8 The Mission?

Linda and Alina led the way and they rushed through a dense forest. They had appeared in a small, built up wooden shelter which was the corresponding transfer point to the one they just left on Earth. They breezed past their pack borders and into the meeting room, only to be greeted by their very wary-looking pack leaders. "Linda." John Carper approached his mate, engulfing her in a hug.

He kissed the top of her head, inhaling deeply. Linda felt as both of them relaxed slightly, the presence of the other calming them. John let her go and turned to Alina, "I'm glad that you're here too."

Alina responded, "Likewise," introducing Hikari and Korū, then she went to greet her mother, who was talking to the Alpha and Beta.

"Is Felicia alright?" Harry asked Alina's mother.

"I don't know. Would anyone know if a seven year old was not okay? She's asking for her parents, and no one knows what to tell her. Hell, we don't even know what to tell our own pack members. That what, the best Gamma pair in history disappeared without a trace? Leaving their beloved daughter behind? No sign of a struggle?"

"Morning, Alpha, Beta. Hi Mom." Alina interrupted, "We brought visitors. This is Hikari and Korū from Bloodmoon, on Earth."

Harry smiled, "It's nice to meet the two of you. I'm Alpha Harry. Welcome to Tranquil Bloodlust. I only wish we were meeting on different terms."

Hikari returned the smile. "It's nice to meet you, too."

There was a general murmur of greeting, before the discussion continued.

"I mean, if Duke and Bethany are just playing an extremely evil prank, then the terms might not be too bad." Delphine Moore said, her tone light, but her fidgeting hands said otherwise.

Alina scoffed and muttered, "You wish."

"How likely is that?" Korū questioned. He has no fear.

The Beta, Daniel, snorted. "Highly unlikely."

"Basically impossible." Harry said at the same time.

Korū opened his mouth to speak again, probably something insensitive, and Hikari pounced on him. "Say anything that offends them and I'll kill you."

The Alpha waved a hand dismissively. "We don't have time to be offended anymore, so it's fine. We need all the people we can get anyway." He looked around the room, "Everyone here? Let's get started then. Take a seat." Everyone started moving towards the table, finding seats beside the people they were more familiar with.

"I'll start with a briefing of the situation first. According to Felicia, they left their house at 1am last night, telling her that they had a patrol shift. She also said that they were carrying more gear than usual. No one else saw them after that."

"How accurate is this information?" Alina asked.

"Possibly not." John supplied. "The only source we have is a seven year old, who is probably very confused at this moment."

"If they were carrying stuff, doesn't that mean that they probably left by their own will?" Linda questioned, receiving a nod as confirmation. "Then why are we searching for them so frantically?"

"Did they have a patrol shift, though?" Hikari asked. "Because if they didn't, then you should be wondering why they lied and where in the world they went."

"They didn't, and we are wondering why they lied and where they went." the Beta said.

"They most likely lied because they didn't think they would be allowed to leave if they told us." Delphine responded, "Why else?"

"So what exactly were their intentions?" Alina asked.

The Alpha sighed, looking around at the faces in the room. "I think I have the answer to that."

"Well, why didn't you say so earlier?' Alina said indignantly.

"Because I was trying to convince myself that it wasn't real. I found a note on my desk just now. I don't know where they went or where they are headed, but they wanted to complete the Mission."

"Mission? What Mission?"

"To find the Mystic Crystal?" John asked incredulously. Harry nodded.

"The treaty ends in 13 years, and they said that they didn't want to take the risk of it falling into bad hands. But can you imagine two wolves setting off on their own and succeeding? For goodness sake, they have to travel across the inner world!" Harry said in an agitated manner.

"Anyway… we should try to find them, whether to help them or bring them back. We can't leave them on their own." Daniel said, receiving nods from the people around him.