23 Chapter 23: A witch but how could she?

Zack's POV

Nina was getting more annoying by the second. He wanted to ask her to get out, but right now, she was the only one in the entire pack who wanted Elize there. He didn't expect it to turn out like that, but she took the news of Elize being his mate quite gracefully.

"Why are you telling this to me now?! If I knew- oh Zack, you're an idiot!" was her reaction. 

He didn't understand it.

She had shaken her head and gone out to meet Alex, who was carrying Elize to the packhouse. Alex looked a mess, but Elize was worse and unconscious. Nina had taken Elize out of his friend's hands and carried her all the way to his room.

Nina's laughter brought him back to the present. Zack rolled his eyes and looked at Elize, who was now staring at him with a confused expression.

"Why is she laughing?" She asked, pointing at Nina.

"I don't have a sister Elize.." Zack admitted, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. He was quite nervous. He didn't want to bring up Meifeng, not right now.

"Then who is-?" Elize asked, still confused.

"She's his fiance, silly!" Nina said in the middle of laughing,

That was it! Zack turned and glared at his pack member. Nina was going to get a mouthful from him today, he thought. She quieted down and put her hands over her mouth to stop herself.

He looked back at his mate, who was now looking at him with disbelief. He suddenly felt guilty for hiding it from her. He looked down and was about to reach out to her when she got up from her seat abruptly.

Zack looked back at her face, which was now construed with anger. Before he could say anything, she bolted out of the room.

"Elize, wait!" Zack screamed.

He got up, ready to rush behind her but was suddenly stopped by a hand clutching his shoulders sternly.

"Zack, wait. Give her time. " Nina said, a guilty look on her face.

Zack wanted to shove her off and go behind his mate. He was sure that Elize misunderstood the situation. If only he had time to explain it to her...

"Zack?" Nina insisted.

Zack shrugged her hand off his shoulder and stepped away from his packmate. He turned to her, irritation clearly evident on his face.

"You just had to go and ruin it, right? I thought I could trust you." He said, looking at her accusingly.

Nina stepped back, lowering her head. A single tear escaped her eye, which she dabbed quickly with the back of her hand.

"If something happens to her, Nina, I don't care if you're the Beta's daughter or-"

"You're wrong about me, Zack! I didn't mean to hurt her!" Nina shouted, interrupting him.

"Well, you just did! You just made a big mess out of the situation!" Zack shouted back, unable to control his emotions.

*CRASH*

The loud sound alerted the quarreling wolves. Seeing as it came from outside the mansion, they rushed out without wasting another second. As soon as they reached the parking lot, they saw a crowd gathered there around something. Or as Zack feared, someone.

He rushed towards the gathering of wolves and forced his way through it. Some gave way to him as soon as they recognized him. The sight that he saw in front of him confused him for a moment. There on the ground were two wolves mauling each other. 

As he watched, the larger one swung its paw at the door of a nearby car, causing the part to detach and fly towards the other wolf. Zack was quick to reach the spot before the heavy metal crashed into the smaller wolf. He grabbed the object with one hand and swung it around, above the crowd, only for it to crash into someone's car.

"My car!" Someone exclaimed from the crowd.

"Enough!!" Zack thundered, looking at the bigger wolf.

The wolf bowed its head in defeat and trotted off to the nearby bush. Zack turned to the smaller wolf.

"Do I have to tell you to go change too, Heidi?"He asked, raising his brows.

The little wolf whimpered and trudged inside the packhouse. Zack shook his head, disappointed. It was hard to keep the wolves of his pack and his grandfather's apart. It was getting more tiring by the day. The crowd slowly dispersed, murmuring between themselves and bowing to Zack as they passed him. 

Zack nodded in acknowledgment, distracted. He was wondering where Elize went. It was already midnight, and he hoped she didn't wander off anywhere far.

A man wearing shorts came out of the bushes that the big wolf had earlier disappeared into. Zack motioned for him to come close. The man hesitantly walked up to him. Zack leaned in to his ears.

"If I see you harming one more of my pack members Li Jun, I won't hesitate to tear you apart and feed you to my dogs." 

Zack whispered so low that only the man in front of him could hear it.

The man staggered back at the threat. Zack could see that he was trying his best to hide the fear, but he could smell it off of him as clear as the moonlight that shone through the trees. But within seconds, he masked it.

Standing tall in front of him, the man spat. "You are not fit to be the Alpha. You don't protect your own kind, but rather vouch for these foreigners!"

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Zack's had his hands around his throat.

"MY KIND-"Zack said, his voice booming and his breath coming out of him heavily. A low growl escaped him. He paused, struggling to find control and not let his wolf slip. He continued, " My kind, are my pack. I don't know what kind of bullshit grandpa put in your head, but my kind are wolves."

The man spat to the side. Zack felt his control slip as claws elongated out of his hands.

*THUD*

A fist came out of nowhere and knocked Li Jun unconscious. Zack dropped the man who was sagging in his hands to the ground.

"You can thank me later," Nina said, dusting her hands.

Zack rolled his eyes. The woman was always intruding on his business.

"But right now, we need to find Elize." She said, shaking her head at the fallen man on the ground.

Zack nodded. And turned back towards the packhouse. Two men rushed to the fallen Li Jun and carried him inside.

"Make sure that he doesn't create any more trouble," Zack shouted at the men who nodded at him and disappeared inside. 

As soon as Zack turned around to the forest, he saw someone running towards him. He would recognize the scrawny figure anywhere.

"She's gone!" Brandt shouted, struggling to reach Zack.

Zack immediately rushed to him, Nina trailing behind him. He stopped near the kid and took hold of his shoulders. Looking into his eyes, he demanded an explanation.

"She's gone with her! The creek-" Brandt said, panting heavily.

"Who Brandt? You need to speak more clearly." Nina said, stepping in.

Brandt took a deep breath and looked at his Alpha and his sister warily.

"Elize knocked out Meifeng and dragged her towards the forest. They went towards the creek."

"What?! Are you sure?" Zack asked desperately.

"Yes. I was sitting in the backyard with sister Mei when Elize came out of nowhere, and she-"

"And you didn't stop her?!" Nina asked, her voice rising.

Brandt looked scared of his sister. He took a step back as he said, "I- She said something weird, and I couldn't move. She's a witch. But how could she-"

"Great, and you're coming to us now?! Are you sure that they went towards the creek?" Nina asked, stepping towards her little brother.

Brandt nodded, scared. Nina patted her brother on his cheek, a worried look covering her face.

"I think you were too scared, kiddo. You're burning up."

"I-"

"Brandt, go up to the guest room and take rest. We will handle this." Zack interrupted, nodding to him.

Suddenly a howl pierced the air. It came from the forest and sounded very much like someone they knew.

"Alex," Zack whispered, his eyes wide.

"We need to go. Now." Nina said, looking at Zack.

Zack nodded.

This was bad. This was more than bad. If Alex reached Elize before him, he might lash out at his sister without meaning to. Zack transformed into his wolf in an instant and started running towards the creek. He could smell his mate, the bond guiding him towards her. He let his instincts take over as he focused on it.