1 Prologue

Thump. Thump. Thump.

A thumping noise reverberated throughout the office as the stress ball repeatedly hit the floor before bouncing back up to its owners hand and repeating the process.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

A knocking noise sounded from his door, and he caught the ball before resuming a more professional position. "Enter", he said. Sean stepped into his office, smirking. Though Alpha looked professional, Sean had been friends with him long enough to realize that just a moment before, he had likely been bored and relaxed. Sean shut the office door and sat down in a seat opposite of Alpha before handing him Kaydence and Adolf's mission report. As Alpha read through the report, Sean gazed around the room. Redwood walls, floors, and ceilings, a fake plant in each corner, the faded green carpet beneath the redwood desk and green mesh chairs that they currently sat in...

Yep. It was just as it had been 20 years ago.

"Hmmm. The mission appeared to go by without a hitch, though Adolf was MIA for a period. That does have me admittedly concerned. Kaydence is sure there was nothing amiss with his disappearance?", Alpha questioned.

"Kaydence seemed to think that everything was fine, though she has been known to rush things, so we can't really say for sure.", Sean replied.

Alpha sighed. "Well, since we have no way of confirming if Kaydence was correct or hasty, we may as well bring 'em home. I want them on a plane by tomorrow evening."

"Of course sir", Sean responded as he gathered up the paperwork and stalked out of the office. As soon as the door shut, Alpha's face fell into his hands as his posture became non-existence and he slumped forwards, shaking his head. Something was off, he could feel it. Vox was up to something, and frankly, if he didn't find out what it was he was up to, the school would face disastrous consequences. He could feel it in his gut. And his gut was never wrong.