can walk out of here on their own."

"Alright," Benjamin said. "Let's get the vampires out of the way until we get the lot of them into the truck."

Lillian walked out of the cell first, a couple of females fastened to her sides. The state of the wolves was distressing. Their clothes were nothing but scraps, hung over sickly thin bodies. Their skin was covered with cuts and bruises, faces gaunt and terrified. The half naked males looked as good as dead with the way their ribs stuck out.

But they all followed Lillian in a single file.

Benjamin and Mark were more than surprised at the willingness of the wolves to follow Lillian, a human. Noah not so much. Lillian could charm her way into anyone's heart. His own pack was all over her only weeks after they first wanted nothing to do with her.

So she led the wolves through the dungeon and up the stairs. A few of them couldn't walk without leaning on each other. But they made it outside, looking as if they couldn't believe it. Their eyes wide and wary, as if afraid they were in a dream.

A lorry waited for them at the door of the club, all the vampires stayed a good distance away, not to spook the wolves.

Noah jumped inside the back of the lorry, then lifted Lillian with his hands on her waist. She weighed next to nothing. Huddling back in a corner, Noah sat next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She was safe, and the rock on his chest lightened. He buried his nose in her hair, the smell of her wig and the perfume doing nothing to hide her own scent.

Lillian stiffened, and Noah remembered she was probably still mad at him.

She had the right to be mad, but Noah couldn't stop himself from taking in her scent, making sure she was alright and in his arms again. His wolf wanted out, wanted to rub his fur against her and nuzzle her neck and hair. But the wolves filling the back of the lorry didn't need the stress of having to deal with the alpha wolf, not when they'd just relatively calmed down.

When everyone was in, Benjamin called from the doors, "We'll take care of the mess here. The driver will get you to your pack."

He closed the doors and knocked a couple of times. The vehicle moved forward. Noah pulled out his phone and turned on the torch when a few wolves whimpered. Lillian shifted to wrap her arm around the small female who had been sticking to her side like glue.

Noah linked Sean so the patrols knew to accompany them inside to the infirmary. He didn't like having too many outsiders he knew nothing about in his territory, but Noah knew they were in no condition to raise any trouble. Now that they were enclosed in a restricted space, Noah could literally smell the silver in the blood seeping off their wounds. They needed all the care they could get, and he would help them.

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Hellooooow guys! New chapter!

I hope you enjoyed it. Leave your thoughts in a comment and don't forget to vote.

Much love

M.B.