RYSON.

"Kristensen."

Mel and Kristensen turned towards the sound of that voice. Puzzlement was written all over her face when she saw who'd called her.

Kristensen didn't respond. She watched with caution as Isaac walked to them. Confusion all over her face.

He couldn't know where they'd just been, could he? Kristensen thought, and her face stiffened in apprehension. Isaac's unthreating face was really deceptive...

She and Mel had hurried from that area after the alpha house somehow attacked her. The only thing on their mind - retreat.

"You went out?" Isaac continued as he reached them, Mel and Kristensen subconsciously retreated. It wasn't paranoia, but they had never before conversed with Isaac - at all. And right then was the worst time to make friendly.

Retreat. Retreat.

"I... we did." Kristensen replied, pulling Mel closer to her.

They were close, so close to entering the women's dormitory and digesting what happened out there, Kristensen could still feel the sharp pierce in her chest when she got attacked...

She was sure that attack, the power didn't come from the building. Something was off...

That particular alpha house power inclined towards support than attack, her instincts, and the little experience she had with moonstones manipulation - she was sure she could differentiate the power in them.

Then... what attacked her?

"I'm sorry about the canceled training today. If you don't mind... I can make it up to you."

Kristensen's brows rose involuntarily, her gaze shifting to Mel. "I... we... it's alright. The omegas that went missing are more important."

Mel's shoulders shook with suppressed laughter.

"Go on then. It's getting dark out." Isaac said in a nauseatingly soft voice. "If you change your mind, my offer still stands."

Kristensen didn't bother with a response. She dragged Mel with her without looking back.

When they reached their house, Mel bust out laughing, cluthing her stomach laughing.

"It's not funny." Kristensen grumbled. "Stop laughing."

It only made Mel's laugh worsen.

They were wrapped up in their own bubble they didn't realize Arson was waiting, had been waiting. "What happened? You guys took forever."

Mel exchanged a knowing glance with Kristensen before offering a vague explanation. "Nothing much. We got caught or... Kristensen got caught up."

"Caught up? Kris, are you okay?" Arson's eyes widened with concern.

Kristensen rolled her eyes at Mel, brushed it off with a wave. "I'm fine, nothing happened. Where's Trudy? Is she here?"

Mel continued to chuckle, earning an incredulous look from Arson. "Mel, what's so funny?"

"Isaac offered Kristensen... private lessons. He wants to train her... probably with his hands, teeth, mouth..." Mel finally composed herself, though a mischievous glint lingered in her eyes.

"Ew..!"

"What?"

Arson and Kristensen said at the same time as she walked off to Trudy's room.

Trudy opened the door before Kristensen knocked, and she walked in.

"Were you waiting for me?" Said Kristensen as she took a seat.

"Out with it, what do you want?"

Kristensen pondered for a while. The question struck her. When last did someone ask her what she wanted?

She understood Trudy wasn't asking in that line of direction, but she sat there and pondered. What did she want?

The answer was clear as day - to find her parents.

"Have you ever seen an Alpha's symbol?" Kristensen's tone had a seriousness Trudy never heard from her.

Reluctantly, with shock written all over her face, Trudy nodded.

"I saw one today at some abandoned building, and I got attacked."

"What?" Exclaimed Trudy. "Are you okay?"

"That's not the point. Before the attack, I could've sworn that building somehow had the formation Drew used in class but a different one, supplementing if you will." Kristensen replied, her brows furrowing.

She stood up and started pacing the room. "That's not all. Something weird is going on with the people themselves. They... they didn't seem to think beyond stupid stuff like it's not going to rain today."

Trudy's face tightened at the end of Kristensen's words, the fear in her eyes overflowing.

"What? Do you know what it is?" Kristensen asked after noticing Trudy's reaction.

"Do... do you remember where you saw the symbol? Can you take me?" Trudy's voice trembled, clenched her hands to stop them from shaking.

Kristensen's didn't ask any further, though she was curious. She focused more on what she needed to find out and didn't matter to her if Trudy had her own agenda.

"Yeah, we can go now." Replied Kristensen nonchalantly.

"No, not now. After the lights go out, when everyone's asleep." Trudy responded, closing her eyes.

The quiet in Kristensen's room brought her back to focus. She exhaled and slumped onto the bed, clutching her chest.

If it weren't for the wolf's speedy recovery, she might have died. She didn't fear or regret. She hated not getting closer to see why she felt the resonation she did with that Alpha's symbol.

Her head spun as question after question popped up in her mind. She couldn't help but sigh... the road ahead seemed too far, too shrouded in mystery when it shouldn't have been.

Her parents... she gritted her teeth. Kristensen thought she was going to collect even the tiniest bit of debt from them.

All of this, writing a letter - calling - leaving a voice-mail, so many options they had to inform her while she was still in Alba and they didn't.

Now, she was making her way in an obviously dangerous world blind. Kristensen's heart turned all the more cold.

She had better not meet them soon.

A knock in the room woke her up. She'd managed to sleep through all that...

"I'll be there soon, let me change." Kristensen said through the closed door.

Kristensen found Mel and Arson present, too. She threw Trudy a look,

Trudy shook her head in resignation. "They're coming too."

It didn't make sense to her, but she said nothing. Amongst all of them, she was the least informed, and the more the merrier worked for her.

"What exactly are we going to do?" Arson's timid voice broke through the awkwardness.

Mel rolled her eyes and turned to Kristensen. "Arson's right. There's not much we can do aside from watching and hoping a miracle opens that building, so why are you guys going there?"

"Then that's what we'll do. Let's go." Said Trudy.

The four moved stealthy from building to building, merging with the dark. Kristensen realized they weren't hindered by night at all. Her own senses were pitch-perfect.

Along the way, they didn't meet anyone. The camp was so silent and dark that it seemed like a dead town.

As they approached the unique-looking building, a cold breeze rustled through the deserted streets, heightening the eerie atmosphere. Trudy gestured for everyone to stop a few meters away.

Mel and Kristensen looked at each other, seeing the disbelief in their eyes. They didn't see the symbol plate.

"We need to be cautious..."

"Trudy." Kristensen stopped Trudy midway. "The symbol isn't there."

"What?" Arson and Trudy replied at the same, turning their attention to Mel and Kristensen.

Mel crossed her arms defensively. "The building's there, but the Alpha's symbol is gone."

Kristensen had already walked towards the entrance of the building.

She stopped at the step where she was attacked previously. There wasn't any energy coming from the building like before. It was gone.

The Alpha's symbol was the source?

Kristensen scoffed. She hesitated for a moment before pushing the creaky door open. The interior was dimly lit, dust covering every corner of the surface.

"What now?" Arson asked, her voice barely audible.

"What else? Aren't we waiting for a miracle?" Mel remarked, her skepticism evident.

Trudy and Kristensen walked around the room at opposite sides, each focused on their surroundings.

They arrived at the mural at the same time. Kristensen blew the dust off, causing coughs from the other three.

"That...that..." Arson stammered.

Kristensen's gaze shifted to Arson, confusion written all over her face. She didn't see anything but a veiled woman. Arson didn't have to react that strongly, she thought.

Mel and Trudy weren't better. Their gazes were heated with excitement and fear. Kristensen turned to the mural but didn't see anything peculiar. She couldn't tell how the woman looked with her veil, so...

"What?" Kristensen snapped. "Don't tell me her beauty is immortal that you're awestruck!?"

"It's, it's Mara Ryson."

Kristensen's heart stopped.

Mara Ryson... Mara Ryson - Ryson? As in Kristensen Ryson? Her eyes narrowed as she looked at the mural.

Arson continued happily. "Don't tell me you don't know her. That woman is a legend. Not only for what she did for her pack but mostly for... leaving her mate."

Kristensen's head buzzed. Ryson, her last name, Ryson? She shook her head repeatedly. What sort of coincidence was that?

She ran the names of all the relatives she met when living with her parents but couldn't find any Mara and weirdly, her parents' last name wasn't Ryson, a sore point she had growing up.

And she found it at some abandoned building?!

She couldn't see the face though - the person in the mural was covered in a veil.

"Found something!" Trudy's excited voice pulled Kristensen back. "I thought this room was too small to be everything."

There was a hidden passage. The group exchanged glances and uncertainty written on their faces.

Kristensen, more so. To her, the whole thing had become very suffocating. She wanted to leave and catch a breath before exploring further.

It wasn't every day she found long lost relatives and from the look of things, a possibly dead long lost relative. She finally understood the reason behind her resonance with Alpha's symbol.

Kristensen took a deep breath. "We've come this far. Let's go all the way."

With cautious steps, they entered the concealed passage. The longer they walked, the more they realized they entered a labyrinth.

The air grew colder the further they went, and the echoes of their footsteps followed behind them, bo matter how conscious they walked.

"Keep working like this, and you'll be rewarded handsomely."

They heard coming from the exit they had to take to leave the passage.

Kristensen nearly cussed out loud.

The four walked to the exit and peaked.

The masked figured circled the chained people on the ground and turned to Leah, satisfied. "I can already tell these ones are better than the ones from the other day."

The four peaking exchanged glances.

"Follow Isaac's instructions in the coming days. I'm going to make preparations... we'll move out after that." The masked figure said unhurriedly.

Leah bowed, asked in a pleading voice. "Then... then, my father's medicine?"

The masked figure watched Leah intently, without saying nor doing anything, watched Leah fidget with his head bowed.

The mask figure tossed a small box to Leah. "Your father will be very proud of the extent you go for his well-being."

Leah's hands visibly clenched.

The masked figure chuckled, turned around. "Alright. Let's go."

Kristensen and the others watched as Leah dragged the chained recruits behind the masked figure until they disappeared from their sight.

They came out after a while and stood there silently.

"We should report it." Arson piped after some time.

Mel snorted and sat on the ground. Trudy turned to Kristensen, who was looking around the room.

"Guys!"

"Are you really that naive, or you've gotten too much into your act?" Mel retorted. "Who are we going to report it to?"

"But... but what if it were us?"

Kristensen stopped when she found nothing. "Maybe they're the ones who took the Alpha's symbol?"

"Impossible." Trudy and Mel responded at the same time.

"Why?" Asked Kristensen.

Arson stood in front of Kristensen when she didn't get the answer she wanted. Her eyes were inquisitive. "Kris, you... you also think we should act like we didn't see anything?"

Kristensen eyes bore into Arson's, with an uncaring voice she said. "What did we see?"